by Lexi Aurora
“Sebastian?” I called out, slowly getting to my feet.
“Not Sebastian,” I heard a voice say. I turned to see Lola at the back of the cave, hands on her hips.
“Lola,” I said. “What—”
“What am I doing here?” she asked. “Is that what you want to know?”
“I didn’t think you were on the island.”
“Nobody knows I’m here,” she said. “And nobody knows where you are, either.”
“Sebastian will find me,” I said, taking a step back from her as she stepped forward.
“All you had to do was investigate him,” Lola said. “That’s what I hired you for, remember?”
“You did, but—the murders happened and I got caught up in everything and now Sebastian—”
“You’re in love with him. Blah blah,” Lola said, rolling her eyes. “And even when we warned you away, you kept up with it. You should have stayed away from him.”
“Why?” I asked. “You were the one who hung the birds up? And wrote the notes.”
“It was just a warning. A little bit of fun.”
“You had fun decapitating a dozen birds?” I asked her. She laughed.
“I didn’t do the dirty work,” she said. “I had a friend do it for me.”
“Who?”
“You’ll know if you think about it,” she said. “Really think about it.”
“Joseph,” I said. “Sebastian’s cousin.”
“Right. He says you went digging through his room.”
“There was a picture of you there. Why?”
“There are many men who love me,” Lola said. “Any man with any sense loves me.”
“Right,” I said dryly. She laughed, the voice musical and lilting. I was stricken by how beautiful she appeared in the dimness of the cave, with only the last remnants of sunshine streaming in through the opening.
“The ones who don’t hardly survive,” she said. “Sebastian’s uncle—”
“You killed him?”
“That was me,” she said cheerfully.
“What about Eddy?”
“Eddy was me, too. But it was all Joseph’s idea.”
“To kill his own family?”
“To kill his cousin’s heirs.”
“But he’s filthy rich,” I said. “He owns an entire island.”
“You can never have too much money, darling. I wouldn’t expect someone like you to know that, but it’s true. And I’m sure Sebastian would agree with me.”
“Sebastian would never kill anybody,” I said to her.
“That’s not what the cops think. And now that he’s linked to three murders, there’s no way he’s getting out of this.”
“Three,” I said, my heart speeding up.
“The two of you just had that big fight. And you hit him. Then you came out to this cave, and nobody saw you again.”
“You want to kill me and pin it on Sebastian. Like you did with the others.”
“Yep,” Lola said. “That’s pretty much it. Sebastian goes to jail, he rots and dies in jail, Joseph gets his money, and I get to share. There’s no way he’ll be able to deny being personally connected to all three deaths. He’s already fled from the cops.”
“There’s no way he’s going to let this happen,” I said to her, glancing at the stone stairs, wondering if I could make a run for it. “He’ll find me out here.”
“You’re not going to be out here much longer,” Lola said. “I want to go in. I’m tired.”
“Have you been here the whole time?”
“Yes,” Lola said. “Hiding in the basement with their treasures. Waiting for this moment.”
“What’s your plan?”
“To kill you and throw your body down on the rocks,” she said casually in a voice that sent an icy shiver down my spine. I took a step toward the rock stairs, glancing around for something to use to hit her with. There was no way to hurry up the steps, not without possibly slipping and falling to my death. I swallowed hard, taking another step away from her. She moved toward me and I froze, realizing that if I took another step, I’d back out of the cave.
“Lola, you don’t have to do this,” I said to her. “Honestly. Sebastian would just give you the money. However much you want.”
“I want it all, honey. As much as I can get my hands on. Sebastian’s not going to sacrifice his whole fortune for one lousy fuck.”
“Sebastian loves me,” I said to her.
“Not according to what we witnessed last night and this morning,” Lola said. “He was already with another woman. Everyone saw the scene.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, my throat growing more dry. I tried to step sideways but she came forward again. I held my breath, watching her as she circled in front of me. I glanced at the waterfall, looked down at where I knew the rocks were sharp and relentless, wondering if that’s where my fate would take me.
Chapter 21: Sebastian
I went all the way into the basement, praying that Eve wasn’t down there. I hoped she hadn’t seen the artifacts, the art that was down there—hundreds of priceless items, valued at billions of dollars, sold at an auction here and carried away in stealth. The jewelry that I stole and sold myself was nothing compared to what was in Joseph’s basement—enough stolen goods to put us all away for the rest of our lives. Enough to put us all in danger if someone found out who they had been stolen by. These weren’t just gems—they were items that people had died to steal and protect. I didn’t know what to say to her if she found them, but part of me still hoped she was down there, wandering around and being stubborn.
“Eve,” I called in the dim basement, clapping my hands to turn on a light. I looked around, started searching through each of the rooms down there. I paused when I found one that looked as though it had been occupied, and went inside curiously, knowing that Joseph never would have put a guest down there. I shut the door behind me and went to the bed, lifting the blanket, noting that it wasn’t made. I searched around the room, looking under the bed. I found a suitcase there and pulled it out to find it full of fine women’s clothing, as well as a purse that I recognized as Eve’s. I pulled it out and searched through it to find that it had been emptied. I tossed it aside, started to search through the luggage again. I found another purse deep under the bed and pulled it out, opening the wallet to see that it belonged to Lola Darling.
“Lola,” I said in confusion, searching through the bag. “What the hell—”
“Whose is that?” Jeremy asked from the doorway. I jumped at the sound of his voice, turning around.
“Lola Darling,” I said.
“Lola’s not even here.”
“These are her things,” I said to him. “You haven’t seen her?”
“Have you?” he asked. I shook my head, looking down at the wallet in confusion.
“When was the last time you worked with Lola?” Jeremy asked.
“She bought something from me a couple of years ago. Pretty sure she got caught for having it or something. I don’t know, she’s rich—she got off easy, as far as I know. And she never said anything about it after that.”
“Think she could be holding a grudge?” Jeremy asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone has been killing your family, Seb,” Jeremy said. “Someone has been threatening you.”
“It can’t be Lola,” I said, unable to wrap my mind around it. “Are you saying she killed my brother? And my uncle?”
“I’m saying if I know Lola, she’s been pissed since the moment she got caught with that necklace.”
“Do you think that she took Eve somewhere?” I asked him, overcome with fear when I thought about what had happened to the last two people who were closest to me. What was happening to everybody I loved.
“Maybe,” Jeremy said. “But don’t panic. We can look for her. We’ll go look for her.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” I said, but threw Lola’s things down and followed him quickly
out of the house.
“You head back in the direction of the cave. She might have gotten lost around the path or taken back that way.”
“Okay, where are you going to look?”
“I’ll search the opposite end of the island. If I see Joseph—”
“Don’t say anything to him,” I said quickly, blurting the words out before I realized what I was saying. All I could think about was how Eve said she didn’t trust him, and how there was no way he wouldn’t know that Lola was staying in his basement. My heart sped up as I split with Jeremy and headed in the direction of the path.
“Eve!” I called out, starting to run through the trees, scanning the dark to find her. I saw nothing, but kept running until I was out of breath at the edge of the cliff. I decided to climb down into the cave, wondering if she had hidden out there. My heart froze when I saw her there at the mouth of the cave, perched near the edge of the cliff, about to topple down into the water. Lola Darling was in front of her, gripping her tight, shoving her forward.
“Lola, no,” I hissed, darting forward towards them. Lola slipped forward, forcing Eve even further back. The look on Eve’s face was one of terror and surprise. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and I realized what was happening a second too late. I felt something hit the back of my head and I stumbled forward into the cave, quickly scrambling to my feet and turning around to see Joseph standing there pointing a gun at me. There was a cold look on my cousin’s face, one that I recognized well. It was his usual placid expression, although this time there was ice in it, and steel in his tone.
“This is unfortunate,” Joseph said. “I’m sorry, Seb,but this is how it’s got to happen.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked him. “Lola, move. Let her in.”
“No,” Lola said, darting her hand out, making as if she would push Eve. Eve flinched and took a step away from her, getting within inches of the cliff’s ledge.
“Why?” I asked Joseph, not taking my eyes from Eve.
“Why does she have to die?” Joseph asked. I turned my eyes to him.
“Yes.”
“For one, she knows exactly what we’ve been doing here.”
“No, I don’t—I have no idea.”
“If you don’t, you’ll find out,” Joseph said.
“Listen, Joseph. It’s not a big deal.”
“Do you know what’s in that basement, Sebastian?”
“I know exactly what’s in that basement.”
“Do you know how many people we’ve lost to get those items? How many people have died and been killed under your direction?”
I gritted my teeth. “Yes.”
“Okay,” he said. “So, she can’t know about that. And besides, we need one more murder to pin on you. Eve will be the icing on the cake.”
“Why would anybody believe you?”
“Because there are two of us,” Joseph said, glancing at Lola. “And only one of you. And you’re the one on the run from the cops for murder. Absolutely no one will question your involvement in Eve’s death, especially not after that fight this morning.”
“You wanted us to fight,” I hissed.
“You played right into it,” Lola said with a laugh.
“There’s no way to prove I had anything to do with Eve,” I said. “This is ridiculous.”
“Maybe not. But three murders? Of people who were close to you? That looks bad. If someone calls the cops here and they find her body, it’s going to look real suspicious, don’t you agree?”
“You wouldn’t call the cops. There’s too much at stake,” I said. Lola laughed.
“This is my place,” Joseph said. “We can get rid of that evidence inside at any time. And then we’re clean, we call the cops, they find Eve’s body—”
“They take you in for questioning, at the very least. They look into your business. Either way, you’re ruined.”
“Or we could just kill you,” Joseph said lazily. “And they’ll never find you.”
“I—”
“SEBASTIAN,” EVE SAID, cutting me off. I turned my eyes to look at her and her gaze flickered down to Joseph’s gun. I glanced at it, too, and gave a nod at the same time as I took the risk to dive toward him, wrestling the gun out of his hands. I heard a scream, saw the two women fighting out of the corner of my eye before Joseph nailed me in the face with his fist. I gripped the gun, pulling it away from him, and managed to point and shoot just as Eve and Lola went over the edge. I didn’t care about whether I’d gotten Joseph or not. I stood up and dove off the cliff, following after them, knowing that I was probably going to die.
Chapter 22: Eve
I closed my eyes as we fell, preparing for my body to hit the rocks, for everything to be over when it had just begun. I wrestled with Lola mid-air. She had her arms wrapped around me as we fell down the waterfall, still holding on to me as we dropped into the water, just missing the rocks. I didn’t have time to feel relief, only the pain of the impact, and panic when I realized that Lola was still holding onto me. I couldn’t see anything at all—my eyes burned under the water as I tried to fight with her, kicking her away from me. Lola kept her grip, her hand squeezing my leg. I kicked at her again and finally hit her in the head, knocking her backward and away from me. I kicked to the surface as my lungs screamed, taking a gasp of air when my head broke above the water. I blinked, my eyes still burning, but I scanned around, remembering that I’d seen Sebastian leap after us.
“Sebastian!” I cried out, my voice weaker than I wanted, weaker than my panic required. I looked around again, and saw him halfway propped on a rock, eyes closed and lifeless. I swam to him and took his face in my hands, searching him for blood or broken bones. If he’d fallen on the rocks, he was dead already, and I panicked as I searched him all over. I was relieved when I saw that there was no blood, but became frightened when I realized he wasn’t breathing.
“No,” I said, climbing onto the rock, tugging on his body to pull him out of the water completely. I cursed when his pant leg got caught on the sharp rock, slipping into the water when I got too close to the edge to free him. I gasped for breath, climbing back onto the slippery rock, knowing I would have only a minute to save him.
“Sebastian,” I said, crouching on the ground beside him. “Please.”
There was no response, no life. I put my mouth to his and breathed into him, then did it again, trying to pump his chest with my hands. Tears poured down my cheeks as I tried and failed, weak from the fall, and neither my breath nor my hands were strong enough to help him.
“Please,” I whispered against his lips.
“I got him,” I heard someone say, and glanced up to see Jeremy climbing down the rocks. “Is he not breathing?”
“He’s not breathing,” I said, bursting into sobs. “He’s dead.”
“No, he’s not,” Jeremy said, a look of determination on his face. “He’s not.”
“Jeremy—”
“I’ve got him, Eve,” Jeremy said, leaning down to repeat my movements, both his breath and his hands stronger than mine. He beat at Sebastian’s chest, breathing into him, and I found that I couldn’t breathe myself, just watching them.
“Wake up, Sebastian,” I said.
“I’ve got him,” Jeremy repeated, hitting his friend on the chest one more time with two closed fists. Suddenly, Sebastian spat up, gagging and choking on water. He gasped for air over and over as I went to him, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him against me.
“I love you,” I said to him, tears pouring down my face. “I love you.”
He gave me a weak kiss, smiling against my lips despite everything.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Good. And Jeremy?”
“I’m fine, Seb,” Jeremy said. “Joseph is dead.”
“So is Lola,” I said, realizing only then she had never popped up from the water, realizing that I had knocked her out with my kick.
“Jesus,” S
ebastian said. “That’s four bodies. No fucking way a cop’s going to believe me.”
“They will,” Jeremy said. “I was out here. I saw everything.”
“So did I,” another voice called down from a few feet above. I looked up, surprised to see Marie climbing down in her six-inch heels, clambering onto the rock.
“Marie, what—”
“Just wanted to see what y’all were doing out here,” Marie said. “Killing each other, apparently.”
“How did you know to come out here?”
“I saw Jeremy running this way. I figured it had something to do with you two.”
“So you saw the whole thing?”
“I did. I was close to the cave. I heard everything you said.”
“We’ll back you up,” Jeremy said. “Marie and I.”
“I will, too,” I said to him. “You’re not going down for this.”
“We can’t bring cops to this island,” Sebastian said. “With all that shit in the basement—”
“Did you hit your head down there, Sebastian?” Jeremy asked with a grin. “Don’t you remember who you are?”
Sebastian laughed, taking Jeremy’s hand as he helped him to his feet. He wrapped his arms around me as I shivered in my wet clothes.
“I guess we have work to do,” Sebastian said. Jeremy nodded and Marie griped as she looked up the cliff.
“Do I really have to climb that in heels?” she asked. “I’m not sure I can get up.”
“I’ll help you,” I said, reaching out for her hand. She looked at it for a moment before looking up at my face.
“Okay,” she said, lips curving into a smile. I took her hand and helped her slowly up the cliff, soaking wet and freezing, Sebastian and Jeremy by my side. When we found the path, Sebastian took my hand, and we walked side-by-side until we got to the house. We went up to our room and immediately undressed, both of us collapsing into bed. We fell asleep before we could touch each other, but it didn’t matter—all I knew was that things were going to work out for the best.