Page 1 of Explorer's Revenge
PROLOGUE
Five years earlier . . .
Istare down at the street hundreds of feet below, my heart racing with both adrenaline and fear. My toes hang off the edge of the roof seventy stories above the city. The sounds are almost muted up here, the city noise unable to pierce the sky surrounding me. Closing my eyes, I spread my arms to feel the wind like a bird. My hair blows back in the breeze, and I smile as I see myself going over the edge and free-falling to the streets below.
Opening my eyes, I look up at the sky and grin. “Not lost,” I whisper to my dad, wishing he could see me now. The thought of him and the news we got last week has my heart plummeting. For a second, I debate if this is the best thing to do, but I need this feeling. I need to be free of the pain licking at my insides like flames.
I glance down at the city and take a deep breath.
It’s now or never.
Time to take the leap.
Just as I’m about to step off, I hear the door to the roof opening, the telltale creak making me glance over my shoulder to see a confused security guard in his three-piece suit, his walkie-talkie on his hip. His pudgy face pales when he sees me on the edge of the rooftop. His hand comes up in a halt motion, as if that will physically stop me from tumbling over the precipice. His brown eyes widen in fear, his eyebrows rising into his receding hairline.
“Ma’am, what are you doing?” he asks. “Get down now!”
Looking back at the city, I grin before turning to face him, my heels hanging over the edge, my back to the wind that tries to give me a helpful push.
“Ma’am, please!” he yells, blocking his face from the gust to see me. “You need to get down from there.”
“Get down?” I call, reaching up to hold the ties of my pack. “Are you sure?”
“Yes!” he shouts. “Get down now!”
“Okay, if you insist.” I salute him and then tip backwards. I see his screaming face appear at the lip of the roof before I flip in the air and spread my arms and legs. I hoot in ecstasy as adrenaline races through my body and lights up all my nerves, bringing me to life. The weightless feeling makes me laugh hysterically as I plummet closer to the ground.
My stomach flips as it does when you’re falling, and I kick without meaning to, a knee-jerk reaction I ignore. My brain quiets like it always does when I do something crazy. I feel peaceful, just experiencing my body and the excitement.
I see people looking up and pointing, but I still wait.
Holding off . . .
Holding . . .
Now!
I pull the chute with a laugh, and it explodes out of me, hoisting me back into the air. Gripping the handles, I soar abovethe people and traffic, directing myself to the landing area I located earlier, and when my feet touch down, I run to a stop. I look around to see everyone turned to me, but then I spot the camera.
They move closer, so I grab the random spectator’s hand with the camera and put my face near it. “Did you see that? Want more? Then make sure to watch out for me!” I call as I step back, stripping off my pack as I hear police sirens approaching.
“What’s your name?” the man with the camera asks as I shove everything inside the pack. Looking up, I wink as I toss it over my shoulder.
“Maeve. Maeve motherfucking Carter!” I shout as I hop onto my bike and race away from there before I get arrested again.
If only I knew just how much today would change my life . . . .
ONE
WILDER
Five years later . . .
“Did you see that stunt Carter pulled?” Rick, my young brother, says as we ascend in the elevator. His phone is held in one hand, his silver rings glistening in the fluorescent lights. He turns to show me, and I crane my neck down, scoffing at the image of her free-climbing a mountain. Her smile is wide, and her eyes are bright. Despite the fact that she works for the same people we do, she is nothing like us.
We are explorers, while she is nothing but a crazy adrenaline junkie looking for her next fix.
“Carter is a fucking idiot,” I mutter.
