Hustle (Book 1 in The Hunted Hearts) - SYTYCW Winner #action #comedy #romance

Hustle | Chapter 17

What the hell was that?

For a moment, she worried it was the volcano.

But it's supposed to be dormant. Did it suddenly come back to life?

Shaking her head, she tried not to think about it. This venture was becoming too dangerous as it was—dangerous for her and anyone who knew her.

Her first plan had been to find Jimmy. But with no idea where to begin, she'd decided to follow the map. It was all she had to go on.

With the compass open, she looked at the battered leather. Each lens revealed a distinct set of markings. It had taken her a while to work it out, but there were three different locations to visit, each one on a different part of the island. They ran consecutively north to south. So the first location was a cave, which according to the directions, should be just ahead of her.

She closed the compass by using the small lever on it before dropping it into the left pocket of her combat shorts. Then she folded up the map and dropped it into her other pocket.

The sun burned down through the trees onto her bare skin. She plucked her damp vest away from her stomach and fanned it to try to create a breeze. Her throat was sore, and her lips were dry.

She dropped the duffle bag onto the forest floor and crouched beside it. She unzipped the side pocket and reached for her water bottle, frowning when she discovered that the pocket was empty.

Did I drop it?

She unzipped the main compartment and stared inside the bag, her eyes widening.

What the hell is this shit?

There were knives, ropes and a mess of random items. She plucked the gun between her thumb and forefinger, pulling it out of the bag and staring at it.

What the fuck is this doing in my bag?

Wait. This isn't my bag. I must have grabbed Jacob's by mistake.

She rifled through it looking for water, scowling when she pulled out a box of water purification tablets instead.

Oh, you've gotta be shitting me. Now, I need to find a lake!

She pulled out a weird plastic key. It had a metal thing that looked like a bottle opener hanging off the ring beside it. She stared at the alien object.

What's that for?

The key had no end, just a small pole. It certainly wouldn't lock anything. She shook her head and threw it back in the bag.

Boy toys! God, does he have a set of Tonka trucks in here, too?

There weren't even any clean clothes in the bag. No brush for her hair, no bug spray...She widened her eyes.

There isn't even any toilet roll in here—fuck!

She sighed and shook her head.

That boy needs to learn what the essentials are. How can you go camping without a lighter, without water, without clothes? Idiot!

She zipped up the bag and stood up before hauling it onto her back.

Of all the dumbass things to pack, a knife and some rope. What is he, Tarzan?

She stormed through the thick jungle, brushing aside giant green fronds and heading in the direction of the cave.

As she hurried to her location, she kept an eye out for any signs of water. The jungle was dense and thick, so seeing anything a few feet ahead of her was impossible.

She sighed as she pushed her way past a bushy tree fern. Her foot caught in the vines of a shrub that curled around her ankles, nearly tripping her. She struggled for a moment, breaking through the thick greenery.

She stumbled as her foot became caught in a second web of vines and fell forward onto the forest floor.

She groaned and rolled over onto her back, staring up at the tall trees and blue sky peeking through them. After a moment of checking she hadn't damaged herself in the fall, she sat up and pulled the mess of shrubbery off her feet and ankles.

Once free, she stood up and turned around. She was standing in a wide clearing. There was a path leading off to her left and back into the untamed jungle. Directly ahead of her was the wide entrance to a cave. Above the opening, a huge mountain, which appeared to be made of volcanic granite and jagged rocks, towered over her. Small clusters of grass and flora decorated the ledges of the dormant volcano. She stared up at it, feeling very small beside its towering bulk.

Well, at least it isn't shooting fire at me.

As she was about to enter the cave, she paused and frowned. She scanned the curve of the rock and the jagged stone. She'd seen this cave before.

But that's impossible.

She searched her memory. It took a while for her to remember where she'd seen it before. Then it came back to her. In her father's journal, there had been a photograph of him, a picture of him standing in front of this cave.

But that's impossible! Dad never went to Costa Rica. How could he have been here?

She tried to recall if he'd ever mentioned coming here, but he never had. She chewed her bottom lip, staring at the scene before her. It was the same cave. She was certain of it. In the photograph, he had been younger, around thirty if she had to guess.

That means he was here before I was born, or around the time I was born.

She knew a little bit about his life before her birth, and he sure as hell never mentioned coming here.

There had been a second man in the photograph, a tall, dark-haired man, who had been smiling. She remembered that her father had had his arm around the man's shoulder. The second man seemed familiar to her now, but she was certain she'd never seen him before or after she'd seen that image. There was nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was missing an important piece of the puzzle—that she knew more than she remembered, but she couldn't grasp what it was.

She shook her head. None of it mattered right now.

I need to know what's in that cave.

She dropped the duffle bag and unzipped it, pulling a torch out of it. Jacob wasn't completely useless at packing it seemed. She widened her eyes and dropped the torch at the same time.

Jacob! That's who looks like the other man in the photograph!

She crouched, snatching the torch up off the ground. After zipping up the bag and throwing it over her shoulder, she stood up and strode towards the cave entrance, gritting her teeth. She flipped the switch on the Maglite and peered into the dark cavern.

Dad must have been here looking for the Heart. How did he know Jacob's father? Is that why Jacob shot me? Did dad rip him off?

The answers had to be in here. She stepped into the cave.

Why didn't dad tell me about this?

She didn't like secrets, and she hated the nagging feeling that she hadn't known her father as well as she thought she had.

If he hid this from me, then what other secrets was he keeping?