Garnet (Gems of Wolfe Island)

But whatever money he was paid meant more to him than his oath.

Still, he healed me. Gave me the antibiotics I needed to rid myself of the infection. And I got a three-week respite from the hunt.

The wounds healed.

Only to be open again. Again.

Again.

And again.

I have no more open wounds. A few aches and pains—reminiscent of what I’ve endured—but no worse than the aches and pains from being a professional athlete.

A professional athlete.

I actually made it onto a professional volleyball team after college.

If I hadn’t?

I’d never have been taken to that damned island.

9

BUCK

I do it. I crash the minibar. I didn’t drink at dinner. I didn’t want to make Aspen uncomfortable. Now? I need a fucking shot of bourbon.

A couple tiny bottles of Jack sit in the door of the minifridge.

I grab one.

I grab another.

I open them and pour them into one of the lowball glasses on the table.

Then I shoot it. Jack isn’t my favorite, but nothing stings quite as well as Tennessee corn mash whiskey.

Just what I need.

I can’t get Aspen out of my mind. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in a while, and it’s funny, because she’s not beautiful in the classic sense. She wears her dark hair short, in a pixie style, but she’s so far from a pixie. She’s tall and muscular with a strong body, slender hands with long fingers. Then her face… High cheekbones, full pink lips. Expressive dark eyes with long lashes.

Her bone structure…

Christ. When in hell have I ever considered a woman’s bone structure?

Lovely breasts too. The perfect size. Probably around a C cup.

I like a good fuck as much the next guy. In fact, since I’ve been home from the last tour, fucking is all I’ve done with women. I haven’t tried to start a relationship.

I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Except…Aspen has me thinking about things.

Thinking about…the future. The future with a woman.

I figured I was too fucked up to even consider a future like that. My mother wants grandchildren, and I always said she’d get them from Emily and Johnny. But Johnny’s a womanizer—a young stud who may never settle down. Emily is in a steady relationship now, but she’s focused on her new position on Wolfe Island as an instructor at the art colony.

And her boyfriend, Scotty? He’s a freaking beach bum. Oh, he loves Emily, and they will settle down and have children eventually, but not anytime soon.

The Jack was good, but it didn’t hit the spot. I’m on edge, man, and the drab surroundings in this hotel room aren’t helping. Five hundred bucks a night, and everything’s beige? Even the print on the wall seems dull and colorless, with its brown and yellow tones.

Or maybe I’m drab and colorless. Or I should be, except that I can’t get my attraction to Aspen Davis out of my mind.

I need to run a few laps, maybe take a swim.

I’m not swimming in a hotel pool. Hell, there might be families there. It’s still early after all.

The gym then. I change into a T-shirt and shorts, and I head down to the second floor where the workout room is located.

It’s empty, thank God. I don’t like working on the machines. I’d rather be outside, running in nature. I’m not a fan of weight machines either. I prefer free weights.

But weights aren’t what I need right now. I need to work off some steam.

So as much as I hate it, I hit the treadmill. I program it for ten miles, uphill. Earbuds secured, and metallic rock blaring.

And I go. I fucking go. I succumb to my own energy as I listen to the head-banging music.

Good stuff.

The workout takes about forty-five minutes. Yeah, I do ten miles in forty-five minutes. One thing the Navy SEALs do is keep you in shape. For sure.

I grab a towel from the corner, wipe off my face and neck, and then I head back up to my room. I need a shower.

I feel better, my heart pounding and endorphins flowing through me.

But my leisure doesn’t last long.

When I get to the door of my room, I hear the screams.

10

ASPEN

I’m drowning.

Each time I manage to get my head above water, I let out a shriek.

Then I’m underwater again. Something’s holding me down.

No! Diamond says they can’t kill us.

They can’t drown me.

It won’t happen.

But I can’t, I can’t, I can’t… Can’t hold my breath any longer.

I gasp in a breath above water once more, shriek, and I’m underwater again.

Sounds. Muffled sounds.

Fight. Fight back. Fight. It’s all you have.

I break the grasp, bring my head above water, suck in some well-needed air.

The sounds. The pounding.

Where am I?

I stumble out of the water, reach a hard surface.

Naked. I’m naked. I scramble to my feet, ready to run.

From them.

Keep them from getting me.

The pounding. Pounding in my ears. Pounding around me. In my head, like a hammer sinking a nail into a two-by-four.