Illusion (Swept Away #1)(27)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“I agree.” I shivered next to Jakob. I was still in his arms, and I was suddenly glad for more than one reason that he had laid his claim on me.

As much as I wasn’t sure about Jakob’s intentions, I knew that Steve was bad news. I couldn’t ignore the feeling that he was definitely here for a more sinister reason.

“Should we go take a seat?” Jakob nodded back toward our pants. “Get to know one another?”

“Sounds good. I need a bit of a rest.” Steve nodded, and we all walked back to the sand.

“I don’t trust him,” I whispered into Jakob’s ear as we walked back, and the look in his eyes told me that he agreed with me.

“Let’s not let him know that.” Jakob’s breath tickled my ear as he whispered back at me. I wasn’t sure if I agreed with him. Part of me thought it would be a better idea to let Steve know that we didn’t trust him from the get-go.

“I guess I’m really not at Sandals anymore.” Steve gave me a look. “Serves me right for sitting on the beach and drinking all day.”

There was something off with Steve’s story. He’d said that he had been relaxing on the beach when he had fallen asleep. And then he’d woken up in the jungle. I looked at him again and gave him a weak smile before looking down at the sand and thinking. He was wearing pants and a blue shirt. Why would he have been wearing pants and a shirt on the beach?

The other thought that struck me was how calm and collected he seemed. He was so calm that he’d been whistling casually. If I’d woken up in the middle of a jungle after falling asleep on the beach, I wouldn’t be whistling as if I had no cares in the world. I’d be frantic as hell. Something didn’t add up. And all of us knew it. The only sounds around us were those of the waves crashing in the ocean and some birds chirping.

I stared at Steve and then at Jakob. They were sizing each other up, and I could feel the sudden tension in the air. Steve looked back at me and ran his hands down the front of his shirt. “I’m glad I’m here, Bianca. I can help to protect you.” He then looked at Jakob pointedly.

“She doesn’t need your help. She’s got me.” Jakob responded in a menacing tone and I wondered just how true that was.

Both of them turned to look at me then. I stared back at them and offered a small awkward smile while my insides churned. I felt like Little Red Riding Hood, but I had no idea which of my supposed saviors was actually the wolf.

Five

“There’s something off about that guy Steve,” I whispered to Jakob as we sat down on the sand. “I don’t know if I trust him.”

“I could have told you that as soon as I saw him.”

“What are we going to do?” I bit my lower lip and tried to stop my body from shaking.

“We’ll sleep together tonight,” Jakob whispered in my ear as we watched Steve hobble over to the ocean.

“What?” My voice rose, and my stomach flipped over.

“We’ll sleep together.” He pulled me toward him. “We have to act the part.”

“I don’t know if I want to act any part.” I swallowed hard as our legs grazed each other’s. I felt a small spark of electricity run through me.

“I don’t trust him.” His voice was low. “We have to show a united front.”

“We don’t know him.” And I don’t know if I trust you either.

“His story doesn’t add up.” His eyes narrowed as we watched Steve splashing his face with water. “He didn’t just fall asleep at a resort.”

“I was thinking the same thing, but why is he here, then?” I lay down on the sand. I wasn’t sure why I was arguing with him, when he was bringing up the same points I had just been making internally. “Why are you here? Why am I here? Maybe he was drugged like we were?”

“He wasn’t a part of the plan.” He shook. “I’m positive of that. Whoever wanted us here didn’t intend for this man to be here as well.”

“You don’t think so?” I shivered.

“Whoever orchestrated our kidnapping had everything planned to the most finite detail. They had your drink laced with something, for heaven’s sake. They wouldn’t just have a third person show up. Not like this. It doesn’t make sense.”

“So then why is he here?”

“That’s what I intend to find out.” His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the ocean. I could see his muscles flexing as he stretched his arms out. I swallowed hard as I stared at his toned body. If it came down to a fight, Jakob could definitely take Steve down.

“You don’t think he’s the one who put this all together, do you?” I whispered as Steve limped back to us. I knew that I didn’t think that, but I was curious to hear what Jakob had to say. Mentally I was starting to feel confused. Really confused.

“I don’t know.” He looked down at me and paused. “None of us really knows anything.”

“I need to tell you why I think I’m here.” I spoke quickly as I decided suddenly to trust him. “I need you to know what I’ve been up to.”

“Tell me later.” He nodded. “Let’s wait to talk until he’s gone to sleep. He’s walking back now.” He looked toward the beach and I saw Steve hobbling back toward us.

We spent the rest of the day sitting on the beach chatting idly about why we thought we were on the island. I was pretty sure that none of us was being honest or up front about our pasts. I knew I wasn’t. I mumbled on about life in the city being dangerous and how the rise of human trafficking made women like me a target. Both men nodded in understanding, but I knew they had to be thinking that had nothing to do with all three of us being on the island together.

Jakob didn’t bring up going to explore in the jungle, and I didn’t ask him either. I wasn’t sure that either one of us was willing to go explore now that Steve was a part of our pack. There was something about him that reminded me of a serial killer. Maybe it was the way his eyes followed my every movement. Or maybe it was the way he stared at my breasts and licked his lips. His fingers also looked too manicured. I could tell from his fingernails that he wasn’t a man of labor. Then there was the fact that his accent kept changing. It ranged from British to Australian, and I wasn’t sure if he was putting it on or not.

“I’m a man of leisure.” Steve lay back on the sand. “I come and go as I want.”