Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
- Excerpt from a lecture given by Dr. Lucinda Hollis in her Plant Biology course
I leave my room the next morning and walk out of the tunnel, planning to go to the Hub for breakfast before I start my shift in the garden.
Vance puts his hand between my shoulder blades, steering me in a different direction. I move away from his touch and give him a questioning look.
“We’re going this way.” He doesn’t even look at me as he says it.
“Can I get some water first?”
“Did I say we were getting water first?”
I narrow my eyes, his tone catching me off guard. “Where are we going?”
“The ring.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
He huffs out a sigh. “You’ll find out in about five minutes. Let’s go.”
Trepidation weighs down every step I take. I don’t want to follow him, but what choice do I have? I know this has something to do with what Ray said about me last night.
Everything was going fine. I was keeping my head down and feeling more like myself every day. Not just more like myself than I have since I got to the island, but since before Lochlan.
Vance has a sheathed knife on his hip. It’s just a few feet away, but with all the people around us, it might as well be a mile. He doesn’t have a snap on it; if I could grab the hilt, I’d be able to pull it free quickly. My fingertips twitch with the urge to do it.
But then what? I can’t make it on my own in the jungle. Especially not if Virginia is still looking for me. Whatever device this camp has that creates an invisible perimeter to ward off anything with active aromium, it’s the only thing keeping Virginia from getting to me.
We reach the furthest buildings I’ve been to in the camp. I know one of them is the housing block for the security team, where Amira lives. Dread curdles in my stomach as Vance leads me past the buildings toward a huge fenced area with a well-worn dirt path around it. The fence, around six feet tall, is made of small tree trunks lashed together.
A small group of people rounds a corner, running on the path around the fence. Marcus is at the front of the group, and he’s only wearing shorts, low-cut socks, and shoes.
It’s all I can do to keep my mouth closed so my tongue doesn’t roll out of it. His chest is as bronzed as the rest of him, slick with sweat and defined with muscle. I swallow as he gets closer, my pulse racing with awareness. He has defined abs and dark chest hair, a trail of it dipping beneath the waistband of his shorts.
And the scowl. I never thought scowls were sexy, but pair it with that dark, intense gaze of his, and sexy is putting it mildly.
He breaks off from the group and jogs over to us, sweat droplets flying from his hair when he runs his hand through it. When I scan the rest of the runners, I spot Amira in the back. She smiles and gives me a little wave, which settles my nerves a little.
“Hey.” Marcus jerks his chin at Vance. “I’ve got her. Join the run.”
“Oh.” Vance arches his brows, surprised. “I haven’t been running at all since I started guarding her.”
Marcus’s scowl deepens. “All the more reason to get your ass in there.”
“Right.”
Vance jogs after the group and Marcus turns his focus to me.
“Let’s go.” His tone is clipped.
“Wait!” I clear my throat as he gives me a questioning look. “Um, about last night, when Ray said—”
He cuts me off. “This isn’t about that. I know what Ray’s about.”
My breath stills. “Are you...”
“Come into the ring and we’ll talk.”
He stalks off, leaving me a view of his broad, muscled back and his damn near perfect ass. Even his calves are defined with muscle.
I square my shoulders and follow. I need to relax. I’m a tightly wound ball of nerves. A few deep breaths help slow my heart rate a little.
The area inside the fence, which he called the ring, has a door built from small tree trunks. Marcus opens it and gestures for me to walk inside.
The space is wide open, the ground mostly covered in mulch. There’s an area with a pile of tree trunks and stacks of different-sized rocks. Next to it is what looks like a pull-up bar, well constructed from smooth, sanded wood.
Marcus stands in the middle of the ring, facing me with his hands on his hips. I try to look casual as I walk out to meet him, but I can’t help scanning the sky. This feels like a trap. Are arrows going to come flying over the wall at me?
“What’s going on?” I ask when I reach him.