Wilder

Then she shoved me backward. My feet slipped and I went under, water shooting up my nose. I got my bearings and came back up to Leah walking out of the pool, her wet T-shirt clinging to every one of her petite curves, her jeans pasted to her thighs. Why the hell was she wearing jeans in the first place?

She was okay, right? She wasn’t limping, and I thought I’d done a good job of cushioning the drop as much as possible, but still. She looked okay. Pissed, but okay.

“Wilder, you’re on!” Bobby shouted from the side of the pool, his clipboard and earpiece fully in place.

I took off my helmet, raked my hair back from my face, and forced myself to walk in the opposite direction of Leah, toward the stage where Landon dwarfed Penna’s slight frame next to the DJ. The music was drumming a deep beat, and usually this was the pinnacle of my high, reveling in another stunt accomplished. Girls, guys, they all touched me or slapped me on the back as I made my way to the stage.

I plastered my fake-ass Wilder smile on my face and took the stairs two at a time. “I want both those fucking rigs,” I said quietly to Bobby as I passed him.

His eyes widened, but he nodded. “Sure thing, Wilder. I’ll have the crew grab them.”

I needed to rip those brake assemblies apart and find out why the hell they both failed. God, that stunt could have gone wrong so easily. I could be carrying Leah to get a broken bone set, or worse, scraping pieces of her skin off the wall where the end of the line was mounted.

Penna gave me a million-watt smile and raised her hand for a high five, but I saw the worry in her eyes. I pulled her into what looked like a celebration hug, keeping my hands way above her waist. Putting my hands on her while she was in a bikini was always weird. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

“Yeah. We need to meet up after. No cameras.”

She nodded and pulled back with a huge smile, then brought the microphone up. “Talk about a wild ride, huh?” she asked with a contagious laugh.

The crowd of students cheered, and Landon raised his hands in victory, but he arched his eyebrows when he looked back over at me. “Later,” I mouthed, and he nodded.

Penna passed me the mic, and I was on. “What’s up, Renegades?”

The crowd went wild, and I shot them the grin I was famous for. “In case you hadn’t caught on, I’m Wilder, this here is Nova”—I motioned to Landon who raised his fist—“this is Rebel”—Penna gave her signature wave—“and we’re the Renegades.” Another cheer went up from the crowd. “We figured since the Summer X Games are over, we’d take a break from winning medals and doing stupid shit you guys like to watch on YouTube and sail around the world with you. Luckily our sponsors agreed. What do you say?”

The crowd screamed.

Landon took the microphone. “Now don’t go expecting any crazy antics on board. We promised to be on our best behavior.”

“As you can see, they’re already obeying those rules,” Penna said into Landon’s mic, and the crowd laughed.

The ship moved away from the dock, and Landon handed me the mic. “This is it, guys. Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?” I asked, using our signature line.

“We’re ready!”

“You little Renegades,” Penna teased with a grin.

“Then let’s get this party on!” I shouted and cued the DJ.

The music returned to full volume, and the students all started to dance, drinks waving in hands. I handed the mic to the DJ and motioned Penna and Landon to the side of the stage before the cameras could get there.

“What the fuck happened?” Landon asked, all business.

“The brakes failed. Both of them.”

A knowing look passed between us. “Before you even ask, I double-checked the assemblies in my room before we left for the tower.”

“Before or after you brought your new Twinkie into the picture?” Penna asked. “She wasn’t part of the plan, and you know I hate it when you go off map.”

“She’s my tutor. Nothing more. And you both know if she isn’t fully invested, I’m fucked. We all are. I was hoping to get on her good side.”

“That plan kind of backfired on you there, brother,” Landon added.

“Tell me about it. Look, I’m not going to get paranoid, but until I get my hands on those rigs and figure out what I missed, we all install our own gear. Deal?”

They both nodded. I hadn’t messed up a rig, and they both knew it, but the only other option was unmentionable, and I refused to think that someone had deliberately sabotaged the stunt, especially once I’d put Leah on there tandem with me. That was the least risky stunt we’d pulled in the last two years, but it easily could have had the worst ending.

“Eyes open, and let’s try to meet up later to talk about the next site. And not a word about this in front of the cameras. Or Leah.” I looked them both in the eye until they nodded.

“Wilder.” Bobby jogged over, his forehead all puckered. He’d been producing our footage the last twelve months or so, and I’d never seen him stress.

“What’s up?”

“The rigs are gone. I don’t know who removed them, but there’s just empty cord. Nova’s is still swinging, but yours are both gone.”

“Fuck,” I swore.

“Eyes,” Penna said, motioning behind me, where the camera crew had caught up.

“We’re all done here guys; you can film the party and stuff, but I’m going to head back to my room and make sure everything is in order to start classes tomorrow,” I said.