Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“What does yours say?” Jakob’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“I, uh . . .” My voice shook, and I looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Mine says, “?‘Everyone has a price. Every action has a consequence.’ ” He frowned and looked at me.

“ ‘Your life may be saved in death.’ ” My voice trembled, and I pressed my palm to my forehead to reassure myself that everything was okay.

The letter was printed on the same paper as the first note that had arrived at my apartment a week ago. My skin felt cold even though the sun was extremely hot outside, and the hairs on my arm stood on end as I shivered. I reread the note, trying to figure out if there was a clue I had missed on the page.

What was the connection between this note and the one I’d received before? What was I being saved from? Who was doing this to me? And why bring me here with Jakob? Why leave him a note as well? I didn’t understand him. Some parts of the day, he was light and friendly, while at other times, he seemed guarded and thoughtful. There was a look in his eye that scared me—a look that said no matter how long we spent together, he would still have his walls up.

A part of me was hurt that he seemed so closed off. I felt stupid for being hurt. Rationally, I knew that I didn’t know him, and he didn’t know me, yet it was still hard for me to let go of the fact that I wanted to feel closer to him. I’d already opened up to him partially about my past. Yes, I hadn’t told him the whole truth, but he knew more than anyone else. I’d told him more than I’d even told Rosie. And then there was the attraction I felt to him. Sexually, there was a magnetism to him that made me want to touch him and feel him on top of me. When he touched me, my skin lit up like a stove that had just been turned on. I craved his touch. I wanted to taste him. I wanted to feel him inside me. My time on the island was bringing out very primal urges in me. I felt like I was living each hour as if it were my last. For the most part, I enjoyed our banter. I felt like he really cared about me. I could see the concern for my safety in his eyes, and I could hear it in his voice. I knew that he legitimately felt something for me. I just wished that he trusted me as much as I’d already trusted me.

“Are you okay?” His voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to see him frowning.

“The letter just took me aback.” I nodded slowly, not ready to tell him about the other note I’d received. Not until I felt like I was getting more from him.

“I understand.” He sighed. “We will get to the bottom of this.”

“How?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

“Do you think we’re going to die?”

“Only if we have to kill each other.” His words were soft, and I froze.

“I’m confused.” I spoke slowly, as if I were just now thinking about the question I was about to ask.

“About what?”

“Why would they leave you a note?” I scratched my head. “I mean, it just doesn’t add up. They see you with me once at a coffee shop and all of a sudden you’re prime suspect number two?” I licked my lips and studied his face carefully. I could see throbbing in his throat as he stared back at me. “What’s the point of leaving you a letter? And such a deep letter as well?”

We stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, and I could tell that Jakob was thinking hard about something. I knew this was the turning point for us. He needed to tell me more than he already had, which was really nothing. I hadn’t wanted to push him when we’d first arrived, but now that we’d been here for a few days, I needed more.

“So I guess now’s the time I should tell you that I wasn’t at that coffee shop by mistake.”

“What?” My voice echoed in the small shack.

“It’s not what you think.” He sighed. “I received an e-mail that morning from a business colleague. She said she wanted to meet me there to discuss something about a business I’m in the process of trying to acquire.”

“Okay . . .”

“There weren’t any other tables, so I sat with you.” He took a step toward me. “I chose to sit at your table on purpose.”

“Why?” My body stilled.

“Because I wanted to flirt with the cute brunette I spotted typing away,” he smiled. “Only, you ignored me when I approached the table.”

“Sorry,” I bit down on my lower lip as I watched him talking.

“It’s okay. I felt like a bit of an idiot, so I took my book out of my bag and pretended to read instead.”

“I felt like a bit of an idiot for being so rude, if that helps.” I smiled at him. “I was trying to finish an article and only had a few minutes left. Normally I’m not so rude.”

“That’s okay, Pip is one of my favorites, so I was happy to sit there and try to read while I waited on my colleague to show up.”

“Pip.” I kept my composure as I stared at him. “Like Pip and Miss Havisham?”

“Yes. I told you I love Dickens, right?”

“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “You did.”

“Great Expectations is one of his best novels, if I do say so myself. I read it in high school and it really touched something in me. I try to read it every couple of years.”

“The movie was pretty good as well,” I babbled. “Not the one with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow so much, but the one from the forties with Anthony Wager.”