Page 10 of Savage Kingdom

“I’m going crazy. I need to go.” The feminine voice on the other side of the line tried to be authoritative, but her voice lacked confidence.

“I’ll be home soon.” My voice was somewhat docile.

There was no answer, and the line went dead.

“Complications?” Bas raised an eyebrow at me.

“I need you to get close to Rivera,” I said instead. There were some things Bas needed to be kept in the dark about.

He went back to the stupid chair, the same one Gideon had sat on yesterday. Both men couldn’t be more different if they tried. Even without a suit on, Bas looked fine. The rigorous workouts the Sekt demanded did him good. He had muscles in all the right places.

“If you stare a little lower, you can see my boner,” Bas mused.

I rolled my eyes at him.

“I’m sure someone in this jungle will just love to get on and ride it.”

He patted his lap. “Hop on, gorgeous.”

I flicked him off.

“You need to go on a little trip while the men go to Mexico.”

“They said they were going to the capital,” he stated.

I walked up to the edge of my tent. Opening the flap, I noticed dusk had begun to fall, and I smiled.

“They lied,” I said, while I tried to gauge how many soldiers were out and about. “The Villalobos cartel made a move when they found out Rivera was out.”

When I turned to look at Bastian, he smiled at me. “Let me guess, they got an anonymous tip?”

“Only cowards hide, and they are no cowards,” I told him.

Walking to my luggage, I pulled out a change of clothes. I had showered earlier in the river since we were limited in amenities for the moment. It didn’t matter that I had the type of money monarchs dreamed of; sometimes I lay in the dirt—all in a day’s work.

“Where do you want me to go?” Bas asked, his voice serious.

I pulled out three items and gave them to him. “When you get to town, go to the first set of coordinates, then follow the second ones. The first coordinates are a gift from Damian. The money is for your safety. Leave with whoever goes to town so they think you’ve gone back, but make your way to that location as quickly as possible.”

He took the items and didn’t ask any more questions. He listened to all the demands and took them in stride. Then he walked up to me, putting his hand behind my head and bringing me closer to him. He kissed the top of my forehead.

No one in my family had been affectionate. I had no loving parents, nor brother. Everyone was out to protect themselves, so this was as foreign to me as the day was to the night. Eclipsed moments were not enough to get me used to tender emotions.

Bastian’s dark eyes pierced me, and I knew what he was going to say would be important. “Having half a heart is better than not having one at all, and baby, yours is still very much beating.”

That half a heart that was still beating pounded against my ribs. I looked away and heard the flap of the tent as he walked away.

I’d been moving chess pieces for the last few years, and this was just another move I had to make. A queen sacrificed soldiers for her victory; this was just another battle I needed to win.

* * *

The next daycamp was fairly quiet, with people going to cease a fire that I had started. My hair was loose, and I rubbed perfume in my hair, behind my ears, and on my wrist so that I would smell enticing enough to devour.

Keeping out of people’s way, I made my way to the edge toward the riverbank. The camp was set out here since it had clean water that made it easier for people to survive long periods without going back into civilization.

Making sure that I didn’t step on any branches, I climbed onto a rock that overlooked Gideon’s back.

My body felt shaky, as if adrenaline was trying to take over. The man in the water was almost a stranger; he was nothing like the carefree MI6 agent I had met years ago. His features were harder, yet he still had some softness to him. His body was a different story. It looked like it had been carved from marble, all carefully detailed to bring opponents down and women to their knees.

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