Page 81 of Wandering Wild
But Charlie...
She’s a casualty in all of this.
And when I turn toward her, seeing her pale, wide-eyed face, I can’t think of a single way to express how sorry I am to have ever dragged her into this nightmare.
She, however, isn’t looking at me—she’s looking at her stepdad.
His remorse is visible as he answers her unspoken question, “I thought you knew it was being livestreamed. Ember said it was a competition, so I figured that was public knowledge. And the terms were sound—there were no red flags in the language or I never would have signed it.”
I remember now that he had to co-sign as her guardian, since she’s underage. He was her Gabe, offering the assurance she needed to place her own signature on the document.
Her eyes close slowly before reopening again, and I feel as if I’m staring into a mirror when I see the storm of emotion in them. But then a steely look comes over her, and she pins a glare on Hawke. “We could have died. Not once, not twice, butnumeroustimes. How can you justify?—”
“We can’t,” he says simply, holding her gaze. “I knew the moment you fell from the waterfall that we’d made a mistake, and I didn’t breathe at all as I watched you resuscitate Zander. But by then...”
“By then, the world was invested,” Gabe jumps in.
“And despite Rykon’s name being in the title of the show,” Scarlett says, “there’s an entire board of executives who call the shots. The streaming numbers were so astronomical that they told us to wait and see how it continued playing out.”
“We wanted to come and get you,” Bentley says, his first words since we arrived. “And we would have, regardless of our orders, if not for the rain starting back up. It’s a miracle Scarlett was able to get Rykon and me out during a gap in the weather, but when more rain came, we had to retreat again to avoid the rising floodwaters, so our next chance to reach you wasn’t until partway through today. And by then, you’d already entered the slot canyon.”
“It wasmeantto be dry,” Hawke states, repeating what he told us when we last saw him. “Even with the extra rain, we truly didn’t anticipate you having any problems, so we decided to hold off and keep watching from afar. By the time we realized you’d have to swim through the tunnel, it was too late for us to intervene.”
“And then came the suspension bridge, which should have been the easiest obstacle of them all, since our safety crew went ahead to secure it,” Bentley says. He winces and adds, “Though, uh, you saw for yourselves that the rain caused yet more unanticipated complications there.”
“I’d hardly call the entire bridge decaying beneath us a ‘complication,’” Charlie grits out. “What would you have done if any of those tasks ended a different way? If Zander hadn’t responded to my CPR? If I’d drowned in the tunnel? If we’d both fallen down the gorge? Did you have a backup plan for us dying on live television?”
Hawke places a hand on her shoulder, his dark features serious. “I’m sorry, Charlie. You have every right to be upset.” His gaze flicks to me. “You both do. But if it’s any consolation, what you did—what you overcame and survived—was astounding. I’m so proud of you. And you should be proud of yourselves. This trip is something you’ll never forget, and unless I’m mistaken, it’s already left its mark on you both, in the best possible way.” He looks between us and asks, quietly, “Can you honestly tell me you regret it? Any of it?”
I stare down at the floor, unwilling to concede his point. But the truth is, he’s right. While I still feel equal parts manipulated and violated, I can’t regret the last four days, because they made me realize how capable I am. And more, they brought Charlie into my life.
When neither of us responds, Hawke releases Charlie with a small, knowing smile, then says, “Our medic wants to examine you both, and I’m sure you’re eager for hot showers, so take an hour to freshen up and then we’ll meet for dinner in the hotel restaurant. We can answer any other questions you have while we enjoy our last night together. Sound like a plan?”
My eyes move to Charlie at the reminder that we’ll all be leaving tomorrow, but she doesn’t look my way, and I realize she hasn’t since we learned the truth about the last four days. I wish I could talk to her privately and find out how she’s feeling, whether she wants to rage at the world—or atme—for having her words and actions aired live without her consent. But she only nods her agreement to Hawke and allows her stepfather and Ember to pull her away, not glancing back at me once.
I’m still staring after her when Gabe clears his throat and says, “Shall we?”
He’s the last person I want to be around, but I give a stiff jerk of my head and tell Hawke, Bentley, and Scarlett that I’ll see them soon, before I follow Gabe toward the elevator. As we walk, I notice crowds of people still pressed up against the front doors and windows of the hotel, all trying to get a glimpse of us now that the cameras are off. I wonder what they would think if they heard the conversation we just had, but then a new fear hits me and I ask, “Are the drones gone?”
Gabe is quick to reassure me. “Yes. But if you’re worried, give me your watch. It has the GPS and the microphone, so without it, they’re useless.”
I immediately unfasten the band and hand it over, feeling an odd sense of loss as I remember how the compass kept Charlie and me on track, and how the light gave us visibility in the tunnel.
“You can keep it if you want,” Gabe says, noting my hesitation. “I only assumed?—”
“No,” I cut him off. “You take it.” As much as the memories mean to me, I’ll feel better knowing there’s no chance I’m being recorded from here on out.
We don’t speak again as we enter the elevator and ride it up to our floor. The silence is strained, with me still stinging over everything he arranged behind my back, even if I know it was technically for my benefit.
It’s as we’re walking along the carpeted hallway toward our rooms that he finally says, “Val called earlier today. I know it’ll take some time for you to forgive us both for our roles in all of this, but if it helps, what we did worked.”
I’m distracted by a mirror we’re walking past that shows my silver hair standing on end and dirt smeared across my face, my hiking clothes torn and battered, and every part of me looking worse for wear. Because of that, it takes a second for Gabe’s words to process, but when they do, my neck whips toward him and I breathe, “What did you just say?”
Gabe grins wider than I’ve ever seen. “The producers have agreed to let you stay on as Titan. The decision was unanimous.” He claps me on the shoulder, fully beaming now. “Congratulations, Zan. You did it.”
An incredulous laugh leaves me, throaty and full of feeling, and my knees wobble from the weight of what this means. The studio isn’t terminating my contract. I get to play Titan Wolfe, the role of a lifetime. I can’t believe it. I’m desperate to tell someone, wishing I knew Charlie’s room number so I could go find her, especially since she helped bring this about. I’m not sure if I can wait a whole hour to see her again, but at least my cell will be back in my hands once I enter my suite, and I’ll be able to call my parents and Summer to give them the good news. And Maddox—well, he won’t pick up, but I’ll still leave him a message, since the best friend I know and love will want to hear about this, even if it’s over voicemail.
My euphoria fades as I realize I’ll also need to warn him about everything I shared when I believed the cameras were off. He might already know, but if he doesn’t...
