Tropical Temptation by Nicole Krizek

Author:Nicole Krizek [Krizek, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

The longer they searched for Adrianna, the harder Saric struggled to keep himself in check. He felt as though he was on the edge of losing his cool, losing his mind, and losing her.

Where the hell is she?

They’d been searching for the patch of mushrooms, which grew in a place that only she knew. He and Duran had traipsed through the jungle for an hour until, finally, they’d seen the hovercrate’s battery indicator light blinking in the dark.

“There!” Saric yelled as he began running towards the small illumination.

He jumped over a downed log, and came to a halt at its side. The crate was only partially filled, but there were dozens of mushrooms still growing at their feet. She hadn’t picked them all.

“Something interrupted her,” he told Duran, who was now at his side. “She wouldn’t have left this here, especially during a storm.”

Duran stepped away a few feet and bent down. When he stood, he held objects in each hand.

“What’d you find?” Saric asked.

“A hat and a broken comm unit.” Duran brought the pieces to him, and Saric took them. He knew immediately that they were Adi’s.

“Oh, no.”

Saric’s stomach dropped. This wasn’t good. Her tardiness during a storm, the abandoned hovercrate, her hat and broken device… Adrianna was a responsible and dependable woman; she was never late, never would have neglected her duties to the colony by leaving food sitting out in the jungle. She wouldn’t leave a piece of her gear behind, and would never damage her comm unit on purpose.

Until this point, he’d hoped that maybe she’d gotten turned around in the storm and was lost—possibly holed up somewhere, waiting until the storm passed. But now—all signs were pointed to foul play.

Who could have done this? Was it a colonist? Whoever it was, Saric was going to beat the ever-living shit out of anyone who’d harmed a hair on her perfect head. Had they hurt her? He didn’t see any blood, but the rain could have easily washed it away. If she was hurt…

Saric knew that his thoughts were spiraling, and made a concerted effort to calm. He focused on Duran, his level-headed better half, who was turning in a circle, using his flashlight to look for signs.

“Can you tell which way she went?” Saric asked, mirroring his mate’s movements.

“No. The rain has washed away her tracks.”

Saric’s stomach fell. He closed his eyes and clenched her hat in a fist. This couldn’t be happening—not the same day as he’d been given so much hope for their future.

“Come look at this.”

Duran’s words broke Saric out from his dark circle of thoughts.

“What is it?” Saric asked as he moved closer.

Duran’s light was shining on a rotten log that had clearly been stepped on and crushed in the middle. It was off to the side… not where Adi would have accidentally stepped on it while picking the mushrooms.

Duran swung his light around and spotted a broken branch further away.

“This way,” he called as he began walking.

Saric followed his mate, his light illuminating their path.

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