Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“How did you sleep?” His voice was light.

“Like a baby.” I offered him a weak smile. “You?”

“Barely.” He stood up. “I was on edge all night.”

I looked around the beach to see if I could see Steve’s body. My fingers were trembling as I braced myself to see his body.

“I moved him.” Jakob shifted over to me. “I didn’t think you should see him.”

“Is it bad, then?”

“It’s not pretty.” He moved some hair away from my face, and I heard him gasp. “You’ve got bruises all over your face.” He frowned and touched a spot on my cheek carefully.

“I guess that’s what happens when you climb a tree and you’re not super fit.”

“You did a great job.” He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “I can’t believe you’re so bruised.”

“What are you doing?” I reached out and touched the cut on his cheek.

“I’m kissing your boo-boos away.” He picked my arm up and kissed a large bruise on my wrist.

“My boo-boos?” I smiled at him.

“It’s something my mom used to do when I hurt myself when I was a kid.” He smiled at me, and his eyes glazed over. “She would kiss each one and make the pain go away.”

“She sounds like a fantastic mother. You must have loved her a lot.”

“She was my world.” He nodded and held my hand between his. “You know, talking with you last night brought back a lot of memories. When I was younger, I thought I was the luckiest little boy in the world. It was only when I reached my teenage years that I realized how sad and heartbroken my mother was, and that broke my heart.”

“Your father sounds like he was a jerk.”

“He was. He was a jerk who was easily influenced by his best friend.”

“What do you mean?” I reached out and touched his shoulder. My heart ached for this Jakob. I was now seeing a more vulnerable side, and I was starting to understand why he didn’t believe in love. If his mother had been hurt and he’d witnessed that heartache, it was understandable that he didn’t know how beautiful it could be.

“My father was from a well-off family. He married someone from a well-off family. He strung my mother along her whole life.” His voice was angry. “He promised her that he loved her, but he never did right by her.”

“She waited for him?”

“She waited her whole life for him.”

“And he never came around?”

“No, he never made an honest woman of her.” He looked at me and frowned. “What would you think of me if I had no money?”

“Your money means nothing to me, Jakob.” I grabbed his hand. “You know that, right?”

“You sought out David Bradley because he has money or as a way for you to gain access to money.”

“It wasn’t because he had money, I told you that.” I shook my head. “You know it was because I wanted to find out more about my mother’s death. I explained that to you.”

“I know.” He sighed and stretched his arms. “Forgive me, Bianca. It was a long night, and I’m antsy.”

“I understand.” I looked at him for a few seconds and then moved next to him. “What are we going to do now?”

“What do you want to do?” He gazed at me then.

“I don’t know.” I reached out and took his hand in mine. “I want to leave the island. I want to get to know you better. I want to figure out what happened to my mom. I want to claim my inheritance back from the Bradleys.”

“Your inheritance?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”

“What if you never get any money from them?”

“It’s not about the money, really.” I looked up at him. “It’s about knowing the truth. I want to know the truth about what happened to my mother.”

“This is hard for me to say, but I think I owe you an apology.” Jakob’s tone changed, and he grabbed my hands.

“Why do you owe me an apology?”

“I got you wrong, Bianca.” His eyes looked sad. “I’m sorry for thinking that—”

The rhythmic thumping of an engine growing louder in the sky distracted me from what he was saying, and I gazed upward to see where the noise was coming from.

“Hey, do you hear that?” I ran toward the water. “I think I see a helicopter.” I started jumping up and down. “Over here!” I screamed as I jumped. “We’re here!”

“Bianca, I need to tell you . . .” Jakob walked toward me and I jumped into his arms in excitement and kissed him. He looked taken aback by my exuberance, but I put it down to shock.

“I think we’re being rescued.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I think this nightmare is about to end.” I kissed him again and stepped back down to the sand. I moved up and down some more and waved my arms frantically in the air. “They’re coming toward us.” I grinned at Jakob. “I think they see us.”

“Even if they see us, this isn’t the end, Bianca. We still need to figure out exactly why we were brought here. We need to talk. I need to tell you what I know about David and Mattias.”

“I know.” I nodded. “And we will talk, and you will explain everything, but it will be easier once we are off this island.”