Read The Flyboy's Temptation for Free Online

you think they saw us?” she asked when she could speak again.
    â€œNo way to know,” he answered grimly, and drew a deep breath. “But we gotta keep moving.”
    â€œBut we don’t even know where we’re going!” she protested. “We could be heading in the wrong direction.”
    â€œWe’ll follow the river. At least we’ll have access to drinking water.”
    â€œBut you said the river would take us over a cliff,” she reminded him anxiously.
    â€œI guess we’ll just have to be careful.”
    He flashed her a grin that belied the seriousness of the situation and she couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit reassured that they were going to be all right.
    As long as they weren’t eaten.
    Or shot.

4
    J.T. TOOK POINT , pushing through the dense jungle, getting slapped and scratched by branches, as they slipped on slick mud and swatted at the mosquitoes that buzzed around their heads. By the time they reached the river bend, they were both hot, sweaty and hungry.
    â€œThat protein bar didn’t go very far,” Hope said, squinting at the midday sun, breathless. “I feel like my stomach is caving in.”
    â€œSame,” he agreed, looking around. He knew that the Lacandon had plenty of edible fruits, tubers and greens, but he wasn’t about to take a chance and gnaw on a leaf he couldn’t identify.
    And seeing as he wasn’t a botanist, he couldn’t identify much of anything.
    However, Hope had better luck.
    â€œOh!” she exclaimed, moving past him to crouch on the jungle floor beside a leafy green bush that looked, frankly, exactly the same as the rest of the jungle, but when she rose with a triumphant smile and a handful of green pods, he knew she’d found something. “These are edible berries,” she explained, plucking the green buds and pouring a few into his palm.
    â€œAre you sure?” he asked, regarding the buds with uncertainty. “I don’t want to die hallucinating that the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is coming to eat me.”
    â€œThey are completely safe,” she assured him, popping her handful into her mouth. Immediately grimacing, she added, “But no promises on how they taste. Good gravy, that’s a different flavor altogether.”
    He followed suit and experimentally chewed on the berries. “Whoa, you aren’t kidding,” he said, trying to categorize the flavor. “Not sweet, a bit sour...and grainy.”
    She nodded and swallowed. “But edible. We should eat a few more.”
    â€œI’m not sure starving wouldn’t be preferable to putting those things in my mouth again, but I’ll take your word for it.” He accepted a few more round green buds and hastily tossed them back, chewing quickly so he could get it over with. “What I wouldn’t do for my meatball sub,” he groused.
    Hope commiserated, swallowing quickly. “Never been a huge fan, but right now I’d go face-first into that sub if it were in your hands.”
    J.T. laughed and pulled the water canteen to wash down the jungle gunk. “Here, take a few swigs. The aftertaste is a killer.”
    They shared a few drinks and then surveyed their situation. “Best guess, this is the Lacanjá River. If we follow it, we should run into a few villages. With any luck, we can hitch a ride to one of the bigger cities closer to Guatemala or Belize. From there we can regroup and find another plane.”
    â€œAnd what if this isn’t the Lacanjá River, but some other tributary and we end up more lost than ever?”
    â€œThen we’re going to be eating a lot more of those disgusting berries,” he said grimly. But, God, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
    â€œThat’s not a great prospect,” she said.
    â€œTell me about it.”
    They wound their way along the river’s edge, slipping and sliding, landing more than once in the water, before