Illusion (Swept Away Book 1) (32 page)

“I told you that I could murder if I had to.” His voice was
still hoarse as he rubbed my back. “He would have killed both of us.”

“So you killed him, then?” I asked him again, wondering if perhaps he didn’t want to tell me the truth.

“I don’t think he’s dead.” He shook his head, and his eyes gleamed. “I could have killed him though. I could have taken his life just like that.”

I shivered at his statement. How easily he talked of death. He scared and fascinated me. “But what about all the blood on your hands?”

“I stabbed him in the thigh so he couldn’t run away.” He shrugged. “There was a lot of blood.”

“It doesn’t make sense though.” My brain ached as I thought about everything that had gone down. “Why would he try to kill both of us?” I frowned and studied his face. “Everything in me tells me that this has to do with my mother’s death, yet what role do you have in it?”

“Why do you think it only has to do with your mother’s death?”

“When I went to the shack, I saw a photograph. It was of me and my parents and in the corner of the photo was another couple with a son. There was a note on the back of the photo. It alluded to my father being greedy.” I paused as I felt the need to yawn and then continued. “Steve was clearly trying to send me a message that my family is greedy. Mattias must be worried that I’m going to try to take over the family business.” I looked directly at Jakob. “The thing I don’t get
though, is how are you involved in all of this?” I stopped and tried not to show him the sadness in my face. My brain hurt as I tried to think why Jakob was on the island with me. It just didn’t make sense. Even if Steve had been after me and the information I had on the Bradley family, why would someone kidnap Jakob as well?

Jakob studied my face and sighed. “Let’s go back to the beach. We can talk more there.”

“Where’s Steve’s body?”

“He’s on the beach.” He grimaced. “Don’t worry though, he won’t be able to do anything to us.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s unconscious.”

“Oh.”

“I found some other things in his pocket. Things I think you should see.”

“Oh?”

“Let’s get to the beach first.” His hands moved down, and I jumped. “It’s okay, Bianca. I’m just going to carry you.”

“You can’t.” I shook my head and yawned. “It’s too far. I’m too heavy.”

“You’re perfect, Bianca.” He kissed my forehead. “Shh.” He picked me up into his arms. “Close your eyes and rest,” he whispered in my ear as I laid my head against his chest.

“You must be tired too,” I mumbled, suddenly exhausted and unable to keep my eyes open.

“Just sleep, Bianca,” he murmured, and continued walking. “Just get some sleep.” His arms adjusted beneath me,
and I felt warmed and comforted by him. As he walked slowly out of the jungle, I drifted off to sleep.

“A
re you terribly sore?” he whispered in my ear as he set me gently on the ground. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around the beach. It was hard for me to believe that this tranquil spot had been the scene of a bloodbath just hours before.

“I’m okay.” I touched his shoulder. “Honestly, I’ll be fine. That’ll teach me to stop going to the gym.”

“You don’t strike me as a gym rat.”

“Thus my comment that I don’t really go.” I grinned.

“When Steve and I were fighting all I could think about was you.” Jakob sat on the ground and lifted my head onto his lap. “Every punch and kick that came my way meant nothing to me. It meant nothing because all I could think about was coming to find you and save you.”

“I’m surprised he got so many punches in.” I frowned up at him. “I’m not trying to be offensive, but he didn’t look that strong.”

“I guess appearances can be deceiving.” Jakob stroked my forehead. “Turns out Steve had a wicked right hook.”

“No way.” My eyes widened with shock. I could barely believe that puny, pale Steve had any real strength, but then I supposed he would need some sort of skills if he did this sort of thing for a living. I remembered something he’d said when we’d first met. He had talked about traveling a lot for his job and taking on different assignments. Maybe he was one of
those men who people hired to take care of difficult situations, like me.

“So you think he was working for someone?” I asked Jakob, my mind racing.

“That’s what I think.” He nodded. “I found two needles in his pockets.”

“Needles?” I tried to sit up, but Jakob shook his head and pushed me back down.

“I don’t know what he was planning to do with them, but I have my ideas.” He pulled me into his arms. “I don’t know how a man like that could even think of harming an innocent woman.”

“I was so scared when I was up in that tree.” My voice was soft as I remembered how scared I had been. “I couldn’t even allow myself to think, because all I could think about was you. What if he killed you? What if something happened? What would I do? How would I survive? I couldn’t even allow my mind to think about the possibility of your getting hurt. It scared me so much. My whole body shut down on me and went numb. I closed my eyes and waited for what seemed like an eternity. I couldn’t even look down. I just held on to the branches and waited, thinking about nothing.”

“I’m sorry.” Jakob looked despondent for a few seconds, and then he leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “I’m safe now, Bianca. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”

“I know,” I whispered. “I’m trying.”

“What can I do to help?” His fingers stroked my face.

“Just hold me,” I whispered, and pulled him down next to me. “Hold me and talk to me.”

“What do you want to talk about?” His arms slipped around my waist, and he pulled me toward him.

“I don’t know.” I closed my eyes and thought about the photograph. “I want to think of happy thoughts.”

“What makes you happy?” he asked gruffly.

“Seeing you alive.” I smiled at him. “And thinking about my parents.” I sighed. It always came back to my parents.

“Tell me about them. What do you remember about them?”

“I remember that my mother used to love to bake.” I talked idly. “Chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. Every Sunday, she would make them.” I smiled at the memory. “Even after she died, my father would take me to a bakery on the Lower East Side and we’d get cookies and milk.”

“He really tried to keep her memory alive, then?”

“Yeah, though, I don’t know if that was a good thing now.” I sighed. “He loved her so much, and when she died, a part of him died with her. I always felt like he was just waiting to pass away so he could join her.”

“He never dated anyone after that at all?”

“Never. A couple of times when I was a teenager, I tried to set him up, but he always told me no. He said that no one would ever have his heart but my mother and that it wouldn’t be fair to date anyone else, because he knew no one could ever replace her.”

“He seems like he was obsessed,” Jakob commented, and I frowned.

“I wouldn’t say he was obsessed.” I shook my head but kept my tone light, as I didn’t want to argue. “He was just a man very much in love.”

“Your mother was lucky to find a man so devoted to her.”

“Yes, yes, she was.” I looked up at the sky and stared at the stars. “I think they were both very lucky to have found each other.”

“Most people don’t find love like that.” Jakob’s tone changed, and I turned to face him.

“Tell me about your mom. She must have been a wonderful lady to have a son like you. She must have been so proud of the man you became.” I stared into Jakob’s eyes, and he stared back silently. I wasn’t sure if I had annoyed him with my question, as he didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry, we don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to.”

“She was beautiful.” His voice sounded distant, as if his mind were far away. “She was so beautiful that people used to say she should have gone to Hollywood. She would have been a big star.”

“Describe her to me.”

“She was tall and slender, with long brown hair and big blue eyes.” He smiled at the memory.

“Do you look like her, then?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Thank God.”

“Tell me more about her. What did she like to do?”

“She was a hard worker, dedicated to her job. She was also
a great provider. She never took a penny from my father, yet she managed to send me to the best schools. I was her pride and joy.”

“She must have loved you very much.”

“I suppose she did. When I was four a talent scout approached her. Offered her a chance to go audition for a movie in Hollywood. Only, she wouldn’t have been able to take me with her, so she turned it down.”

“Did she like acting?”

He nodded, and his lips pressed against mine softly before he continued. “She used to love singing and dancing.”

“I bet that must have been nice. I can’t really remember what my mom and I used to do together, aside from baking on Sundays, but I always used to imagine us putting on family plays and dancing and singing.”

“My mom used to sing to me every night. She used to love making up songs. There was this one song that she sang that was so beautiful. Everyone would stop and listen when she sang it. I used to love it, and I would sing it with her every opportunity I had.” He looked at me sadly. “That was until the day I realized what I was singing.”

“Do you still remember the song?” I asked softly. I wanted to hear the song, and listen to his voice as it comforted me in the darkness of the night. He turned to look at me then, and the expression on his face made my heart melt.

“ ‘Will you remember me if you saw me on a dark, low-lit road? Will you remember me when I’m scatterbrained and old? Will you love me with your very last breath? Will you kiss
me with everything you’re worth? I’ll remember you until the ends of my days. I’ll love you until you’re old and gray. I’ll marry you and be yours always, for you were made for me and all my life is yours.’ ” He sang sweetly and I held my breath until he sang the last note.

“That was beautiful,” I choked out as tears ran down my face.

“Don’t cry, Bianca.” He wiped the tears from my eyes with his fingers before kissing them away.

“It’s just so sad.” I sobbed. “Your mom loved your father so much, and she waited her whole life for him. Did she write that song for him?” I continued sobbing and wiped my nose with my hands.

“No.” He shook his head. “The ironic part of the story is that my father wrote the song for my mother. It was his wedding gift to her.”

“I thought they never got married.” I frowned, trying to think if I had remembered what he said incorrectly.

“They didn’t.” His tone grew bitter. “My father ended up marrying a girl from a well-connected family. However, he didn’t want to give my mother up, so he hired her as his maid. He sang that song to her the night he got back from his honeymoon.”

“That’s horrible.” I stroked his cheek. “I’m sorry your mother had to go through that.”

“When I was younger I vowed that I would make my father pay for breaking my mother’s heart. I wanted him to feel the anguish and hurt he had given her. I wanted him to
feel the pain that she felt, but I didn’t want to do it while she was still alive. Lucky bastard got off easy, because he died before she did.”

“Maybe that’s for the best?” I ran my fingers down his chest and played with his chest hair. “Maybe your father was hurting as well.”

“My father was a cold, ruthless man.” His voice was monotone. “He had no backbone. He allowed other people to dictate his choices. He valued money more than love, you see.”

“That’s horrible.”

“You think that’s horrible because he put something above love, don’t you?” His eyes gazed into mine, and I nodded. “I don’t blame him for that. Love is a man-made emotion. We’re not made to truly love someone else. My devastation comes from the fact that he put money before honor. Honor should always be number one.”

“I agree that honor is important, but I don’t think it’s more important than love.”

“That’s because you’re a romantic, and you’re naive, and you trust too easily,” he scoffed.

“I’m not naive.” I glared at him.

“There are a million things I could show you and tell you to prove that you’re naive, but I won’t.”

“Why not?” I could feel my face burning up at his words. I was so angry and annoyed. His childhood was sad, I gave him that, but that didn’t give him the right to take out his issues on me. I knew I had to be patient. I couldn’t
expect him to suddenly just believe in love. Not after the life he’d had. I would have to show him through example. I’d let him see through my actions that not all women were gold diggers, and money wasn’t the be-all and end-all in life.

“Because I want to make love to you instead.”

“I don’t know if I can—my thighs are too sore.” I shook my head, wanting to be with him but not in this state. Not while I was still annoyed.

“I have a solution.” He grinned and sat up. “Do you trust me?”

“I guess so.” I nodded, and he lifted me up.

“Where are we going?” I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“You told me you’ve never had sex in the ocean, right?”

“Well, I said I’ve never had sex in the water, but I guess that includes the ocean.”