by Angela White
“The second you show signs, I’m picking you up and bringing you back here.”
The movie star’s grin widened. “You know there’s only one way to make sure I stay in bed, right?”
Magic sparked between them and the former pilot laughed. “I thought about that, too, but we need provisions.”
“Yeah, like razors,” she muttered, thinking of the jungle on her legs. No way she was letting LJ get anywhere near her until she could shave.
“You got your jacket?”
This time, she couldn’t stop the sharpness in her tone. “Yes. I also have extra socks and water. Can we go now?”
Luke sighed, feeling her impatience. He was always impressed with her ability to do what she needed to without railing against fate. The woman he’d viewed on TV before the war was a risk-taker, not afraid of any danger, and it had to bother her that she now had limits.
“Yes. Let me lock things up.”
That had her brow puckering. They’d recently begun to lock the cabin when they went somewhere. It was a result of two women on the island going missing. All the evidence pointed to them being abducted from their bedrooms, and the townspeople were up in arms. There had already been two searches, both of which Luke had locked her in for and joined, but no signs of the women or their attackers had been found. It was causing changes on this small island that even the end of the world hadn’t.
Kendle turned toward the jungle, not wanting Luke to know what she was thinking about again. The people here refused to believe there had been a war, despite all the signs. She and Luke had made a second trip to town yesterday, and left without any supplies after getting into an argument with two other patrons in Baxter’s. The men had overheard her comment about the sunsets, comparing them to the shots of the sky after a nuclear detonation, and it hadn’t taken much from there to spark the fuse. Admit it or not, the people here were worried that whatever had happened might find its way to this tropical paradise. Denial was how they were handling it.
“And sarcasm,” she muttered, flushing at the memory of their words. She’d never been called a whore so harshly and it was still stinging. Even Luke knocking the snob on his ass hadn’t helped. He’d gotten her on the bike and out of sight before the tears came and she’d let them run down his back, unable to do more than hang on. As LJ sped them furiously home, she had been certain that would be the last time they went to town for supplies. Whatever they needed from here, they’d make or go to the crazy woman for.
“Ready?”
Kendle shifted her kit more firmly onto her shoulders. “I’m right behind ya.”
Instead of moving toward the jungle, Luke stopped by her and held out a thin cord of strong rope. “Around your waist.”
Kendle did it without argument, handing him the ends so he could tie it the way he wanted. She knew she should have thought of it. Tied, was the only way she’d ever let her crew travel through a jungle, but the time before felt so far away most days that she often forgot who she’d been.
Luke dropped into the soft grass at her jean-clad legs, hoping this wasn’t as bad an idea as it suddenly felt like. His hands snaked around her, tugging the ropes into place.
When he stood up, so close and warm, Kendle leaned in to place a soft kiss on his jaw. “Thank you.”
He let the worry out a little, gruff tone covering his response to her action. “Stay close.”
Luke tied the other end of the rope around his own waist, leaving them about four foot of space.
“Like I could get far in this setup.”
Luke didn’t grin. If not for them being out of so much, he’d put his foot down and stay here. This was a two-day trek and funny things were happening on the island. Besides the missing women and fruitless searches, there were also rumors of townspeople sighting nonresidents in the jungle that fled when spotted. There had also been two people who swore they’d heard boat engines last week.
He and Kendle had only been in town for a little while, but there had been more of the residents there at one time than ever before. Each of the small rooms the shopkeepers sometimes rented out were full of their neighbors who lived in the more isolated areas. Bad times found their way to Pitcairn Island after all, he thought.
Luke set an easy pace and for a while, there were only the sounds of the island around them. Kendle let her mind wander. She was still so grateful to be on land that it was common to find her staring at the sand or trees for long minutes. Being surrounded by nature was a sedative to her nerves that increased when they continued to get further from the roar of the ocean. She was anticipating the liquid death not being the first thing she heard upon waking for once. She’d survived and she wasn’t alone. It was still enough to make her happy and she followed contentedly, enjoying the sights and smells.
Luke was glad to be able to give her something she wanted, but he still wished he could have left her at the cabin. The searches for the missing women had taken him away for a few hours of whacking and insult ducking, but there was no way he could stand to leave her unprotected for two entire days. Now that they were out here though, the feeling of danger was getting stronger. Even so many years out of action couldn’t dull the instincts he had once trusted his life to and LJ sped them up a little, hand staying close to the sheath on his belt.
In his hurry to get her somewhere safer, Luke stepped over the very shallow grave without recognizing it for what it was. Whoever had put it there hadn’t been concerned with the body staying buried.
2
An hour later, the feeling of menace had faded and the afternoon commenced with a sudden brightness that lifted Luke’s spirits. He loved being in the jungle again. Before, when he’d been so alone, the greenness had been suffered through. Now, because of Kendle’s love of nature, he’d begun to make peace with his past. She finally knew his full story.
He’d told her while she was sequestered in bed last week, and he was still stunned by her easy acceptance of the mistake he had made. Adamant that it hadn’t been his fault, her comforting arms had broken through the shroud his guilt had built.
The enemy had purposely held the POW’s below that Laos village, hoping the innocent civilians would provide a cover. When he and Frank had gotten the others clear and called in that they were alive, the small town had been firebombed despite their attempts to convince HQ to handle it from the ground. Luke had carried the guilt all his life until Kendle. She’d gotten through the wall and her needs were now more important than his. When she’d said she wanted to hike, he’d had to force himself to agree, but once out here, the beauty had returned for him, bringing peace.
Because of Kendle.
Who’s probably hungry, he thought, able to hear her quiet footsteps behind him, but no sounds of her being winded yet. Their hiking was returning her strength and he was glad her cold had been only that and not more of the pneumonia that she’d been battling when he found her.
Luke steered them around a large, vine-covered Miro tree and stopped, using his arm to wipe at his forehead.
“Are you feeding me now?” Kendle joked, shifting her kit from her shoulders to the ground.
“Some bread and water, and then you’re back on the road.”
She giggled, the noise echoing off the thick pad of treetops above them. They ate a small meal in the shade of an enormous Piñon tree that had more branches than she could count. Obviously old, she wondered what stories it might tell about those who had come this way before them. Some of the bark was petrified, and near the top of the branch, there were lines that she spent a few minutes examining while they finished eating.
The markings were rough, old, and she strained to make them out. What name was that? It started with an A, but that was all she could make out. The rest of the lines weren’t in any order that she could discern, not even forming a picture, and she wondered if it was an ancient map. Maybe to a pirate treasure?
That was the old world, Kendle told herself sharply. Fame and fortune weren’t worth shi
t now.
“Did you say something?”
Kendle was still busy trying to banish that part of herself that had sent her into films and the spotlight. “No, why?”
“Thought I heard…engines?”
They both waited in silence, listening hard, but there was only the jungle –chattering monkeys and chirping birds.
Luke laughed it off, gathering their mess. “Hearing things again.”
Kendle raised a brow. “Again?”
Luke’s shrug was embarrassed. “I was doing rounds of the cabin last night and thought I heard footsteps.” He grinned. “I’m old, it happens.”
Kendle wasn’t fooled by the joke. He was worried.
Luke handed her kit over. “Let’s roll.”
She snapped a smart salute. “Yes, sir!”
3
The excitement of the trip wore off for Kendle as the day warmed and sweat rolled down her neck. Skin covered for protection, the heat was smothering, and she was glad when the glaring sun finally faded behind the treetops. Soon, it would cool off.
Luke passed a canteen of water and she sipped at it, stomach unhappy with the heat and walking. None of their hikes had lasted more than a couple hours and she was feeling tired, something she recognized as a side effect of the radiation or whatever she’d been blasted by. It hit her hard when it came and she swayed a bit, steps no longer careful.
Luke knew she needed a break, but he wanted to reach the creek before dark and he tugged gently on the rope until she was at his side. He slid an arm around her and kept them moving, feeling her relieved body melt against his. Damn, she was hot.
“Maybe we should make camp around here and go on in the morning,” he suggested and wasn’t surprised when she disagreed.
“I’m fine. The sun will go down and I’ll get a second wind.”
“We’ll be at the creek in another hour. We’ll camp there and get our supplies in the morning.”
Kendle was too uncomfortable to insist. She’d made good progress, but it was clear she had a long way to go before she would be healthy again.
The day got warmer as they wound through the jungle, following a faint path that Luke kept track of. The tracks he saw were old, mostly animals, and it made him feel better to know they were the first ones to come through here in a while. Much like when he had been Whacker in Vietnam.
“Do you smell that?”
Luke inhaled deeply. “No. What?”
Kendle sniffed again, sure it was strong enough for him to pick up too. “Sort of like…oil or gas fumes.”
Luke didn’t know if there was anything in the air or not. He wasn’t picking up much beyond the plants and animals around them. “People here have stashes. It’s probably a resident.”
Kendle slipped on a sharp rock, clutching at his arm, and LJ hauled her into place, thinking she was still too light. “All right?”
“Yeah, my shoe flap caught a rock.”
That was one of the many things on their list, what they had gone to Baxter’s for yesterday, and Luke steered them around the more obvious ruts and stones. Damn stupid townspeople!
Kendle could feel his sudden upset through the rigid lines of his body and guessed what had triggered it. “You know there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have gotten a pair anyway, right? Did you notice that puke green tennis shoe? Who wears that?”
Luke chuckled despite his anger. She hated him to be upset. When he fell into one of his…moments of the past, she was quick to snap him out of it with a joke or comment he wasn’t expecting. Life with Kendle was all peaches and sunshine. But for their past and the apocalypse, their life together would be perfect.
With Luke supporting most of her weight, Kendle was able to get her wind back and cool down a little. The sun was beating harder, but his big shadow kept some of it from her and she instinctively leaned into his side like a lover, enjoying being so close. He was hard and rippling strength against her, sending those stray curls of want into her stomach whenever he gazed down at her.
No, she definitely didn’t view him as a man old enough to be her father. Luke was as far from that, for her, as it got.
Wondering about her thoughts, Luke didn’t want to interrupt the moment with words and settled for pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head and drawing her closer. Her arm went around his lean waist, the rope now coiled in his free hand, and the rest of the walk to the creek flew by.
4
An unnamed snake winding through Pitcairn’s lush greenness, the creek was a narrow, deep waterway with mossy banks and a slow current. It twisted out of sight in both directions, almost hidden by the bushy leaves, and Kendle stared in awe.
“Beautiful.”
There was no paralyzing fear at the sight of it, as Luke had been half expecting.
“Can we swim across?”
Before he could answer, the water rose near the bank, crystal drops swelling into the air as a large crocodile padded out.
Kendle recoiled in horror, stumbling into LJ’s arms. She stayed there.
“Yeah, she might not like that.”
The amusement in his voice calmed her and she flushed, thinking of the survival challenges she’d been on. She knew better.
“I didn’t realize crocodiles were so far south,” she stated, watching the huge animal pad into the shade of an uprooted tree.
“They’ve been moving further away from the big landmasses. We get a lot of things out here that are trying to escape progress.”
Kendle shook it off, peering around for a bridge. “So where do we cross?”
Luke motioned to the rippling water. “There.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“Is there a boat or something?”
Luke was busy digging through his pockets. “Or something.”
Kendle waited as patiently as she could. Thanks to the crocodile, she was now feeling the same dread that struck her when she heard the ocean. When he began tying ropes together, her brows drew together in concentration, trying to figure out what he was doing.
A few minutes later, her lips curved into a grin as he put together a rope ladder. Upon recognizing it, she tilted up to find a tree house. Cleverly built around the trunk, the small shelter was so well hidden; she doubted many people even knew it existed.
“We’ll hang up there til morning and then cross.”
Her thoughts drifted to spending the night in the small shack and she blushed.
Kendle’s thoughts changed as they climbed up. From the garbage and personal items she got a quick glimpse of, someone was using this as a home and she wasn’t surprised when Luke immediately got them down and out of the area.
What bothered her was the concern on his face. Did he mind that someone had been using his place? Kendle frowned. Was it even his place?
It took her a minute to realize he was leading them back the way they’d come and she stopped. “Hey, what gives?”
Luke kept walking, tugging her along. “We have to get to town.”
Kendle stopped resisting at his tone. “Why?”
“I need to talk to the Mayor.”
Kendle flinched. That was Ethan’s daddy.
“For what?”
“I saw something that I need to tell him about,” Luke ground out, wishing she would leave it alone.
“What was it?”
Luke increased their pace, mind flying. They would have to walk in the dark. He could put her on his back if he had to.
“Is this about the missing women?”
Luke flinched. “Yeah, come on.”
He led them onto a more traveled path, not liking the quietness of the jungle around them.
Voices came to them, male, and Luke started moving again. “Good.”
They went a few feet into the thick greenness before Kendle could hear what he had. Footsteps and… muttering?
“Who’s out there?” Luke called.
“Who indeed, you ruffian! Tire of the game finally?”
Luke and Kendle emerged from the bushes into a small clearing, and found three servants in tan slacks and vests surrounding a fourth man. This one was tall, expensively dressed, and very angry.
“You’ll be paying for this, Mr. Johnson! I’ll see to it personally.”
“What are you talking about?” Kendle asked, but was ignored.
“I’m glad you’re here, Kraft. We found something…”
“Of course I’m here, you idiot!” the Mayor snapped, “You led me on a merry chase, but it’s finished now and I’ll have my cloak!”
Luke frowned, listening to the man this time. “What?”
Their complete confusion was obvious and the man wilted before their concern.
“It wasn’t you.”
“No, but listen, we found something in the creek shack. You need to gather a group of men and we’ll do another search.”
The Mayor regarded him as if he was a fool and Kendle recognized that glassy stare from her own terrors. He was afraid of something.
She stepped forward. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not.”
He gawked at them with eyes the same shade of green as his Ethan’s were.
“I’ve been following the ghosts, and now one of them has stolen my favorite cloak and I can’t get it back.”
Shock, Luke thought.
Kendle took it a bit more seriously. “Did you see someone take your cloak?”
The Mayor fidgeted from foot to foot distractedly, removing his hat to wipe at his forehead, “I saw a shadow grab it from the line right after the maid put it out. I was in my common room with the valets.”
His accusing glare went over Luke as he said this, making Kendle want to slap him, but she kept pushing for answers instead. “What did you witness exactly?”
“There was a man…a ghost man. He had my eyes!” The Mayor shoved himself away from her. “I’m getting out of here.”
“We’ll help you get home,” Kendle offered and was shocked by the revulsion in his response.
“I’d sooner walk with the ghost. Excuse me!” He was gone a few seconds later, his valets trailing silently behind him.