Page 45 of Lyon

We charged our phones.

A message popped up.

Tag:“Call me.”

I stared at the screen. “What the fuck?”

I hit call. The phone rang twice before Tag answered.

“Where thehellare you?” I demanded.

“Alaska,” he said casually.

Silence.

“Excuse me?”

“I talked to my crazy sister,” Tag continued. “Apparently, she thought I was lost in the Brazilian jungle.”

I clenched my jaw. “You’re telling me we’ve been fighting offwild animalsfor three damn weeks because yoursistergot her wires crossed?”

He hesitated. “I… guess so?”

I exhaled sharply. “Tag. Do you haveanyidea what we’ve been through? Spiders the size of myface. Snakes everywhere. Ihatesnakes.”

“Itoldher—hypothetically—‘what if I was lost in the jungle, and no one knew?’” Tag sounded defensive. “She must have taken it literally.”

I was going to murder this man.

River grabbed the phone. “Tag,” he said, voice dangerously low. “Have you evenbeenin this jungle?”

“Not for years. Last time I was there, I got bitten by a spider and was sick for weeks.”

River closed his eyes. “Thenwhythe hell would your sister think you were here?”

“She and I haven’t talked much,” Tag admitted. “Imighthave mentioned the jungle once. Imighthave said something about people going missing. Shemighthave been drinking.”

River groaned. “No shit. We’ll see you Monday.”

Tag hesitated. “Listen… Ireallyappreciate you guys looking for me, even though I wasn’t lost.”

River sighed, his frustration softening. “You’d do the same for us.”

“Damn right, I would,” Tag said. “Thanks for knowing that.”

I rubbed a hand over my face.We wasted three weeks. At least he was safe and alive.

“Next time,” I muttered, “just send a damn text.”

21

Niki

The momentthe casts came off my arms, I felt weightless—like I’d been set free. A laugh burst from my lips as I flexed my fingers, marveling at the newfound lightness of my limbs.Freedom.After months of being trapped in those damn things, I was finally free.

I was in Oregon, visiting my parents. I had officially moved out of my home and was now rid of the last physical reminder of my injury. The feeling was incredible.

“How does that feel?” my childhood doctor, Dr. Jack, asked with a knowing smile.

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