Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“Come.” He grabbed my hand and then stopped me still. “You have to trust me, Bianca. We’re going to have to pretend that we know each other, do you hear me? We can’t let anyone know that we are strangers as well. That will make us weak and easier to take down.”

“But we don’t know each other.” My eyes widened at the urgency in his voice. “I don’t know you,” I whispered.

“We cannot show any division.” His fingers squeezed me tighter. “It will be easier to take down two enemies than two friends.”

“Sun Tzu again?”

“No, that’s just me.” He grinned weakly, and I watched his face transform as his eyes lit up for a brief second. He looked like a completely different man when he wasn’t all intense.

“I see.”

“And my answer is yes, by the way,” he whispered as he let go of me.

“Your answer to what?”

“Your unspoken question last night.” He stretched and stood tall, his shoulders back and strong. “I could kill someone if I had to.” He looked at me, his eyes dark again. “There are many things I could do if my life and the truth depended on it. I need you to promise me one thing, Bianca.”

“What’s that?”

“We need to talk later. You need to tell me everything that you know about why we’re here.” He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “It might be the only chance we have at survival.”

And then he walked away toward the jungle.

I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to follow him. Part of me wondered if I was following him to my death. How did I really know that there was someone else in the jungle? All I’d heard were a few whistles. Maybe it was a bird after all. Maybe it was a parrot? Parrots were supposed to be able to mimic human sounds. I stood there frozen, not sure what to do. However, time doesn’t always wait for us to make a decision. My decision was made for me when I saw Jakob freeze. I looked at his hands and watched as they tightened into fists. I took a couple of steps back in fear. This was it, then. We were about to find out who was on the island with us.

“Hello,” another male voice called out smoothly. “Lost as well?”

“Something like that,” Jakob replied, and I looked past him to see who he was talking to.

My eyes widened as I stared at the other man. He looked unassuming and pale. He was only slightly taller than I was, and he had dark brown hair. I couldn’t see the color of his eyes from where he was standing, but I could see a pleasant smile on his face. He looked like a regular guy. I wondered how he had gotten on the island and why he hadn’t called out to us earlier. I hadn’t seen a boat or aircraft anywhere, so there was no way that he could have been dropped off after us. I hurried toward Jakob, and the man’s face turned into a huge smile as he looked at me.

“Why, hello there.” He smiled as he walked toward me. “It’s nice to meet you both.” He had a slight accent, and I noticed that he was limping slightly.

“Are you okay?” I moved toward him, but Jakob grabbed my arm. I looked back at him, and he shook his head acutely, but I ignored him. There was nothing to be frightened of with this new man. I was strong enough to take down a man with a limp, if it came to a fight.

“I hurt my leg.” The man continued to smile at me. His eyes were bright and blue. He was more handsome than he’d appeared from far away. “Am I glad that I happened upon you both. I thought I was going to be stuck here by myself.”

“We’re glad you found us as well.” Jakob walked up and put his arm around my shoulder. The possessiveness of his action annoyed me, and I tried to move away from him, but his grip on my shoulder was tight. “It must be scary to be on the island by yourself. What’s your name?”

“I’m Steve.” He offered his hand to me, and I shook it. I was surprised at how strong his grip was. I’d assumed he’d have a limp handshake, like most unassuming men. His firm grasp didn’t match his appearance. And the light in his blue eyes seemed artificial somehow. I knew immediately that I didn’t trust him.

“Bianca.” I smiled at him, trying to show him that I was friendly and not sizing him up. My father had always told me to never let a person see that I was evaluating them. If a stranger knew or sensed that you were studying them, they’d retreat and become resentful. I didn’t want Steve to have any ill feelings toward me. If he thought I trusted him, he might be more willing to give me information. I was almost positive that this wasn’t a chance encounter.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” His eyes flirted with me, and my smile wavered, slightly uncomfortable at his boldness considering Jakob’s arm was around me and his whole stance was extremely possessive.

“I’m Jakob.” Jakob’s voice was light as he ignored Steve’s outstretched hand. “How did you get here?”

“I’m not sure.” Steve frowned. “I fell asleep on the beach at the resort and woke up in the jungle.”

“The resort?” Jakob smiled. “There’s a resort on the island?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and he pushed me behind him slightly. “I think you must be mistaken.”

“There must be a resort, right?” Steve smiled back. “How else did I get here?”

“Good question.” Jakob looked at me for a second and then turned back to Steve. “Forgive me if I’m not as convinced by your story as you may have hoped, but I’m having a hard time accepting the fact that you think you’re still on the same island as your resort.”