Blooming in the Wild Page 0,79

side of camp. She’d sure gotten her confidence back the moment they stepped onto land. Oh, well, preferable to the humiliation and fear he’d seen in those black velvet eyes on the yacht.

Despite their loads, Bella set a swift pace up into the trees, not even slowing at the lower grotto.

“We can probably stop here,” Joel said.

“Yeah,” panted Tanah. “I have to rest.”

“Matt needs to stop,” Cassie said urgently. “What’s wrong?”

Joel turned to see the young Hawaiian bent over, an arm clamped to his midriff. “I think I cracked a rib when I dove off that yacht,” he groaned. “I gotta lie down.”

“Are you sure you want to stop here?” Bella asked, looking down on them from the shadowed trail.

“Look at him,” Cassie said, her face crumpling. “He can hardly walk.”

“We’ll hide,” Tanah added, moving over to take Matt’s arm. “Come on.”

“Walk around the pool, and stay hidden among the rocks,” Bella advised. “No one will find you there.”

Joel looked at her. “Aren’t you stopping here?”

She shook her head. “No, we have to keep going. Up to the top of the waterfall. We can keep watch from there.”

She had an excellent point. Joel handed Cassie one of the bags of food and water, patted her shoulder and followed Bella up the steep trail. His head was beginning to throb like a son of a bitch, and his bag of food, water and beer seemed heavier with every yard they climbed.

He reminded himself that it wasn’t as heavy as the packs he’d toted on week-long treks into the wilds on other continents. And that Bella was safe from that crazy woman, and he meant to see that she stayed that way.

Bella ventured off the trail at the top of the steep climb, and Joel followed her through the thick underbrush. He ducked to step in under the heavy branches of a fig. Straightening, he looked around in amazement. He’d peered through the branches at her, but he hadn’t seen all this little place had to offer.

“I’ll be damned,” he said, letting the bags slide to the ground. They stood in a small lava bowl of sorts, open on one side to the sea. It lay mostly in the sun, but their side was shaded by the trees hanging over the pool of water dammed by the lip of the bowl. Joel could see that it would all be in shadow as the afternoon went on. Good, because the air was heating up with the sun, around eighty, by his estimate.

The clear stream trickled over the edge of the bowl. They’d have to stay away from that edge, but they could take a quick bath if they wanted and not be in any danger of floating over.

Peering cautiously through the branches of another shrub, Joel saw that a cliff dropped away below them. They’d followed the curve of the lava flow and were right over the camp. This was the smaller waterfall he’d seen from the boat, he realized.

“Huh. Nice view,” he murmured. “And there are Camille’s men. Now what are they up to?”

The motorized dinghy rocked on the surf outside the little bay. Bending to his duffel, Joel pulled out his little binoculars. He adjusted them and trained them on the craft, making sure to stay behind the cover of the foliage.

“Three men,” he told Bella. “They’re pointing at the Jet Skis we borrowed. They’re consulting. Now, they’re riding two, hauling the other one, headed back to the yacht. Not coming after us yet.” He’d much rather they hadn’t taken the only transportation either, but at least it gave him a little time to figure out how he was getting her and the trio out of here.

He swung the binoculars until he found the yacht and adjusted them, searching the portholes.

“Did you see Camille?” Bella asked.

“No, and I don’t want to. Come on, let’s try our phones again. They should work.” But the same “out of service area” symbol blinked at them from both phones. “Damn it!” Joel flung his phone onto his duffel and lifted his hands to shove back his tousled hair. “I just don’t get it. What the hell is jamming the signals?”

“Maybe Camille is doing that too,” Bella said wryly.

Joel looked at her. “You know,” he said, “you may have a point there. You can buy all kinds of tech gear now online, and if she’s wealthy enough to own that yacht… Maybe she’s got some kind of jammer operating from on board, or hidden in the