Determination

by S. E. Rose

  “You do realize that this plan is crazy, and we could lose total control of everything, right?” I ask her.

  “I know,” she whispers. “I know, but I don’t care. I need to do this. I need to.”

  “OK, but I’m doing it with you this time. You and I, together, we will not separate tomorrow for any reason, do you understand me?” I ask her, my voice commanding, maybe too commanding.

  “Yes, baby, I understand,” she says and the look in her eyes tells me she understands me on a level no one else has ever understood before this moment. “I’ll need your strength,” she adds.

  “Then you’ll have it,” I assure her. I move forward until our lips brush. “I love you, Vanessa. I can’t lose you, baby.” And I give her a slow kiss, closing my eyes and feeling her warm skin against mine.

  “You won’t,” she whispers into my mouth. When we finish kissing, I pull her to her feet and carry her back inside where I slowly undress her and make slow love to her over and over for the next two hours.

  When we finish worshipping each other, we lie on the bed on our sides and stare into each other’s eyes. I memorize every freckle on her face. I memorize the way her lashes fan out along her eyelids, the way her lips look when they are swollen from our kisses, the way her flawless skin looks when it’s flushed from exertion. “You’re perfect,” I murmur, and she smiles at me. “I mean it. You are perfect.” And I press my hand to her chest, over her heart and she gives me the happiest smile I’ve ever seen on her face and I don’t want it to go away, not ever.

  “Let’s stay in tonight,” she says. I agree with her and we order an early room service. We dine in the nude on the bed, feeding each other bits of food, licking drops off the other’s skin and gazing at each other and reveling in our newfound understanding of one another.

  After we finish, Vanessa pulls her knees up and props her chin on them, wrapping her arms around her legs. She looks so small at this moment, but also so determined.

  “Do you think we can do this?” she asks me in a hushed voice.

  “Yes, I know we can,” I say, trying to sound determined, but inside I’m freaking out and completely unsure we’re doing the right thing.

  “God, my parents would shit a brick if they found out what was going on,” she laughs to herself.

  “So would my mom,” I say smiling at her.

  “Does Laura know?” she asks me. I shake my head.

  “Jack hasn’t told her anything. He doesn’t want her freaking out or jumping on a plane and coming out here,” I explain.

  “Is she OK? I mean with everything that happened to her a few years ago?” she asks.

  “Yeah, more or less. It’s been hard on her, especially once Lily got involved. She hated losing the ability to protect her child and I can’t blame her, not one bit,” I admit.

  “Yeah, I’m sure that was super awful,” Vanessa ponders.

  “It was,” I agree.

  “And then there was the plane crash too,” she says, reminding me of the horrible crash that occurred that injured Laura, Jack, Nick, and Zoe who were on their way to help Lily, Lance, and Cody in Colombia. Amazingly, they all survived with no long-term physical injuries.

  “It’s been a rough few years,” I say. “But, we’ll get through it.”

  “Yes, we will,” she says and reaches out to squeeze my hand and now I know she’s referring to us and not them.

  I rub my thumb over the soft skin on the back of her hand and she gives me a lazy smile. “You tired?” I ask her after I realize we’ve been sitting on the bed for quite some time.

  Her yawn makes me laugh and I know she’s knackered from our long day.

  “Let’s grab a shower and get some sleep,” I suggest. “Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”

  She nods, and we proceed to shower in record time, sticking to the task at hand and not straying into other activities. She puts on one of my t-shirts and we curl up on the bed. I hear thunder in the distance, and she snuggles closer to me. The approaching storm seems too cliché even for me.

  There’s a scratching at the door suddenly and I jump off the bed. I’m two seconds away from texting Baxter when I hear a meow. I shake my head as I crack the door open and one of the stray island cats comes gallivanting inside our room.

  Vanessa giggles. “Oops, I forgot to tell you that the day before you go here, I may have made a new friend at breakfast,” she says apologetically. I’d seen this black cat hanging out on the walkway outside but didn’t realize it had befriended Vanessa. She pats the bed and the cat jumps up and snuggles against her.

  “Oh, no,” I say walking over and she shoos me away with her hand.

  “Yes, Soleil stays,” she says adamantly.

  “Soleil?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “But he’s black.”

  “She is black, and she was a ray of sunshine when I first got here and needed comforting,” she explains to me.

  “Really?” I ask.

  “Yes.” She gives me a pleading look and I roll my eyes and walk to my side of the bed.

  “I don’t think she likes storms,” Vanessa says after the thunder causes the cat to burrow itself deep into the covers next to Vanessa. “It’s OK, Soleil,” she coos, and curls up so the cat is snuggled against her belly like a pillow. I pull her against my chest and we lie there spooning, Vanessa, Soleil, and I. I shake my head, un-fucking-believable, pussy-blocked by a cat.

  “Goodnight,” Vanessa says.

  “Bonne nuit,” I answer, kissing her hair.

  We fall asleep and I dream of so many things that the dreams run together into one long film in my head.

  I’m lying on the sand and it’s very bright out, so I turn and bury my face in the warmth of the beach. I start shaking my head, back and forth and back and forth. The sand burns against my flesh.

  I wake with a start and realize the sandpaper feeling is Soleil who is licking my cheek while sitting on my chest. Vanessa is asleep with her head on my chest next to the cat and an arm wrapped around my middle. I groan, and the cat stops and stares at me before proceeding with her cleansing again.

  “Oh, she likes you,” Vanessa says as she watches the cat groom me. She giggles, and I roll my eyes.

  “Not funny,” I groan.

  “Sort of funny,” she says with a grin. Soleil finishes her grooming and curls into a sleeping ball on my chest next to Vanessa who presses her face against the soft fur and kisses the cat. “She’s so sweet.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I say, although the cat is being really fucking cute right now. I glance at the clock and it says 6:20 a.m. “We ought to get up and showered for breakfast,” I say and she nods and picks up the cat who meows her disapproval.

  “Sorry, sweetie,” she coos at it as she sets it down on the bed.

  Our morning routine seems familiar now, almost like we’ve been together for years. We do a silent dance in the bathroom, anticipating each other’s next move as we wash and prep for our day. It’s a comforting few moments before the tension begins to build inside of me.

  Vanessa holds out her hand to me. “You ready?” she asks, her eyes wide.

  I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it gently. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I answer honestly. She nods her understanding and we walk hand in hand to breakfast. After breakfast, we do as we are instructed, and we go to pick up our small rental car. It’s one of those European cars that’s laughable in its size, a true clown car. We get in and, although our maps and directions were burned in a candle flame after our discussion last night, I cruise on autopilot to our first destination, having memorized its location last night.

  We arrive at a beautiful park area that overlooks a cove. There are tourists everywhere, just as Jack and Bryce had promised. I look at Vanessa. She places her sunglasses up on her head and stares at me for a long moment.

  “Are you sure, mon étoile?” I ask her.

  She lifts her chin a bit. “Yes,” she breathes. “Just give me one second,” she says and lets out a lon
g breath, gripping my hand as she does. I give it a squeeze, and she nods. “Let’s go.”

  I follow her to a scenic overlook where several dozen couples are taking selfies or getting other couples to take photos. There’s one family with teenagers, and a few solo tourists. I lift up my sunglasses and we take a few selfies. For a few seconds, we’re just a normal couple, taking selfies on a romantic getaway. I almost forget for a flash that we are famous, that Vanessa’s face is recognized around the world. Those photos document the last few seconds of calm we will have. Within about ten seconds, there’s a gasp from a young woman to our right. I hear whispering and when we snap the last selfie, I look over and see several couples looking our way. A young Asian woman walks over first.

  “You Vanessa Tourney?” she asks in broken English.

  Vanessa nods and gives her the best “I love my fans” smile I’ve ever seen. “Would you like a photo?” she asks the young woman, clearly anticipating her next question. The young woman nods enthusiastically. She snaps several selfies of them together and then the onslaught begins. Fortunately, only about twenty people are around us so it’s not the worst-case mob response I had envisioned in my brain last night.

  Vanessa is polite and cordial with each person, allowing a good couple hundred of photos to be taken. Then someone recognizes me. I was beginning to wonder if they would. While I certainly get recognized occasionally, I don’t have to deal with the fame that Vanessa does. A young man recognizes me and asks if I am Jesse Ryder. I nod, and he asks for a photo with me. Soon Vanessa and I are both taking a few photos with a handful of couples. After about twenty minutes, when our new friends have had their celebrity fill, we get in our clown car and head to the next destination, the old ship restaurant. We eat lunch and get spotted again and pose for a few more selfies. I get a text halfway through lunch from Bryce telling me that we have gone viral. The plan is working like clockwork so far.

  After lunch we get in the car and head to the other side of the island, stopping at the plantation on our way. I notice a car following us after that and I begin to wonder who it is. Eventually, we pull up to a dock at another resort and get out for a short boat ride to the private islands where we will have a late afternoon picnic.

  The car that’s been following us pulls into the resort, but parks in the back and we don’t see anyone as we head out to the small islands in view of the resort. The islands are no more than one or two acres each and there’s a small strip of water between them. The picnic has been set out on some park tables near the beach and we sit down and stare at the food.

  “You should eat,” I tell Vanessa.

  Her hand goes to the fork on the table, but it trembles. I reach across the table and put my hand over hers. She looks up at me and I can see the trepidation and fear in her eyes. Fuck, I think to myself. I want to call the whole damned thing off, but I know it’s too late now.

  “It’ll be alright,” I say.

  She nods and tries to eat a few forkfuls of sashimi. I do the same. We need to keep up appearances, just in case. I swear I hear a motor in the distance and I strain to listen more closing. However, the sound dissipates as fast as it started and then I hear nothing except the gentle waves lapping on the beach.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” Vanessa says quietly after a few moments.

  “Alright,” I say slowly, trying to figure out where I can take her. The island is covered in foliage except for the small strip of beach where we sit. “Let’s go into the woods a little ways and find a spot, OK?”

  She nods and takes my hand as I lead us into the forest. This wasn’t part of the plan. We were supposed to stay on the beach. My phone pings, and I look down to see a text from Jack.

  Jack: Where the fuck are you going? We’ve lost visual. Return immediately.

  Jesse: We’re peeing, for God’s sake. We’ll be back in two minutes.

  “Who is it?” Vanessa whispers.

  “Jack,” I whisper back and spot a little depression in the forest surrounded by thick foliage. “Over here,” I point to her. “Go ahead. I’ll wait right here.”

  She suddenly doesn’t look nervous, but mildly perturbed.

  “Seriously, there’s no one here. I think I can pee on my own,” she huffs.

  “Fine,” I throw my hands up in the air. “I’ll wait back by those two trees,” I say and point toward two ridiculously large palm trees that we’ve just passed.

  “OK,” she says quietly and heads toward the “ladies’ room.”

  When she reaches the area, she turns to me and gives me a little spinning motion with her finger. She wants me to turn around. Jesus fucking Christ, she can’t be serious! I’ve seen her naked! I’ve fucked her most private parts with my mouth. She has to be fucking kidding me! The look in her eyes tells me she is most definitely not kidding me. Shit! I turn around and wait. I’ll give her sixty seconds.

  I count backwards in my head, sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…I make it to twenty-one and I hear something. I turn around and look toward where she went but I don’t see any sign of Vanessa. My heart leaps in my chest. I bound back toward her and she’s not there.

  “Vanessa,” I whisper loudly. I hear a cracking of twigs and the rustle of leaves to my left and I begin to run in that direction.

  “Vanessa!” I yell. I no longer care who can hear me. I feel frantic. My blood feels like ice as it pumps through my veins in overtime.

  I’m about to yell again, when I hear a voice to my right.

  “No need to yell, Mr. Ryder. Vanessa is right here,” it says in a thick Middle Eastern accent. I swivel to see Vanessa in the grasp of a man a little shorter than me with thick black hair and piercing dark eyes. He’s in his early forties if I had to guess and based on the photos I’ve seen, I know without a doubt this is Saeed.

  I freeze and assess the situation. He has a gun pointed at her head and his other hand is around her throat. Tears stream down her face and her eyes are wide with fright. I have my phone still in my hand. I press my finger to the alert button on it, hoping the imperceptible movement goes unnoticed.

  “Phone,” Saeed says and motions for me to toss it to the ground. I drop it face down, not moving my gaze from Vanessa’s. “Very good, Mr. Ryder. Now you and I are going to take a little walk and we’ll leave Miss Tourney here.” I now notice Vanessa is tied up and the rope is tied to a tree behind her, her legs and arms are bound to one another. He pulls out a piece of cloth and stuffs it in her mouth before reaching for some duct tape in his pocket. He breaks off a piece with his teeth, while keeping his gun trained on me. He slaps it on her face, covering her lips and then pushes her down so she falls hard to the ground. I hear her wince, but don’t have time to check her before he grips my arm and pulls me toward the back of the island. I’m fairly certain there are people in these woods with us, but I hear no one. I talk loudly in case they can hear me.

  “What do you want?” I ask him.

  He chuckles in a maniacal villain type of way. “Oh, Mr. Ryder, let’s not play games. You know who I am, I know who you are. I need that data you have and we’re going to go get it now. I’ve left this task in the hands of idiots for far too long. So, I’ve come here to take it back myself.”

  “Seems a little above your paygrade,” I say sarcastically.

  He jams the gun into my rib cage, and I wince.

  “Let’s play nice, now. I wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt.”

  We come out of the woods into a small clearing, and I see a power boat parked against the rocks. “Get in,” he says and pushes me toward it. I oblige him and jump aboard. He follows me and then starts up the engine. I see another boat nearby and I wonder whose it is.

  He drives us around the island and back to my bungalow. When we get to the dock the sun is starting to set. He pulls up and tells me to get out and walk slowly toward my bungalow. I do as he says. I don’t know if he’s alone, if he has someone with Vanessa or if our guys have found her yet.

  I
tremble with anger as I open the bungalow door and step inside. Saeed follows me and points toward my computer. He hands me a memory stick.

  “Load it, now,” he says in a deep threatening voice.

  I do as I’m told and smile internally. I’ve put a “small glitch” shall we say, in the data. If it’s downloaded onto an unapproved device, it will load a doomsday virus that will essentially worm its way through the dark web, taking down each of the servers linked to this data web. I have to say it was one of Walsh’s more genius plans and we worked diligently to make it happen over the past few days. It’s my secret weapon. I told Jack and Bryce I protected the software, including a system shutdown if a person other than one of us tries to access it. But they don’t know about Walsh’s mad genius plan.

  I do as I’m told and load it onto the USB drive he has handed me. I don’t have to press any special buttons, the computer just knows to load the virus.

  Once it finishes downloading, I hand it back to Saeed.

  “You have it, now leave,” I grunt with teeth clenched.

  He laughs at me. “I don’t think so, Mr. Ryder. You will accompany me back to my hotel room and we’ll make sure this data works as I was promised it would.”

  Oh shit, I internally curse at myself. I had expected him to maybe try to put a bullet in my head here. I was ready for a fight, but not this. I make a split-second decision and attempt to disarm him, but the fucker is faster and stronger than I gave him credit for and he has me pinned to the floor with a foot on my chest faster than I can say “oh fuck.” I then realize that I have grossly underestimated Saeed. He knows martial arts too and he’s good.

  “Now, now, Mr. Ryder, play nice or your little slut gets it,” Saeed sneers and he eases his foot off my chest. I cough a few times and get to my feet. “Walk to the parking lot,” he commands me. I do as I’m told and get in his car. He drives in silence back to a resort near the islands we just left. He parks the car and ushers me to a villa on the property. Once inside, he sets a laptop down on a dining table and tells me to load the data.