Favored by Felix Read Free Page A

plucked the woman off the
ground. Felix shouted, started running, his gaze darting from the bird and the
woman to Saber.
    Felix stumbled, cursed. Fuck. Fuck. He
picked himself up, started running again. Saber put on a burst of speed and
dived for the woman’s legs.
    The world seemed to slow as Saber grabbed
her ankles, clinging tightly to the screaming woman and pulling. For an instant,
the bird wavered.
    “He’s gonna do it,” Felix muttered, partly
in awe, urging Saber to maintain his grip. “ Come on. ”
    For a moment it looked as if Saber’s will
would prevail—then the bird flapped its mighty wings and rose into the air,
taking the woman and Saber with it.
    Felix stood paralyzed as the bird raced
through the sky, only moving when the beast flew out of sight. He raced for the
shuttles. The twins were already in one and Leo was waiting in the other. Felix
hesitated in the doorway of the shuttle.
    “Wait. Leo, we can’t leave the other woman
here on her own. She’s your captive. Why don’t you stay with her to make sure
she’s okay? Joe, Sly and I will find Saber and Eva.”
    “No.”
    Felix blinked. “What? Why?”
    “I don’t want to do this,” Leo snapped.
    “But you agreed with Saber, said you’d take
a captive for yourself.”
    “I lied,” Leo snapped again, making Felix frown.
Something was very wrong with his brother. “Look.” Leo visibly calmed himself. “We’re
wasting time. You think someone should stay with the woman, you do it.”
    When Felix hesitated, Leo leaned over and
shoved him in the middle of the chest. Felix toppled back and hit the ground.
By the time he scrambled to his feet, Leo had the shuttle in the air and was
heading in the same direction as the big bird.
    “Fuck,” he muttered then cringed at what
seemed his new favorite word. His mother had been a dab hand with soap during
his younger years and she wasn’t above rapping his knuckles now if she heard
him or his brothers cursing.
    He cast another glance at the jungle and
prayed Saber and the woman got out of this alive.
    A raucous caw-caw came from overhead
and Felix instinctively dove for cover.
    Another huge bird circled lazily then dived
without warning. When the giant bird lifted back into the air, its talons
clutched a hapless zylon. The zylon looked minute in comparison and not much of
a meal for such a large bird. A snack, maybe.
    After another wary glance at the sky, and
with no intention of providing the main course, Felix climbed to his feet and
trotted over to the hut where they’d left Casey Seonaid.
    She lay on the bed, eyes closed, curled in
a ball, her features soft and innocent. It made him realize how guarded she’d
looked whenever he’d seen her around the resort. She’d appeared stressed,
worried, as if a heavy burden weighted her down—apart from when he’d kissed her
on the beach. Then she’d acted sassy and sexy and sweetly compliant—the perfect
lover. It made him curious about her. Her life. He wanted to know more than the
hard facts his sister Scarlett had uncovered during her research.
    He kept thinking of that big-ass bird. How
fast it had been. God, he hoped Saber managed to save himself and the woman. He
shook his head. Nah, that was one thing he didn’t need to worry about. Saber
was resourceful. He’d save them. Felix was sure of it, and Leo and the twins
weren’t far behind in the shuttles. He took another look at the woman and left
the hut.
    Neither of the shuttles was in sight, and
the sky was clear of birds.
    Felix propped his butt on the edge of a
rock and settled in to wait. Time passed slowly and Felix checked on the woman
again. She was still out. He hoped Leo hadn’t given her too much tranq. He
rubbed his hands over his face and paced back and forth in front of the hut.
    Bloody hell ,
this first mate capture had turned into a hot mess that could fall apart at any
moment. Saber would be okay. He had to be. But if he were hurt, injured, then he’d
step into Saber’s