Free Hearts on Fire by Alison Packard

as
the pedestrians below got smaller and smaller. Sweat trickled down
his spine. Shit. The
zip lines hadn’t looked this high from the street.
    “I can’t wait.”
Unrestrained enthusiasm edged Jessie’s voice.
    Drew closed his eyes.
He never thought he had a fear of heights, but suddenly his stomach
felt queasy.
    “Are you okay?”
Jessie grabbed his hand. “Drew?” she said, when he didn’t
answer.
    He opened his eyes and
looked at her. “I’m fine.”
    “You don’t look
fine.” Worry pinched a crease between her slightly arched brows.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
    “I’m doing it.”
He took a deep breath against the panic, then gave her a reassuring
smile. “My dad always said fear is good for you. It keeps you on
your toes.”
    Drew silently repeated
his father’s mantra until the elevator doors opened, and they were
shepherded onto the launch platform. In front of a metal gate he,
Jessie and their two elevator-mates, were each hooked up to their own
separate zip lines. His heart pounded as the gate opened, and as
instructed, the four of them stepped down a short set of stairs until
their legs dangled freely and the only thing supporting them was the
harnesses they were strapped into.
    He heard nothing but
the sound of his quick and shallow breathing, until the attendant
released the brake and they shot out of the platform at a dizzying
speed. Then Jessie’s ecstatic whoop of excitement split the air as
they zipped along Fremont Street. Drew gripped his harness tightly
and dared to open his eyes just as they passed under the canopy that
covered several blocks of the downtown corridor. A few feet ahead of
him, Jessie had leaned back with her legs extended in front of her,
and was hanging on to her harness with only one hand. He envied her
lack of fear, and hung on to the straps of his harness like they were
the only thing keeping him from extreme bodily injury or worse,
death. He was a guitar player, damn
it , not a daredevil.
    After what seemed like
forever, but was probably less than a minute, the braking system
kicked in and their speed decreased as they approached the landing
platform. The instant Drew’s boots came into contact with the solid
platform, he exhaled the breath he was pretty sure he’d been
holding since take-off. Then he looked at Jessie, who was busy
adjusting her wig. He shook his head, surprised that the ugly-ass
thing hadn’t flown clean off her head. She turned toward him, and
the luminous smile that brightening her face almost stopped his
heart, making every second of the harrowing ride he’d squeamishly
endured worth it.
    “Let’s do it
again.” Her voice was high-pitched with exhilaration.
    Drew surveyed her pink
cheeks and sparkling eyes and didn’t have the heart to disappoint
her. “Okay, but you’re buying me a beer after this is over.”
    If he lived through it.
    By the time the sun had
set, Jessie had gotten used to the strange looks from the tourists
strolling along Fremont Street. It wasn’t the first time she’d
donned the short spiky platinum blonde wig, the garish spandex
shorts, and black Graceland T-shirt. Although she liked John, there
were times when she wanted to sightsee on her own, without her
bodyguard drawing attention to her. Concealing her identity seemed to
be the only solution. As far as disguises went, it was effective.
Most people were too horrified by the outfit to look at her face. And
if they did, the wig was so different from her long dark hair that
they failed to recognize her anyway.
    If Drew was embarrassed
to be seen with her, it wasn’t apparent by his actions. After zip
lining, they sat at the Kings Bar inside the Four Queens Hotel and
Casino, to escape the heat. Over a couple of beers, they had
people-watched and talked about their favorite subject—music—for
a few hours. Other than Wally, Drew was the only person who knew she
wrote many of the songs on her albums. Afraid her young age