Page 30 of Uncharted Desires

“West . . .” The men on the boat were grabbing something.

He wasn’t listening, still flailing his body.

“West!”

“What?” He stopped, finally turning around to look at her.”

“Run!”

“Wha—”

Her grip on his hand was viselike as she yanked him behind her, barely dodging the onslaught of bullets that went whizzing by. She darted into a dense thicket of brush and rocks, zigzagging around them, uncaring of the branches slapping at her face.

With every twist and turn, Kat had to check on West to see if he was still behind her. She staggered through the brush and flinched from the bullets that pelted the surrounding air.

The gunfire ceased for a moment, and she risked a glance behind her through the trees. The sight of the boats pulling up to the shore made her heart lodge in her throat.

“Shit, they’re coming ashore!”

“Who is it? How did you know they had guns?” he asked her.

“I just had a feeling, and then I saw them lifting them.”

“Fuck, why are they shooting at us?”

“I don’t know, but we need to find somewhere to hide. How does your foot feel?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said through gritted teeth. “Let’s put some distance between us and them.”

Bullets flew through the air and Kat felt something graze her arm, causing her to yelp in pain. They both dove to the ground, squeezing their eyes shut as they waited for their lives to end.

“I’m sorry, Kat,” he said, gripping her hand to the point she couldn’t feel it anymore.

“For what?” she said through gritted teeth, ignoring the pain searing her arm.

“Getting us into this mess. I will never drink on a boat again if we survive this.”

“Can we worry about finding a better place to hide first and then discuss your drinking habits?”

The gunfire became quieter, and Kat realized they must have changed directions. As soon as it was quiet, West dragged Kat to her feet, and they were off again.

Questions raced through Kat’s mind—who were these men? Why were they shooting at them? Maybe they mistook them for someone else, and they could just talk to them? She had little time to contemplate before West yanked her onto a different path, almost pulling her arm out of its socket.

After some time, she passed West. She could hear his footsteps behind her, heavy and labored. He was still wincing from the pain in his foot. They kept running, her lungs burning in her chest. Her body begged her to stop, and her legs felt like they might quit working at any minute. But she couldn’t think about any of that. She had to keep pushing or she would be shot, and then she would never know the feel of West’s lips again, or just what exactly was going on between the two of them. They ran until they reached a steep incline, blocking any further progress.

“Oh shit, we have to climb that?” West leaned against the rocky mountainside, looking up. Indonesian islands were anything but flat.

Kat put her hand on her hips, looking up the solid cliffside as she sucked in gulps of air. It was tall, but the incline wasn’t super steep, and it had easy footholds; they could make it. “This is our best chance of losing them.”

“I haven’t heard gunshots in forever, and we’ve been running for at least an hour,” West panted.

“That doesn’t mean they’re not searching for us.”

The sound of raised voices floated to them on a breeze.

“Quick! We have to go up,” she said.

“No, wait.” He held up his hand, pointing upward. “It’s coming from up there.”