Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
A few minutes later, the footage brought him to his feet as he saw Giana scaling a ladder over a flare of fire. Koa paced along the width of the house, following the next segment to make sure she was fine. When the morning news coverage ended, he checked online to see if there was an update. Nothing.
The ringing of his doorbell made him jump. Koa shook his head as he walked to answer it. His nerves were usually rock steady.
“Hank?” Koa stared at his teammate. “What’s going on? Is something wrong with Giana?”
“She was fine when I left her. They’re going to be on scene for a long time, putting out that fire. We knew you’d be tense,” Hank said and waved a hand toward the rest of the team, who stood in his driveway. “Come on. We’re going on a run.”
“I thought we had the day off,” Koa said, staring at the group.
“We do. This is to save your sanity and for fun for the rest of us. You’ve got three minutes before we start, then you have to race to catch up to us.”
When Koa hesitated, Caden called, “Time starts now.”
Koa didn’t wait to see him click the timer on his watch. He raced toward the bedroom, yanking off his slouchy clothes to grab training gear like the others wore. He knelt on the doorstep, tying his shoelaces as Caden took off with the others falling into step behind him.
“Fuck!” Koa secured his other shoe and sped off to join his team. At about mile three, his body released the tension that had built from worrying about Giana. That didn’t mean he forgot to check his phone for messages.
Jerico turned into a parking lot, and the other guys cheered. Koa glanced up to read the name of a climbing gym he’d always wanted to check out. “We’re going in here?” Koa asked.
“Caden arranged for us to challenge ourselves in return for some shooting instruction for the owner and a few friends,” Hank explained. “It seemed like a good time to come.”
“This absolutely rocks,” Koa said, eagerly following the others to the door. Just as he walked in, his phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen to see his little girl’s photo.
“Giana,” he called and walked back outside. “Hey, Flame. Are you okay?”
“Sooty and buried in paperwork. I’ll be here for several hours talking to the higher-ups and filling in forms,” she reported.
“I can handle having my own s’more,” he teased, feeling the last of his worry subside. Koa kept his voice light, not wanting her to know how much the danger in her job affected him. “Did you ever give that microphone back?”
“That reporter always does that. This was the fourth microphone I’ve taken from her.”
Koa could hear the aggravation in her voice and guessed that a massive eye roll had accompanied it. “I’m glad you’re okay, Flame.”
“Hank was invaluable. Thank him for me.” She paused as a big group emerged from the climbing gym, talking animatedly. “Where are you?”
“The team guessed I needed to let some steam off. We ran to the new rock-climbing place. I’m standing outside.”
“Go! You can’t let them get ahead of you,” Giana said.
He laughed. She knew him too well. The competition among the team members was fierce in training. They all pushed each other to the highest level. “You won’t be home for a while?”
“I’ve got at least two hours here. Probably three because I’m fielding phone calls as well.”
“I’ll meet you at home.”
“Sounds good. Go have fun,” she urged and hung up before he could say anything else.
Jogging inside, he found the team already scaling the wall in two teams. “A race?” he asked.
“You’re with us, Koa,” Jerico told him, pointing to the empty protective gear waiting for him.
In a flash, Koa donned the harness and strapped his helmet on. He studied the wall and watched Zale already in progress. When he reached too far for his next handhold, Koa yelled, “Go for the red peg, Zale.”
The team’s medic immediately took his advice and shifted to that one. He reached the top a few seconds before Jerico. “Gotcha!” Zale celebrated and scrambled back down to the floor.
As he stepped out of the way, Jerico attacked the wall. Koa scrutinized his style, noting his climbing strength. About halfway, Koa called to Jerico, “Grab the yellow to your right and then step on the blue.”
It would require great hip flexibility for Jerico to stretch a leg up that far, but if he was successful, Jerico could power upward, skipping two steps. Jerico reached for the yellow and missed it. Holding his breath, Koa watched Jerico adjust slightly before shifting his weight. It took a couple of seconds more for the tricky maneuver, but Jerico powered up into the lead and tapped the ceiling.