Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Awkward.
“Okay, I’ll be back,” I said.
I found the well, filled my canteen and looped it over my shoulder. Then I searched the forest floor for firewood, and it took me more than an hour to find a single fallen branch. But it was something, so I dragged it back to camp, sweat pouring off of me when I arrived.
Everything was spinning. I sank down to the ground right next to the branch, but the spinning continued. I lay down, curling into a ball and closing my eyes.
It took so much energy to do the most basic things, but I had to eat, and I wanted to earn my keep.
I felt myself dozing off to sleep right on the ground, and I figured a nap wouldn’t hurt.
When I woke up and looked up at the sky, I could tell it was evening. The smell of fish cooking over the fire made me sit up.
Maksim was sitting next to the fire, devouring the fish. The branch I’d dragged back to camp was still sitting next to me, untouched.
He wasn’t going to share the fish. I realized it when I saw the discarded bones of two of his three fish on the ground next to him. He was tearing into the final one, not even looking at me.
“Did you not save any for me?” I asked, floored.
“Was I supposed to?”
“Do you and Irina not work together?”
“Define working together.”
What a dick. I got up from the ground, grabbed my canteen and drank until it was empty, then walked back to the well to refill it.
I felt better after sleeping, but I was still so hungry I felt sick. I walked back through the camp and headed for the beach.
The only option I had was to gather snails to eat. It took a lot of energy for just a little food, but I had to get something in my stomach.
As I piled snails into my shirt, which I was using as a basket, my mind wandered to Archer. Poor Irina had to spend every night with Maksim. At least tomorrow I could return to my camp and my partner, who had more consideration in his pinky finger than the naked Russian had in his entire body.
I was already motivated to win, but the thought of taking out Maksim brought on a newfound energy. Screw this guy.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Day Seventeen—Seven teams remaining
Archer
“I’ll trade you some of my berries for some fish,” Irina said, dumping the berries she’d gathered in her shirt on the way to camp into a bowl.
I eyed the berries skeptically. “I’m not sure I would eat those. They could be poisonous.”
She shrugged. “I’ve been eating them back at my camp. Since we ran out of rice and beans, it’s all I have to eat.”
“Doesn’t Maks fish for you guys?”
She laughed. “Maks fishes for Maks. Sometimes he trades me fish for berries, but usually he only catches enough for him to eat.”
I stared at her for a second, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. But when she pulled her T-shirt up over her head and took it off, I realized she was serious. I could see the outline of her ribs from all the weight she’d lost since the start of the competition.
Fucking great. It was Day Seventeen. Lauren was exhausted, and she was stuck with Maks until tomorrow. If that asshole didn’t feed her, I’d knock him out as soon as I got the chance.
“You don’t need to trade me anything,” I said. “I’ve got plenty of fish for both of us.”
“Okay, thanks.”
The genuine surprise in her tone sent another flare of anger rippling through me. What kind of a man let a woman starve when he could have simply shared his food?
“Want to swim?” Irina asked.
“No, I’m” I looked up from the fish I was cleaning and saw her dropping her bikini top on the ground.
What the hell? I quickly ducked my head and focused intently on separating the filets from the body of the fish.
“I don’t like tan lines,” she explained, sounding amused. “And I don’t mind if you look.”
I looked—but at Nutter instead of her. I widened my eyes to express my shock, and he grinned from behind the camera. I was grateful he was here and I wasn’t alone with Irina, because I wasn’t comfortable hanging around alone with a naked woman who wasn’t my girlfriend.
As soon as I heard Irina leave camp, I relaxed for the first time since this morning. The producers had thrown us a hell of a curveball, and I had to keep reminding myself it was temporary.
It took me about an hour to get the fish cleaned and cooked, and I made a batch of rice, too. When Irina walked back into camp, I averted my gaze.
“Can you please put your clothes back on?” I asked her.