Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“You okay?” Jakob walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.

“I’m fine.” I nodded. “I just wish we were off this island.”

“Where’s Steve?” His voice changed from caring to hostile.

“I think he went into the water.” I kept my eyes ahead and debated telling Jakob about the note.

“I’m pretty sure he has a knife.” Jakob’s tone was low, and he leaned toward me.

“How do you know?” I swallowed hard.

“I saw it.” He looked around. “I didn’t want him to know that I knew.”

“Why does he have a knife?” I shivered, and Jakob pulled me into his arms.

“Remember when I asked you if you could kill someone?” he whispered in my ear, and I froze.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I need you to get me that knife.” His eyes peered into mine. They looked dark as night, and if they were any indication of his thoughts, I knew they were extreme.

“What do you want me to do?” My stomach dropped as I realized where this was leading. If I had been scared by his killing the boar, I didn’t know how I was going to react if he actually did something to Steve.

“I just need you to get me his flask.” His fingers gripped my arm. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but the bottom of the flask looked like it had something glued on to it.”

“I didn’t see any such thing.”

“Just go and ask him for a drink. He trusts you. He’ll let his guard down around you.”

“I guess so.” I closed my eyes to allow my nerves to settle.

“Just bring the knife to me when you have it,” he commanded me. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.” I nodded, unsure of what to do. If the note was right, then that meant that Jakob was after me. If I stole the knife from Steve and gave it to Jakob, I could be putting a nail in my own coffin. I felt Jakob’s lips on my cheek, and I melted into him. I didn’t think Jakob would hurt me, but I already knew that he was lying to me about something. He’d admitted knowing both David and Mattias in some capacity. He’d even made a comment about them working together. How could he know that? Unless, of course, he knew the two brothers better than he’d let on. And if that was true, maybe he was here to shut me up, to stop me from finding out exactly what had happened to my mother. There was a possibility that he had been put on the island to harm me, so that I’d be quiet forever. Part of me wondered if he was here to find out exactly what information I had. It would make sense, what with all the questions he’d asked about my father. Who else would be so concerned?

But as I stood in his arms and thought back to his gentle lovemaking and tender caresses, I began to doubt that he would ever want to harm me. If he was here to kill me, why would he admit that he knew Bridgette? Why would he have been kidnapped as well? Why would Steve be the one handing me a note on the same paper as the other notes I’d received? It didn’t add up. It had to be Steve who was trying to play mind games and manipulate me. His plan was working, because he was making me begin to doubt Jakob.

“Don’t be scared, my love.” Jakob whispered into my ear as he caressed my back. “I won’t let Steve harm you.” My heart jumped at his endearment, and I looked up into his eyes. They were so sincere and full of emotion that I wondered how I could have doubted him for a second.

“Steve tried to warn me about you,” I whispered against his lips as he moved in to kiss me. His face twisted, and he looked into my eyes questioningly. “He gave me a note,” I whispered frantically. “It was like the other notes.”

“What do you mean?” His eyes narrowed.

“It was on the same paper and while, I’m not positive, I think the same person wrote all of the notes and tried to change their handwriting slightly.”

“What did it say?”

“It said to be careful of you. It said that I should run away from you.”

“He’s trying to split us up.” He frowned. “He’s trying to divide and conquer.” He grabbed my hands tightly and took a deep breath. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Bianca. I promise. I’m just trying to get the truth.”

“I know.” I nodded. “I know.”

“I wish things were different.” He groaned and ran his hands through his tousled hair. “This was a mistake. I need to get to the bottom of what is happening.”

“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” I whispered, suddenly feeling terrified. I wanted to get to the bottom of everything that was happening as well, but I didn’t want to get hurt. I wanted to close my eyes and transport myself back to my apartment. I shuddered then as I realized that was a lie. I no longer felt safe at my own apartment either.

“Just get me that knife.” His voice was ominous, and my heart stilled for a moment. The man in front of me was no longer my gentle lover; he was now a terrifying hulk.

“I’m going to go into the jungle,” he whispered. “I’ll stand at the outskirts, but you can tell him I’ve gone to the shack. That will give him a sense of false security.”

“Do you think he’ll believe me?”

“He will if you tell him that I left something there. Tell him that I went to look for something to skin the boar with.”

“You said you were going to use rocks.”