Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“Fight back?” His voice sounded amused.

“I mean, I’m sure they don’t appreciate being killed just so we can get food and clothes.”

“Are you a vegetarian?”

“No, no.” I shook my head. “But I have to admit I have sometimes thought about what life would be like if animals decided to fight back. What if instead of running away from you, the boar had run toward you and tried to attack you?”

“That wouldn’t be very unusual. Many wild boars attack people.”

“You would have been scared, right?”

“I would have retreated.”

“See, once animals figure that out, they will start fighting back.”

“That’s what they did in Planet of the Apes, I suppose.” I could hear the laughter in his voice and frowned.

“You think I’m silly, don’t you.”

“Not at all. I think that you like to think out of the box, which is refreshing.”

“I think it’s because I grew up with a father who was always encouraging me to think outside of normal parameters.”

“That makes sense.”

“Sometimes, I don’t wonder if I’m a little crazy.”

“We’re all a little crazy,” he responded seriously.

“Were you going to hit Steve earlier?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t be mad at my question.

“I wasn’t going to hit him, no.”

“You looked like you were going to hit him.”

“I was just giving him a warning.”

“A warning or a threat?”

“He can take it whichever way he wants.”

“Do you think he was scared?”

“Not as much as he should be.”

“There’s something about him that gives me the creeps.” I admitted at last. “I feel horrible saying that, because I don’t really know him, but there’s just something about him that seems really off.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” He stopped still and looked at me for a few seconds before continuing. “I’ve got a bad feeling about him, Bianca. Please be wary around him.”

“I will be.” I nodded, and we continued walking. My stomach rumbled, and I could feel the tension in my back. I rubbed my arms as we walked back through the jungle and tried to get rid of the image that had just popped into my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about Jakob standing there next to the boar with the bloody rock in his hand. My brain was ticking, and all I could think was that maybe I should be wary around both Jakob and Steve. I was pretty certain that I was underestimating what both of them could and would do. I only hoped that their targets were each other.

Steve was waiting on the beach for us when we made it back with the boar. His eyes widened as he saw the beast, and I noticed an exchange of looks pass between him and Jakob.

“I’m going to get some sharp rocks to see if we can get this boar’s fur off.” Jakob glanced at me and walked away. I stared after him and wondered if he wanted me to come with him.

“I have something for you.” Steve walked over to me quickly. His limp was more pronounced, and I wondered if he had injured himself even more by walking through the jungle with us.

“What is it?” I looked at him puzzled.

“I found this note in the jungle.” Steve slipped it into my hand and walked away quickly. I looked down and read it.

Be careful of who you trust and fall in love with. They are deceiving you. You should run away as soon as you can.

I reread it again carefully, then threw it into the fire. I stood still as I thought about the note. It was on the same paper and had the same handwriting as the other notes. Only, this time it looked like it had been hurriedly scribbled. And the tone of the note seemed off. The advice in it was a little too direct, compared to the other notes. It was as if the writer of the notes was upset that I had become close with Jakob. My heart started racing as I realized that Steve might be the one responsible for leaving the notes on the island and the letter at my house. My head spun as I realized that I had no idea which way was up. However, I knew that if he was the same person who’d left all the notes, he might know exactly what was going on. I didn’t expect him to tell me everything, but even a few clues would be helpful.

“Steve,” I called after him. Where did you get that note?”

“I found it in the jungle, near the waterfall.” He shrugged and turned away. I sighed and glanced down at the fire. Had he really found it near the waterfall? If so, how had it gotten there? And who had left it? Was there someone else on the island with us, or did I already know the man who had been leaving me the notes?

I didn’t know if I could trust Jakob or Steve. Had Jakob tried to kill Steve, and was he out to get me as Steve was implying, or was Steve really the mastermind behind everything? The problem was that I didn’t know why either one of them would want to harm me, unless this was just some sort of sick joke. I knew from watching Criminal Minds that sometimes there was no rhyme or reason as to how or why psychopaths chose their victims. I wanted to believe that Steve was the one who had been leaving the notes, but the fact was that Jakob was the one who had lied to me so many times. Why would he have pretended he didn’t know the Bradleys? And it suddenly struck me that Jakob had disappeared every morning. He could have hidden the notes as well. In fact, he could have left the first note on the beach next to us. He’d been awake before me, both in the car trunk and on the beach. As far as I knew, he hadn’t been drugged either. Maybe Jakob worked for the Bradleys. That would explain why he’d been at the coffee shop that day. Maybe he was the one in charge of trying to figure out where the papers were. Maybe his cat-and-mouse game was deliberate. He wanted to confuse me into trusting him. But then I looked back at Steve and saw the calculating look on his face and I knew that his goal was to make me doubt Jakob. Everything he had done and said was in the hope that I would no longer trust Jakob. I knew for a fact that Jakob hadn’t told me the entire truth, but I knew in that moment that if it came down to Jakob or Steve, I was definitely choosing to believe Jakob. I looked back at Steve with narrowed eyes, and I saw the disappointment in his eyes as he walked away from me.