“I’m not leaving. I have nothing to go back to.”
“You have a future.” Which was more than me because without her, I had nothing.
She frowned, resentment pouring from her eyes. “You are not allowed to look at me with that smooth, young face that cost my father his life, and then tell me what to do.”
“I. Cannot. Be around you,” I said in a low, stern voice. “I can hardly stand being here now, this close, unable to kiss you.”
“Who says I would let you?” she snapped.
“I know you no longer love me, but that does not change my feelings. Having you on the island is not only unsafe, but it would be torture.”
“Maybe you deserve it—like your aunt deserves to stare at that lagoon, knowing the man she loves is just out of reach.”
“Perhaps I do deserve it, but once again, I’ll point out that I cannot guarantee your safety. And given what you’ve lost, you won’t find peace here, Stephanie. I love you far too much to see you end up as another victim of this unholy mess.”
She sat up and faced me. “It’s not your goddamned choice.”
Like hell it isn’t. I gripped her by the shoulders, ready to shake some sense into her. But when my hands landed on the soft skin of her shoulders, all I could think of was kissing her full lips. I didn’t care that they were cut up and swollen. They were still the lips I’d dreamed of every night.
I froze, struggling to release her. But if I gave in to my needs, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I wouldn’t be able to let her go. Not ever. I cannot break my vows again. There would be consequences. Father Rook would see to it somehow, and I was certain Stephanie would pay.
“Please, Stephanie, I’m begging. If you care for me, even a little, you will leave and never look back. Because trust me when I tell you that there are things far worse than death.”
A loud knock at the front door broke the intense moment. I got up to look through the peephole. Luke’s face was on the other side, and he wasn’t happy.
I yanked open the door and stepped into the hallway. “What’s the matter?”
“Warner got free.” Luke’s new young voice came out two octaves higher, but that didn’t detract from the seriousness of his words.
“Impossible. Those bars run five feet into the bedrock. They’re unbreakable.”
“Someone let him out, and whoever did it also freed Smith.”
My knees nearly buckled.
He added, “The men are out hunting for them as we speak.”
Holy hell. “They won’t find Captain Smith.” Not before he killed a few dozen people. The man was a soulless, murdering psychopath.
“Who would do this?” Luke looked down at his tennis shoes, rubbing the back of his neck.
“No one with a sane mind, which only leaves one person: Amancia.” But why would my aunt free the man who raped and stabbed her? She’d lost her child and the love of her life because of this animal. In the early days, when I struggled with my rage and my need to kill these men—something my monastic vow wouldn’t allow—I spent time in those caves, talking to Captain Smith, trying to understand what would drive a man to commit such heinous acts. Our conversations revealed that he heard voices and took pleasure in the pain of others, which was why his men feared him and obeyed every order, no matter how vile.
“We have to find Warner and Smith. Quickly,” I said.
Stephanie appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on?”
I exhaled with exasperation. Yet again, I was about to cause her more torment than she deserved. “My aunt kept her promise to never harm you.”
Stephanie stared blankly.
“She freed the animals to do it for her,” I added with gritted teeth.
“You mean Warner?” Her face turned pale.
“Yes, but he’s nothing compared to the other man she let go.” Sonofabitch. “You have to leave. Now. Please, Stephanie. We can have you in the air in five minutes.”
She drew a breath, shaking her head no. “I’m done running. I’m done being afraid.”
“Your father didn’t give his life so that some psycho could slit your throat, woman. Get on that fucking plane!”
“He’s right, Stephanie,” Luke said, his voice level. “You have to go. We’re gathering all non-security staff to leave, as well. It’s just too dangerous.”
She traded looks between me and Luke. She had to see we weren’t joking.
“Okay. Fine.” She threw her palms in the air. “But I’m coming back. I want your word, Rook, that you’ll let me.”
“You have my word; you may return when it’s safe.”
“I’ll get my shoes.” She disappeared inside.
Luke gave me a hard look. “I hope you were lying just now.”
I was done lying to Stephanie, and I hadn’t. “This island will never be safe for her.” Meaning, I’d never let her return.
He bobbed his head. “For once you’re doing the right thing.”
Stephanie
Terror was something I thought I’d experienced in that room with Mr. Classy while tied to a chair and being worked over with a brick. But now I understood that had only been pain.
This was real terror. Warner had been freed by a madwoman who clearly wanted me dead, and one of those pirates, supposedly the deadliest, craziest of all, roamed free. I never saw this Smith guy, but if he was anything like the other things in that cave, that was all I needed to know.
I grabbed my tennis shoes, once again leaving my belongings except for my backpack that contained the essentials: wallet, money, laptop, and cell phone—all the stuff I’d left behind when I’d fled the first time. Now I found myself running again, but I didn’t want to go. Call me crazy, but this island felt like the only thing I had left of my family.
“Ready?” Rook stood by the front door of the apartment, an armed man in army fatigues next to him. His name was Jason, from the security staff. We’d met a few weeks ago.
“Don’t you want to carry a gun, too?” I asked Rook.
“As much as that would make sense in a moment like this, monks do not carry weapons.”
“I forgot about that.” It was nearly impossible to look at this tall, strong, gorgeous-beyond-words man and connect the fact that on his days off, he sat around in a brown robe, reading religious scripts and whipping his back as penance for his impure thoughts. “Where did Luke go?”
“To track down the captain.”
“Is that safe?” I asked.
“Not in the least, but Luke is well trained.”
Luke had been a soldier in WWII. I guessed he’d kept up with his military combat readiness.
“When’s the plane leaving?” I whispered, stepping out into the hallway.
“Just as soon as you’re on it,” he replied. “Any more questions?”
Monk, you have no idea. “Not at the moment.”
“Good. Then not a sound.” He held his index finger to his lips.
With Rook behind me and Jason in front, we left the underground apartments via the stairwell. When we got to the last door leading to the lobby, Rook grabbed my arm.
“Let Jason go first,” he whispered.
I nodded, resisting the urge to turn back around. It was one thing for me to be afraid, but it was another to see Rook and this heavily armed man on edge. Rook was normally unshakable.
Jason pushed open the lobby door, rifle ready to fire. After a moment, he gave the all clear.
“Come on,” Rook said.
With a hard whoosh from my lungs, we stepped outside. Something doesn’t feel right. The air seemed stiller, and the surrounding jungle was eerily quiet. It’s like the animals know something evil is out there.
“I don’t like this,” I said, sliding my shaking hand into his. Funny, how after everything I’d just learned about my dad and how angry I’d felt, I could so effortlessly look to him for comfort. I just didn’t get it—our relationship or my feelings. One giant mess of contradictions.
He squeeze
d softly. “You’ll like it even less if you come face-to-face with Captain Smith. Let’s hurry.”
We grabbed the first golf cart parked along a row of ten. Rook took the wheel, I got in beside him, and Jason went in back.
“Don’t worry. We’re almost there,” Rook said.
“I’m not worried; I’m terrified.”
Rook attempted to comfort me with a smile. “Hold on.”
We headed down the shaded path, where every turn, tree, and bush looked like the perfect place for someone to jump out.
I could hardly believe it when we finally got to the small bridge that led to the part of the island with the guest lodging, restaurant, and airstrip.
We pulled up beside the private jet, where employees, many of whom I’d met, were filing up the staircase.
Rook slid out of the cart and came around, grabbing my hand. “Hurry.” He began pulling me toward the back of the line, and all I could think was that this was a mistake. So much had been left unsaid. I need you. I hate you. I love you. I wish I could undo so many things…
“You promised I could come back when things are safe, right?” I said.
He nodded yes. “In the meantime, I’ve arranged to have money wired to your bank account.”
“Sorry?”
“It’s the refund from your trip. Plus a million extra.”
The one hundred thousand dollars I borrowed from Warner. I didn’t know how I felt about keeping that money. But a million?
“Why?”
We stopped just below the stairs, and he faced me. He took both my hands in his and placed a lingering kiss on my palm. “I need to know you will be all right.”
I looked up into his beautiful face—those gray-blue eyes, those sensual lips, and those elegant cheekbones. Even now, after everything, he made my stomach flutter and my heart race. I didn’t want to leave him. Not like this. Maybe never.
“How do I reach you?” I realized I had no phone number for him. I didn’t even know exactly where this island was.
“I will call you.”
“But if you don’t?” I questioned.
He gave me a stern look as if to say I shouldn’t ask such an obvious question. It would mean he was dead.
“Please get on that plane.” He cupped his hand to my cheek and stared into my eyes. The way he looked at me took my breath away. Even with my cuts and bruises, he made me feel worshipped, like the most beautiful woman in the world.
The irony was that as much as I ached for him, I wasn’t ready to open myself up again. Rook owned the only piece of my heart I had left, but our betrayals, our choices, and the hold this place had over him would never allow us to move forward and be together.
We never stood a chance.
“Kiss me,” I said.
The hunger in his eyes was palpable. “I cannot.”
“Kiss me, or I’m not getting on that plane.”
He stepped in closer. “I thought you hated me,” he said, his voice low and husky.
“I don’t know what I feel anymore, other than I wish we could erase everything and start over.”
“If only such miracles existed.”
“But you’re Mr. Rook, the man who can make any woman’s fantasy come to life. So why not mine?”
A smile twitched across his sinful lips, and then he dipped his head, sealing his warm mouth over mine. I melted into his strong frame, committing every sensation to memory. He slid his arms around my waist and pulled me flush against him as his kiss turned from sweet to ravenous. His tongue glided past my lips, and the movement of our mouths became desperate—tasting, sucking, and lapping in a blatant sexual rhythm. The world melted away and my heart along with it as he poured himself into this kiss that felt like a dying man’s last breath.
It felt like goodbye.
I broke away and stared up at him. “Rook?”
“I must go,” he said. “The longer it takes to catch Smith, the more people he’ll kill.”
“Of course,” I muttered, hardly able to speak. He wanted us to end, right here, right now. I could feel it.
He never plans to bring me back. And here I was, tearing myself up over all these conflicting emotions when he’d already decided: He’d taken his vow and had no intention of breaking it. He won’t even fight for me. No. That wasn’t right. Rook had proven that he would fight for me. He just wouldn’t fight for us.
My bitterness quickly subsided into something worse. Heartbreak. Because it was time for me to accept what he already had: We couldn’t be together. Not ever. Even if he could somehow prove that he loved me and make me trust him again, it wouldn’t matter.
“Goodbye, James.”
He pulled me in again and kissed me one last time before releasing me. “Worth every lash.”
Meaning he would have to pay penance for those kisses.
I turned away, hiding the fact that my insides now matched my outside—broken. It was official. I had lost everything to this island.
Trying my best not to cry, I boarded the plane and took the last open seat. The remaining worried passengers crammed into the aisles.
I hope no one brought heavy suitcases. About forty employees were evacuated with me, but the plane seated twenty. It was a lot of extra weight, but Rook probably didn’t want to take chances, considering that Warner and Smith were running free. These people were part of Rook’s “extended” family.
I threw my head back and exhaled, vowing to bury my pain so deep that it would never see the light of day. How could I weep for a man who was so quick to lie and push me away?
I turned my head, noting that Rook and his guard were already gone. There, you see. You should leave this place and never look back before it takes what’s left of you. Of course, I purposefully ignored the sacrifices he’d made to save me—renewing his vows and risking his life to go up against Warner. He’d forgiven me for selling him out to Warner, too.
I try to help a mobster take over the island, and Rook takes the blame. Where did he get off being so…so…damned forgiving!
I closed my eyes, willing myself to stay rational. If I wanted to survive, I had to leave this place with as much of myself as possible.
“Stephanie…” A faint voice carried through the air.
My lids flew open. Whatthehell was that? My eyes frantically scanned the crowded cabin. My tired, abused mind had to be playing tricks, because if that voice belonged to whom my brain said, then I was insane. My father is dead. He’s gone. Wasn’t he?
“Stephanie…”
Holy fuck. I jerked to my feet. “Dad?”
Something just outside the window caught my eye: A familiar, wiry silhouette standing under a palm tree.
Dad. Oh my God. I could hardly believe my eyes. Was I dreaming? Had I passed out after a week of living hell? Like all the other times I’d hallucinated, I felt awake. Nothing was out of place other than the voice.
“Hurry to the lagoon. He needs you.”
There was only one “he” my father could be talking about.
“Hold the door!” I yelled and pushed past the standing passengers. I charged down the stairs and ran until I reached the narrow wooden bridge that led to the other side of the island. As I sprinted, I felt a splitting pain in my foot.
Wound. Pain. Fuck. I am awake. While swimming last week, I had cut my foot so badly it required stitches. Now, the pain was intense, which meant I was definitely awake.
I ran until my lungs burned like hot coals in my chest, swallowing my pain and hoping that whatever I’d just seen was for a reason—to save Rook.
I followed the path around the bend and then saw a tree I recognized. To the left of it was the faint trail leading to the lagoon. Leaves and branches crunched under my soles, blood flooded my tennis shoe, but it would take a bullet in the heart to stop me.
Please let him be okay. Please… As long as Rook still lived, I could mourn the loss of our relationship because I knew he’d always be here, running paradise. If he died, if he died…I just
couldn’t allow myself to go there.
I burst through the trees and skidded to a halt on the muddy bank. Speckles of sunlight danced across the murky green water, and the air was eerily still. Even the wind wanted nothing to do with this place.
“Rook!” I yelled.
Silence greeted me.
“James?” I spun on my good heel. “Where are you?”
“Your piece-of-shit boyfriend isn’t here, but he’ll sure as hell find the pieces I leave behind.” Warner emerged from behind a tall tree. If he’d looked like a ruthless bastard before, he was now an epic psycho—crazed dark eyes, drenched in sweat, and one hand frozen into a claw. The other held a large serrated knife like the one Rook once gave me when we went diving with sharks. He got it from one of the boats.
“I’m going to disembowel you, but I’ll make sure you don’t die right away,” he growled. “I want you to witness every moment.”
Warner charged toward me, and all I could think was that he was a fool. I’d lost everything to this place, and there was nothing more dangerous than a person with nothing left to lose.
I swooped down and grabbed a baseball-sized rock just in time to strike a blow to his temple. Warner dropped like a sack of wet sand. Out cold.
“Sorry, asshole. But you don’t scare me anymore.” I kicked the knife away.
“But I do, yes?” said a voice so deep and ominous that it barely sounded human. A man stood there with broken black teeth and stringy brown hair, wearing muddy rags. He was well over six feet, and when he smiled, it was pure evil.
Jesus. What the hell was happening? The lagoon, or whatever was in it, clearly had no intention of letting me leave here alive. None of this could be a coincidence—my father’s voice to lure me, Warner, and now this…thing?
“Captain Smith,” I muttered under my breath.
He picked up the knife I had kicked from Warner’s hand and cocked his greasy head to one side. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for James to fall in love so that I could do this?” He stepped closer. “I’ve thought of nothing but this moment for over two hundred years—the look on his face when he sees me stabbing you, violating you.”
Fuck. I stepped back. The malevolence in his eyes shook me at the cellular level. Like Warner, he wanted to end my life and make me suffer while doing it, but those last words were especially brutal. Smith was a warped sonofabitch, trapped in some revenge fantasy he’d been dreaming about for over two centuries.