Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ryker

I don't like any of this. A tenseness is gripping my muscles as we fly deeper and deeper into the rainforest. It's an endless canopy of bright green trees as far as the eye can see.

We're further from civilization than I thought we'd be. I should have tied Gracie to the bed when I had the chance.

"How much further?" I shout to the pilot as I lay a firm hand on his shoulder.

He turns and says something in Spanish.

"Do you speak Spanish?" I ask Gracie over the roaring of the helicopter.

"A little, but I didn't understand that," she shouts back.

The pilot points to a clearing up ahead and says another long string of words I don't understand.

"I guess we're going there," Gracie says.

I shift in my seat as my bear paces around inside. "I guess so."

My grizzly doesn't know what's happening, but he can sense my tension and it's making him uneasy. The closer we get, the more alert he becomes.

We land in the clearing in waist-high grass.

"Where is everybody?" I ask as we look around and see nothing but jungle.

"Salir," the pilot shouts over and over. "Salir!"

"I guess this is the stop," Gracie says as she looks around. "Over there!"

She points to a wicker basket propped up on a rock and then hops out of the helicopter and runs over with her black hair flying around her head.

I grab the pilot's shoulder and squeeze it until he winces. "Stay here," I warn. "Sin licencia."

My pulse is racing as I run out after my girl, but as soon as I'm clear of the rotor blades, the fucking prick takes off into the air and leaves us.

The roaring dims as the helicopter travels further away. I'm glaring at him while thinking of all the painful stuff I want to put him through for ditching us in the middle of the damn jungle. He better pray I never see him again.

Gracie holds up a note and a compass. "It says to walk two kilometers north until we get to a river."

I growl as I look around at the thick jungle. I don't like any of this, but relationships are all about compromise. And besides, I don't have much of a choice now.

"I didn't bring my hiking gear," Gracie says as she looks down at her outfit. She looks stunning in a white pantsuit and flat shoes. Her hair is loose and all perfectly wavy—at least it was before the wind from the helicopter got to her.

"I'll carry you," I say, stepping up to her with my arms out.

She laughs as she steps back and puts her hand up. "That's not necessary," she says, chuckling. "But you get brownie points for the offer."

I scan the trees around us, lift my nose, and inhale deeply. I can't smell anything out of the ordinary.

"What was that?" Gracie asks, looking at me funny. "Did you just smell the air for danger? What are you Chuck Norris or something?"

"When Chuck Norris sees me walking down the sidewalk, he crosses the street."

She laughs as we start walking. "Aren't bear shifters like insanely strong?"

I flex my arm and her hazelnut eyes pop when she sees the size of my bicep.

"Looks pretty strong," she says, breathing a little quicker. "And you heal fast too, right?"

"Yes, but you don't," I remind her. "So, let's be on guard, okay?"

We chat as we walk through the jungle and I'm still a little in shock that this smart, beautiful, talented woman is my mate. The universe really had my back when it paired me with her.

I'll be forever grateful.

"Where do you live?" I ask her. I want to know everything about her. Every single detail. We've been apart for so long and I've missed out on so much. I want to catch up on everything but we only have two kilometers, which is about a twenty-minute walk.

"In a small town in upstate New York," she says. "I'm not a fan. I was hoping to land a job in Manhattan, but it's all I could find. Where do you live?"

"Montana," I say. "It's where most bear shifters live. We need the space to let our bears roam around and they love the mountains."

"I can't wait to meet your bear," she says as she touches her neck.

My bear grumbles at the sight of our mate touching the spot that's destined for our mark. I so badly want to take her in my arms and sink my teeth into her flesh. I want to place my mark on her and claim her as my own. I drop my eyes to the ground instead and fight back the intense urge. Now is not the time.

I keep my eyes out for snakes, panthers, and cartel members hiding in the thick foliage as we walk, but there's nothing.

After a while, I hear the river.

"It's up ahead," I tell her. "Stay close to me."

"I'll be fine," she says, but she walks a little closer. I put a protective hand on her lower back as the river comes into view. There's a motorboat parked on the shore.

I inhale deep and grit my teeth when I smell three sweaty men.

As we arrive at the empty boat, they burst out of their hiding spots, screaming and waving automatic weapons at us. I grab Gracie's arm and pull her behind me.

"In da boat! In da boat!" the leader screams as he thrusts the barrel of the gun in my face. I'm glaring at him as he steps a little too close. I yank the gun out of his hands and toss it into the deep river.

The other two men stare in shock. I move in a blur, yanking the guns out of their hands so fast they don't have time to react. I toss them into the river too, far enough that they'll never get them back.

"In da boat!" the leader screams.

"Okay, okay," Gracie says, stepping out from behind my back with a big nervous smile on her face. "No problem. We'll get in the boat. Right, Ryker?"

I growl.

The leader pulls an eight-inch knife out of the holster on his belt and holds it up threateningly. If an automatic weapon didn't stop me, then a knife certainly won't.

He pulls out two blindfolds and shoves them at us. "Put on! Put on!"

Gracie goes to take one, but I grab her wrist. "We're not putting those on."

The guy waves the knife around and shouts. "Put on! Put on!"

He moves toward my girl, so I grab his arm and snap the bone. The knife falls from his hand as he drops to his knees, screaming in agony. The blade sinks into the ground with the handle sticking up.

"Anyone else want to try and touch my girl?" I ask, glaring at the other two. I'm still holding their leader's broken arm, wrenching it up into an awkward position as he screams on his knees.

Gracie hops in the boat with a forced smile on her face and the other two follow her in. I stomp on the handle of the knife so hard it disappears into the moist ground, then, still clutching the leader's arm, I walk him to the boat.

"Bring us to Hector Contreras," I demand as I finally let him go and sit beside Gracie.

The young-looking one starts the engine and we take off up the river, heading the opposite way of the current.

"This is so fucked up," Gracie says as she clings to my arm while the boat bounces on the waves.

"You got this," I whisper in her ear. "You're going to do great and I'll be with you the entire time."

She kisses my shoulder and looks a little bit more confident as we zip up the river.

The guy is holding his broken arm and cursing at me in Spanish. I just glare at him with a grin on my face.

Hopefully, he'll tell his friends what happens when you try and touch my mate.