Page 7 of One Weekend in Rio de Janeiro

Actually, the eerie familiarity of it all made perfect sense to Donovan. Not long ago, Aidan, Cassian and his woman Hailey had called him from a plane that was being remotely flown. On the verge of crashing, the flight would’ve been doomed if Donovan hadn’t hacked into the system and taken control. He’d managed to bring it in, despite a very bumpy landing, saving his friends’ lives in the process. With the right knowledge and software, a hacker could take control of an airplane as though it were merely a drone.

Cursing under his breath, Donovan clutched his messenger bag closer to his body. Someone hacking his computer and trying to steal the drone specs for Spectre and then the plane going down couldn’t be a coincidence.

But who the hell knew about Spectre? Other than him and his potential investor?

Donovan placed a hand over the bag that held his flash drive and looked over to where he’d last seen Kate. She was still checking on passengers, cleaning up cuts and guiding people further away from the downed aircraft. Considering she’d just been through a very traumatic situation, she was holding up extremely well. Even though he didn’t know her, he was strangely proud of her.

He wanted to talk to the pilot a little longer and come up with a game plan when the unmistakable crack of gunshots filled the air. In an instant, Donovan became the SEAL he used to be. Though the gig hadn’t lasted long, old habits died hard. The training ingrained in him, as well as the protector, took over and Donovan raced forward. He grabbed Kate’s arm and yanked her down into the foliage while people screamed and ran for cover.

“Stay down,” he hissed, lifting his head and trying to see through the chaos. Who the hell was shooting? As if in answer, several armed men appeared, brandishing assault rifles. Their faces were covered below their eyes and they wore black t-shirts and camouflage pants.

Rebels? he wondered. Or, was there something more sinister going on?

Whatever the answer, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control and Donovan knew they had to get out of there fast. “C’mon!”

Yanking Kate up, he pulled her away from the cacophony of gunfire and shouting.

“Keep your head down and move,” he urged her. They trampled through the undergrowth and she kept up remarkably well. Once they’d put enough distance between themselves and the enemy, he stopped, allowing her to rest for a minute.

“Who are those guys?” she panted, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Donovan shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know, but we have to keep moving. Ready?”

She hesitated. “It’s not safe to go running through the jungle in the dark. There are all sorts of poisonous and dangerous animals.”

“You rather stay here and face the men with assault rifles?”

Kate shook her head. “Good point.”

“Let’s go.”

They raced forward into the black night. Donovan knew he should’ve been more vigilant, more careful, as their feet pounded through the undergrowth, but he was focused on getting them as far away from the known danger as quickly as possible. So, it wasn’t really a surprise when they came up on a cliff far faster than intended. Suddenly, there was no ground beneath them and they went hurtling over the side and into empty air.

Chapter Five

With a surprised cry, Kate felt the ground disappear beneath her feet and she went soaring forward into the inky night sky. Without warning, they were airborne, and she had no idea how high up they were or how far it was to the ground below. First a plane crash and now she was flying like a bird. A bird with no wings.

The moment the ominous thought flitted through her head, gravity took over. Still clutching hands, she and Donovan fell through endless branches. Kate covered her face with her free hand, trying to protect it as much as possible without relinquishing the death grip she had on Donovan, but there was no way to avoid the inevitable scratches and bruises.

They dropped through another lush canopy and then plummeted twenty or so feet, landing in the water with a loud splash. Reluctantly releasing his hand, Kate propelled herself to the surface, breaking through with a gasp.

Trying to get her bearings, Kate treaded water and glanced around. She wanted to get out of the water ASAP as all sorts of scary images filled her head from eels to anacondas.

Donovan swam over and shoved a hand through his wet hair, pushing the long strands back and off his chiseled face. “Are you okay?” he asked, voice laced in concern.

“I think so. But I’ll be better once we’re on shore.”

“Yeah, c’mon.” Turning, they started swimming and Kate did her best not to squeal when something large brushed against her leg. Relief filled her as they climbed onto the shore. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, a shiver ran through her.

“Are you cold?” Donovan asked.

Kate turned and crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself. “I’m just happy to be alive. Although we are lost in the biggest rainforest in the world with some of the most dangerous species ever known to exist.”

“Way to look on the bright side.”

She watched him reach into his messenger bag, still slung tightly across his body. “It’s true. I’ve done a lot of research on the rainforest and there are any number of animals in here that could kill you in under a minute.” Oh, geez. Relax, Cautious Kate. She sounded like a total geek and needed to rein it in before she annoyed him enough to ditch her. Honestly, would she even be surprised at this point? No, not really.

“So let’s make sure we don’t run into any of them.”

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