Savage Love (Savage Island 2)

“I know you told me you’re feeling ill, miss,” she says, not meeting my eyes, likely so I don’t contradict her. I watch her warily but listen. Perhaps she has a plan for me. She places the tray of food beside me and leans in to whisper in my ear. “There’s a buffet out there, but I told them you weren’t well. I wanted to let you know, we dock tomorrow morning at seven o’clock. We have to come up with a plan before then.”

I nod. “Is it best if I come to you, or you to me?”

Excitement builds in my belly at the thought of what will happen next. Our docking. My escape.

Finding Cy.

“When we dock, there will be many people there ready to aid our plan. They will look like professionals. Police, and military, perhaps. In short, you won’t be able to walk off this ship and escape. There has to be another plan.”

I nod silently. Thinking. Mulling. Wondering. But it seems she’s already thought about it.

“I think you should escape before we dock,” she whispers. “Can you swim well?”

My heartbeat accelerates when she says this, the immediate vision of my diving overboard this enormous ship into frigid waters terrifying. We didn’t swim in the ocean on the island. Cy told me the waters were shark-infested, and I know he spoke the truth. I nod and take in a deep breath.

“Yes,” I say.

“Good,” she says. “Though we’ll dock at seven, before then you should get off this ship. Our speed when we near land will make the ship go slower, so you’ll be able to jump into the water without killing yourself.” She says this as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. “I’ll come in to bring you something, and you’ll have to… you’ll have to assault me,” she whispers.

I look at her wide, fearful eyes and shake my head. “That won’t be necessary,” I tell her.

“If they’re to believe the story it is.”

I sigh. “I’ll figure something out. Do you have any way for me to get some money or something to help me? Or is there another way? We have to have a plan B.”

“It’s the best plan I can think of,” she says. “Once we dock and you leave this ship, you’ll be at their mercy. And once that happens, they’ll only continue what they’ve already done.”

I nod. She’s right. I’ll leave this ship and swim to freedom.

“In the morning, I’ll bring you what you need,” she says. “And if I… if I survive this, I want you to come find me. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you. I promise.”

On impulse, I hug her. She’s thin and frail in my arms, and it feels as if too tight a hug will snap ribs. I wonder at her story. “Thank you,” I whisper. “I don’t know how I could’ve done this without you.”

She hugs me back. “We haven’t done it yet,” she says with a whispered laugh. “But please, Harper. Forgive me.”

I squeeze her in reply. She leaves, and I’m left to my food and my thoughts once more. A part of me wants to venture outside this ship, though another part of me fears further interaction with those who orchestrated this.

But I can’t exactly go blindly. I need to know the layout of the ship and the best way for me to get off of it. If we are in the southernmost part of Florida, or we’re heading that way, sunrise this time of year will be around half an hour before we dock. I need to make my move after sunrise and before we dock, then.

I nod to myself. I can do this.

I have to.

I lift the silver lid of the tray, expecting to find nothing but food. I startle when I see a slim knife, a credit card, and American dollars beneath the card. My throat tightens. Lila really is going to help me. And I’m so ready for the next step. Though I quake with nerves and fear, my desire to escape the danger I’m in, my desire to find Cy and return to Daniel, overshadows my fear.

I learned to face my fears on that island. And it’s my firm conviction that every time we face our fears and overcome them, we grow stronger. More resilient. I thought earlier that I’d grown softer on the island, but as I think about it, I realize I’ve done nothing of the sort. Like an athlete in training, every time I exercised the muscles of courage, I strengthened my mind and heart.

And though I don’t know what lies ahead of me, I know that I’ll face it. I’ll conquer it. I know in my heart that Cy is okay. That wherever he is, he’s safe for now. He took good care of me on the island. He rescued me, more times that I can count. If he were gone, I would feel it because Cy owns a piece of my heart. A part of me would die, too.