Taken (41 page)

She swallowed hard, not sure if she was more disturbed because there might be no one on the island except them or because a park ranger could still find them and
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arrest them for trespassing or attempting to steal artifacts from a national park.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of footsteps and rustling branches. If there were truly no rangers left on the island, then who was following them? “What should we do?” she whispered, suddenly panicked and terrified.

“Hide.”

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Nick pushed her into some thick brush off the side of the trail. Kayla held her breath as they heard someone coming closer and closer.

Was it a ranger — someone rounding up the last tourists? Or someone who wanted them dead?

Her heart raced a mile a minute. She leaned into Nick, who was in front of her, shielding her with his body.

A few pebbles went flying down the path, as if someone had kicked them. The footsteps paused. Kayla was going crazy from the waiting, the anticipation, and the worry that she wasn’t doing the right thing.

Another branch snapped. A bird squawked. A pair of legs came into view. Jeans. Men’s shoes. A belt.

The details Kayla could see were not reassuring.

Hadn’t the man she’d seen in the square been wearing blue jeans? The pants certainly didn’t belong to a park ranger. Someone else was on the island with them.

Evan? The thought jumped into her head. She wanted to take a closer look, but she was afraid to breathe. The man began to move again. Kayla let out a breath. Nick
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flung her a warning look to stay where she was.
Don’t say
a word,
he mouthed.

That was easy. She was finding it hard to breathe.

Speaking wasn’t an option.

Nick’s instincts were right on the money. A few moments later she heard the person come back up the path.

He was walking more quickly now, his feet stirring up loose dirt and gravel as he passed them. He must have decided they weren’t there.

They waited for several long, tense minutes. Kayla felt as if her nerves were being stretched so tight they might break at any moment.

Finally Nick murmured, “I think he’s gone. I’m going to take a look.”

“No,” she said. “What if he’s still out there, waiting for us to come out?”

He stared into her eyes. “Kayla, if we don’t leave now, we may not be able to get off this island tonight.”

Even though she had the terrible feeling that was already true, her heart leaped at the possibility that maybe another ferry would be coming back to pick up the last stragglers. “Okay, what should we do?”

“Let’s keep going down this path, since he went back the other way.” Nick parted the branches for her, and she scrambled out ahead of him. Standing up, she took a look both ways and saw nothing. It was getting darker, and the fog was obliterating any sign of stars or a moon. Nick headed down the path. She stayed close to his back, her hand on his arm, afraid to let him get too far ahead of her.

Nick came to an abrupt halt. The path ended at a wall of rock that went up to the formidable prison behind them. To the right was a steep hillside. To the left were large, rocky boulders wet from the windy spray off the
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bay. There was nowhere to go but back the way they had come.

“He could be waiting for us,” she said, holding on to Nick’s arm as if he were a lifeline.

“We’ll have to take that chance. We can’t stay here. If he comes this way, we’re sitting ducks.”

It took a few minutes to get back to the stairs leading up to the plaza beside the prison. They climbed the steps slowly, one at a time, pausing at the top to look around.

The lighthouse illuminated some of the plaza area, but the shadows had grown longer and deeper. It was impossible to see the far side.

Without words, they walked warily along the edge of the plaza, keeping an eye open for anyone or anything out of the ordinary. It was quiet, almost eerily quiet. They reached the door to the small exhibit shack. It swung open easily, too easily. It hadn’t been locked. Or the lock had been broken.

Kayla understood why the door was open when they neared the glass case. The light from Nick’s cell phone showed them what she’d suspected: The lock was gone.

The case was open. The watch was missing. Whoever had been following them must have taken it.

“We should have grabbed it when we had the chance,”

Nick said, releasing a frustrated breath. “We blew it. We shouldn’t have gone so far away. We should have kept an eye on the building.”

“You’re right, but what are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. They stood in the doorway, surveying their surroundings. “I don’t think we should stay here, if for no other reason than that we don’t want to be accused of breaking into the exhibit.”

“Good point.”

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Nick took her hand as they moved out of the building and into the shadows. She swallowed hard, feeling more than a little scared. “I’d prefer to stay away from the prison. It’s too creepy.”

He tipped his head toward the area behind them. “Let’s go that way.”

Kayla could barely make her feet move, she was so tense. She was acutely aware of every tiny sound. Their breathing seemed extraordinarily loud. Their footsteps echoed on the pavement. She was relieved when they hit patches of grass. The remnants of a building beckoned them inside. The walls and floor were bare, the windows long ago blown out, but they were sheltered from the elements, and from their vantage point they could see the empty pier down below. There were no boats, no people in sight. Maybe they really were alone on the island.

Nick stood in the doorway, his eyes focused on the darkness. Kayla leaned against the wall, trying to calm her racing heart. The fog was blowing through the open windows, dampening her face and skin. A foghorn sounded nearby, and as she glanced out the window, she could see the beams from the lighthouse casting a ghostly light over the water.

Despite her best efforts to stay calm, all she could think about was the fact that they were stranded on a spooky island in the middle of the bay. She ran her hands up and down her arms, trying to stop the shivering.

Nick turned and saw her shaking. He moved next to her. “Kayla, are you all right?”

“I don’t think so. I’m cold and scared. And this place is terrifying.”

“We’ll be okay,” he assured her.

“You can’t know that. We could be all alone on this
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island. Or there could be a madman looking for us right now, someone who doesn’t want us to find the watches or him. We could die here, and no one would know who had done it. We wouldn’t even know.” Her imagination was running away with her. Her voice rose with each word. “I want to go home. I want to get out of here. I feel trapped.”

“You’re getting too worked up, Kayla.”

“Well, thanks for stating the obvious,” she snapped.

He pulled her against him, and she wrapped her arms around his back. One of his hands stroked her hair.

“We’re together,” he said. “We’ll be all right.”

“I’m losing it.”

“You’re not. You’re a strong woman.”

She didn’t know what woman he was talking about, because she didn’t feel strong. “You obviously don’t know me very well.”

“But I do.” He moved just far enough away so that he could look at her. “I’ve seen you in action all week. I saw you face Evan with your head held high. I saw you climb out of an elevator shaft even though you were terrified. I heard you order me to leave when you were trapped in a burning car because you were worried about my safety.

You are an amazing woman, Kayla Sheridan. Don’t let anyone, including yourself, ever tell you differently.”

Her eyes blurred with tears. “God, Nick, that’s just about the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“You’re amazing, too, you know. Your determination, persistence, and unwillingness to give up keep me going even when I want to quit — like now.”

“It’s just one night, Kayla. The hours will pass. In the morning we’ll mingle with the tourists and take the first boat back. No one will ever know we were here.” He
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framed her face with his hands. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise. Trust me.”

“I do trust you. I know you’ll do whatever it takes to keep me safe. But I don’t want you to feel that you got me into this. I came willingly, and whatever happens I don’t want you to forget that. I don’t want you to spend the next twelve years beating yourself up over anything that might happen to me, the way you did with Jenny.”

“Nothing will happen to you or me,” he told her firmly.

“Okay.” She sat down on the ground and leaned against the wall. Weeds had crept through the cracks in the foundation, and she picked at two long strands of grass with her fingers. Nick stood in the doorway, looking out at the courtyard. She strained her ears to hear signs of someone coming, but there were no footsteps, no sounds of life.

She didn’t know how long they waited. It could have been a half hour or maybe an hour, but the minutes seemed to tick by with interminable slowness. Gradually, her heart began to beat more normally. She reassured herself with logic. This was just like camping. She could handle one night in the outdoors. It wasn’t that cold.

There were no wild animals on the island — at least, she didn’t think so. They were reasonably well protected from the elements. And so far it appeared that whoever had been following them had gone or had hunkered down for the night somewhere else.

Nick finally left the doorway and sat down beside her.

“I don’t see or hear anyone or anything. I think we’re alone.”

“I think so, too.”

He took her hand in his. “You’re cold.”

“Not too bad.”

He put his arm around her and she curled up next to
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him. She had her head on his chest, and even through his coat she could hear his heart beating. It steadied her.

Made her feel she was safe.

“Is this better?” he asked. “Are you warmer now?”

“Yes, in fact I’m getting a little hot.” She lifted her head and looked into his eyes.

“Really?” he asked on an incredulous note. “Did I say before you were an amazing woman?”

She smiled at him. “Let’s just start with a kiss.”

He shook his head. “If I kiss you now, I’m not going to want to stop.”

Her heart fluttered at the thought. She was trapped on an island in the middle of the bay. The menacing prison loomed behind them. The waves pounded the rocks beneath them. It was possible there was a madman looking for them even now. They could die tonight. There had never been a worse time to make love. There had never been a better time either.

She kissed Nick hard on the lips, her need to have him racing through her blood like fire. He kissed her back with the same heated fury, his mouth open, seeking, tasting, taking. She threw one leg over him, straddling him, pressing her breasts against his chest, her hips into his groin. He was hard and she was aching. He rocked back and forth against her, their jeans creating a delicious, delirious sense of need.

“God, Kayla, slow down,” he muttered.

“I can’t. I want you.” She pulled at the snap on his jeans. He arched up and shoved his pants down to his knees while she did the same with her own pants. Then she sank down on him, taking him inside in a white-hot rush of feeling. She leaned forward as he thrust into her
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again and again. There was so much passion between them. She’d never felt so alive, so wanted, so needed.

His mouth sought hers again and again, as if he were dying of thirst and she was his salvation. She lost track of her surroundings. She was only aware of his touch, his smell, his kiss. It was so dark, so isolated, so primitive and sensual. And she didn’t want to stop.

He filled her body in every way, and as they moved together she didn’t think she’d ever fit so perfectly with anyone. Each stroke took her to another high. She wanted more and more and more. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Nick’s hands clenched on her buttocks as they both hit the final peak and found blessed release.

She collapsed against his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck. She had the terrible feeling she could never let him go.

Nick awoke to the sun streaming through the open windows. Kayla was curled up next to him, her head on his chest, her hand on his abdomen, her long hair hiding her face from his eyes. One of her legs was draped over his, and he felt an instantaneous reaction to the thought of making love to her again. No matter how many times they were together, it was never enough. He wondered if it would ever be enough. But that was a matter for another day. Right now they had to figure out how to get off the island.

“Kayla,” he said, stroking her back with his hand.

She lifted her head, her sleepy eyes smiling at him.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi.” He leaned over and took his time with a leisurely kiss. Then he said, “I think we’d better get a move on.”

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Kayla blinked and sat up. “Oh, my God, I almost forgot where we were. What time is it?”

He glanced down at his watch. “Seven thirty.” He saw wild panic flare in her eyes. “Relax. I know the tours don’t start for at least another hour or two.”

“Okay, what’s your plan?”

He didn’t want to tell her he didn’t have one, so he im-provised. “Stay out of sight for a while. Wait for the first boat and mingle with the tourists.”

“And then what?”

“We go back to the city.”

“To St. Basil’s Church,” she said. “I think that’s where the answers are, and more than likely where the money is.

I just hope whoever stole the watch last night hasn’t gotten too big a head start.”

After they left the island, Nick called J.T. and told him they were on their way to St. Basil’s Church. J.T. said to hang on until he got there. He was across the bay, but he could be there in an hour. Of course, Nick hadn’t wanted to wait.