Beyond the Sea by Keira Andrews Read Free Book Online

Which is obviously good since you’re a pilot and all. You must really love it, huh?”
    Brian was silent so long Troy thought he might have fallen asleep. But he answered, “I did.”
    Troy frowned. “You don’t anymore? You said you love talking about it.”
    “ Talking’s different.” Brian sat rigid, and Troy could practically feel the waves of tension coming off him. “It doesn’t make sense, I know.”
    “ No, it’s cool.” Time to change the subject. “Hey, why is it a ‘cyclone’ over here, but a ‘hurricane’ in the States?”
    “ Dunno.” He seemed to relax a bit, and took another drink. “As far as I know, it’s the same thing.”
    “ Have you ever seen one whip up that fast?”
    “ Not anything close to this level. But with climate change, all bets are off. Weather has always had fluctuations, but it used to be much more predictable.”
    Troy briefly stretched his legs out beyond the net and smoothed the foil wrapper of a protein bar on this thigh, making it crinkle in the darkness. His damp sweats stuck to him.
    How is this real life? How is this my life?
    He tried to choke it down, but he had to ask, “We’ll be okay, right?”
    “ Absolutely.”
    He could almost believe Brian when he sounded like that—large and in charge, Troy’s mom would have called it. He breathed through the pang of longing for her and tore a strip from his wrapper, circling it around his finger. “Okay.”
    “ Besides, we’ve got one thing going for us most people in this situation wouldn’t.”
    “ What’s that?”
    “ From what I hear, you’re a pretty popular young man. A rescue crew of teenage girls will probably show up in the morning.”
    The laugh wasn’t huge, but it was warm and good. “The paparazzi will be close behind. It’s impossible to keep those fuckers away.”
    “ Ohhh, I’m going to land an exclusive interview and be able to retire. Too bad there’s no camera in that pack. I could sell shirtless desert island pics and make a mint.”
    Brian’s laughter and teasing was like a warm blanket wrapped around Troy. They were hungry and banged up and probably going to die alone in the Pacific. But they spun out silly scenarios as the night wore on, and Troy could breathe easier.
    And that was something.

 
     
Chapter Three

    “ What was that?”
    Heart thumping, Brian wondered the same thing. He forced his lungs to expand as he listened intently. The sound had been utterly foreign, and undoubtedly emitted by some kind of living creature. A tree or a plant had not made that screech . He squinted into the black void of the jungle, but couldn’t even make out the outline of Troy huddled beside him beneath the mosquito net.
    They were still sitting wedged into the crevasse. Even with a flashlight, traipsing through the jungle at night was unwise. Especially when Brian’s head had spun wildly when he’d tried to stand. He’d slept a little, and the Advil had made a minor dent in the dull pain throbbing from his shoulder blades up through his skull. He should have been hungry, but he’d had to force down the protein bar.
    Mosquitoes whining set his teeth on edge, and Brian wished the jungle would just shut up . The emergency blanket tucked over him and Troy crinkled as he shifted his numb butt on the unforgiving rock.
    This night was never going to end.
    At least he wasn’t alone. Troy brushed against him, warm and alive, his bulk a comforting presence. It was a reminder of why Brian couldn’t zone out again even though his brain seemed wrapped in gauze. No, he had to stay focused. Stay present. It was unacceptable that he’d been so out of it earlier. Troy shouldn’t have had to go out on his own.
    Although, for a rock star, Troy wasn’t what Brian had expected. He’d seemed distracted and stressed during their brief conversation on the plane, but not arrogant or spoiled. And he’d certainly held his own after the crash. Brian wondered what had prompted him to suddenly quit