“Very,” Antoine says at the same time Dominic says, “Not that remote. It’s stocked with everything we need.”
I beam at him. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter Eleven
Dominic
I can’t wait.
Elizabeth’s excited words and brilliant smile hit me like a sucker punch, leaving me dazed and breathless.
Jeez, what the hell am I doing? Lying to her and taking her away…
Thanks to Dr. Raydor, she thinks we’re engaged. Tolyan apparently hasn’t disabused her of that notion, although I’m not sure why. She obviously believes we’re madly in love from the sweetly shy grin she flashes me. It’s the same one she had when she talked about studying with her grandfather and becoming an artist…back before our world crashed and burned.
Only until she regains her memory or we catch the creep, whichever comes first, I tell myself, even though it feels self-serving. Damn it, it’s like Antoine got inside my head and is screwing with me.
We put on headsets and take off. I can fly the chopper on my own, so I decided to take it rather than my jet, which requires a different pilot. I don’t want somebody else underfoot, and I don’t want to be stranded on the island without any means to leave. It’s small, with only a landing strip, a helipad and a house the previous owner dubbed “the Hut,” which is really a three-story mansion. It has a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the azure sea and perfect, silky white sand. I bought the whole thing at a bankruptcy auction.
Elizabeth’s gray eyes shine with excitement as our helicopter flies over the water. “I didn’t know you could fly,” she says, her voice light and joyful as she looks outside, then at me. Suddenly she pulls her lips in and looks away.
I clear my throat and fudge a bit. “I’ve never flown you anywhere. So you couldn’t have known…”
The smile returns. Her head swivels around, studying St. Cecilia growing smaller. “It’s gorgeous. I’m glad the weather’s perfect.”
There isn’t even a wisp of cloud in the sky. The morning sun hits the ever-moving water, fracturing and sparkling like an infinity of turquoise-colored diamonds. Multiple shades of aquamarine denote the depths of the sea below. The vast majority is on the shallow side with calm water.
I land the chopper on the roof of the Hut at the base of a cove.
Elizabeth hops out before I can to help her. Thankfully, her step is sure, her legs steady. She looks around the pristine white sand and azure sea.
“Oh my gosh, this is amazing. I didn’t know places like this actually existed.”
I give her a wan smile, doing my best to look at it through her eyes. I’ve never liked being on the island much, despite the natural beauty. I could never figure out why the hell not, either. Eventually I chalked it up to claustrophobia, but that isn’t it. “I’m glad you like it.”
“All this is really yours?”
“Yup. And it’s just two of us here.”
I unload our bags and take them inside, pausing briefly to enter my override code so the security system knows the house is no longer unoccupied. The perimeter sensors around the island remain on.
“You sure you don’t need help?” she asks, watching me roll her two bags down the special winding walkway to the second level of the house.
“I’m perfectly capable. Besides, you still have bruises and cuts. And I promised Dr. Raydor you wouldn’t exert yourself.”
“I think he’s worried for nothing. I’m fine.” She looks outside the huge glass wall to our left. “You didn’t always have this.”
Is she remembering? “No.” The word is dragged out of me.
“So how did you end up with it? Whoever owned it before must not have wanted to sell.”
I inhale and start talking. “No, but it didn’t matter. He was a land developer who overextended his company to the point he couldn’t make the note payment to the banks. This was one of the things he got rid of very quickly to cover his debt. Not that it stopped him from going belly up anyway.”
“Business ambition can be tricky.”
“Yes—so can luck.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Luck?”