Freefall (Santa Cruz Skydivers Book 1)

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2015 Joanne Efendi

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-539-2

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Brieanna Robertson

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To my wonderful friends who kindly gave me a skydive voucher for my birthday. Without you, this book would never have been written.

  My better betas Beck, Lynnie, Sue, and my critique partner Kat. You’re awesome.

  Sammy, thanks for the good times and memories. Love you bestie. Here’s to another twenty plus years of fun.

  And, as always my family, for their continual love and support.

  FREEFALL

  Santa Cruz Skydivers, 1

  Joanne Efendi

  Copyright © 2015

  “You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming? That’s where I’ll always love you Peter Pan. That’s where I’ll be waiting.”

  —Tinker Bell “HOOK”

  Prologue

  Levi

  Legend says that when you can’t sleep at night, it’s because you are awake in someone else’s dream. Perhaps it’s Native American in origin or simply a fabricated story for Facebook, but I have been clinging to that belief, hoping that it’s true. Hoping that she’s dreaming of me.

  It had been two weeks since I last held Andi in my arms. Instead of her being the one keeping me awake and whispering into my ear, insomnia had been my constant companion, never leaving my side. But in some cruel, sick and twisted way, insomnia had also been my protector, looking over my shoulder whenever sleep would come for me, making sure sleep didn’t overstay his welcome. I couldn’t handle sleep, not right now. Sleep’s sporadic visits brought memories, torturing and taunting me with pictures of Andi, replaying our last moments like a slide show on loop, over and over in my nightmare. No beginnings no endings. Just what was and may never be.

  I felt and looked a wreck. A broken shell, empty and discarded by its former occupant. Along with not sleeping, I hadn’t been to work in over a week, and personal hygiene and food weren’t on my list of priorities either. My list only had one bullet point—Andi. It was my fault she was here. I had to make it better. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her comatose form, lying on the hospital bed.

  Leaning in close to her, I slipped my hand into hers, carefully avoiding the IV lines that were sustaining her life, and whispered in her ear. “They say you can hear me. That you know I’m here. Squeeze my hand, anything. Just a small sign that you can hear me.”

  I waited. Nothing. She had been unresponsive since she arrived. Instead, I squeezed her hand, praying for her to respond.

  “Please come back to me,” I pleaded.

  Gently, I brushed my parched lips across her cheek then rubbed my hands roughly across my tired, burning eyes and laid my head next to hers. There were so many machines. Keeping her alive. Keeping her with me. The doctors were wrong. She would come back to me.

  My eyes were heavy with exhaustion, my lids taking longer to open after each blink. As much as I denied and hated sleep for haunting me, I knew my body needed it. But I couldn’t leave her. Not now, not ever again. The methodical beeps of the life support hypnotized me and I fought unsuccessfully against my battle with sleep. Maybe if I closed my eyes for just a second? I felt myself beginning to drift, and I met with my old foe again as he began to pull me under and fill my dreams with pictures. Pictures of Andi that, this time, I hoped would have a happy ending.

  Chapter One

  Levi

  Two weeks earlier

  My head was pounding. Actually, pounding wasn’t exactly the most accurate word I could use. There was also throbbing, pulsating, thudding, and thumping. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to my skull in the middle of the night and split it in two. It was all self-inflicted of course, so I couldn’t even afford myself some pity. In two words—excruciating hangover. My eyes were glued shut tight and my mouth felt like I had chowed down on a bucket of sawdust. I couldn’t even be sure I’d had a good night. My memory of the night was very, very hazy. All things considered, though, if my head was this sore, it must have been legendary.

  I needed water. Maybe I could do without it and just roll over and go back and sleep this almighty hangover off. Unfortunately, my dry, foul-tasting mouth had other ideas. Not to mention my breath. It was like I was breathing out deadly toxic fumes that could annihilate anyone within a one-mile radius. Perhaps if I just cracked one eye, enough to see where I was going, I could get to my bathroom to brush my teeth. I gave myself a pep talk in preparation for the big move. You can do this. I practically dragged my sorry naked ass to my bathroom. My head was about to cave in. I needed more than water to take the edge off this headache. While gripping the basin with one hand for support, I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth, and after taking care of my bladder, I then shuffled my way into the kitchen for some life-saving fluids and ibuprofen.

  Fuck. It must have been one hell of a party. The condo was trashed. Empty bottles of beer and tequila were strewn from one end to the other. The place smelled like bar and stale cigarette smoke. An unknown semi-naked male and female couple were still passed out on my couch, and while I didn’t smoke, judging by the unsmoked joints lined up on the coffee table, my guests liked to light up more than just Camels. Looking around at the mess, I spied a pair of black Calvin Klein boxer briefs on the floor and recognized them as my own. I didn’t remember whipping them off during the night and slipped them back on in case my guests happened to wake up.

  Party rule 101—it’s one thing to show your junk during the festivities while under the influence, but it’s never acceptable to release the dragon the morning after. Unless of course you happened to be in bed with a member of the opposite sex, who was also naked and willing to partake in a morning-after sex session. And seeing as I woke up alone, the boxers had to go on. I squinted at the strange couple that were on the couch, hoping to trigger my memory for any sign of recognition. I came up with a blank. Damn, who were these people? It appeared I had found a rent-a-crowd in my travels last night. Screw it. I’d deal with them later.

  Continuing onto the kitchen, I guzzled two large glasses of water and threw down a couple of ibuprofen tablets. Food would also go down a treat right now. What I would have given for a dish of greasy bacon and eggs. Unfortunately, I had no food in the condo and, even if I did, I doubted I had the energy to cook. I looked in the refrigerator just in case a magic food fairy had come during the night and left me a gift. Nope, empty. Not even any beer. It appeared my guests had thoroughly enjoyed my hospitality.

  What a hell of a housewarming. Mission accomplished. Trash my asshole father’s condo. Next stage, make him pissed. With my ibuprofen yet to kick in, I shuffled back into my room and dialed my father’s direct number.

  Of course, it went straight through to his secretary.

  “Good morning, Levi,” she said in way of greeting, her clipped tones professional to the core. “How can I help you?”

  “Morning, Mary,” I replied, my voice rougher than usual. “What day does the cleaning crew come through? I kinda had a few guests over last night and the pl
ace needs a refresh.”

  “Not until next week, but I can get someone to come around immediately.”

  I was pretty sure she was giving it up to my father. I knew whatever I told her would be relayed straight back to him. Efficient and convenient.

  “Can you make it later today? I still have guests here. Plus, I have a raging hangover.”

  “I will arrange it for two this afternoon,” she informed me. “Will there be anything else?”

  “Yeah, can you also have some food delivered? The place is empty. Oh, and make sure there is some honey in the delivery.” For some unknown reason, since I woke up, I had an intense craving for honey.

  “Will that be all?” Her voice now sounded pissed at me.

  “Yes, that’ll be all,” I told her, and promptly hung up.

  I’ll give him one minute. I looked at my watch. My phone rang almost immediately.

  “That’s got to be a record for you,” I said without greeting him. “Thirty seconds. What was it? The party, or the fact there are still people in your condo?”

  “Levi, grow up, son,” my father growled down the phone line at me. “You’re twenty-five and still behaving like a child.”

  “Derek, you have no right to lecture me.” I could never force myself to call him Dad. I was a thorn in his side. Everything I did was to just piss him off. To make him pay for the way he fucked my mom and me over. “You gave up that right when you left me and my mother.”

  I heard him sigh. I had his balls and he knew it. “I don’t want to get into this right now with you,” he said, his tone defeated. The great Derek James, publishing magnate, brought to his knees by his bastard son. “Did you just call me to aggravate me?”

  “Are you fucking Mary, Derek?” I asked point blank.

  “That’s none of your business, Levi,” he snapped.

  “Looking to trade up again?” I continued to egg him on.

  “Drop it, son. This conversation won’t end well for anyone. Need I remind you of our agreement?”

  Fuck, I despised the son of a bitch. If I had his balls, he had my complete package—lock, stock, and smoking barrel. Since I’d arrived in the states four years ago and he had bailed me out of an unfortunate situation, he had been hoping to salvage our father-son relationship, to get me involved in the family business. Now that I had moved to Santa Cruz, he had provided me with his condo until I got a place of my own. Said it was the least he could do for his son. What a joke. I was his only child, so really, it was a case of he had to, not wanted to. Keeping up appearances and all that. His real motivation was to keep tabs on me, make sure I didn’t drag the family name into any more scandal. Not after what happened in LA four years ago anyway.

  “Levi, I need you to start playing a bigger role in the business. I’ve been held up at the LA offices. I need you to go to a function tonight on my behalf.”

  My fist clenched harder around my cell phone, the plastic casing cracking in protest. “What kind of function?”

  “Just the usual meet-and-greet crap. Smile and shake hands. I’ll have Mary send a car for you around eight.”

  “Fine.” I ended the call. Shutting my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. In a fit of rage, I angrily threw my cell across the room, somewhat thankful when it landed in a pile of dirty laundry on the floor instead of smashed up against the wall. I couldn’t believe I was being blackmailed into doing this shit for him. There may be a silver lining yet, though. It might be another opportunity to make his blood boil. There was plenty of time to piss him off. For now, though, sleep beckoned me.

  Chapter Two

  Andi

  MY LIFE SUCKS!!! All capitals, three exclamation marks. No, let me reword that. I hate my life. Or how about this one? This shit life is fucked. Every morning before I even opened my eyes, one of these phrases ran through my head. Some mornings, like this one, I would use them all like a mantra, and then again every night before I went to sleep. My headspace was not exactly in a great place. Some days were worse than others, and on those days, I just wanted out, an ejection from life altogether. Today wasn’t that bad, although I was borderline.

  “Stop it,” I said out loud to my inner voice, tired of its constant interruptions and self-doubt, and angrily kicked off my blankets while contemplating whether to throw my pillows at the wall as well. Deciding I’d rather be comfortably angry, I stayed lying on my back, pillows puffed up under my head, glaring up into the darkness at the ceiling like it was its fault I couldn’t go back to sleep.

  I was twenty-one, the world should have been my oyster. I should have been a precious pearl waiting to be discovered. Instead, it felt like I was a rotting mollusk inside a barnacle, on an unwanted ship that was going nowhere fast, except maybe to the depths of the ocean floor. I was working a dead-end job, had no boyfriend and no life. None of my family and friends knew how I really felt. Friends all thought of me as a party girl, happy-go-lucky, and my family—well, they didn’t know me at all.

  Rolling over to my stomach, I glanced quickly at the clock on my cell phone and buried my head under my pillow, fruitlessly trying to block out my inner dialogue, wishing desperately I go back to sleep before I had to get ready for work. Five a.m. It was still too early to get up and sit around watching TV, especially when I didn’t live alone. Besides, morning TV viewing was pretty slim on its pickings. As well as the usual shopping opportunities, I think this morning’s viewing was a “Friends” rerun or a Matthew McConaughey romcom. No thanks! I mean, his washboard abs were pretty hot, but his cheesy acting—blech.

  I could always read, but even fiction failed me at the moment. The books I liked only made me feel even more insignificant and alone. Not to mention the sex scenes left me feeling…well, in a nutshell, unsatisfied. I needed my own romance, with a real happy-ever-after. Full stop. The End. No sequels, just forever.

  Romance…the stuff dreams were made of. My dreams anyway. It was all I could think and talk about. Perhaps because it was missing in my life. I wish I could say it was the one thing missing, but my life was so screwed up. There was so much more missing from it than just romance. I didn’t even know where to start. If I had to write a short list with the three top things absent from my existence, it would most likely be—romance, excitement, and adventure. In no particular order.

  “Ugh,” I groaned, pulling the pillow tighter around my head and muffling my voice into my mattress as I thought about my day ahead. Every day for me was pretty much a constant day-to-day rerun. My life was so boring it even bored me. I’d wake up, go to work, come home, and go to bed. My only excitement escaping my nine-to-five job came from my Friday and Saturday nights, and even they had come to resemble a monotonous stream of nightclubs, binge drinking, and lots of vodka. Vodka helped silence my inner doubts. Those doubts that told me I wasn’t thin enough, not smart enough, not good enough at anything other than working a dead-end office job for the rest of my life.

  Damn it, I screamed in my head, finally caving in to my frustrations, and sat up and threw the pillow at the wall. My life was just too depressing. I seriously couldn’t think about this anymore. I rolled out of bed, and like a good roommate, slid my feet noiselessly along the carpeted floor in the rented apartment I shared with my best friend Lili to get a drink of water from the kitchen—vodka wasn’t even an option at five a.m. on a work day. At least I’m responsible.

  Taking care not to wake Lili and her boyfriend Scotty, who may as well be on our lease, with loud kitchen noises, I poured myself a glass of water and took it back to my room. As I passed Lili’s room, Scotty surprised me by opening the door and poking his head out.

  “Hey, Andi, thought I heard you. Care to join us in a little threesome action?” he asked with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

  “Ha ha.” I contemplated throwing the water at him. I wasn’t up for his usual banter at this time in the morning

  He gave a shrug of his shoulders. “No harm in asking.”

 
; “He’s only joking,” Lili called out to me from inside her room.

  “Or am I?” he interjected quickly with a smile on his face, clearly joking with me.

  “Scotty, you’ll be the first person I ask if I ever want a threesome.”

  “Awesome,” he said, a little too enthusiastic.

  “What are you both doing up so early? Hope I didn’t wake you.” I attempted to stifle a yawn.

  He yawned loudly, my infliction catching. “You didn’t. I’m heading to work soon. My hours have changed since I started at the Bay Herald. I wanted to see what your plans were tonight. I have a work function tonight being thrown by the paper. Lili is going and we thought you might be keen to come.”

  Lili’s disheveled bedhead appeared behind Scotty. “Please come. It’s being thrown by Scotty’s new boss and I won’t know anyone.”

  “You want me to come hold your hand?” I asked her.

  She smiled sleepily, rubbing at her eyes. “Something like that. It’ll be all old guys in business suits and their pretentious wives. You know I don’t do those parties very well.”

  I looked at Scotty. “Are you sure? Won’t it look weird? You turning up with your girlfriend and her best friend.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. It won’t be all that formal. It’s really just a social function for all the advertisers and sponsors. I have to take photos for the social pages, but it’s important to my career that Lil comes and meets the big boss.” He paused, giving me an all-knowing smile. “There will be an open bar and food.”