Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Matt yanked the device from his hands. “No electronics for now, remember?”
It took most of his strength, but Trees lurched up and snatched it back. “This is fucking imperative. Life-or-death shit. My head will recover. I don’t know if the same can be said of Laila if we don’t go after her.”
“I’ll look for you.” He pinched and flared his fingers along the screen, scrolling up, then down, before finally settling on an area. “There are a few villages she could be in. I’d have to do more research to narrow it down. That will take time.”
“Hurry. A lot of those villages will be so small they won’t even have a motel, so we can rule them out.”
“Sure. I’ll have something by morning. What do you want to eat?”
“Fuck food. And fuck you. Let’s figure out where she is. I have the rest of my life to eat.”
“You have to fill your tank.”
Trees huffed because Matt clearly wasn’t listening. “I won’t care if I don’t find her soon.”
The other guy sighed and plucked off his cowboy hat. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a stubborn motherfucker?”
“Zy mentions that all the time.” His mother used to tell him that, too. Said he was a lot like his father. Once, that had made him smile.
Trees shoved the thought away. He couldn’t afford this stroll down memory lane while Laila hung in the balance.
“I’m not shocked. I’ll get on this and find some food. You’re not going to get far in your rescue attempt if you don’t eat.”
If wolfing down a sandwich would make Matt finally shut the fuck up? “Fine.”
“Good.” Matt’s phone dinged and he glanced down at the device. “Valeria just heard from Laila again. She asked for your email address. Why would she want that?”
Trees wasn’t sure. Maybe she’d found a way to send him a map of her location or her surroundings… Whatever it was, he’d take any help finding her.
“Give her this address.” He rattled off one that downloaded to his phone. Whatever she sent, he needed to see it as soon as possible.
“Roger that.” He texted the address. “Let’s focus on food until we hear something.”
The audible swoop told Trees the information was on its first leg to reaching Laila. Anticipation gripped him.
An hour passed. Then two. Food came and went. They focused their conversation on the villages southwest of La Pesca. There weren’t many, and even fewer with lodgings. They were discussing the merits of two different ones when Matt sighed and stood from the nearby desk. “How do we know any of this is right? It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Matt wasn’t wrong, but… “I’m not giving up.”
“You’ve made that clear, buddy.” Matt sounded exhausted.
Yes, the guy had saved his life, but Trees couldn’t let up or stop now. “Ever been in love?”
“You going to give me the speech about how, if I’d ever really given my whole heart to a woman, I would understand why you’re so desperate and determined to go after her now, health be damned?”
Trees refused to let the sharp comeback dissuade him. “Yep. Because if you ever had been in love, you’d know all that shit is true.”
“Sure, but I also know if you were being rational, you’d understand that jumping in half-cocked to save her would be suicide.”
They were at another impasse, and the problem was, neither of them were wrong.
“Look, why don’t you try again to shower? Maybe that will make you feel better.” Matt peeked out the window at the nearly black sky. “Because I doubt we’re finding Laila tonight.”
Trees checked his emails again. Nothing. The silence made him antsy. He knew damn well her opportunities to get her hands on Victor’s phone would be few and far between. Hell, it was getting late, and she might already be asleep.
And she might also be suffering. Or dead, the seditious voice in his head warned.
As much as he fucking hated it, as much as it fucking chafed, he doubted he was getting any resolution tonight. It would be smarter to clean up and grab a few hours of sleep, then start his search again. But he wasn’t leaving this fucking country without her.
“I’ll try.”
“Good call.” Matt gave him a hand.
With a groan and another wave of dizziness, Trees lurched to his feet. He took a deep breath to fight the nausea and headed to the little bathroom, clutching the wall along the way. Fuck, he still felt clammy and weak, but it wasn’t as bad. He’d take the small victory.
It took more time and energy to strip than it should. He had to sit to remove everything but his pants. But he finally got naked and stepped under the spray, hissing when the warm water beat down on his stitches. All he could find was a bar of antiseptic soap, but he used it all over, sagging against the wall when his head swam. It sucked to admit that Matt had been right, but if he’d gone out to save Laila like this, he probably would have been more of a hindrance than a help.