Chapter Three
“Ronin!”
Jett’s brother came out of the bathroom, clad in a towel hung low on his waist with a wall full of steam leaking from the door behind him. “What?”
“Did you see my phone?”
“Why would I know where your phone is?”
“I didn’t ask you if you knew where my phone was. I asked if you had seen it.”
“No, I didn’t see it.”
Ronin sauntered over to the kitchen island, snatching up his phone from the counter and handed it over to Jett. “Here, call yourself so you can find it.”
“That’s not going to do any good if it’s on silent.”
“Well, excuse the Hell outta me. Next time remember where you put your own shit.”
“Leave me alone please. And go back in the bathroom, you’re dripping all over the floor.”
“I wouldn’t be dripping if you didn’t call me out here to look for your phone.”
“Get out of here.”
“Gladly.”
Jett frantically searched the apartment for his phone. The day when he could move out wasn’t coming soon enough. Thankfully, the renovations on the cabin he bought not far from the resort were almost concluded. It would only be another week or two until the contractors finished the job. He was counting down the days and the anticipation was killing him. Living with his brother for the past six months was driving him insane. He’d moved in with him hoping it would make it easier on his finances as he waited for his condo to sell. He had outgrown it and wanted to be close to work and the woods anyway. It wasn’t even a week before he regretted his decision to share Ronin’s apartment. He should have known better, but he allowed his brother to convince him all would be hunky-dory and they’d get along great. Fat chance. They never saw eye to eye on anything and living together only made them go at each other’s throats more often.
The problem was they were too much alike. Their personalities clashed all the time, but Jett knew when there was a time to be serious. Ronin, on the other hand, thought everything was a game and responsibility wasn’t in his vocabulary; unless he was at work. But that was because he had no choice in the matter, otherwise, he’d be out of a job.
Jett flipped the couch cushions, flinging the small throw pillows over his shoulders as he continued to look for his lost phone. He could have sworn he left the on the coffee table when he walked in last night before falling asleep on the couch. He needed his phone. There was no way he could go to work without it. What if someone got hurt on the hike and needed medical attention. Sure, he knew first aid, it was a requirement for the job, but what if something serious happened. What if Eira went into labor and Adonis needed him to take over at the hotel? What if his brother was in a rock climbing accident? So many things flashed in his mind, which caused him to search the apartment at a more frantic pace.
“Where the fuck is it?!”
Ronin stepped out of his room dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and t-shirt. His bare feet slapped against the hardwood floor and he brushed the hair still damp and stuck to his forehead away from his face. “Where did you have it last?”
“If I knew where I had it last, I would know where to look for it instead of trashing the place and wasting my time.”
“That attitude will get you nowhere.”
“Can you just help me find it before I’m late for work? I have a tour in twenty minutes.”
“What did you do after you came in last night?”
Jett stood up straight and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recall if he did anything other than watch T.V. “Nothing. I walked in, took off my jacket and shoes and sat here on the couch. I didn’t even get undressed. I just conked out here.”
Ronin slid his hand in between the creases of the sofa, then got on his hands and knees to look under the couch. “It’s under here you idiot. Lift it up.”
“How did it get under there?”
“How the fuck should I know? You probably kicked it under here with your enormous feet.”
“My feet are not enormous.”
“Says you.”
Ronin stood, handing Jett his phone. “Here, now get of here and go to work.”
“Don’t you have to have to go too.”
“Don’t you check the weather report? It’s gonna rain today. Climbing up the side of a mountain on wet, slippery rocks, potentially falling to my death isn’t my idea of a good time.”
“Shit. I guess I’m going to have my work cut out for me.”
“Why don’t you just cancel the tour?”
“It should be okay if it only drizzles. As long as it doesn’t downpour, the show must go on.”
“Okay, well, if you need a hand just call me. I don’t have much planned for today.”
“I don’t think I will, but thanks. See you later.”
The sun hiding behind the grey clouds made the air outside cooler than it had been the day before. Light rain falling on Jett and his clients wasn’t making the hike easy for them either. He had to make sure they went at a slow enough pace where no one would fall. The last thing he needed was a human hurting themselves. His job was to watch out for them, not cause them harm. He’d asked the tourists if they wanted to cancel the hiking trip for another day, but they all agreed on moving forward. So, there was really nothing he could do if everyone wanted to press on.
The last three hours were spent walking the trails and answering questions about the local wildlife. When they came to a sheltered picnic table along the way, Jett had the guests take a breather and eat some lunch before continuing the small journey into the woods. Usually Jett would make a pit stop at the river instead where there was a small set-up for fishing, but since the weather wasn’t great, he had to divert the group to another, safer trail.
On the way back to resort, Jett was feeling a bit...waterlogged. He loved being outdoors, but he enjoyed it most when it was cloudy and not raining like cats and dogs as it had been for the last ten minutes. All he wanted to do was take a long, hot shower and get some rest since there wasn’t going to be anymore tours for the rest of the week; the guests at the resort had other activities to participate in to keep them busy for the duration of their stay.
Trailing behind the last guest, Jett made his way off the trail and ran up the stairs leading to the front of the resort. He took only a few steps onto the pavement when he heard the loud engine of a motorcycle coming toward him. Before he knew it, it was too late to react and get out of the way. He grabbed the handlebars of the bike, spreading his legs wide as he the bike came to a skidding stop in front of him.
Anger built in his chest at the asshole he was practically face to face, well, face to helmet with. He exploded before the guy was off his bike. “Are you fucking insane?” Jett wasn’t worried about himself as much as he was for the humans. They were much more fragile than he was. “You could’ve killed someone!”
The trim man clad in his black motorcycle suit, hopped off the bike and set in on its stand before he removed off his helmet. What came flowing out of the protective headgear took him completely by surprise. The person now standing in front of him wasn’t a man, not by far. He’d been thrown for a serious loop. He hadn’t even caught the familiar scent of a female. It was masked by motor oil and gasoline, which was why he thought it was a man in the first place.
Long, black hair spilled onto her squared shoulders as she pinned him with her dark gaze. “Am I crazy?! You’re the one who ran in the middle of the street without looking!”
“You’re not supposed to be speeding in this area where people are walking!”
“I can see you know! There was no one out here in the pouring rain until you decided to jump out in front of me!”
Now they were both shouting over the sound of the rain, getting drenched in the process. Neither of them seemed to care that they could barely see each other through the thick sheets of water falling around them; at least Jett didn’t. Jett would have stood there longer to get his point across, but a blinding flash of lightning cracked a few yards away from them striking the Sugar Maple tree next to the building. The woman flinched, but her back was turned away from the scene; Jett on the other hand, had a front row seat to catastrophe that was about to ensue, and he had just enough time to push the woman out of the way of the falling branch.