13
LUKE SAT on the floor of the basement with Vanessa’s head resting on his thigh. She was out cold. A lump was prominent above her ear, but she was breathing steadily and her pulse was strong. Still, he was anxious for her to show signs of consciousness.
They’d been put down here about an hour ago. At least it was cool. Luke wasn’t sure how to get out of this. He wasn’t lying about having no phone signal, and no one knew where they were. He’d thought he’d had control of the situation, but apparently, that wasn’t the case. If anything happened to them—to Vanessa—it was his fault.
He couldn’t live with that.
Of course, whether he’d live through this at all was in question.
Vanessa made a soft noise, a moan and a sigh, suddenly shifting in his lap, pushing herself upward. He steadied her, making her be still.
“Shh, honey, stay quiet. Stay there,” he said soothingly.
“Luke, how...where are we?”
She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the low light.
“In the basement of the house. I don’t know what’s going on. No one has said a word, they just left us here.”
“Why?”
“I figure they want us both out of commission when they auction off their copy of the software. They leave us here, get their money and then probably have their goons dispose of us after they quit the island. Nothing can trace back to them, and with us gone, the alternate copy of the software becomes a non-issue.”
Vanessa muttered a very unladylike curse and struggled to sit upright. This time, Luke helped her.
“How’s your head?”
“I’m not sure. It feels like I have about five of them all hurting at once.”
“You probably have a concussion. Sit tight.”
“We have to get out of here.”
“Yeah, that would be ideal. But neither of us could fit through those tiny windows, and the only other way out is that door, locked, obviously. Phones are dead.”
She stood, slowly, but straightened and brushed the dirt from her clothes the best she could. He was proud of her, and angry with himself for not leaving her back in Tampa, where she would be safe.
“How did you find me, Luke?”
“I was outside the window, and I saw them bring you out.”
“I mean, how did you know I was here?”
He knew what she meant, but really didn’t want to have this conversation right now.
“Luke?”
“I put a tracker on you. Back when we arrived at the island.”
“But how? I change my clothes, my bag—”
“It was in your drink the night before we arrived. Don’t worry. It’s completely safe, small as the head of a pin and completely biodegradable.”
She frowned as she stared at him. “You made me ingest something?”
“It’s harmless, Vanessa. A safety precaution. Without it, I never would have been able to find you here.”
“You suspected they’d kidnap me?”
“It was a possibility.”
“Or was it that you thought I’d seek out Julie on my own? That’s how you found me that day, when I was out looking for her. You could see where I was at any time.”
“I was right, wasn’t I? You did take off on your own to look for her when you snuck away from Mari’s, and here, you made it clear you’d do anything to save her. I heard you.”
“I was trying to save all of us.”
Luke stood, too, and faced off with her. “I know that. On some level, I understand that you were doing what you had to. But I also believe you would have handed over that program or have done anything else you needed to in order to protect her.”
Vanessa shook her head, walked away from him.
“She’s my sister. Max is the bad guy here—he’s been the one orchestrating everything, forcing Julie to do the things she’s done. He probably would have killed her, too. He probably forced her to do all of the things she did with you. We have to help her.”
“That’s not completely true. Your sister is not a complete innocent.”
“You are so blind when it comes to her!” she shouted, clearly frustrated. She winced in pain.
“Hey, calm down. You should sit.”
“We have to figure out a way to help her, Luke.”
“Sit, Vanessa, and listen.”
She held out for another second, but even in the low light, Luke could see how pale she was. She nodded, sinking to the floor where she sat against an opposite wall, distant from him.
She was going to hate him even more for the whole truth, but she had to hear it.
“As soon as you were out of that room, she was up on her feet. It was an act, for your benefit. They were setting you up. I heard them distinctly discuss how they used your sympathies for her to make you betray me. They planned to kill you as soon as you got the software from the hotel.”
She was quiet for a minute, but he saw the hurt stamp itself on her expression. “No. I don’t believe you. I saw him hit her, and I saw the bruises she had from before. She’s not doing these things willingly.”
“I’ll admit, she appeared upset at his plan to kill you, and she even tried to talk him out of it, briefly, but she didn’t argue too hard. Ultimately, she went along with him. He may be the mastermind, but she’s an equal partner.”
“You would do anything, say anything, to turn me against her.”
“You don’t think you can trust me? But you will trust them? A pair of killers?”
“You didn’t exactly trust me, did you, planting a tracker in my system?”
They fell silent again, deadlocked.
“What did you think would happen, Vanessa, if you had saved her? That you two would walk free? Julie would end up in jail and she knows it. She would never have come back with you, even if what you say was true. She would have taken off again. She’d use you to get away from Max and then—”
“Stop it! How can you know—”
“He’s right,” someone said softly, breaking into their argument.
Luke flew to his feet, facing the door, where Julie stood, watching them.
“I did tell Max that if we could get you here and make you retrieve the software for us, you would do it, to help me. If you thought I needed help.”
Luke held his breath as he watched Vanessa stand, clearly shocked.
“Why? Why would you do anything for him? I saw him hurt you. I know he’s hurt you before.”
“It was like Luke said, for show. Just part of the game, big sister.”
Luke wasn’t sure what to do. Vanessa looked stricken in a manner he’d never seen before. He thought she might collapse on the spot.
He wanted to go to her, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Julie. She seemed so different—he wondered how he could have ever mistaken Vanessa for her. Her tattoo was still there—the one he’d looked for on Vanessa on the night they’d met—but that was all that was really familiar to him. Julie looked worn down and not at all like the woman he’d been with six years before. He could almost feel sorry for her. Almost.
“What are you doing here? Did he send you to kill us? Is this some sick, twisted fun the two of you cooked up?” Luke asked.
“Actually, that sounds like something Max would enjoy. But no. He’s in a meeting. An important one. It won’t last long. This is our only chance to escape.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere. When this meeting is done, we’re all dead.”
“Why would he kill you?”
Julie’s eyes were cold as she smiled and shrugged. “Why would he share?”
Vanessa shook her head as if she couldn’t believe anything. “Why are you like this? What could have happened in your life to make you behave like this? And Max?”
“You don’t want to know, believe me. But if you want to get back to that charmed life of yours, you’d better come with me, now.”
“There’s no way I’m letting you walk away,” Luke said to Julie. “Not after what you did to me, and not after what you did to Vanessa. You knew about the bomb?”
Julie looked toward Vanessa and then nodded, albeit with a hint of regret. “I knew, but there was nothing I could do to stop him. He would have just killed me, too.”
“Always thinking of yourself first, as usual,” Luke spat.
“Maybe so. But for what it’s worth, Luke, your employee, Marcus Yates? The one who killed himself? I’ll do you a favor and let you know it wasn’t a suicide. He was there to keep an eye on me, and when I was done, Max had him killed. A loose end.” She looked at her watch. “Which is what we’ll be in about fifteen minutes, or less, if we don’t leave now. We can still make it. I have a car hidden by the road.”
Luke’s mind blanked. The man he’d mourned, whose family he’d seen grieve, and whom Luke had felt responsible for all these years, he had been part of it? Marcus had never killed himself at all. He’d been a traitor, and he was murdered for it.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing.
Vanessa.
“Luke, come on. We have to get out. That’s what we need to focus on right now. Okay?”
He raised his hand to cover hers, nodding.
“Are you armed?” he asked Julie.
“Yes.”
“Got something for me?”
She actually laughed. “No way. I get you out of here, and then we go our separate ways and hope we get off this island alive. That’s the deal.”
Luke couldn’t argue. Right now, Vanessa’s safety was the most important thing. If he had to let Julie loose in order to save Vanessa, then that was what he had to do. But if he could stop her from leaving after they were clear, he would.
Taking Vanessa’s hand, he nodded at Julie. “Okay. Let’s go.”
It took them mere seconds to make it out of the basement and then the house. He didn’t want to trust Julie, but they had no choice. She was their way out.
Once they entered the thick trees that surrounded the property, they heard men shouting, and Luke knew that they’d been made.
“Where’s the car?”
“Down that hill, at the bottom, on the road,” Julie said. There was no doubting the fear in her eyes, and Luke believed her. She needed to get out of here as much as they did.
“The men are getting close,” Vanessa said, out of breath as she struggled to keep up. She had a concussion and she wasn’t used to the heat. Luke didn’t think he could move as fast carrying her, but he might have to try.
“She won’t make it on her own,” he said to Julie. “I have to lead them off. Meet you at the car. You make sure nothing happens to her, do you hear me? If she’s not at that car—”
Julie snarled at him, “Just go. I’ll get her there.”
“No!” Vanessa objected, reaching out to Luke.
He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you at the car. Go.”
With that, he took off, leaving Vanessa with her sister. He only looked back once to see them continuing down the path, Julie supporting her sister with one arm. Maybe Julie did have some heart left. Some caring for Vanessa.
He blanked the thought as he crashed through the trees, making sure he was heard, and making sure the men coming after them were following him—then he started moving faster, back toward the house, where he planned on ending this once and for all.
* * *
VANESSA’S LUNGS WERE on fire and her head was aching so much she could barely see, so she didn’t have much choice than to cling to Julie on the way down the hillside.
Her sister supported her and her voice was kind as she urged Vanessa along.
Within minutes, the car came into sight.
“Is he there? Is Luke there?”
Vanessa tried to see, but the sun glaring off the car blinded her.
“Not yet. C’mon, we have to go.”
As soon as they were on flat land, Julie raced toward the car, and Vanessa limped along behind, making it to the vehicle as quickly as she could. Adrenaline kicked in, clearing her head somewhat.
“Get in.”
“We have to wait for Luke,” Vanessa objected.
Julie looked at her as if she was speaking an unknown language. “You can wait for him. I’m leaving.”
Vanessa couldn’t believe what her sister was saying. “He put himself in danger to save us, and you’d just leave him?”
“He wanted to save you—he could care less about me. He should be here. Since he’s not, he probably got caught. We have to go, or we’ll be caught, as well.”
“No. We can’t leave him.”
“Suit yourself. I’m out of here.”
Julie got into the car and put the key in the ignition. Vanessa scrambled to think of a way to stop her, to make her understand that they had to wait for Luke or help him.
“At least make a phone call. Call the police for him,” she said, opening the passenger door.
“We’ll call once we’re free of the property. Get in, or I swear, Vanessa, I’m not waiting one more second,” her sister threatened, her fearful eyes scanning the woods for anyone who might be coming.
“Okay, okay,” Vanessa said, her heart squeezing as she got into the car and shut the door. Julie had left her only one choice, and she didn’t have more than seconds to make it. Luke could be in terrible danger, and she refused to leave him behind.
Before Julie started the engine, Vanessa summoned what strength she had and grabbed her sister’s gun.
“No,” Julie yelled, fighting her for the weapon. During the struggle, Vanessa swung just as Julie faltered and let go. Julie’s head snapped back, hitting the headrest. She was out cold.
Vanessa didn’t waste any time and searched Julie’s pockets for a phone. When she found it she was thrilled they had a signal. She called the operator and was connected directly to the police—within minutes, they assured her that help was on the way.
But would it arrive in time?
Getting out of the car, she maneuvered Julie, who was stirring, over into the passenger seat. Vanessa took the driver’s seat and drove them back toward the house.