“Do your worst, Lovely. I’ll enjoy punishing you for it.”
I stood on the cliff with my arms wrapped tightly around my stomach. The wind was mild, but the closer I got to the edge, the more the wind picked up. My hair flew behind my shoulders, and my arms prickled with goose bumps.
I noticed Finley leave the house and approach me, but I tried to ignore him, wanting to be left alone. Being so isolated from the rest of civilization was utterly terrifying. I was stuck with a madman who was using me to get revenge on my brother. I didn’t have a clue what he would do to me—or how evil he really was.
Joseph, you better be looking for me.
If he didn’t come for me, I wouldn’t know what to do. Even if I killed everyone, how would I get off this island? Crewe had a helicopter, but I couldn’t fly one if I tried—no matter how smart I was. There wasn’t a boat, as far as I could tell. But Ariel must leave every day. Unless she lived there. Was she really his business partner? Maybe she was his wife. He didn’t seem like the husband type.
“Lady London?” Finley was an older man, his Scottish accent heavy. He had brown hair tinted with red and a few freckles on his face. He had to be in his late sixties despite how easy it was for him to get around.
I realized in that moment Crewe didn’t have a Scottish accent. It was American—just like mine.
Interesting.
“Yes?” I turned to him, feeling my heart soften when I saw the thick jacket and pair of binoculars he held.
“Mr. Donoghue was worried you might get cold out here.” He wrapped the jacket around my shoulders. Since it was three sizes too big and Finley was a petite man, I assumed it belonged to Crewe himself. “And he wanted you to have these.” He handed over the binoculars. “If you look along the rocks, you can see seals and penguins. There’s wildlife everywhere.”
“Oh…” I held the heavy binoculars in my hands and nodded. “Thank you.”
He nodded then headed back to the house.
It didn’t matter how cute and charming Finley was. I couldn’t let that sweet old man get to me just because he gave me a jacket and a pair of binoculars. My goal was to get off this island and back to my life. I belonged in the hot and humid city of New York. I should be doing my rounds at the hospital this very moment. Even if I made my way back there, I would still be missing lectures and rotations. Hopefully, the university would grant me some leeway because of the extreme circumstances.
I spent the next few hours walking around the island, appreciating the beautiful flowers and the unique grass. Despite the circumstances, I couldn’t deny how beautiful this was place. It was rich in botanical life.
I found a good spot along the cliff and watched seals swim around looking for fish. Some of them crawled up onto the rocks to enjoy the sunlight, their rubbery skin heating up despite the cold wind. The binoculars were helpful, and I found myself laughing when the seals fell asleep and accidentally rolled off the rocks and landed in the water.
“They’re funny, aren’t they?” Crewe was in his jeans and a long sleeved shirt. He sat beside me on the rock and looked down into the water.
The second he was next to me, I was on edge. My day had been peaceful until his presence ruined everything. I had to ignore some of the sweet things he did because he was evil underneath that pretty package. It didn’t matter how ruggedly handsome he was. If I had the opportunity to kill him, I would take it. “They’re fun to watch.”
“The other islands have Shetland ponies—it’s what the islands are known for.”
“Why?”
“There are a lot of breeders here.”
I placed the binoculars on the grass between us, just in case he wanted to use them.
“There’s a bedroom for you upstairs if you’d like to sleep there.”
I didn’t want to go back to that cage underground. There was no sunlight, no fresh air. It was freezing cold, and that cot was no better than the cement. Even though I was outside in the cold, having his jacket around my body gave me the most warmth I’d felt since I arrived here. “I guess.”
Crewe looked into the distance, staring at the deep blue ocean that stretched on forever.
“You don’t have a Scottish accent.” It wasn’t a question, but I didn’t know how to ask him anything. We were enemies, after all.
“I do.” Fluidly, he switched into a Scottish accent, pronouncing each syllable with perfection as if he’d been born speaking that way. “I also have a British accent.” He changed again, sounding like a lad from London.