Illusion

by J. S. Cooper

  “What is it?” I looked at him puzzled.

  “I found this note in the jungle.” Steve slipped it into my hand and walked away quickly. I looked down and read it.

  Be careful of who you trust and fall in love with. They are deceiving you. You should run away as soon as you can.

  I reread it again carefully, then threw it into the fire. I stood still as I thought about the note. It was on the same paper and had the same handwriting as the other notes. Only, this time it looked like it had been hurriedly scribbled. And the tone of the note seemed off. The advice in it was a little too direct, compared to the other notes. It was as if the writer of the notes was upset that I had become close with Jakob. My heart started racing as I realized that Steve might be the one responsible for leaving the notes on the island and the letter at my house. My head spun as I realized that I had no idea which way was up. However, I knew that if he was the same person who’d left all the notes, he might know exactly what was going on. I didn’t expect him to tell me everything, but even a few clues would be helpful.

  “Steve,” I called after him. Where did you get that note?”

  “I found it in the jungle, near the waterfall.” He shrugged and turned away. I sighed and glanced down at the fire. Had he really found it near the waterfall? If so, how had it gotten there? And who had left it? Was there someone else on the island with us, or did I already know the man who had been leaving me the notes?

  I didn’t know if I could trust Jakob or Steve. Had Jakob tried to kill Steve, and was he out to get me as Steve was implying, or was Steve really the mastermind behind everything? The problem was that I didn’t know why either one of them would want to harm me, unless this was just some sort of sick joke. I knew from watching Criminal Minds that sometimes there was no rhyme or reason as to how or why psychopaths chose their victims. I wanted to believe that Steve was the one who had been leaving the notes, but the fact was that Jakob was the one who had lied to me so many times. Why would he have pretended he didn’t know the Bradleys? And it suddenly struck me that Jakob had disappeared every morning. He could have hidden the notes as well. In fact, he could have left the first note on the beach next to us. He’d been awake before me, both in the car trunk and on the beach. As far as I knew, he hadn’t been drugged either. Maybe Jakob worked for the Bradleys. That would explain why he’d been at the coffee shop that day. Maybe he was the one in charge of trying to figure out where the papers were. Maybe his cat-and-mouse game was deliberate. He wanted to confuse me into trusting him. But then I looked back at Steve and saw the calculating look on his face and I knew that his goal was to make me doubt Jakob. Everything he had done and said was in the hope that I would no longer trust Jakob. I knew for a fact that Jakob hadn’t told me the entire truth, but I knew in that moment that if it came down to Jakob or Steve, I was definitely choosing to believe Jakob. I looked back at Steve with narrowed eyes, and I saw the disappointment in his eyes as he walked away from me.

  “You okay?” Jakob walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.

  “I’m fine.” I nodded. “I just wish we were off this island.”

  “Where’s Steve?” His voice changed from caring to hostile.

  “I think he went into the water.” I kept my eyes ahead and debated telling Jakob about the note.

  “I’m pretty sure he has a knife.” Jakob’s tone was low, and he leaned toward me.

  “How do you know?” I swallowed hard.

  “I saw it.” He looked around. “I didn’t want him to know that I knew.”

  “Why does he have a knife?” I shivered, and Jakob pulled me into his arms.

  “Remember when I asked you if you could kill someone?” he whispered in my ear, and I froze.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I need you to get me that knife.” His eyes peered into mine. They looked dark as night, and if they were any indication of his thoughts, I knew they were extreme.

  “What do you want me to do?” My stomach dropped as I realized where this was leading. If I had been scared by his killing the boar, I didn’t know how I was going to react if he actually did something to Steve.

  “I just need you to get me his flask.” His fingers gripped my arm. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but the bottom of the flask looked like it had something glued on to it.”

  “I didn’t see any such thing.”

  “Just go and ask him for a drink. He trusts you. He’ll let his guard down around you.”

  “I guess so.” I closed my eyes to allow my nerves to settle.

  “Just bring the knife to me when you have it,” he commanded me. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” I nodded, unsure of what to do. If the note was right, then that meant that Jakob was after me. If I stole the knife from Steve and gave it to Jakob, I could be putting a nail in my own coffin. I felt Jakob’s lips on my cheek, and I melted into him. I didn’t think Jakob would hurt me, but I already knew that he was lying to me about something. He’d admitted knowing both David and Mattias in some capacity. He’d even made a comment about them working together. How could he know that? Unless, of course, he knew the two brothers better than he’d let on. And if that was true, maybe he was here to shut me up, to stop me from finding out exactly what had happened to my mother. There was a possibility that he had been put on the island to harm me, so that I’d be quiet forever. Part of me wondered if he was here to find out exactly what information I had. It would make sense, what with all the questions he’d asked about my father. Who else would be so concerned?

  But as I stood in his arms and thought back to his gentle lovemaking and tender caresses, I began to doubt that he would ever want to harm me. If he was here to kill me, why would he admit that he knew Bridgette? Why would he have been kidnapped as well? Why would Steve be the one handing me a note on the same paper as the other notes I’d received? It didn’t add up. It had to be Steve who was trying to play mind games and manipulate me. His plan was working, because he was making me begin to doubt Jakob.

  “Don’t be scared, my love.” Jakob whispered into my ear as he caressed my back. “I won’t let Steve harm you.” My heart jumped at his endearment, and I looked up into his eyes. They were so sincere and full of emotion that I wondered how I could have doubted him for a second.

  “Steve tried to warn me about you,” I whispered against his lips as he moved in to kiss me. His face twisted, and he looked into my eyes questioningly. “He gave me a note,” I whispered frantically. “It was like the other notes.”

  “What do you mean?” His eyes narrowed.

  “It was on the same paper and while, I’m not positive, I think the same person wrote all of the notes and tried to change their handwriting slightly.”

  “What did it say?”

  “It said to be careful of you. It said that I should run away from you.”

  “He’s trying to split us up.” He frowned. “He’s trying to divide and conquer.” He grabbed my hands tightly and took a deep breath. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Bianca. I promise. I’m just trying to get the truth.”

  “I know.” I nodded. “I know.”

  “I wish things were different.” He groaned and ran his hands through his tousled hair. “This was a mistake. I need to get to the bottom of what is happening.”

  “You’ll be careful, won’t you?” I whispered, suddenly feeling terrified. I wanted to get to the bottom of everything that was happening as well, but I didn’t want to get hurt. I wanted to close my eyes and transport myself back to my apartment. I shuddered then as I realized that was a lie. I no longer felt safe at my own apartment either.

  “Just get me that knife.” His voice was ominous, and my heart stilled for a moment. The man in front of me was no longer my gentle lover; he was now a terrifying hulk.

  “I’m going to go into the jungle,” he whispered. “I’ll stand at the outskirts, but you can tell him I’ve gone to the shack. That will give him a sense of f
alse security.”

  “Do you think he’ll believe me?”

  “He will if you tell him that I left something there. Tell him that I went to look for something to skin the boar with.”

  “You said you were going to use rocks.”

  “Tell him the rocks I found didn’t work.”

  “Okay.” I bit my lower lip. “And then what?”

  “And then you get the knife.”

  “How will I get the knife?”

  “He keeps it in his back pocket. That’s why he hasn’t taken his pants off. You’ll have to find a way to grab it from him. Maybe pretend to fall into him and grab it that way.”

  “That sounds like something a pickpocket would do.”

  “That’s what you’re trying to do.” He grabbed my hands and stared at me intently. “You have to be careful, Bianca. You have to be very careful. If he suspects anything . . .”

  “I’ll be careful.” I nodded. “I’ll get the knife.” I swallowed hard as another thought hit me. “Do you think he has a gun as well?” I thought back to the loud bang we’d heard at the waterfall.

  “I think he has something, but I don’t think it’s a gun. If he had a gun, I think he would have pulled it on me a long time ago.” His voice lowered. “I’ll be watching as best I can.” He held me close to him. “Call out if you need me.”

  “I don’t know if I can do this.” I felt my eyes growing heavy as I held on to his arms. My voice trembled, and I looked down to the ground in embarrassment.

  “Then you don’t have to do it.” He shook his head. “I won’t make you do it if you’re too scared.” He brought my face to his chest and stroked my hair. “I can take care of you, Bianca. I won’t put you in danger.” Something in his tone gave me the strength I needed, and I pulled away from him.

  “I’m sorry. I can try.” I swallowed and pushed my shoulders back. “I’ve always been a more passive person, but I’m trying to be stronger.” And this was all for my dad. This whole situation was to find out what had happened to my mother. I couldn’t allow fear to bring me down.

  “Funny, that’s what my mom taught me too.” He gave me a wry smile. “Yet both of them seemed to take it and accept it.”

  I nodded without saying a word, and we just stared at each other. I watched as Steve came out of the ocean, and something in me snapped.

  “Get away from me!” I pushed Jakob away and screamed. “You liar! Get away from me!”

  “What?” He grabbed for me, and I reached over and slapped him hard. I beat my fists against his chest and shook my head like a crazy woman.

  “You’ll pay for this!” I screamed, and leaned forward. “Run to the jungle.” My eyes implored him as I whispered hurriedly. “I’m going to get the knife.”

  He nodded his understanding and stepped back. “I’ll be back once you calm down,” he said loudly.

  “Leave me alone!” I screamed, and ran toward Steve.

  “Are you okay?” Steve’s eyes were wide as he approached me. His expression looked eager and satisfied, and I knew that he had bought my little shouting act.

  “I confronted him about the note,” I told him, feigning outrage.

  “You told him?” He grabbed my arms. “Why did you do that? He’s going to be mad.”

  “I need to know the truth. I need to know why he’s been terrorizing me.”

  “He’s never going to tell you the truth, you stupid girl.” Steve’s voice changed, and he looked angry.

  “Can I have a drink?” I reached my hand out, hoping he would hand me the flask without even thinking about it. “I really need one right now.”

  “Sure.” He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. My eyes immediately fell to the bottom of the flask, and that’s when I realized that the stainless steel at the bottom wasn’t completely flush. Steve froze as he realized what I was staring at.

  “I think I’ll keep my alcohol to myself after all.” He took a step away from me.

  “I know you sent me the letters.” I gasped, going out on a limb, wanting to know the truth and knowing I had to do something to distract him long enough to try to grab the flask away from him. “I know it was you.”

  “He told you?” He froze, and I saw his expression change to something unpleasant. “I can’t believe he told you about the plan.”

  “You’re working with David?” I frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “David told you?” He paused and took a step toward me. “What did he tell you?”

  “David didn’t tell me about the notes.” I hurried out. “I didn’t know that this was part of the plan. He just told me that Mattias didn’t want me nosing around Bradley Inc., He told me that it would be smart for me to disappear for a few days. I didn’t know he was going to be the one to make me disappear.”

  “David? Or Mattias?” He frowned, and that was when I knew that Steve definitely wasn’t here to protect me. If he didn’t know about David or his involvement, that meant he wasn’t here to try to help me. The fact that he brought up Mattias’s name told me everything I needed to know. That meant he was the enemy. I took a step away from him and stumbled to the ground. Steve stood in front of me, looking down with a wild gleam in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Bianca.”

  “Sorry about what?” I asked and tried to jump up. I fell back again in my haste, and we both froze as we heard footsteps running toward us. I turned around and saw Jakob approaching us. “What are you doing?” I shouted at him and jumped up. My heart raced in joy, and my stomach flipped over at the sight of him.

  “I couldn’t let you do this alone.” His face was manic. “I would kill myself if anything happened to you.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Steve looked back and forth at us, and then his eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “You weren’t really fighting, were you?”

  “Did you think you’d get away with this, Steve?” Jakob’s voice was loud and angry. “Did you think you could play this game with us?”

  “You didn’t know each other when you got to the island.” Steve stared at me. “Listen to me, Bianca. This man is playing a game with you. None of this has been an accident. I’m here to protect you. I’m here to help you seek your truth.”

  “He’s lying to you, Bianca.” Jakob grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him. “I promise you, this man is up to no good.”

  “Why don’t you tell her why she’s really here?” Steve stepped forward and pulled the knife off of the bottom of his flask before flinging the flask to the ground. He pointed the knife at me and it glittered in the moonlight, and I screamed as he ran toward us, knife high in the air.

  “Shut up!” he shouted at me as I continued to scream. He lunged toward us, and I immediately noticed that he was no longer limping.

  “Step back, Bianca.” Jakob pushed me behind him and lunged toward Steve. He grabbed Steve’s arm, and I watched as Steve kneed Jakob in the stomach. He doubled over, and Steve took the opportunity to right hook him in the gut.

  “Jakob!” I screamed as I watched the two men fighting. I didn’t know what to do, but I nearly dropped to the ground in relief when I watched Jakob stand tall and punch Steve in the face. He grabbed Steve’s face and hit him again.

  I stared at the fight and felt tears running down my face. I had never been so scared before in my life. Jakob definitely had the better build, but Steve had the knife. “Jakob, be careful!” I shouted as loudly as I could, trying to warn him as I saw Steve step forward to try to stab him.

  “Run, Bianca.” His voice was hoarse, and I saw both men fall to the ground. “Run!” he called out to me again, and he turned to look up at me. I stared at him in shock and watched as a suddenly very agile Steve pushed him down and held the knife to his neck.

  “Stop!” I stepped forward to hit Steve on the head, but the look Jakob gave me froze me to the spot.

  “Run!” Jakob commanded once more. “Don’t worry about me, Bianca. You need to run and hide.” I stared at the two
of them fighting for a few seconds and saw Steve look back at me. His eyes looked like evil slits, and I could see that he was no longer pretending to be a nice guy. “Run, Bianca!” This time I didn’t hesitate.

  eleven

  As I sprinted up the sandy beach, I heard the two of them fighting, but I didn’t look back. My legs were aching, and my mind was numb, but still I didn’t stop. “Be okay, Jakob, please be okay,” I mumbled to myself as I ran.

  I ran to the jungle and through the trees on the path to the shack. My mind was blank with fear, and all I could think about was the look in Steve’s eyes as he had watched me standing there. He was out for blood. I stopped as I thought about Jakob getting hurt. My breath came out fast and erratic, and I turned around. I needed to go back to the beach to help him. I needed to make sure he was okay. I couldn’t leave him there by himself. Maybe if I jumped on top of Steve, I’d be able to distract him long enough for Jakob to grab the knife.

  My breathing grew heavier as I thought about the knife. When had Jakob realized that Steve had a knife? Why hadn’t he said anything before now? I collapsed to the ground, suddenly overcome by tears. I was scared, really scared. Maybe the most scared I’d ever been in my life. And I was also confused. Nothing was adding up, and nothing was making sense. I dropped to the ground and sobbed, not knowing what to do.

  I heard a cracking noise above me and jumped back up. “Don’t break down now, Bianca,” I muttered to myself, and jumped up and down for energy and then dusted off my legs. I looked back toward the beach and thought for a moment. “Self-preservation, Bianca.” I started running farther into the jungle. “You can’t figure out the truth if you’re dead.” My heart wanted me to run back to the beach to help Jakob, but my brain was telling me to look after myself. I ran toward the shack, anxious to get to the hideout. I ran so fast that I tripped over some small rocks and went flying into the bush. I scraped my knee, and it started burning, but still I continued on. I almost cried in relief as I made it to the small building, which I’d been so afraid of returning to. I opened the door eagerly and hobbled inside. My eyes immediately went to the table in the corner. It was no longer empty. I walked over to it and saw a bunch of candy wrappers and a pen. I frowned as I stared at the table. I was positive that those candy wrappers had not been there before. I looked to the ground to search for anything else. There were a couple of pieces of paper that I snatched up, but they were blank. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes, trying to control my breathing. It was then that I saw something white sticking out of a piece of fabric lying on the floor in the other corner of the shack. I walked over to it and pulled the fabric up. I gasped as I saw that it was a photo. I grabbed it and stared at it, the blood draining from my face.