by Suzanne Rock
“Are you guys okay?” Jenna asked.
“Yeah, we're cool,” Rex said as he started the motor. “You'll be hearing from me, cuz'.”
“What was that all about?” Jenna asked as Rex sped away. Caine put his arm around Jenna and steered her away from the water. “It's just Rex being Rex.”
“What is he going to do with the artifacts?”
“He's going to put them in a safe place until we contact the Master of the Island. Then we'll bring them to him.” It was a lie, but he didn’t want Jenna to worry. Rex had acted rash before. After he had his accident outside of the bar, Rex had changed. He was no longer the fun cousin who loved to kick back with a beer on a boat. He walked around with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. By the time he had gotten out of the hospital, their contract with ‘Scuba Adventures’ was up. Rex had insisted that Caine come with him to the Island of Eden to explore a new venture. When Caine hesitated, he had used his injured leg to guilt him into going. Rex had been manipulating Caine ever since.
“So Rex agreed that we should give all of the artifacts to the master?” Jenna asked.
Caine hesitated before responding. “Yeah.”
Jenna grinned. “I knew that there was good in you, Caine.” She kissed his cheek and gave him a big hug.
“Yeah.” God, he hated lying, but he knew that Jenna would tear the island apart looking for Rex and those artifacts. She didn’t know him like Caine did. Once Rex cooled off, he’d see that Caine and Jenna were right and return the artifacts. He hoped.
Chapter Nine
Days passed, and it felt to Jenna as if her life was on hold. The Master of the Island was still away on business and would be returning at the end of the week. Until then, they weren't quite sure what to do with the artifacts. Caine had her move into his private quarters in a cabana not far from the castle. Rex had all but disappeared, but Caine assured her that his cousin wouldn't leave the island without him knowing about it. She tried not to worry, but part of her felt that his cousin wasn't entirely on the up and up. Still, there wasn't much that she could do until Mr. Vardalos came back to the island.
Since Rex had the boat, they could no longer go out to the excavation site. Caine set her up temporarily in the front office, helping to schedule appointments and give an occasional massage—straight massage, of course. She and Caine would work amicably throughout the day and then meet up at one of the many castle bars for dinner. Outwardly, both Jenna and Caine fell into old patterns, joking and laughing like they used to do on St. Lucia. When the sun set, Caine would take her back to his room, and their laughter would dissolve into passion. Never before had Jenna been so happy—or so worried.
It wasn't just the problem with Rex. It was the fact that Caine never wanted to talk about the future. While things seemed to be going well now, she had no idea how things would change after they returned the artifacts to Mr. Vardalos. At that point, Caine’s business on the island would be officially over. She didn't technically have a position at the spa, so she wasn't sure what would become of her. Would Mr. Vardalos offer her a full-time position? Even if he did, she wasn't sure she'd take it. While working at a spa paid the bills, Jenna wasn't passionate about it. After going out to the shipwreck site, she longed for those days on St. Lucia again.
Perhaps Caine would leave the island once the Master came back. If Caine asked her to go with him, she wasn't entirely sure she'd go. It was obvious that Caine still loved adventure and didn't seem like the type who would settle down. Where would they go? What kind of life would they have? Jenna wasn't sure if she'd be up to traveling around the world and she absolutely did not want to cheat people out of money. It was hard for her to envision a future for them together.
The only other option was to not be together, but Jenna couldn't bear to think of a life without Caine, either. She had already tried to do things on her own and while she had made ends meet, she was so damn tired of being lonely. After her mother passed, she had no one to lean on and nowhere to go. The thought of being in that situation once more brought tears to her eyes. She had no idea what the future was going to hold for her and Caine and for a girl who obsessively planned every detail of her life, it felt like a living nightmare.
Then one night after work, they ran into a petite dark-haired girl at the poolside bar, and Jenna got a glimpse of what was to come.
“What's going on?” Jenna asked as she approached Caine at the bar. He had been talking to a young woman in a sky-blue sarong and printed bikini-top. Jenna was stunned to realize she was blind.
“This woman claims to be a soothsayer,” Caine said. “But I don't believe it.”
The younger girl only smiled. “He wants me to prove what I told him.”
“You gave Caine a fortune?” Jenna asked.
She turned to Jenna and cocked her head, as if trying to sense her. “Maybe you’ll find a way to make him believe me. I gave him a warning—”
“A warning?” Jenna asked as Caine put his arm around her. “About what?”
Caine squeezed her shoulder. “She believes that I'm going through some sort of test.”
“Not test—trial,” the girl answered patiently. “There's a difference.”
“Please.” Jenna put her hand on the girl’s arm. “What else did you say?”
The girl was silent for a moment, chewing on her lip as if undecided on how to explain what she saw. Finally, she waved her hand in the air around them. “Look around you.”
Jenna looked at tourists lounging by the pool in brightly colored swimsuits and hats. Staff members weaved in and out of the rows of pool chairs, carrying fruity drinks with the Oasis Spa emblem. At the far end of the pool, a young couple appeared to be flirting with each other. Jenna bit back a sigh as they reminded her of herself and Caine in St. Lucia.
“Yes,” Jenna said.
“This isn’t real,” the girl said quietly.
“What?” Jenna dragged her gaze away from the couple making out at the far end of the pool and focused on the soothsayer. It was unnerving to find the blind girl looking at the exact same couple she had been staring at moments before.
“When it’s fantasy,” the girl said softly, “you see only what you want to see—only what the heart wants.” She paused then her face turned towards the setting sun. “Do you see a couple over there?”
Jenna did. The couple was obviously flirting with each other, the man was touching her arm, and the woman twirling her long, blonde hair while flashing him a ‘come-hither’ look.
“Yes,” Jenna said.
“You might see a young couple in love. Someone else might see an elderly couple on their anniversary. Still another might see two men, looking for a quick hook-up.”
“That’s impossible,” Caine said. “Anyone can see that is an elderly couple.”
Elderly couple? Jenna squinted at the pair and swore that they couldn’t be a day older than twenty-five.
Another smile curved on the soothsayer’s lips at Caine’s answer, but it was to Jenna she spoke, murmuring, “Do you understand now? Sometimes, the brain conjures images for pure indulgence. Other times...” She shrugged. “Other times it’s a test to see where the heart truly lies.”
Caine made a sound of dismissal. “You are speaking in circles, woman.”
The multiple gold bangle bracelets on her arm jingled as she stood. Turning to Caine, she said simply, “And I’m not the only blind one here.”
Caine snorted.
Jenna touched the girl’s elbow, preventing her from leaving. “What about me?”
The girl’s features softened. “You already know what is in your heart. That’s what’s most important.”
“Thank you.” Jenna watched the girl go and tried to digest her words.
“Nonsense, all of it,” Caine mumbled.
Jenna raised her brows. “I don't know, I kind of liked her.”
“You don't seriously believe that rubbish, do you?”
Jenna shrugged. “She migh
t have something. I've heard talk of the tourists as they come into the spa. Most of them mention a white foyer that was rather plain, and large topiaries out front. I didn't see any of those things.”
“You didn't?”
She shook her head. “No. Outside, I saw flowers as far as the eye could see. Beautiful blues, violets and pinks on a sea of green that reminded me of the rippling waters of the Caribbean. When I stepped inside, I saw not a white foyer, but blue, with shifting light that made it feel like I was underwater. And the pictures...”
“Were of the wildlife on St. Lucia.”
“Yes,” she let out a long breath. “I thought I was going crazy.”
“No, not crazy.” He knit his brows together. “I saw it too.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah.” He stood and slipped his arm around her. “That just begs the question.”
“What?” she asked when he didn’t respond.
“Are you in my fantasy, or am I in yours?”
Jenna smirked. “Perhaps it's a little both.”
“Perhaps.” He brushed his lips against hers and offered his arm. “Come, let’s go to dinner.”
They made it a few steps when something buzzed in Caine's pocket.
“What's that?” Jenna asked.
“My phone.” Caine let her go and slid out a thin, black cell. He stared blankly at the screen for a long moment.
“What is it?” Jenna asked.
“It's Rex.” Caine looked up from the phone. “He wants me to meet him on the other side of the island right now.”
“Right now? Let me see that.” She grabbed the phone and started at the screen. “He says that the prince fell through. He found someone else, but you need to leave the island tonight.” She looked up from the phone and met his gaze. “What does that mean?”
Caine took the phone and sighed. “He still thinks that I'm going to run away with him and the artifacts, despite me telling him different.”
“Then we have to go and straighten him out.”
“Not we, me.” Caine ran a hand over his face. “I'm probably going to have to bring the artifacts, or something that looks like them. If he sees me with nothing, I'll never get close enough to talk any sense into him.”
Jenna pressed her lips together in thought. “Okay, let's go, then.”
“Wait.” He grabbed her arm as she started to leave. “You can't come with me.”
“Like hell I can't.” Jenna pulled her arm from his grasp. “Like the soothsayer said, everything around me has been conjured up by my mind.” She pointed to the phone. “If my mind made this up, then I should be there. I’m probably the only one who will be able to convince him to give the artifacts back.”
“But what if this is my fantasy?”
“Then I should be there to keep you out of trouble.” She smirked. “I've been privy to one or two of your fantasies, Caine. You are one sick bastard, and I’ll need to be there to keep this from devolving into some drunken orgy.”
He snorted. “No orgy, just you.” He slid her arms around her waist, but she slapped them back.
“Come on, we’re wasting time.”
“Fine, but just stay back. I don't want you to get hurt.”
“Fair enough.” Jenna followed Caine back to get the artifacts and load up his pickup truck. Within the hour they were moving quickly through the open roads to a place only Caine knew about. The truck jostled from side to side over the dirt road, and Jenna was reminded of her turbulent ride in Joely’s puddle jumper. Was everything on this island a death trap?
As Jenna clung onto the truck for dear life, she tried to focus on the upcoming meeting. Hopefully they’ll be able to convince Rex to turn himself in. If not, they’d have to think up something else to keep him on the island and those artifacts in the Master’s collection.
Caine had told her to stay out of the way, but if she saw Rex try to leave, she was going to do what she could to stop him. Jenna knew firsthand the pain of having her trust violated and she would do anything she could to prevent giving that pain to someone else. If Caine didn’t stop Rex, then she would.
“Stay hidden,” Caine said as they pulled into their destination, a small rock face that overlooked the bay that held the Jenna on a private dock. The peaceful beauty he usually felt in this place had been replaced with an eerie quiet. Goosebumps broke out like a rash over his flesh as Caine turned off the engine.
Sure enough, Rex had parked their boat at the dock and had climbed the stone steps carved into the side of the rock face to the top. He was sitting on the grass, enjoying the view, when they arrived.
“I’m coming with you,” Jenna said.
“He’s not expecting you. If he sees that I have brought you with me, he might refuse to talk.” Caine got out of the truck and pulled the large sack from the cab in the back. “Please, stay away until I say it’s safe to come out.”
She considered him for a moment, then nodded. “Fine. But if I see you in trouble, I’m coming to help.”
Caine rolled his eyes. Hell was going to freeze over before he let Jenna come into harm’s way. With a little luck, both he and Rex would have a calm conversation, and then all three of them would return to the castle together.
Dismissing Jenna, he turned toward Rex, his only living relative and partner for as long as he could remember. Betraying him felt like a knife in the chest, but Caine knew what he was doing was right. Both he and Rex had been growing apart for months. Caine knew that it was only a matter of time before Rex’s reckless behavior caught up to him. It was time to part ways.
Caine’s home was here, with Jenna. The past week had given him a glimpse of how good things could be. He was ready to shed his old ways and start over, and that meant closing the door on the past and all of the mistakes that went with it.
“You know, there’s just something about this place,” Rex said as Caine approached from behind. “I’m going to miss it.”
“I’m not going with you, Rex.”
Rex’s gaze never shifted from the horizon. “I suspected as much. That woman has really changed you, buddy.”
“She’s changed me for the better.”
Rex snorted. “That’s debatable.”
Caine put down the bag and sat beside his cousin. “We can’t keep doing this forever.”
“Why not?”
“It’s wrong.”
“Wrong? I’ll give you wrong. Wrong is our parents abandoning us. Wrong is having to scrape by for ourselves. Wrong is never knowing where you are going to get your next meal, or if you’re going to sleep with a roof over your head at night.” He nodded to the bag at Caine’s side. “Those artifacts are going to give that to us.”
“They’re not ours.”
“Listen to yourself. Stealing never bothered you before.” He shook his head. “I warned you about women. They change you.”
“This wasn’t Jenna,” Caine said. “It’s me.” He waited for Caine to meet his gaze. “I’m tired of running from place to place, of always looking over my shoulder. I have an opportunity to change things here. An opportunity for a real life. I’ve already let Jenna slip away once. I can’t do it again. I might not get a second chance.”
Rex took in a deep breath and stood. “You know this means goodbye.”
“I know.” It hurt, but he had already been mentally separating himself from Rex for the past few weeks. He loved his cousin, but he could no longer live this lifestyle. It wasn’t part of who he was anymore.
“It pains me to hear you say that, you know,” Rex said. “We were such a great team.”
“This isn’t goodbye forever,” Caine said as he stood and picked up the bag. “It’s just…goodbye for now.”
“No.”
“No?”
“If you aren’t with me, then you’re dead to me, cuz’.” Rex stood and held out his hand. “Why don’t you just give me the bag and you’ll never have to see me again.”
“Rex—”
Rex shook his h
ead. “I wasn’t lying when I spoke to you before. I only require two things in life—no three. A quality joint, a good dive, and a nice piece of ass.” He wiggled his fingers. “Those artifacts will give me all of that.”
“But they aren’t yours.”
“They aren’t yours, either.” Rex’s gaze turned cold. “I worked hard for those, Caine. Now hand them over.”
Caine stepped back from Rex, putting some distance between them. “I can’t stop you from going, but I can stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life.”
“Fuck you.” Rex took a step forward. “Now that you’re banging some high-class broad you think you know what’s best for me? Give me the God damn bag, Caine.”
“No.”
Rex pulled out a pistol so fast that Caine didn’t have time to blink. “I said, give me the artifacts.”
“Rex—”
“Don’t make me shoot you, buddy. I’m going to leave the island with the merchandise. It’s up to you whether I do it over your dead body or not.”
Jenna watched the events unfold from the seat of her car and bit her nails. She knew that she needed to do something, but what? She glanced around her in the front seat, but found nothing. She searched the side pockets and glove compartment, and still nothing. Twisting her body, she spotted a fishing tackle box in the back seat of the cab. Biting her lower lip, she opened it and discovered a small pocket knife. As she sat up in her seat and turned her attention back to the men, she saw Rex pull his gun. Slowly, she crept from the car and closed the door with a soft click. She knew that she couldn’t stand a chance next to a Rex, but perhaps if she surprised him, she could give Caine a chance to get the gun away from him.
Her heart thudded against her ribcage as she made her way to the bushes and closer to the men. They were yelling at each other, but the wind swept their words away with the tide. Jenna crouched low and saw that Rex no longer walked with a limp or a cane. She wondered if that was a recent development, or if he had been faking the limp all along.
She wouldn’t put it past him to fake an injury. The thought of Rex lying to his cousin to gain sympathy made her angry. Jenna didn’t want to kill him, just startle him enough for Caine to gain the advantage. The best way she knew how was to take him from behind. She crept from the bushes, ignoring Caine’s wide eyes of protest and jumped onto Rex’s hard back. Rex struggled, and Jenna wrapped her legs around his waist and hung on. The gun went off before she had time to bring her arm around to his throat. The shot went wild, blasting out over the rock face and into the water.