Cabin Fever

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He made his way to her side. “Where do you want me?” Though he’d meant the double entendre, he hadn’t meant to startle her.

She jumped and swiveled to face him, glaring. Then her gaze lowered down his body, slowly. She made a funny little sound, not quite a whimper, and swallowed as her gaze traveled back up and stopped at his chest. She licked her lips and then reached up and began unbuttoning the shirt. All the way down to the waistband of the jeans. “There.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She licked her lips and finally met his eyes. “Women are going to go crazy for this one.”

Disappointment thudded in his chest. Was that all he was to her? A commodity to sell magazines? Wait. Of course he was. Why had he begun to think otherwise? Just because he’d felt a connection with her last night? She was tough, but feminine. Assertive, disciplined, goal-oriented. And he wanted to get to know her better. She obviously didn’t share the sentiment. Hadn’t he learned anything from the break up with Lydia?

“Where’s Piper?” Carly sidestepped past him, heading in the direction of the ruins where she’d sent Piper to change. “Joe, go to Christoph for a little makeup, please?” she called over her shoulder.

Makeup. Great. But, hey. It beat having to deal with the diva. Joe didn’t envy Carly tha—

“Joe!” Carly’s terrified shriek had him racing toward her before he knew exactly where he was going. Was it a snake? Had she fallen down the cliff? His heart pounded double time picturing her injured, scared. He followed the path, rounded a corner and found her hunched over Piper, who was curled up in the corner of two crumbling walls, shaking, gasping for breath.

“She says she can’t breathe,” Carly offered.

He squatted and checked Piper’s pulse. Rapid, erratic. Her pupils were dilated. Not good.

“Any other symptoms?”

Carly shook her head, shrugging.

Joe cupped Piper’s face in his hands and spoke firmly. “Piper, look at me.”

The girl flinched, but her eyes met his.

“Does anything hurt?”

“M-my chest hurts.”

“Are you dizzy? Nauseated?”

She nodded.

“Were you bitten by anything?”

She shook her head. “I...don’t know. Don’t think so.”

“Have you eaten today? Taken any drugs?”

She turned her head, closed her eyes.

He glanced at Carly. “We have a first-aid kit?”

She nodded.

“Get it. And some water. Hurry.”

Carly got to her feet and took off at a sprint.

He turned his attention back to Piper. “Has this happened before?”

Between gasping for breaths she shook her head.

“Piper. Look at me.” He put a finger beneath her chin. “I want you to raise your arms above your head and take as deep a breath as you can, slowly, and then let it out slowly. Can you do that?”

Her panicked eyes stared into his a moment, then she blinked and nodded. Her breathing was already slowing.

He shifted his weight to one knee and gently lifted her arms. “Breathe in.”

She obeyed.

“Now breathe out.”

She followed his instructions and he repeated the breathing commands. Then Carly returned with the kit and the water. After several gulps Piper seemed back to normal.

“Is she going to be all right?” Carly asked Joe.

“I’m fine now. It’s this bloody heat.”

He checked Piper’s pulse again. Steady, only slightly fast. If his diagnosis was correct, she needed more than to cool off. “You should eat something.”

Piper shoved him away and got to her feet. “If you really want to help, find me an air-conditioned building.” She brushed dirt from her outfit, then grabbed her hat and sunglasses from the ground.

Joe took that as his cue to leave and headed back for the bluff. The witch was back to normal all right. Just because he was a trained paramedic didn’t mean she had to listen to him.

“Joe,” Carly called from behind him. He stopped and turned as she jogged up.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” He nodded. “She going to continue the shoot?”

“I asked her to see how she feels after she rests for a while.” She gestured down the path and he noticed she was carrying her high heels by the straps. “Piper insists it’s the heat.”

He raised his brows, highly doubting that was the problem. He remembered the way she’d gone all ashy-faced when he mentioned the word drugs and asked if she’d been drinking. With her reputation, who knew?

“What’s that look about?” Carly scrutinized his face. “You don’t believe her?”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

She grabbed his arm before he could turn to go. “Wait. If there’s something going on that will affect my photo shoot, I need to know.”

Carly had a point. And her hand on his arm was like a cushioned vise. There was no tight grip, but it held him captive just the same. “Look, I’m not a medical doctor. This isn’t an official diagnosis. But, you might want to talk to Piper about panic attacks.”

“Panic attacks?” Hands on her hips, she spun from the waist to glance behind them, then faced front again. “I thought you were going to say something about drugs.”

“Could be stress-induced from a busy schedule, combined with the heat. Find out if she’s ever had an attack or received treatment for them before.”

“Wow.” She nodded, her expression still confused. “Okay, I’ll talk to her and try to keep a closer eye on her.” She pulled her sunglasses off, met his gaze and lifted her hand to his shoulder. “Really. Thank you.”

Joe gazed at her hand, then into her eyes. She licked her lips and swallowed and Joe studied the movements. Without stopping to think, he cupped her cheek and lowered his head. She stepped closer and raised her chin. Their lips almost touched.

“I cannot do this now,” Piper called, coming along the path. “I want to return to the ship.”

Carly jumped back and gave her attention to placating her supermodel.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

PIPER BARELY MANAGED to keep her mask of indifference in place until she reached the line of taxis waiting in the road. She ordered the taxi driver to go away, and then climbed into the backseat and slowly drew her knees up to her chin.

Nandan. He should be with her. If only she hadn’t left him. Her brother had only been ten the last time she saw him.

Squeezing her eyes tight, she dug her nails into her palms. She heard her manager’s—Mrs. Henderson’s—clipped voice in her head. Stop crying!

She let out her breath on one last gulp. Then silence.

Mrs. Henderson had been right. Allowing herself to wallow in her emotions did not make her feel better. She felt worse. Weak. Foolish. And it solved nothing. She’d had private detectives searching for Nandan for more than five years. But it was as if he’d vanished from the earth.

The wind gusted in from the sea across the high bluff, blowing through the palm fronds. Seagulls squawked and other birds sang happy chirping songs. She wished she were a little bird and could fly away.

She set her jaw. If she let it, the guilt would swallow her whole like a boa swallowed a mouse. Then how would she help Nandan once she found him?

Sitting up, she wiped her cheeks and reached into her purse for the bottle of meds the doctor had prescribed for her. Back of the throat, easy swallow. She substituted the medicine bottle for her makeup bag.

A little repair work and she’d be as good as new.

She only hoped they’d believed her story about the heat.

6 (#ulink_6c66d6fc-aaaf-50bb-993a-a330982a5c39)

“YES. THOSE SHOULD work great. Let’s stop for the day.” Carly called to the crew, her voice echoing inside the large cavern. “Thank you, everyone.” She approached Piper. “I realize the cave terrain was rough, but you were fabulous.”

Piper shrugged. “I’m just glad we’re done. I need a drink. Where’s the nearest cantina?” She exited the cave with a swish of her flowing sheer orange cover-up. Her makeup and hair people followed in her wake like courtiers of a queen.