She had to get away, in case the wrong man triumphed. Not that she had any idea which one was the wrong one.
She’d already deserted her cot before they toppled over on it. She immediately made a dash for the door, nearly killing herself in the process, the darkness was so complete. She burst into the office and stood dead still, listening. Once she was certain the office was empty, she made her way to the reception area, inch by inch, using the furniture as a guide.
She meant to head for the lockbox herself, just in case she’d been wrong and Jay hadn’t gone for the gun after all. Then became aware of breathing near her. She held dead still, holding her own breath.
Waiting, listening.
Aeons seemed to pass in which she didn’t move. She nearly shrieked when she realized someone was moving past her, heading for the storm room. Once he had gone and her heartbeat had returned to normal, she tried to move around the reception counter.
Her footsteps were blocked. She kicked against something warm. Kneeling, feeling around, she realized that she hadn’t stumbled against a thing but a person.
She recoiled instantly, fought for a sense of sanity, and tried to ascertain what had happened—and who it was. The form was still warm. She moved her hand over the throat, finding a pulse. Feeling the face and clothing, she decided she had stumbled upon Jay Galway, and he was hurt!
Either that, or…
Or he was lying in wait. Ready to ambush the unwary person who knelt down next to him to ascertain what had happened.
Fingers reached out for her, vising around her wrist. She screamed, but the crack of a gunshot drowned out the sound. She wrenched her wrist free and rose, determined to get the hell out of the lodge. The storm might be ready to come pounding down on them again, but she didn’t care. There had to be a different place to find sanctuary.
As she groped her way out of the lodge, tamping down thoughts of Jay and whether or not he was hurt or dangerous, she was certain that her survival depended on escape. She lost several seconds battling with the bolts on the main door, then got them open and flew out.
Everything in her fought against believing Jay was the killer. He definitely hadn’t been the one shooting the gun.
If Jay was on the floor, where were Len and Hank?
This was all insane!
The night was dark. Thick clouds covered the sky, even in the eye of the storm. Still, once outside, she could see more than she had before.
She hurried along the once manicured walkway, heading not toward the dock but around to the Tiki Hut, on the lodge side of the dolphin lagoons.
As she rushed forward, she was aware of a few dark dolphin heads bobbing up.
She never passed without a giving an encouraging word to her charges. Despite the darkness, she was certain the dolphins could see her, and they would instinctively know something was wrong when she didn’t acknowledge them.
She should say something to them.
She didn’t dare.
She was determined to make her way to the cottages. Not her own—that would be the first place anyone would look for her—but she was sure she would find a door that hadn’t been locked. The cottages were no where near as secure as the storm room, but at least they’d been built after Hurricane Andrew and were up to code.
But as she veered toward the trail that led toward the cottages, she saw another form moving in the night ahead of her.
Panic seized her. There was no choice. She had to head for the beach.
She turned, then heard footsteps in her wake.
She was being pursued.
David was desperate to get to Alex. He damned himself a hundred times over for the announcement he had been forced to make. For not beating the crap out of Jay, rather than letting him leave the room.
But had Jay—or anyone—destroyed the generator? Or had technology simply failed them when it was most desperately needed?
Didn’t matter, none of it mattered.
Out of the room, he stumbled, swearing, as he made his way through the inner office and out to reception.
He hesitated. Somewhere on the wall was a glass case that held a speargun. It was a real speargun, one that had been used in a movie filmed on the island a few years earlier. He’d passed it dozens of times, giving it no notice.
Now he wanted it.
Groping along the wall, he found the case. He smashed the glass with his elbow, grabbed the weapon, then heard movement behind him.
David streaked for the front doors, praying that nothing would bar his way.
He found the door, which was slightly ajar.
Yes, Alex had definitely gone outside.
He swung the door open, leaving the lodge behind.
It occurred to him to wonder just how much time had passed since the eye had first come over them.
And just how much time they had left.