Illusion (Swept Away Book 1) (28 page)

“Bianca, come with me. I need your help gathering wood.” Jakob waved me over to him.

“Be careful, Bianca,” Steve whispered. “I know about your mother. I know about David.”

“What?” I gasped as I looked back at him.

“Be careful,” he mouthed as Jakob grabbed my arm. “You can’t trust him,” he whispered into my ear as I walked away.

“Let’s go.” Jakob pulled me along with him, and I shook him off me.

“Don’t touch me! What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t touch him, Bianca.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I didn’t touch him.” His eyes bored into mine. “I’m telling you I don’t know where he went, and I don’t know why he came back.”

“You tried to kill him.”

“He told you that?” His eyes narrowed.

“Yes.” I nodded. “He told me he knows David as well.”

“David Bradley?”

“Who else?” I gulped. “I’m only going to ask you this one more time, Jakob. Do you know David more than you’ve let on?”

He paused then, and I saw him thinking hard. “Yes, I do.”

“Oh.” I felt the blood drain from my face. I hadn’t expected this answer.

“I can’t tell you now.” He grabbed my hands. “I need you
to trust me. I will explain everything to you once we make it off of the island.”

I didn’t want to trust him. I was so angry that he’d kept something else from me. Yet, I didn’t hate him. “Answer me this,” I asked him softly, my eyes flashing. “Did something happen between you and Steve yesterday?”

“I didn’t try to kill him.”

“Do you know who he is?”

“I don’t know who he is.” He looked me in the eye. “I can tell you honestly that I have never seen that man before in my life.”

“Jakob—” I swallowed hard and stared at him for a few seconds before asking him the question that was on my mind. “Can I trust you?”

“Yes, you can trust me.” He grabbed my hand. “I promise that I didn’t try to kill Steve yesterday.”

“I didn’t date David because I liked him. In fact, I orchestrated our meeting.” I was hesitant to say much more, for fear that Jakob was going to judge me. “I wanted to meet and date Mattias, that was the initial plan, but you’d think that man was the head of the KGB. No one knows anything about him.”

“Oh?” His eyes narrowed.

“I wanted help. The Bradleys have access to information that I don’t.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“I think Steve knows something.” I took a deep breath. “I think that Steve knows the truth about what happened.
He says he wants to tell me something about what happened.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” He rubbed his temples and stared back at Steve. “Do you think Steve knows David and Mattias are working together?”

“No, but . . .” I paused and looked at him. “What did you say?”

“Huh?” He frowned and took a step toward me.

“Nothing.” I shook my head. “We should be careful with Steve.” I attempted a smile, even though my brain was screaming at me. Why had he said David and Mattias were working together? I’d not mentioned anything that suggested that. What was it that he knew about David that he wasn’t telling me? I could feel my heart racing as another thought hit me. Did he know Mattias Bradley as well? I knew that I needed to speak to Steve and find out exactly what he knew. “Let’s go back to him now, so we can keep an eye on him.”

“I don’t trust him.” Jakob’s eyes narrowed. “I think we should go into the jungle.”

“Now?” I shivered at the thought of going into the jungle with Jakob.

“We need to make sure we’re safe.”

“I think it’s smarter to be closer to him, so we can keep an eye on him.” I offered him another weak smile.
Please agree with me,
my brain was screaming at him.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” He nodded and then sighed.
“I just want you all to myself. I can take care of you better, then.”

“I know.” I looked away and tried not to throw up. My brain kept replaying what he’d just said. He’d asked me if I thought Steve knew that David and his brother, Mattias, were working together. Why had he said that? As far as I knew, David was not working with Mattias. As far as I knew, David was still my friend, and he was slightly afraid of his older brother. Why had Jakob said they were working together? What did he know? I stared at his bulging biceps and swallowed hard. What if the man I had given myself to was the man I should be running from? “You go ahead and see if you can find some wood in the jungle for a fire; I just want to wash my face off in the ocean.”

“You can do that later. I want us to go and get this wood together.” He stood resolute. “I’m not leaving the beach without you.”

“Okay, fine. I’m coming.” I took a deep breath and looked back at Steve, who was standing by the water, staring at us. “Let’s go and get this wood.”

“I’m going to ask you something, Bianca, and I want to make sure that you don’t take offense, okay?

“Go ahead.”

“Are you sure your father was sane when he died?” His voice sounded jaded. “Maybe he regretted the fact that he was dying and had no money to leave you. Maybe he regretted the fact that he’d been a poor businessman.”

“My father would never insinuate or state a fact like that unless he believed it to be true,” I said indignantly.

“Okay, I was just checking.” He kicked the ground. “So your dad was partners with David Bradley’s father?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “This I know to be true.”

“And David Bradley knows this?”

“It’s a long story. He knows some of it.”

“Does he know about the patent paperwork you have and the incorporation papers?”

“No.” I stopped. “Though, I think someone knows.”

“Why?”

“Just some funny things have been happening since I started investigating.” I looked over at him. “I think that David’s brother, Mattias, has been behind the kidnapping. I think that he’s willing to do anything to get that paperwork away from me.” I laid my cards on the table and waited to see his reaction.

“You have a very bad opinion of someone you’ve never met.” His voice was grim, as he stared at me. I could feel the tension in the air.

“I don’t know him. I’ve never met him before. But David told me things.” I stepped forward and touched his chest lightly. “He’s not a good guy. I don’t think he’s any better than his father. Don’t lie to me, Jakob. Do you know Mattias as well?”

There was silence after I spoke. His eyes went blank, and I could see him thinking hard as we stared at each other. I could hear my heart thumping, and my body was shivering as I waited for him to answer me.

“I do.” He nodded after a minute.

“So we have another connection, then.” My words sounded accusatory as I tried to joke. “So is he capable of kidnapping?”

“Yes, I suppose he is. I didn’t know . . .” His voice trailed off.

“You didn’t know what?”

“I think we’re in danger.” He changed the subject.

“How do you know the Bradley brothers, Jakob?” My fingertips squeezed his arms tightly, and his fingers reached up to mine. He was silent for a moment, and I could feel his heart pounding through our embraced fingers.

“I don’t know them well, I’m afraid.” He shook his head and stepped back. “Let’s gather the wood.” He walked away from me and I felt my heart thudding in my stomach. This man that I’d given myself to was still hiding something from me. I was sure of that. Why would he be hiding something from me? Would I ever be able to fully trust him?

We gathered the wood in silence and then walked back to the beach. “I’ll be right back. I dropped some branches.” Jakob called out to me as he turned around and walked toward to the jungle.

“Okay,” I mumbled, and watched him hurry away. I jumped as Steve appeared next to me. “You scared me.” I took a step away from him, suddenly feeling apprehensive of him.

“Sorry, it wasn’t my intention to scare you.”

“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “Just try to make a bit of noise when you approach someone. I didn’t even hear you.”

“Sorry, I’m used to having to be quiet in my line of work.” He smiled with a wry look on his face.

“It’s fine.” I wanted to ask him what line of work he was in, but I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be honest about it anyway.

“Would you like to go for a walk, Bianca?” Steve offered me his arm, and I tried to think of a reason to decline.

“That sounds good, but let’s wait for Jakob. Maybe he’ll want to come with us.”

“I was rather hoping that we could take a walk without him.” Steve’s eyes narrowed. “There are some things I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Things like what?”

“Forgive me if this is an intrusion into your private life, but I can’t help but think that you and Jakob aren’t really boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I don’t see any sexual chemistry between you. You seem awkward around him.” He shrugged. “You know you can tell me anything, Bianca. I will protect you if you need me to.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is Jakob your master?” He took a step toward me, and I frowned at him.

“My
master
? What do you mean?”

“Are you a slave, Bianca?” His voice lowered. “I remember you talking about trafficking on the first night, and I wonder now if you were giving me a clue.”

“Do I look like I’m a slave?” I shook my head. Was Steve crazy?

“Like I said before, appearances can be deceiving.” He grabbed my arm. “If you come with me, I can take care of you.”

“I don’t need you to take care of me.” I shook my arm and his hand fell to the side. “Thanks for your concern, Steve, but I’m fine.” I looked up the beach hoping I would see Jakob walking back toward us.

“Can I tell you something, Bianca?” He spoke urgently, and I looked at him in surprise at his tone.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Those who watch are the watched, those who listen are never heard, those who love are bound for heartache, and those who seek the truth are always lied to.”

“Okay.” I frowned at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means, my dear, that you’re in danger.” His eyes widened and he stepped away from me. My heart started racing, and I wanted to call out to him to ask him what he meant. There was something so off about him. He was starting to remind me of a wizard.

“Everything okay?” Jakob’s voice carried down the beach, and I stood there unsure of what to do. As I watched him approaching us, I could see the distrust and anger in his eyes as he stared at Steve. He looked at me searchingly for a few seconds to make sure I was okay, and I nodded quickly. His expression changed to one of satisfaction, and I ran toward him,
knowing that someone who wanted to harm me wouldn’t be worried about my safety.

“Do you need any help carrying those?” I gave him a short smile and offered to take some of the branches from his hands.

“No, I’m fine.” He frowned at me. “Your forehead is sweating. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It must be the sun,” I lied, not wanting to tell him what Steve had said and the fleeting doubts I’d had about him.

“I shouldn’t have left you alone.” His eyes searched my face. “We have to be more careful about safety.”

“It’s fine. I can take care of myself.”

“I want to make sure.” He looked over at Steve. “There is something
off
about him.”

“I know.” I nodded. “But I don’t think he would try to hurt me with you here. I think he’s harmless. Or at least I hope he is.”

“Everyone looks harmless in the beginning.” He dropped the branches and walked over to his pants to pull out the lighter. “Pull the leaves off the branches, and let’s get this fire started.” He walked toward me again, and I couldn’t help but stare at his legs once more, so sturdy and muscular. I wanted to feel his legs in between mine. I could remember the feel of them under me as we’d made love. I stared at his legs and then his chest longingly and tried to ignore how badly I wanted to touch him. The truth of the matter was that even though I was still angry at him I still wanted him. I just
wanted to press my whole body against his and feel his warmth and comfort.

“Are you cold?” Jakob watched me as I shivered, and I nodded. “Let’s get this fire started, then.” He exclaimed and then dropped to his knees.

I didn’t want him to know the real reason why my body was trembling.

T
he fire added another dimension to the beach. It almost made me feel like I was out at a party on the beach somewhere. Almost, but not quite.

“I’m hungry,” Steve complained, and I nodded in agreement.

“Shall we go and get some more bananas?” I looked at Jakob, hoping he had another suggestion.

“We can.” He nodded. “Or we can see if there’s some other fruit we can pick.”

“How will we know if they’re poisonous or not?”

“We just won’t pick any fruits we aren’t sure of.”

“I saw some green berries in the jungle.” Steve spoke up. “I think they looked ripe.”

“What sort of berries were they?” Jakob looked at him, and Steve shrugged. “Berries are the worst types of fruit to just pick and eat. They can be highly poisonous. I’m going to
say that we should stay away from berries. We don’t know which ones may kill us.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me.” I nodded. “I’m not a huge berry person anyway; I always get the seeds stuck in my teeth, and it’s a pain to get them out.”

“If you need any help, I’ve got a super-duper tongue.” Jakob grinned at me, and I laughed.

“I think I’ll be able to manage.”

“So are you two ready?” Jakob jumped up. “Let’s go into the jungle.”

“Should we just leave this open fire?” Steve frowned and remained seated.

“It’ll be fine.” Jakob’s face was hard. “I suggest you come with us into the jungle if you’re hungry.”

“Fine.” Steve stood up awkwardly, and we all walked into the jungle in silence. “So, Jakob,” Steve began. “Tell me more about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Why do you think you were kidnapped? You seem like a pretty big guy. Someone would have to be a fool to draw your wrath.”

“There are plenty of fools in the world. Trust me; I’ll have the last laugh.”

“I’d be scared to get on your bad side, that’s for sure.”