I had seen on the helicopter ride that the islands were uninhabited during our arrival, so I had zero chance of running for help. I hadn’t even seen any staff, though I knew the house was too big to manage without one. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run into them, anyway. They might just hand me over to Victor.
My best bet was probably going to be to swim to one of the other islands and hide until someone came looking for me.
The moon shone high and bright, so I easily tiptoed down the winding path to the private beach. I was just about to disrobe when I heard rustling in the bushes behind me. I reached for the kitchen knife.
It was Victor. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said, and I gritted my teeth against his smug tone.
“What, escape? Try and stop me,” I dared him.
“I will not try to stop you, if that is what you truly wish, but you should know these are jellyfish-infested waters, so make your choice carefully.”
I hesitated. “You’re lying,” I snarled.
He shrugged. “Go ahead and try. Swarms of deadly, bioluminescent jellyfish migrate through these waters every night to feed and mate. If you were stung by one of their tentacles, you would die even if the closest hospital wasn’t a two-hour helicopter ride away.”
I stared out at the sea. The moon washed over the gentle waves, illuminating them. Several minutes passed. I started to feel like an idiot.
“If you think you can trick me with some bullshit story, then you’ve got another…”
At that moment, an electric blue-green light flashed underwater.
Then another, like it was answering the first one.
Suddenly there were dozens, scores, of flashing lights, like an underwater rave. Every one of those was supposed to be a jellyfish?
“They are most active after dark.” Victor said. “Danisha, I know that this situation is putting you under extreme duress, and for that, I apologize. I swear to you, if you do not stray, you will not be harmed. You can even keep the kitchen knife, as long as you don’t try to use it against me.”
He knew about that? I looked around helplessly. There was nothing I could do except hope he was telling me the truth. I silently turned and began to walk up the path back to the house.
Five days later, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise. I put on a robe and walked to the kitchen where a mug of fresh coffee awaited me.
True to his word, Victor had not touched me once. In fact, with the amazing view and accommodations, it was almost like being on another vacation. From the food to the clothes, everything was perfect. I commended Victor on his research into finding all of my favorite things.
“Ah… that would have been very thorough of me, but I’m afraid I must inform you that I merely picked out what I liked and hoped you had similar tastes. I’m glad that it suits you as well,” he said.
I watched him as he joined me in the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Good morning,” Victor said.
I mumbled a reply.
“Will you take your breakfast on the terrace? The sun is beautiful today,” he said.
“Yes, —I was just thinking that myself. A terrace breakfast sounds great.”
He opened the glass door to a sunny sitting area where a table was set with orange juice, sausage, fresh fruit, and pancakes. I was a little annoyed that he was able to anticipate my decisions, but I was hungry, so whatever.
“Do you like pancakes?” Victor asked.
I stilled, reminded of my first morning together with Adrian.
Surely Adrian knew by now that I was missing. It had been almost a week. What if he was too mad at Victor to even consider coming here to rescue me? What if he was mad at me for leaving him and didn’t think I was worth rescuing?
I shook my head to rid my mind of those terrible thoughts.
“You don’t like pancakes?” Victor asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No…I mean, yes! I was just shaking my head because…Argh! Uh, never mind. Yes, I like pancakes.” I smiled to show him that I was not crazy, but I don’t think he believed it.
“I don’t think I can believe you unless I see you eat them.”
“Just watch. I can eat plenty!”
Seven-and-a-half large maple syrup-soaked pancakes later, I finally put down my fork, satisfied. I sat back in my chair with my hands folded across my belly. Victor was finishing his tenth pancake.
“Very well done, sir. Bravo.” I gave a mocking round of applause.
“You put up quite a fight yourself. I must say that I’m impressed.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think I’m having a genuinely nice time with you this morning. I must have Stockholm syndrome or something.” I said, laughing. “The things Adrian told me about you…”
I trailed off. Adrian was a sore spot for both of us.
Victor reached out and covered my hand with his. “Adrian is a great man, but he is also a hard man to please. He only accepts the best, perfection. If you aren’t perfect, if you make a mistake, then he’s done with you. He uses people, Danisha. If you’re not perfect, then you’re of no use to him, and he’ll move on to someone who is.”
Is that what happened? I knew I had handled my issues with Adrian less than perfectly…Did Adrian consider my leaving a mistake? Did that mean he considered me worthless?
I remembered my encounter with his ex-wife, Sally. She had said something similar about how I should “enjoy my time with Adrian before he moved on to someone else.”
At one point, I was certain Adrian loved me, but now… I wasn’t so sure. I had only known him for about four months. These two completely separate people had known him for years and drawn the same conclusion about him. Maybe I should listen to them… After all, he hadn’t exactly put up much of a fight when I left.
What was I thinking? He was twice my age. He probably thought of me as some kind of midlife crisis, something to show off to his friends before he regained his senses and went back to Sally. He probably picked up a girl to play with on every vacation he took…
I looked at Victor. His black hair gleamed in the sunlight. His white teeth flashed against his tanned skin.
“Such a beautiful face should never look so sad. Come, my dear. Soon you will smile, for today I will show you the island.” When he offered me his hand to help me up, I took it and did not let go.
Chapter Six
When I arrived home that day, there was a small, unmarked package laying on my front step. I immediately suspected it was from Victor and cautiously approached it. I carefully picked it up and brought it inside the house where I cut the tape and opened it.
Inside was a satellite phone that rang no less than five seconds after I had removed it from the box. I answered it grimly. “Victor, I presume.”
“An excellent deduction, Adrian. How very astute.”
“Listen to me you son-of-a-bitch, if you dare…”
“My, my, you and Danisha must make quite the pair; you both have such a penchant for coarse language. And you know what they say: if you can’t say anything nice…”
There was a click, and I realized he hung up. What did I just do? Had I completely jeopardized Danisha’s safety because I couldn’t keep my ego in check? I almost threw the phone across the room, but I held out hope that Victor’s desire to torment me would ensure that he called back.
Sure enough, two hours later, the phone rang again. I immediately answered it.
“Victor, are you there? Is Danisha with you?” I demanded.
“Calm down, Adrian. You sound very upset. You upset me as well, you know.”
“Yes, I’m sorry,” I said through gritted teeth.
“It’s okay, we’re all friends, aren’t we?”
“Stop playing games, Victor. Just tell me what you want and let Danisha go.”
Victor’s voice suddenly acquired a hard edge.
“What do I want? I want my reputation back! I want what you stole from me! I want to ruin your
life as you ruined mine, —starting with Danisha.”
I went still. “What have you done with her, Victor?”
“Nothing, Adrian. Nothing she didn’t want, anyway… I’ve been catching her up on all the most intimate details of your life, and I must say, it seems like she’s beginning to lose her interest in you, the poor thing.”
What deceit was he spouting about me to her? We hadn’t known each other long, but she had to know that I loved her. I most certainly do not buy a boat for every woman I court.
“If you don’t do what I want, I guarantee that within a few days, Danisha won’t even want to see you, much less want to be with you again.”
“Please tell me what you want. If I agree, will you let me speak with her?”
There was a long pause and static crackled in the background.
“Victor, are you there?” The last thing I needed right now was a faulty connection.
“I’ve decided that what I want is for you to keep suffering just a little bit longer.”
“Wh-what? Victor! No!”
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Adrian. Probably…” The line went dead.
That settled it. Victor was a menace I had allowed to stay in my life for far too long, and I was willing to do whatever was necessary to remove him.
***
I shut my satellite phone and slipped it back into my pocket as I walked back to the beach. My call to Adrian couldn’t have gone better if I’d handed him a script. I was elated. Everything was going exactly to plan.
Danisha waved to me as she skipped across the waves on one of my jet skis.
Everything.
***
The island was amazing. It was just like when I was with Adrian in the Bahamas, but instead of lounging around and enjoying getting spoiled, Victor was taking me on an adventure.
After breakfast, he told me to change into something athletic. Then he took me to his garage, where the Hummer and a couple of other cars were parked. He pulled a tarp off two ATVs.
“Do you know how to drive one of these?” He asked.
“Uh… How hard can it be?” I scoffed.
It turned out to be harder than I thought. I almost crashed straight into a tree on my first try.
“If you want, you can always ride on the back of mine,” Victor offered.
“Excuse me? I am in the process of designing one of the biggest leaps in technology the world has ever seen. I think I can figure it out. For your information, I’m one of the best students at MIT.”
“I never forgot,” Victor said as he stared at me.
Uncomfortable, I busied myself with checking all of the buttons and dials, trying to make sense of them—and my feelings.
Victor kidnapped me. I should hate him, but all I could think about was how my work was so important to me. Would I abduct a total stranger if I thought it would save the EyeRead? The answer scared me a little.
I probably would, if I had the resources and means to get away with it. Did that make me any better than Victor?
I put my helmet on to hide my face. Victor pulled in front of me, then turned around and made the ‘OK’ sign to me with his hand. I gave him a thumbs up in return.
As he slowly drove around the side of the house, he pulled onto a dirt path with deep ruts. I guessed he used it a lot. I followed behind him, my head still swimming.
The road was windy, with long stretches where you could really open up the throttle. I left all confusion behind as the adrenaline pumped through my veins. The road was completely shaded by overhanging trees, and was slightly damp due to a ten-minute tropical downpour after breakfast. There were huge puddles that splashed up waves as we raced through them. I was glad that Victor told me to change!
After about twenty minutes, Victor began to slow down. He drove the ATV onto a patch of dirt just off the path, and I pulled in next to him.
“So?” Victor prompted when he removed his helmet.
“Amazing!”
“There are few roads on the island. I took you the fun way. If you’re feeling adventurous, I can show you the hard way. It has a lot of hills and sharp turns.”
“This place is like a theme park!” I exclaimed.
Victor grinned. I realized that he was actually pretty nice to look at. He was a lot older than me, but definitely still younger than Adrian. I put him in his early thirties. He had a wide face, but it only made room for his dazzling smile.
I followed him as he continued down the road on foot. In less than five minutes, the forest suddenly ended, and a short staircase led to an intimate beach big enough for ten people to spread out comfortably.
There was a wooden shed next to the staircase. Victor went inside and came out with a surfboard, a skinsuit and a towel.
“Okay, so you did not know how to drive an ATV, but you learned. Do you know how to surf?”
I thought back to the first part of my Bahamian vacation, the only part I hadn’t spent with Adrian. I had taken a surf lesson, so technically I could surf.
After Victor repeatedly reassured me that the jellyfish only came at night to feed off the coral reefs, I felt more comfortable getting into the water. He was obviously a much better surfer than me, but I managed to hold my own.
“How tired are you?” he asked, floating on his surfboard in the water next to me.
“Pretty tired. We’ve been out here at least a couple of hours.”
“Oh.” He said. “I was going to suggest jet skiing, but if-”
“I’m not tired! Not tired at all!” I had never been jet skiing, but if it was anything like driving the ATVs, then I was in!
We took the scenic route back. It encircled the entire island, occasionally dipping out onto various beaches. I saw a pod of dolphins playing and a group of sea turtles lounging on the beach. Overhead, a flock of brightly colored birds flew by, tweeting loudly.
This place was beautiful. A girl could really get away from it all here.
After about an hour of jet skiing, Victor went into the house to get us some food. I stayed in the water to practice jumping waves. I was just getting the hang of it when I saw him walking down the path from the house back to the beach.
I waved to him and revved the engine across the water, showing him my new trick.
Gorgeous house, gorgeous scenery, gorgeous man… There were worse places for a girl to be. I hadn’t felt so light and carefree in years. I couldn’t believe that I was even thinking this, but… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Adrian didn’t come for me.
Chapter Seven
I waited by that satellite phone the entire day. And the next day. And the next.
I was on the verge of calling Jackson to drop me on the island so that I could sort things out, when, finally, the phone rang.
I took a deep breath. I reacted rashly to Victor last time, which was exactly what he wanted; he wanted to throw me off my game. I resolved to stay calm and alert no matter what.
“Hello, Victor.”
“Hello, Adrian. How’ve you been? Sorry, I haven’t called, I’ve been a bit… busy lately, if you know what I mean.”
I balled my hand into a fist so tight my fingernails cut my palm.
“I hope you mean you’ve been thinking of a way for me to resolve this… issue between us. I have also been contemplating that.”
“Well then, old sport! Let’s hear what you’ve got.” Victor said.
I could picture Victor leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. He struck the same victory pose he struck whenever he thought he’d triumphed in a deal.
“If you can convince Andris Ozolinsh, I will sign over the contract to you so you will be the sole importer of the solar panel deal,” I said.
There was silence on the other end.
“And?” Victor said. “Is that all? Is that all you think you owe me? Huh, I guess that means that’s all Danisha is worth to you. I wonder how she would feel if I told her that?”
“Victor, that’s insane. Danisha is wor
th everything to me. Tell me what you want, and you shall have it.”
“I want it all,” he hissed. “Everything. I want all of your clients. Every. Single. One. You will sign them over to me immediately and fax the papers over, or you will never see Danisha again. I’ll drop her in the middle of Moscow, and I promise that her pretty face will not go unnoticed for long there.”
“Leave Danisha out of this, Victor. She has not done anything to you. And you know very well that I can’t sign clients over to you. The client has to consent, and you have not earned yourself many favors with a lot of them. I doubt they will agree to it.”
“Because you spread such lies!!” Victor was clearly enraged. This was not going the way I hoped. I needed to change tactics, fast.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I wronged you all these years. It’s all my fault.”
Silence.
“But do you really want to take these clients by force? Isn’t it sweeter to win by persuasion than to win by a gun?”
“What do you mean?”
That was it, I had him, — and I could feel it in my bones.
“If you take every one of my clients, they are going to notice, and they’re going to find it very unlike me. It might prompt unwanted investigations.”
“So what do you propose?”
“We’re both business men. Why don’t we negotiate for them? I will send a list of my clients and all their financial papers for you to look over and select from, and then we will see who comes out on top. Meanwhile, I will make an announcement that I’m cutting back my hours to focus on my personal life and will be deferring certain clients to a previous business partner. Then everything will seem proper.”
He was quiet again. I could tell he was trying to see if there was a trap. Several minutes passed, but I knew he would say yes. There was no way he would turn down the opportunity to beat me at my own game.
“If you think that you are going to be able to trick me somehow, you won’t. I want that announcement to be made publicly. I’m going to check it. Have all the papers faxed to me within two hours. And Adrian?”
Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Page 68