Wilder

Pay attention, jackass.

I successfully steered away from the rocks and hit the drop zone, one of the only clear sites in the entire park. The ground rushed up to meet me, and I bent my knees to absorb the impact, running so I didn’t fall on my ass. Then I cut my chute away, unsnapping the latches, and watched Landon execute a perfect landing.

He shouted in victory as Penna landed next.

“Last as always, Rebel!” Landon yelled out, aware that the cameras were on us.

“Someone has to make sure you sissies jump,” she countered, cutting away her chute.

We met in a cheesy group hug that made the moment perfect, except we didn’t have Nick. We would never jump with Nick again, and in moments like this I missed the arrogant son of a bitch.

“We did it,” Landon said quietly, and we all bowed our heads to meet in a triangle, each taking a moment to thank God we’d been allowed to survive our stupidity.

“One for the books,” Penna agreed.

“For Nick,” I said.

“For Nick,” they agreed softly.

Then we broke, and I caught Leah in my arms mid-run, crushing her to my chest and winding my fingers through her thick hair. This was heaven.

“I’m glad you didn’t die,” she said into my neck.

“I’m sad there’s no red flag,” I joked, but squeezed her tighter.

She kissed me, her relief evident. The tension was gone from her body, the worry erased from her eyes. “I’ll show you some red later,” she promised.

“Is that so?” I asked. My eyes darted over her tight jeans and short-sleeved shirt, wondering what she had underneath.

“See, I told you the weather would hold off,” Little John said, high fiving me.

“You were right,” I admitted, scoping out the gray clouds coming in.

“Badass jump, my friend.”

“It was worth it. We’ve got some great footage,” I said as Bobby walked over with the crew.

“We do, too. That was phenomenal, Wilder. I did worry toward the end there, but you pulled it off.”

“It definitely isn’t easy. The winds are a bitch around here, and those rocks aren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat.”

“Neither are they,” Landon said, pointing to two SUVs marked with the symbols of the local authorities as they pulled into the clearing.

“We’re fine,” I assured him as I pulled off my helmet, storing it in the bag Leah handed me. “Everything’s in order?” I asked Bobby.

He nodded. “Absolutely. We pulled the permits out of your desk this morning. Though I wish you’d let me hold on to them for the whole trip.”

I shook my head. “No way. No offense, Bobby, but it’s my ass on the line for half this stuff, not yours.”

Leah threaded her fingers through mine as the officers approached. By the looks on their faces, they were not pleased.

“You are the jumpers?” one asked in accented English, barely containing a snarl.

“We are,” I confirmed. “Is there a problem?”

“This is protected land. Many endangered animals live here.” They didn’t stop until they were only feet away from us. Penna sidestepped toward me, and Landon did the same, so at least we were more of a unit.

Strength in numbers.

“Do you have your passports?” he asked.

I balked. “What? We’re with the Athena.”

“Yes,” Leah answered, taking out that travel wallet of hers and presenting him with four passports.

I looked at her in question as Bobby and the crew presented theirs.

“Madagascar law. We have to carry them,” she explained simply.

“Thank you,” I answered, thankful that the woman I loved was a hell of a lot smarter than I was, and that she majored in International Relations.

She gave me a tight-lipped but sincere smile as the officers looked over our passports.

“Well, Paxton Wilder, do you have permits for destroying the peace of our park?” the officer asked, speaking for the other three.

“We do,” I assured him and glanced to Bobby who already had a manila folder out. “Every legal T has been crossed and I dotted, I promise.”

“We’ll see about that,” the officer said, thumbing through the papers.

Leah’s hand tightened in mine, and I drew her closer. It was one thing to be all badass in a foreign country, and quite another to put Leah in danger when I had zero clue where the nearest embassy was, or even a basic understanding of Madagascar law. It didn’t help that these guys were not playing around.

They talked amongst themselves, and a sick feeling settled in my stomach, growing every time they glanced up at us. “Everything is legal,” I promised, unable to take the silent appraisal.

“Yes, your jump was sanctioned, though I don’t know how much you had to pay to see that one get through for a permit.”

Bobby looked away briefly and then shrugged at me.

“So we’re fine, right?” I asked, more than ready to get Leah into our SUV and get her the hell out of there. Little John already had the doors open and Brooke tucked away. Good. Now we just needed to get Penna and Leah in.

“Yes, it appears that everything you did was legal,” the officer said with a puckered brow.

“Excellent. Then if you won’t be needing us…” I guided Penna with a hand on her lower back, and Landon took her hand as I took Leah’s again. This wasn’t our first rodeo in a country that tended to take notice of unaccompanied women.