by Sydney Addae
“What’s the matter?” Jasmine asked as she stopped short and stared at him on the floor.
Too weak to do more than hold up one finger he took a few sips of air until the dots stopped circling his head. Something cool rolled across his forehead. He focused on the moisture, the slow movement and settled his beast.
“Thank you,” he said when he could talk. “The landing, the return was abrupt. Vertigo.”
Jasmine kneeled beside him, placed her hand beneath his arm and pulled. “Hop into the shower while I clean this up.”
With considerable effort he stood and placed his hand against the wall behind her to steady himself. “Much as I admire Barticus and Amynta, I won’t ever do that again.” With slow measured strides Jasmine walked with him into the bathroom, turned on the water and pushed him inside. He stood beneath the hot spray for several minutes before his brain came back online. Hawke had reached out to him, Angus had as well.
“Angus?”
“Are you okay?” Angus asked.
“Not yet. You?”
“I’m fine. You took the brunt of the ejection when you covered me and Hawke. Amynta passed out, Barticus stepped in and it was a crash landing. He wanted me to check on you. Amynta’s not doing well, started hemorrhaging.”
That surprised Silas. “Hemorrhaging? I thought it was safe.”
“For us. The risk of running into ourselves was null, for her there was a greater risk. But she had so many personal questions. I think if she could’ve followed Alpha Nikolas we would’ve seen a much younger version of Asia and Amynta. Her mind wouldn’t allow it and she collapsed.”
“Sorry that happened. Please tell me we got what we needed from Nikolas.”
“Talk to Hawke on that score. Have you spoken to Jasmine?”
“Not really, why?”
“Take a deep breath,” Angus said mysteriously.
It hurt to breathe deeply, but he forced his chest to expand without inhaling. “What’s going on?”
“You don’t smell that?” Angus asked.
Frowning, Silas inhaled, held the air for a few seconds to process everything. It hit him. “He’s here? Again? When did he get here?” Awake, Silas stepped out the shower, grabbed a towel and strode out the bathroom. Jasmine had changed the linen and cleaned the floor. “When did he get here?”
He pulled on a pair of jogging pants while watching her.
“Not long after you left,” she said. “Are you feeling better? What happened?”
He didn’t want to take the time to describe anything and gave a brief explanation why he had been sick. Sitting on the chair, he grabbed his sneakers and put them on.
“This is our last scheduled day on the island,” he said. “But we can stay another day if you want. Who’s going to say we can’t?” When her face lit up he realized he had done the right thing. “Once I rid the island of this pest, we’ll spend today and tomorrow enjoying ourselves.” He pulled her close and hugged her tight. “It’d make me really happy to find you in bed waiting for me,” he said softly.
She told him about the explosive, what she did and the deaths.
Silas rubbed her back. “I’m so sorry you went through all that. Somehow I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“It’s not your fault, Silas. We’ve come here several times over the years and there’s never been any problems. This is just one of those things, Wolfie.”
“I’ll handle it,” he said thinking of all the ways he would make Estevan Cortes permanently disappear.
“Can you do something for me please?”
He hoped she didn’t ask him to spare Cortes’ life. That he wouldn’t do.
“What?”
“He’s not rational. Have Angus do more than a surface search. I’m curious what made him this way.”
Relieved she asked for something he could do, he agreed.
“Shyla and I will be watching,” she said.
“We’ll need to destroy those tapes,” he said.
“We haven’t recorded anything since Lynda left,” she said.
“Good.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.
“No one can ever find him,” she said grabbing his arm.
“I know.”
“There can be nothing coming back to us.” She squeezed tighter.
He smiled. “I know. I’ve got this, trust me.”
She released his arm slowly.
Angus stood outside their bedroom door, waiting.
“Think of how you want to spend our day. We can use the jet-skis, go shopping, anything you want. I’m all yours,” Silas said and left the room.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SILAS AND ANGUS RAN through the trees and stopped suddenly when they reached the smoking hole in the ground. Fortunately, he saw the earth and not water, but that hole needed to be filled and the fallen trees removed soon. Anger burned in his chest at the useless destruction.
“Someone else is here,” Angus said peering through the trees.
Another boat pulled close to the shore with a much smaller crew of four. Estevan cursed and pointed in the direction of the explosion site.
“How should we do this?” Angus asked. “It’s still dark. We can take them one by one. Drop them in the hole and bury them.”
“I don’t want the stench of them on my land,” Silas said watching the men move around the deck while talking to Cortes. “There are bodies in the water, we need to get rid of those as well.”
Angus glanced in the direction of the water and nodded. “Shyla said there were 15 men, three remained on the island, including Cortes, after Jasmine finished. He killed those two beneath those trees. I’ll search to make sure we get them all.”
“Once we’re done with these four, we’ll put them all on the boat and take them away from here,” Silas said as he eyed Cortes. If he walked out as he wanted, they would shoot, realize the bullets didn’t take him down which could jeopardize the Nation especially if they used their cell phones to record anything. He wouldn’t take that chance and risk exposure. He told Angus of Jasmine’s request.
“I’ll do it,” Angus said.
One of Estevan’s men carried a bright lantern. Light hit Silas a quick second before he moved. The man screamed. The tart scent of fear rose in the dark as he dropped the light and ran yelling toward the boat. Popping sounds of gunshots followed. The frightened man dropped to the ground lying face down, half in and out of the water. Red blood seeped into the sand and ran into the sea.
Disgusted and ready to end this, Silas pointed up. Angus nodded and they climbed to the top of the tree. While the men below fiddled with the lamp, Silas jumped down and landed behind a large man who swirled firing his weapon. Silas punched him in the face, knocking him down and kicked the gun away. The man rolled to the side, scrambled to his feet and charged Silas.
Silas waited until the man was a hairsbreadth away and jumped. His foot shot out, hitting the man in the face, sending him flying backward into the security shield causing him to bounce forward and slam face down onto the sand.
Angus had dropped behind two men who scrambled to aim at Silas. He grabbed them by their necks and slammed their heads together with enough force to crack their skulls. Estevan fired in Angus direction and hit the men he held in front of him.
Silas bent down and snapped the man on the ground’s neck and threw sand in Estevan’s face. The older man never released the trigger.
Silas threw a shield around him and Angus as the shots went wild. Angus walked up behind Estevan and placed his arm around his neck.
Estevan struggled like a wild man, screaming curses while trying to break free but couldn’t.
“He’s got a brain tumor.”
Silas stared at Angus. “Which means what?”
“He’s dying. The tumor presses in the area of the brain that causes... irrationality I suppose. Quinn or Matt can explain it better.”
“Is it important?” Silas didn’t understand why he needed to ask any
one anything.
“Jasmine wants to know why he behaved like this. Shyla thinks Jasmine is either embarrassed or disappointed by his behavior. If you can explain his illness, it might make it easier for her to accept,” Angus said.
“I’m going to kill him regardless,” Silas said.
Angus agreed. “It would be the humane thing to do. He’s suffering in this condition. He’s locked on vengeance, it’s rolling through his mind in waves, out of control. He’s not concerned about anything other than breaking through that wall and killing everyone inside.” Angus paused for a few moments and whistled. “We’ll need to bury him where he’ll never be found because they will look for him. The others in his group will search for him.”
Silas waved away that concern. “His body parts will rest in the belly of the fish.”
Angus nodded.
Silas contacted Matt and asked about brain tumors. The Pack doctor launched into a detailed account of the impact a tumor in the frontal lobe would have on the man along with other symptoms. He ended the conversation saying. “There are a lot of factors involved, including the size and location of the tumor. The human brain is still relatively unexplored and understood.”
Silas almost rolled his eyes but didn’t. “Thanks, I’ll let Jasmine know.” He moved to stand in front of Estevan. “Strip him naked.”
Estevan cursed and spat while fighting Angus. Silas picked up the four bodies, Estevan’s clothes, and tossed them on board the ship. He picked up the two men trapped beneath the fallen trees and tossed them and all their equipment onboard as well. Seeing several floating bodies near the shore, he picked them up and tossed them on the deck.
“That’s 11, you said 15?” Silas asked looking around. The last thing he wanted was bodies floating near the island on their last day here.
“Shyla says she counted 15 heartbeats including Cortes,” Angus said.
Silas trudged back into the water and hunted for the other three. Inhaling deeply, he expanded the distance for his search. Once he locked onto the bodies, they went in different directions, he dove beneath the water to gather them. An hour and a half later he had collected 14 bodies from the attack against Jasmine and the four who had been unlucky enough to answer Cortes call to retrieve him from the island. Pissed by the delay, Silas hunted through the boat for explosives and cursed. There was enough to sink the island.
“Hawke, tell me how to set up these explosives so that when I send the boat out I can blow it up in open waters,” Silas said.
It didn’t take long to set things up and insert the triggers. Silas gave Angus the controller and drove the boat further into the Pacific Ocean a long way from the island and land. When he was satisfied no one would be hurt or impacted, he jumped overboard and swam back to shore. Angus stood above a less combative Estevan who stared at the ground without speaking.
Silas grabbed Estevan beneath his arm, making him stand and marched him into the water so he could see the fireworks. He nodded to Angus, who pushed the trigger.
In the distance, the boat exploded. Debris flew in every direction. The ground shuddered. Waves rose and crashed against them as Silas pressed Estevan’s head beneath the water until he stopped struggling.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“SILAS?” Alpha Lucian said just after sunrise. Silas and Jasmine lay entwined on a patio chair enjoying each other as splashes of yellow and tangerine rolled across the sky. Remnants of their early morning breakfast lay on the glass and steel side table.
“Lucian? How are you?” Silas hadn’t seen the Central American Alpha since the ceremony when the Goddess promoted Lucian to lead that continent a few years ago. Silas had been sent to assist in the installation.
Lucian had been busy securing borders, promoting Alphas, installing new schools and hospitals in rural areas which left no time for socializing. Solo, one of Silas’ favorites, had become Alpha over Panama. Silas had more contact with him since the island was in his jurisdiction. Silas had an idea why Lucian contacted him but waited to be sure.
“I’m well, Sir. How are you and Mistress enjoying your vacation on this side of the world?” Lucian asked politely.
“Sun-filled days, great weather, lots of food, fishing, and quiet time with my mate, can’t ask for more than that,” Silas said as he pulled Jasmine closer and kissed the top of her head.
“Glad to hear it. Sorry, you’ve had to deal with a few pests. Which is the only reason I’m bothering you during your personal holiday. I know how hard it is to get away from everything and all our responsibilities. However, this morning there was an explosion in the vicinity of your island paradise, I hope it didn’t wake you or Mistress,” Lucian said.
Silas laughed. “As a matter of fact, it did. It was really loud. We felt the aftershocks here. I think the fish started jumping out of the water. Too bad most of them were dead. Horrible way to start the day so I’ve decided to stay another day for Jasmine. It’s very important to me that she has the vacation of her dreams.” He stressed the last sentence.
“I totally understand and agree with you on that score.”
“What was it? The noise?” Silas asked.
"A decent sized boat exploded. Pieces of the hull and contents went far and wide. Lots of debris floating around the water and shores. There were a lot of complaints to the police as well. They are visiting every island this morning to make sure everyone is in good health and to ask questions. Also, a prominent Columbian businessman, Estevan Cortes, is missing. There’s a possibility the boat that exploded before sunrise was his.” He paused. “One other thing, the boat had a tracking system installed. The police will be visiting the last locations it docked before the explosion.”
Silas groaned deep in his chest.
“What?” Jasmine asked.
He told her what Lucian said. She rolled off the chair and walked back into their bedroom.
“When will they start visiting islands?” Silas said as he alerted Angus to the situation.
“I received a message a couple minutes ago and am waiting for more information. I thought it important to give you a heads up as soon as I learned about it. Solo is working to make sure a Pack member is on the search and rescue boat.”
“Is that what they’re calling it?” Silas asked as he stood and stretched.
Lucian didn’t say anything for a few moments. “There was quite a bit of damage done to a few homes from flying debris. Another boat was further inland and capsized, one of the men on that boat is in the hospital. Several people were injured. Right now they aren’t absolutely sure what happened but the human police are taking this very seriously.”
Silas bit back a groan at the added complications. There was a lot of plastic explosives onboard but he only used one block. Obviously, that was more than enough to cause extensive damages.
“As would I,” Silas said. “I need to know if anyone dies from that explosion.”
“Si, I will tell you, but I counsel you to keep whatever you know or don’t know to yourself. The man who has disappeared, Estevan Cortes, he has many connections throughout the Americas. He was a main player in a business enterprise that you don’t want to get involved in. Believe me when I say it is best to know nothing, otherwise, they will come for you and yours and discover our secrets.”
It was the last part that convinced Silas to keep quiet regarding Cortes disappearance and the death of the others. It bothered him that people were hurt and he needed to find a way to make restitution that wouldn’t endanger his family.
“I see.” He paused. “Thank you for the warning and advice. I appreciate it. Seems as though when I venture to this part of the world I make mistakes that cost me in time and resources. Estevan Cortes has an interesting history. Seems even the devil has friends.”
“Si. Diablo Cortes had only a few and they are just as wicked. I will let you know when the police leave the shore and if one of our own is with them,” Lucian said.
“Thanks again. I appreciate everything your Pack has
done to help my den. It’s most appreciated.” Silas held up a finger to Angus as he stepped onto the deck and saw him.
Angus nodded and looked out over the pool toward the beach.
“Sir, you have provided jobs, finances, and invaluable assistance for our Pack and we are in your debt. Solo’s people challenge each other for the privilege of living on your island as caretakers. We are one in spirit and heart. Whatever you need is yours for the asking,” Lucian said.
Silas disconnected with Lucian and explained everything to Angus.
“So, the exploding boat was over the top, huh?” Angus grinned, unconcerned.
Silas explained the damaged property and the injured people. “My lack of knowledge regarding explosives caused this mess. I never should’ve messed with them. Lucian will let me know the status of the guy in the hospital. I’ll need to find a way to pay for damages.”
“While remaining anonymous?” Angus asked.
Jasmine returned to the deck wearing a sundress that covered a lot more than the two-piece swimsuit she wore earlier. He extended his hand to her and she took it.
“You alright?” he asked to gauge her mood.
“Yeah, it’s annoying but when I felt the shock of the explosion I knew someone would come asking questions. What’re you going to tell them about the tracking device and the hole in the island? There’s no way we can say we didn’t know about that.”
“Good question.” Silas looked at Angus. “What do you think?”
Angus rubbed the back of his neck and looked toward the pool. “There’s no getting around the fact someone used explosives here. It’s even possible they can determine if it’s the same kind used on the boat. They’ll be suspicious about that.”
“And we didn’t call it in,” Jasmine said.
“Not yet,” Silas said thinking it through. “If we call it in before they arrive, we can shape the narrative. We were off the island jet-skiing when it happened. Came back on the other side of the island and saw it this morning.”