Читать книгу The Contestant - Stephanie Doyle, Stephanie Doyle - Страница 10

“You okay?”

Reuben asked the question of Nancy as he and Talia approached the group. Almost in unison the rest of the pack turned their heads as if just realizing that there had been other people in the water with the shark. There were looks of guilt from some, but not from all.

Nancy bobbed her head in answer to his question and Talia crouched down so she could check the pupils of her eyes. A blanket from one of the boats had been wrapped around her in an attempt to prevent shock. Given that her eyes weren’t dilated and she was no longer shaking, Talia reasoned that the woman was in pretty good condition, all things considered.

“It was really a shark, wasn’t it?”

This time it was Talia’s turn to nod her head in reply. There was no point hiding the truth from her now that it was over.

“I was in the water with it. I was swimming with…wow,” Nancy sighed. Then something akin to excitement lit her eyes. “Well, that was certainly dangerous and adventurous, wasn’t it? And I got out of the water on my own. Wait until my husband and kids see that!”

Talia glanced over her shoulder at Reuben at the comment that Nancy had gotten out of the water alone. He merely shrugged and then fell into the sand butt first, his arms resting casually on his knees. He was in a T-shirt and bathing trunks, and the T-shirt was clinging to his skin showing off firm pecks and hardened little nipples.

She recalled his remark about biting her ass, and her body shivered a little. Not because of him, she told herself, just…because.

“Okay, if we are all recovered from our first adventure—” Evan began to say.

“Our adventure? I don’t remember seeing you in the water, Evan,” Reuben stated.

“Yes, well, I would have jumped in to rescue you all of course…had that been necessary. Thankfully, it wasn’t. So let me explain the next phase of the game,” he said quickly.

“As I mentioned, for some of the early contests, we will be pitting team against team. Team one—Tommy, Marlie, Gus and Sam—against team two—Iris, Nancy, Talia and Reuben. You all will be sharing one camp, but for the team that wins a game, each member of that team will receive one of the items you chose and ranked in order of necessity before the show began. The losing team will receive nothing.

“Remember, this isn’t about politics. It’s about Darwinism. Anyone on the losing team will have the opportunity to pull themselves out of the game citing that they are a weak link. If no one chooses to leave, then as a group you will vote to decide who the strongest member of the team is. Then that person, and that person alone, can choose to eject who he or she considers the weakest link. Or not. It’s that person’s call. It’s a game of attrition, folks. Eventually, most of you will be broken to the point where leaving will be your only choice until there is only—”

“Hold it,” Joe called out. “I’m low on juice.” He lowered the camera off his shoulder and took a look at the battery gauge on the pack that was hooked around his waist. “Dino, focus in on Evan so we can get this last shot, will you?”

Dino, who had been circling the group trying to catch the riveted faces of the contestants, Talia assumed, steered his camera in the direction of Evan.

“We need that last line again,” Joe told the host.

“Eventually, most of you will be broken to the point where leaving will be your only choice…until there is only one person left.”

“Got it,” Dino called. Then he also lowered the bulky camera from his shoulder.

Seeing both cameras turned off, Talia breathed a sigh of relief, then chastised herself. She was going to have to get used to this if she planned on sticking it out for the next few weeks. Or months.

Could it go that long?

She turned and saw Reuben leaning back on his elbows, his face toward the sun, almost ridiculously relaxed considering what they just had been through. He certainly looked comfortable in this element despite being a city boy. If he was telling the truth about that. In a game like this it was hard to know.

“Okay, let’s head out,” Evan suggested.

“To where?” Reuben wanted to know.

“There is an inlet at the other end of the island. We’ve put up some shark netting across the gap so it will be safe to fish. You’ll camp on that beach,” Evan explained as he directed everyone back to the boats.

“Then why in the hell did you drop us off here?” Gus questioned, clearly irritated with the host.

“The inlet is too enclosed,” Joe explained. “There wasn’t enough good light for filming and out here the water is clearer so we could get shots of some of the fish.”

“TV reality as opposed to real reality,” Talia muttered. She wasn’t going to let it bother her. This was a game for entertainment that she was playing for money. Like Wheel of Fortune. If they wanted to film in good light, that was fine by her. “Are we going to have to swim again from the inlet to the beach?”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly,” Nancy objected as she got to her feet. “Not after what happened.”

“No,” Evan told her. “We’ll take you by boat. Then one boat will go back to the yacht, and the other that has our equipment, the radio and some emergency kits will stay on the island in another part. But it will be hidden and only I will know the location of the boat so don’t think of trying to look for it or trying to get any information from Joe or Dino.”

Talia rolled her eyes at Evan’s attempt to sound menacing. The man was about as threatening as a schoolgirl.

They all loaded back into the boats, each team sticking together, and cruised around the island to where the beach jutted out and then into the inlet that Evan had described. The vessel slid over the netting and Talia could see everyone watching it, wondering if it would be enough to hold back a shark intent on getting inside. It was impossible to know. All they could do was have faith. A lot of it.

The gap between the two stretches of land was only about thirty feet wide. The shape reminded Talia of a horseshoe that was pinched at the top. And she now understood what they meant about the light. The foliage on either side served to shade the inlet, darkening it to the point that only beams of sunlight broke through. The water seemed a darker, deeper blue. More menacing than the previous site in many ways because you couldn’t see beneath the surface.

At the base of the inlet was a stretch of white beach bordering the water. To the left it looked as if the water moved even farther inland creating what Talia imagined would be a lagoon, although she couldn’t see it from her position. The pure white sand was guarded by the trees, bushes and brush. She noted the palm trees, banyan trees, bamboo shoots and massive ferns, all indigenous to the South Pacific. No need for any fake scenery here. It looked just the way it was supposed to look—a remote tropical island.

For the first time she considered that this place, this island would be her home for a while. She wasn’t displeased. It was spectacularly beautiful. Turning away from the view, she studied the people in the boat, trying to assess their reactions, wondering if they saw what she did—a secluded beach protected from the harsh sun by shade and a lagoon that would make for easy fishing.

For her, it was a place where she could live for as long as she needed.

Iris was smiling softly. Nancy still looked a little out of it, no doubt envisioning how she would relay the story of her close encounter with the shark to her ex-husband. Reuben, predictably, was giving nothing away. But when he realized she was watching him, his mouth turned up in what she was coming to know was a half smirk, half smile.

“Looks a little bit like paradise, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” she replied casually.

“Then I guess that would make you Eve.”

“And I guess that would make you the snake,” she returned, refusing to fall for his crude charm.

Undeterred by her sharp tongue, he tilted his head back and laughed full out. Quickly, she looked to the view so he wouldn’t see her own smile. If this was going to be home, then these people were going to be family. Learning to live with them would be as much of a challenge as surviving the elements. But dealing with Reuben, Talia sensed, was going to make those other two obstacles seem easy in comparison.

What in the heck was she going to do if it ended up just the two of them in the end?

Deciding that she was borrowing trouble she didn’t need, Talia instead focused on the immediate situation. The boats landed and everyone unloaded themselves and their belongings to the beach. Backpacks were tossed on the sand in a rough circle as a marker for the most likely camp. All except Tommy’s, that is, which was firmly on his shoulders.

One of the boats took off for the yacht. “How far away are we from the yacht?” Sam asked Evan. “I mean, in case there is a real emergency.”

“It’s anchored about two miles off shore,” Evan explained. “And I contact them daily by radio. Also if something serious were to happen, we’re not that far from the coast of Australia.”

“And what about you guys?” Tommy asked, pointing to the two cameramen. “Where do you guys stay?”

“That we can’t tell you,” Evan said. “It will be easier for you this way, so you’re not tempted to find our camp. Joe and Dino will take shifts filming throughout the day. At night, for the most part, you’ll be on your own. We’ll leave you with a walkie-talkie that should be used only in an emergency. That’s it. Any other questions?”

“Yes, where do I go to get my nails done?” Marlie laughed at her own joke, and so did Tommy. They were the only two.

“Okay, Joe and I will head back. Dino, you can film until your pack runs low and let us know when to pick you up.” Evan turned over the walkie-talkie to the cameraman. “For the rest of the day I suggest you guys concentrate on building a camp. I don’t have to tell you that fire is your first priority. And I’m allowed to tell you that not too far inland is a freshwater stream. The water should be boiled before drinking it, but there is more than enough for everyone. We’ve left a metal bucket at the stream for you to use. Tomorrow will be your first ‘necessity event.’ Oh, and you will all need these.”

Evan reached into the boat and pulled out a waterproof sack. He unzipped it and Talia could see what was inside. Eight portable microphones. Reluctantly she took one. It had a clip that she could hook onto her shorts. She’d insisted on the jeans as strongly as her father had insisted on the bikini.

“After all, girlie, showing a little skin might get you some new endorsement deals.”

Her last commercial after the Olympic games had been for Ace bandages. She’d taken half the money and paid a semester of college. She’d given the other half to her father, who turned around and used it to finance a search for a legendary pirate’s sunken treasure in the Caribbean. He didn’t find it. But he’d had fun.

“And isn’t that what life is about, girlie?”

Maybe it wasn’t too late, she thought sinisterly. Maybe she could still turn him over to Rocco and ask the loan shark not to be too rough. It was a definite possibility.

The rest of the group imitated her action with the microphone, then stood back as Evan and Joe got back into the boat and headed out of the inlet. Dino hefted the camera on his bulky shoulder and got to work.

“Okay,” Gus began. “This is the part where we start telling each other what to do because we each think we know best. So before that happens and we all get pissed off, does anyone have any serious camping experience?”

Talia raised her hand. So did Gus. “Then how about we try getting a fire started,” Talia suggested. “Someone else should go for water. And we’ll need something to sleep on.”

“Why?” Tommy wanted to know. “We can sleep on the sand. It will be soft.”

“And filled with sand mites that will eat you alive. Trust me.”

“I can get the water,” Iris volunteered. “I’ll take Marlie and Nancy.”

“What?” Tommy said sneering. “You think girls can find water better than men?”

“No, she thinks you, me and Sam are the best candidates to get wood for the fire, and logs and ferns for us to sleep on,” Reuben told the younger man. “You got a problem with that?”

And there it was, Talia thought. The first gauntlet being thrown. Reuben was immediately stepping into the role of alpha male and was all but daring Tommy to try and take it from him.

“Whatever,” Tommy muttered. “Let the girls go find the water.”

Round one: Reuben.

She wasn’t surprised.

“How do you want to do this, Gus?” Talia asked him, indicating the method they would use to start the fire.

“I’m pretty good with two sticks.”

Talia understood that meant scraping one stick that served as a spear against the other that served as a shell to create enough friction to cause a spark.

“Then let’s start looking for something that will work, as well as some dry brush,” she concluded.

All at once people were moving. Deciding to follow the men or deciding to follow Marlie, it was quite obvious who Dino was going to film. Talia for one was glad to see him go. Meanwhile, Reuben pushed into the brush surrounding the beach, instructing Sam and Tommy on what they were looking for.

Gus found the first piece of the puzzle—a thick, dry piece of bark that was curved. Talia paired it with a stick that had a sharp point. Then they found some stringy remains of a palm leaf that would serve as kindling and got to work.

Talia held the bark in place and watched as Gus made quick back-and-forth motions with the stick. The tip snapped off but he continued to work it in staccato thrusts. In the meantime, Reuben gathered some significantly sized pieces of wood that he dropped near Talia for use when the fire finally caught.

She glanced at the pile quickly. “We want the driest pieces you can find.”

“Oh. The dry wood. Sure, no problem. I’ll just go to the dry side of the island.”

She ignored his sarcasm and instead concentrated on the small pile of brush they’d placed where the bark and stick connected. She could feel the bark growing warmer, but that was a long way away from hot.

“I’m done,” Gus panted. “I need a break.”

They switched tasks and Talia worked the sharp branch against the bark. The key was consistency. Hard, fast strokes delivered unceasingly would not only create the friction they needed, but also exacerbate it.

“That’s it. Keep it going.”

“I’m getting tired,” she warned him, preparing him for the next switch. “Now.”

Moving fast so as not to lose the momentum or the heat, they switched and Gus went back to work. After a time, they switched again and Talia was working the stick. Around them the men already had brought back enough materials to set up a mat to sleep on for the night and Iris had returned triumphantly with a pail of water.

Their tasks complete, the group focused on Talia and Gus. The tension was tangible considering the stakes. If this worked, they could boil water and have some warmth tonight. If they failed, everyone would suffer. As the sun started to set, and all of their clothes still damp from the earlier swim, it was clear that the group was starting to get a little cold and very thirsty.

Talia worked the stick in her hands, feeling it scrape against her palms. Blisters had already formed and burst making her hands slick with blood and ooze. Still, she worked, beyond the pain in her shoulders, beyond the stinging and beyond the fatigue.

Moving past pain was nothing new to her. She’d done exactly that each day of her training. It was expected, by her coach and by her. It might have been years since she’d pushed herself quite this hard, but the old routine came back like riding a bicycle.

“You’re bleeding. Stop and let me finish.” Reuben was standing over her shoulder and evidently could see the blood coating the stick in her hands.

“I’m almost there. I can feel it. Gus?”

“There have been a few embers,” he reported. “But nothing’s caught yet.”

“I said stop. You’re hurting yourself.”

She shot a glance at Reuben, which she hoped sent the message to back off. He was doing it again, laying down the gauntlet and expecting her to bend to his will.

Fat chance.

“If you don’t stop, I’m pulling you off.”

“What’s your problem, man? Let her finish.” This came from Tommy who was apparently already annoyed with his older, stronger counterpart.

“Yeah.” Marlie backed up Tommy, her loyalties formed.

“Honey, your hands are bleeding,” Iris commented.

“Oh my goodness, blood.” Nancy, it seemed, was squeamish around the stuff.

Talia could sense that her time was running out. Despite the protests from the group, she understood, probably better than anyone, that Reuben wasn’t going to be swayed once he set his mind to something. She knew because she recognized the trait in herself, which was why she couldn’t stop when she was so close. With even faster strokes, she pushed the stick harder and…

There it was. Red embers catching against the dry strands. Then a small single blue flame dancing among the brush.

“You got it,” Gus proclaimed.

She didn’t need to be told. Gently she backed off the stick. “Add a little more brush to the bark, not too much. You don’t want to suffocate it. Fire needs to breathe.”

But Talia could see that Gus knew his way around the process. Slowly they added bits of debris, blowing gently on the small fire to give it the oxygen it craved until there was a significant flame.

“Over here,” Sam directed them. While Tommy and Reuben had seen to the bedding, Sam had stacked a tripod of wood and packed it with more driftwood and sun-singed palms that would serve as kindling.

Eight pairs of interested eyes, and one spectator with a third eye, watched as the fire caught and surged inside its new home.

“We’ll have to take shifts so that it stays lit at all times,” Gus told the group. “We don’t want to feed it so that it gets too big, and we want to make sure that we can transport some of it if it rains.”

Talia turned her hands over and studied her now dirtied and bloodied appendages. “Yes. I don’t want to have to do that every day.”

Reuben walked over to her and circled her wrists with his hands, holding her palms up for inspection. He grimaced, then tugged her toward the water. “I told you to stop.”

“And I ignored you. You might have to get used to that from me. I’m not Tommy.”

He pulled up short and glared at her. “That much I have figured out.” Forcibly, he dunked her hands in the water.

Since rinsing the wounds had been her plan, she didn’t fight him. She figured part of her strategy for dealing with him would be to conserve as much energy as possible. As long as they were headed in the same direction, she had no problem letting him take the lead. Then when it came time to buck him, she’d have the wherewithal to do it.

Together they bent over the salt water up to their elbows. Talia watched for any signs of smaller predators that might be attracted by the blood, but stopped worrying as soon as she saw her hands were clean.

“I don’t need you getting an infection that would take you out of the game.”

“Worried about me again.” It was more of a statement this time. She shook her head. “First saving me from the shark, then from myself. Who’s the Pollyanna now?”

“I have my reasons” was his only response.

She straightened and looked at her hands. Pieces of skin were missing but, other than that, she was fine. “I know you do.”

He narrowed his eyes to study her. “What do you do? I mean back in the real world.” It was unexpected. He’d been so insistent about keeping his own secrets that she felt taken aback by his sudden curiosity.

“What do you do?” she countered.

He scowled at her nonanswer. “I asked you first.”

“So?”

He huffed then shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really do anything anymore.”

“Then you’d better hope you do well in this game. It sounds like you could use the money.”

With that she left him and made her way to the group. The fire was gaining strength among the logs. Gus and Iris were creating a makeshift skewer that could hold the bucket for boiling water and would also be useful for when they started catching fish.

Reuben rejoined the camp and found his backpack. He reached into it and pulled out a sealed plastic bag then stepped in front of Talia cutting her off from anyone watching.

“Let me see your hands again.”

“They’re fine.”

“Hey, camera guy,” Reuben called out to the man who was currently filming the fire as if it were another contestant on the show.

“Dino,” the portly man answered, supplying his name without stopping his filming.

“Right. Do we have a first-aid kit?”

“There was one in the boat.”

That was answer enough since the boat was gone. Talia heard Reuben muttering under his breath, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. He opened the bag and extracted two T-shirts. One white and one black. Both dry.

“Nice trick,” she noted. All her stuff was wet from the swim. She planned to lay everything out overnight to dry and realized she should have planned better. A dry shirt to change into would have felt good. She couldn’t help but be somewhat annoyed that Reuben had been one step ahead of her in that regard.

“Lucky for you I thought of it. We’ll use them as bandages.” He started to wrap one of his shirts around her hand, but she pulled it back.

“I don’t need your help,” she countered.

“They need to be covered. You scraped them raw and bugs will have a feast if you don’t wrap them up.”

He was right. She winced at the image of bugs eating the exposed flesh. But still she didn’t understand his motivation.

“Is this another way of flirting with me?” And more importantly, was he flirting with her as part of some strategy to win the game? Or did he simply want to get her into bed?

He looked up from his task and she could see his white teeth. “I don’t flirt, sugar. I don’t need to.”

“Then I don’t get it. Why all the concern? You said yourself this game is about everyone fending for themselves.”

“It is. Or at least it will be after we get a few of the others off.” He took a step closer to her, invading her space. “But for now I need you.”

Uncontrollably, her breath caught in reaction to his nearness. “And when you’re done needing me?”

“I’ll break you like a bad habit.” His smile grew wider, even as he took a step back and reached for her other hand to wrap up.

“Good to know,” she muttered.

“I play to win.”

Talia lifted her chin, instinctively reacting to the challenge in his tone. “So do I.”

“Should be an interesting game.”

He finished and Talia noted the solid job he’d done with the makeshift bandages. The shirts were tied loosely enough so that her wounds would get some air, but securely enough to keep any critters out. The man understood the basics of first aid, it seemed.

They moved closer to the group, who were now circled around the fire. Clothes were being laid out to dry and everyone was picking a spot on the bed they had crafted. The men had done a good job of finding enough big logs and securing them together with leaves and vines to make what was essentially a large raft, then covering it with palms that had been rinsed in the water first. It wasn’t as soft as sand, but it was definitely smarter.

Talia glanced down at the last two spots left to her and Reuben on the end.

“You’ll take the inside spot,” Reuben told her, dropping his sack to claim his place.

“Great,” she murmured. She was going to be sandwiched between Gus and Reuben. On the plus side, she’d have the benefit of their body heat. On the downside, her body was reacting a little too warmly to the idea of sharing space with Reuben.

Eventually the sun finished its descent over the western horizon and Dino called to Evan for his escape. Building the camp had left them little time for gathering food or trying to fish, so the general consensus was that they would go hungry tonight and start early in the morning. At least they had been able to boil the water so that everyone had something to drink.

“Wow, my stomach really hurts,” Marlie whined.

They were circled around the fire, no one yet ready to call it a night. The air was beginning to cool and Talia watched as a scattering of clouds drifted overhead, periodically blocking her view of the fabulously starry sky. She was dry, warm, a bit hungry, but overall quite content.

She’d forgotten how much she loved camping. As a family, she and her parents had taken trips several times a year before her mother had gotten sick. Then after she was gone, Talia and her father had continued the tradition. It had been difficult at first trying to pretend to have fun when they both knew how much they were missing the same person, but eventually she and her dad had been able to take comfort in each other. They’d developed a camaraderie that hadn’t existed before and had become a unit of two.

Unfortunately as she’d grown into her teens, her training and competition schedule had left them little time for vacations. She made a mental note that when she got back to civilization she was going to rekindle this particular tradition. If she didn’t decide to murder her father…then she would ask him to come along, too.

“You’re just hungry,” Gus responded to Marlie’s complaint.

“Are you sure? What if it’s some kind of parasite in the water?”

“No one else is feeling sick, dear.” The soft words came from Iris. Talia could see she was rolling her eyes at the young woman. Iris and Talia shared a conspiratorial smile.

“But it really hurts,” Marlie complained, this time with a high-pitched quality in her voice that had Reuben, who was on Talia’s right, clicking his teeth together as his jaw clenched shut.

“Are you kidding?” he asked. “This is day one.”

“So?” Marlie’s lower lip protruded in a pout worthy of a three-year-old.

“So if you can’t handle a few hunger pains, little girl—”

Talia reached out and patted his hand, stopping what she imagined would have been a blistering tirade. After all, it was day one. There was no point in him making enemies of everyone.

“I have an idea,” Talia suggested. “Why don’t we play a game? It will take our minds off how hungry we are.”

“Good idea,” Sam said, backing her up.

“What kind of game?” Tommy wanted to know.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “How about we go around the circle and say what each of us would do with the million dollars if we won?”

“I’ll start,” Iris began. “I’m going to buy a luxury condo in an over-fifty community. There’s one I’ve got my eye on. It’s got a pool and a community center that holds bridge tournaments every month.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with the money other than I hope it will keep me from having to be one of those greeter guys at the local Wal-Mart. I really hate those guys,” Gus explained. “It’s not about the money for me. I really came to see if I’ve still got it.”

“You did a pretty good job with the fire,” Talia pointed out.

“Yes, I did,” he said, smiling proudly. “I think maybe I’d get a log cabin. In the woods somewhere near a lake where I can fish all day long.”

“Fishing? Boring,” Tommy groaned.

“You think, huh? Well, what’s your big idea?”

Tommy was sitting back, his weight resting on his palms behind him. “That’s easy. I’m never going to work again. No more bullshit ‘do this’ and ‘do that.’ No more waking up at the same time every morning to do the same damn thing every day. I’m just going to be, you know. Just be.”

Talia heard Reuben muttering again, and could only imagine what he was saying under his breath.

“I know what I’m going to do,” Marlie chimed in. “First, I’m going to see what kind of exposure being on this show gets me in the entertainment industry.”

Talia took in the tiny triangles of cloth barely covering Marlie’s chest and decided that the twenty-year-old didn’t have to worry about being underexposed.

“Then I’m going to hire a manager because really the only way to get an agent in Hollywood is to have a quality manager. And I’ll need a publicist. I mean, a publicist can make all the difference in a career. Oh, and, of course, implants.”

“Of course,” Talia concurred tongue-in-cheek and watched every man’s head turn as if pulled by some natural force in the direction of Marlie’s breasts.

“I think you look good now,” Tommy said in what Talia assumed was an attempt to lay the groundwork for a seduction. He was going to have to get behind Dino though, who it seemed had already laid a claim.

“Oh, I know. But in Hollywood bigger is really better. For boobs, anyway.”

Talia had to swallow a chuckle. Then she glanced at Nancy who was currently checking out her own significant chest, probably thinking that being bigger had never gotten her anywhere. And Talia resisted the instinctive urge to check out her own two handfuls to see how they measured up. Not that she had to look. It seemed Reuben already had his eyes on them. She met his blatant stare with a scowl, but he wasn’t intimidated in the least. He did, however, mouth the word perfect.

Ridiculously flustered and needing a distraction, she turned to the housewife. “What about you, Nancy? What would you do with a million dollars?”

“I don’t know. I mean, of course I would pay for my children’s education.” Her voice broke on the word children, but she quickly recovered. “I’m sorry. I guess I’ve been a little emotional.”

A little? Again, Talia had to bite back words and instead listened to what the woman was saying.

“It’s just that my husband leaving me for that…girl…really shook me up. I came here because I wanted to prove to him and to my kids and to myself that I wasn’t some boring old housewife. Maybe if I win, I’ll have a makeover and get myself a younger boyfriend. That would show him.” She laughed at the idea, but there was a definite twinkle in her eyes.

“See, now I’m going to be predictable,” Sam explained. “I came here because my therapist said it would be good for me. I guess I’m having what you call a midlife crisis. So if I win, I want what all fortysomething guys going through a midlife crisis want…a cherry-red Porsche so I can get a hot young girlfriend.”

There was a smattering of chuckles, then the group grew quiet and looked to Reuben who was sitting next to Sam. A moment passed where Talia thought he would stick to his strategy and say nothing about himself. She was about to speak up when he blurted out his intentions for the money.

“I’m going to buy a bar.”

That was it. No other explanation forthcoming, but he’d played along and Talia figured that counted for something. He was at least making a small effort to be a part of the group. She wasn’t sure why, but she thought that was important.

“Your turn, Talia,” Iris instructed.

“My dad…” She hesitated, deciding that it wasn’t really fair to share her father’s screwup with strangers, and modified her story. “He likes to hunt for treasure. You know…sunken ships. It costs money for equipment and information. I would help him do that. Other than that, the money is going to help me bide my time until I get a job.”

“What do you do?” Nancy inquired.

Talia could feel Reuben sit up straighter, knowing he was going to get an answer to the question he’d asked her earlier. Since she’d defied him merely to be difficult, she didn’t see the harm in answering Nancy.

“I’m an accountant.”

“Bullshit,” Reuben erupted.

She turned sharply toward him. “I am. I have my degree in accounting. I still have to take my CPA exams, though.”

“If you’re an accountant, sugar, then I’m a priest. And trust me when I tell you I ain’t no priest.”

“She can be an accountant if she wants to be,” Tommy snapped, more to buck Reuben than to support Talia, she knew.

Reuben’s eyes didn’t leave her face when he said, “Whatever.” He stood and addressed the group. “Game’s over. I suggest we try to get some sleep.”

Talia stood, too, and considered pursuing him for an answer as to why he was so adamant that she couldn’t be an accountant. Just because she was on a reality show didn’t mean she didn’t have a serious life with a very serious career waiting for her back home. Exactly what she’d planned from the moment she’d finished her last dive. Her father’s predicament was only postponing it.

But by the time she made her way to the pseudo-bed, Reuben was already stretched out at the edge of the primitive futon, using his backpack as a headrest. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes were closed. He was clearly done talking for the night.

Everyone else made their way onto the mat, also, people shifting and struggling to get comfortable, using their T-shirts and packs as cushions and blankets. Talia stared down at the small space left to her and considered how bad the sand mites really could be.

Then Reuben’s eyes opened, peering through the darkness directly at her. He uncrossed his arms and patted the space next to him in a blatant invitation.

Lying down with bugs or a snake?

It was definitely a tough call. But she rationalized her decision with the knowledge that she had no fear of snakes. At least one she was pretty sure wouldn’t bite her in front of the group.

Stepping over his body, Talia settled down between him and Gus and heard what could only be described as a sigh of deep satisfaction. It hadn’t come from Gus.

Bastard.