Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“He did this on purpose?” Wick’s fingers gently grabbed my arm, inspecting the wounds, then digging in his backpack.
“Well, he pushed me down. So, I guess.”
“Is that common?” I watched him pull a full first aid kit out of his backpack, making my brows scrunch as he dug in it for some cream.
“Getting hurt on the job?”
I should have told him I didn’t need any medical attention. I didn’t. But the part of me that hadn’t been touched by a man in more months than I cared to admit kind of just wanted to feel his fingers again.
“Yeah.”
“It’s not a constant thing. I can usually catch someone off guard. But it definitely happens.”
“What’s the worst one?”
“Easy,” I said, watching him reach for my arm again, lightly dabbing some salve onto my cuts. “I was chasing an MMA fighter who was going to court for beating the hell out of his model girlfriend. He grabbed my wrist and twisted. Broke it.”
“Jesus.” Wick’s eyes looked genuinely horrified by the brutality.
“I broke his jaw,” I said, remembering how the blow to my elbow had ricocheted up my arm. But, God, it had been worth it. “Then called my mom to haul him in. She was a bounty hunter too.”
“Interesting family business. How long were you out with the broken wrist?”
“Well, it was supposed to be six weeks. I went back after two.”
“That much of a workaholic?”
“More like my friends and family were sick of me and my whining. I’m a terrible patient.”
“Eh, you sat pretty well for that.” He reassembled his first aid kit as I glanced down at my arm.
“It’s mostly healed.”
“Maybe. But you don’t want to take any chances. Who knows what you might have to follow me through after this.”
“Why do I get the feeling that’s some sort of warning?”
To that, all he offered me was a smile as he zipped his backpack.
“I’m going for a swim.”
With that, he took off to the water, leaving me on the shore to, well, watch.
I did, too.
As much as I hate to admit that.
While he was off being distracted, I made my way into the woods, going as deep as I dared and remembering exactly why my response whenever anyone asked me to go camping was “Absolutely-fucking-not.”
There were a lot of things that were better “in the old days.”
Clean air and water, for example.
But there was one thing modern society got right.
Bathrooms.
Maybe guys didn’t mind peeing in the woods. But I had a lot of strong feelings about it.
Ones I suddenly wanted to take out on Wick as I stomped back toward the shore.
To find him missing once again.
“Seriously?” I grumbled, my gaze moving around the island.
His backpack was gone too.
But he did leave his shirt.
I moved over toward that, relieved when not only was the fruit still there, but that he’d left me bottles of water too. And a protein bar.
“Thank God.” I tore into that thing like a bear fresh out of hibernation, not even tasting the peanut buttery goodness as I shoveled bites into my mouth until it was gone.
I could practically feel it seeping into my bloodstream and reviving me.
I drank the remainder of my water bottle and stashed the wrapper and empty bottle in my duffle bag before deciding I wasn’t going to waste my day just praying someone came our way. And waiting for Wick to return.
I was going to collect sticks.
Then I was going to make my HELP sign on the beach. Just in case any boats or airplanes came into the general vicinity.
It was actually kind of a pleasant way to spend a few hours. Just hiking through the woods and playing in the sand.
The panic I’d felt about being stranded seemed to be alleviated by Wick’s appearance. Which made no sense. We were still stranded. But it felt better not to be alone in it. And, well, Wick seemed to pack a lot more thoroughly than I ever did.
A first aid kit and sunscreen?
I was usually lucky if I remembered a toothbrush and paste.
And in this case, I had neither.
But as I sat down to have another couple of oranges to try to replenish any sweat I’d lost when I’d been moving around, I realized it hadn’t just been a power bar and water Wick had left me. There, slightly rolled up in the shirt, was a mini toothpaste and brush. With a cap.
Praying he had his own brush and just gave me a backup, I used both to brush. Then used the smallest bit of water I could to rinse my mouth and the brush.
“Sup, Hank?” I said, hearing a shuffling beside me. “What else is there to do around here?”
As if answering, the water crashed against the shore.
“Well, I could use to wash off,” I said, standing.
I did a quick scan around me, checking to make sure Wick was nowhere to be seen.