17. Isla
17
ISLA
Words were meaningless if the actions didn’t follow. I knew that from years of living with Shawn. At first, everything was perfect between us, but when things started to change, those three little words that used to mean so much were suddenly a lead weight in my stomach. How could he possibly speak those words when they were laced with so much hate? When every action spoke the exact opposite?
Those three little words had come to mean nothing to me.
And now, three other words replaced those. Three words that held so much meaning that I didn’t need to question how Knox felt about me or what would happen from here on out. It was clear in my mind where this was going. We would be together through anything, and nothing would ever tear us apart.
You’re my spark.
I hid my smile as he pulled up outside my house and shifted into park.
“Don’t take too long to pack. Our flight is in three hours.”
“Where are you going?”
“To get a few provisions.”
He grabbed my hand and tugged me closer, pressing his lips to mine. I felt a small tug on my curls as he wrapped a finger around one of them. “Fucking gorgeous,” he murmured against my lips.
I couldn’t help the smile that broke out on my face. I had once thought of IKE as a slick, arrogant jerk who only cared about riling me up. Maybe he was still slick and arrogant, but that didn’t bother me nearly as much as it used to. Besides, there were too many other pieces of him that were clicking into place, making it impossible to hate him.
I shoved open the door, brushing off the chill as I took off my coat. “Riley!”
She popped her head out of the kitchen, staring at me in shock. “Oh my gosh. Isla? Is it really you?” She rushed over to me, her eyes wide with wonder.
“What are you talking about?”
“Let me touch your face. It’s been so long,” she said, shoving her hands in my face.
I knocked them away, rolling my eyes at her antics. “I’ve been gone a few days.”
“You don’t call. You don’t write. It’s like you didn’t care at all what happened to me,” she whimpered.
“The only thing that happened to you was too much sex all over the house,” I said, walking over to the couch and tossing my purse down.
She cringed. “Yeah, speaking of which, you might not want to put anything on there yet. Haven’t had a chance to um…clean up.”
I snatched my purse off it and glared at her. “Hey, you can’t say anything. I had to walk all over your sex floor on Christmas Day!”
“My sex floor? You make it sound so dirty.”
“I walked in on your Christmas morning. Trust me, there was nothing clean about what I saw.”
I rolled my eyes and headed upstairs. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that.”
She hurried after me. “Why? Did he leave you already?”
“Why would he leave me?”
“Because you’re hopelessly, tragically destined to fall for the next man who comes into your life. It’s like a thing for you.”
“Not going to happen,” I grinned. “I’m his spark.”
“His what?”
I walked into my room and spun around. “We’re going out of town to find Shawn.”
“Why?”
“To put an end to all of this.”
“But…he sent the divorce papers.”
That gave me pause. “He did?”
She nodded, hurrying over to my table where she had stacked my mail. She pulled out a big envelope and handed it over.
“How do you know what’s in here?”
“Obviously, I opened your mail, dummy.”
“That’s illegal.”
“Aw, you’d better call the police and have me hauled off to jail.”
She was such a smart ass. I pulled out the papers, and sure enough, they were signed. I sank onto the chair in confusion. “Why?”
“Why? Isles, you do know how a divorce works, don’t you? You filed, and then he has to sign. It’s sort of how it all ends.”
“Right, but he wasn’t going to sign any of it. We were working around it, and now he signs it anyway? It doesn’t make sense.”
She shrugged, walking over to the bed, plopping down on it. “Just be grateful he signed for you.”
Still… That reminded me. “I have to call and get him taken off as the beneficiary of my life insurance policy.”
“Why? I mean, other than the fact that you’re getting a divorce.”
“Because he was trying to kill me for the money.”
She snorted in amusement. “You can’t be worth that much money.”
“We each took out a one million dollar life insurance policy.”
She was quiet for a second, then she shoved me hard, knocking me off the bed. “You bitch! You made him your benefactor? I would have killed you for that money.”
“Relax. I’ll take him off and put you on the policy. Then you can kill me. Just don’t get caught. You know they won’t let you collect if they suspect you murdered me.”
“Right, well, I have Bowie. I’ll make sure he’s clever about it. I’m sure he knows a hundred different ways to unlife you without anyone knowing.”
“Unlife me?” I asked, while she stared at the ground thoughtfully.
“Oh, right. I figured I’d better start using a different kind of dialogue. Unlife sounds a lot better than murder.”
“Right. The insurance company would definitely give you the money if you just unlifed me.”
“Exactly. But about this policy. You said you’re on his also?”
“Yep.”
“So, why don’t you just kill him first and collect his policy?”
Seriously, my sister…God love her, but sometimes, I could strangle her. “Kill my husband? Really?”
“What? It’s a legitimate question. He put a bomb in your fridge. He had someone drive by and shoot this place up. Why not end him first?”
“Because I’m not a killer,” I pointed out.
She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Okay, other than the obvious, name one good reason.”
“Because it’s wrong and I would go to jail.”
“Not if you aren’t caught. And with IKE on your side, that’s highly unlikely to happen.”
“Okay, how about the fact that I don’t want the money if it’s stained with his blood?”
She appeared to think about it. “Nope, still not a good enough reason.”
“Riley—”
“The man tried to kill you twice, Isles. Take him out before he takes you out. You’re going after him anyway. What did you think you were going to do? Find him and then ask him politely to stop?”
She had a good point. I didn’t know exactly what the plan was other than to find him.
“I hadn’t really asked that many questions.”
“Well, maybe you should do that next time with a man like IKE. I doubt he was going to hand him some cash in exchange for a promise that he’d stop trying to kill you.”
“Okay, maybe I was a little naive…”
She quirked an eyebrow at me.
“Fine, I was very naive.”
“So, what are you supposed to pack?”
I cringed as I thought about what IKE said. “Nothing that I can find in my closet.”
After a very tearful goodbye to my kitten and a punch to the shoulder from Riley, I tugged my luggage out the front door to where IKE stood smoking a cigarette. He quickly put it out and grabbed the handle from me, flashing me a smile.
“Just the one bag?”
“Should I have packed more?”
“Don’t women usually take four bags with them on trips like this?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been what you would call your typical girl.”
“So, I won’t find ten pairs of shoes in here and a pound of makeup?”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “When have you ever seen me wear makeup?”
He seemed amused by that. “You’re right. You don’t wear makeup.”
“And the boots I’m wearing are all I packed.”
His eyebrows shot up at that. “Those won’t go well with a dress.” He turned and started down the steps with my bag in tow.
“A—” I gave chase, wondering when exactly I was supposed to wear a dress. “You never said I had to wear a dress!”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Yes! It’s winter!” I said, trying my best not to slip on the sidewalk.
He hoisted the bag into the trunk, then slammed it, walking around to my side. “It’ll be fine.”
He opened the door and gestured for me to get in. Huffing, I did as he motioned. “I am not wearing a dress.”
“You will,” he said, shutting the door.
I glared at his retreating figure, then started in as soon as he opened the door again. “You’re crazy if you think I’m wearing anything but pants when it’s this cold outside.”
“It won’t be for long.”
“IKE—”
“Knox,” he corrected. “We’ve talked about this.”
“Knox, I already told you I won’t ever be cold again.”
He slid his hand over the console, onto my knee. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm.” A smooth smile slid over his lips, turning into a devilish grin that had me groaning in frustration. I knew there was no point in arguing with him. I wouldn’t win.
“This is not the way to the airport,” I pointed out as we headed away from the airport.
IKE turned to me with a smirk. “Don’t worry, gorgeous. I’ll get us where we’re going.”
After battling with Riley over what clothes I would bring, I showered and quickly dressed in jeans, warm boots, and a cream sweater. Even with my coat, clothes, and a hat, I couldn’t fight the chill of winter. Nothing seemed to ever satisfy the need to be warm, no matter how hard I tried.
“Hey,” he said, slipping his fingers between mine. “I promise, I’ll keep you warm.”
The earnestness of his voice had me calming down. I knew he wouldn’t ask me to do this unless it was important. After all, he understood more than anyone. He was in that shipping container with me.
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
“The cold?”
I nodded.
“Mostly, it reminds me of what I almost lost.”
“Your life.”
His eyes slashed to mine. “My life wouldn’t mean a damn thing. I have no one. If I were gone, no one would mourn.”
“Except me,” I snapped. “Do you think that if I had heard about you dying in a container, it wouldn’t have affected me?”
“Not until recently. Isla, I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, but you were stuck on Kavanaugh. All I could see was you, but all you could see was him. Sure, if I had died alone in there, you might have thought that it was a shame, but you would have moved on with life. I’ve known for longer that you were meant to be mine. I’ve stalked you for longer, watched you sleep at night and look out that window, wondering who was waiting for you.”
I was about to argue that it wasn’t a game when my mind caught on one particular thing he said. “You watched me sleep?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I should have kept that for myself.”
“When? At my house?”
“At mine.”
“But…you were gone.”
“When I brought you clothes,” he smiled, turning to face me. “You were so damn cute, too. Did you know you snore when you sleep?”
I gasped in shock. “I do not! Take that back.”
“You do. It’s actually quite cute. You even woke yourself up once.”
“I have never snored in all my life.”
“Well, you wouldn’t know because you’re asleep.”
“I would know because—because I would know!” I said, having no other comeback.
“Alright,” he sighed, “You win. You don’t snore.”
“Thank you.”
“But if you ever want to see evidence of it, I have a great video on my phone.”
“Knox Thorne, you will delete that video immediately.”
“Why would I do that? You don’t snore,” he chuckled.
I glared at him, wanting to smack him and kiss him at the same time. He pulled into a private airfield and drove to a hangar where a man stood outside.
“What are we doing?”
“Taking a private plane.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t think putting your name on a flight registry was a good idea,” he answered. “And driving across thousands of miles of open road didn’t exactly sound enticing either. Especially with IRIS.”
“With who?”
A knock on my window scared the shit out of me and I screamed, spinning around and slamming my palm against it. “What the fuck!”
The man stepped back, clearly disturbed by my outburst. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as IKE chuckled at me, rubbing his hand up and down my back.
“Deep breaths, gorgeous. That’s IRIS. He’s coming with us on this one.”
“Why is that?”
“Because he was with me when I tracked down Shawn last time. I wanted some backup and he seemed like a good choice.”
IRIS… “Wait, isn’t he?—”
“IKE!” A girly scream sounded outside and I cringed as a woman came running over to the driver’s door, tearing it open. The woman ducked in, shoving her head inside. “Hey, I told IRIS I was coming with.” Reaching across the seat, she thrust out her hand. “I’m Jane! It’s so good to meet you.”
I was a little disturbed by the woman, but took her hand and shook it, noting how IKE smiled at the woman a little too fondly. So, this was Jane—the woman he had been in love with. And she was coming with us. That was just great. This was going to be a great trip.
But, I smiled at her anyway. “Isla.”
“I know. I wouldn’t stop bugging IRIS until he told me where he was going. And when he said he was going with IKE, I made him tell me everything. So, you’re going to find your ex? I can help. I write mystery novels. Maybe I can help come up with some clues. Ooh, maybe I could write a novel based on this story. Would you mind? It could be really good. I heard you were blown up and then nearly gunned down. It sounds intriguing.”
Her face contorted suddenly as she was hoisted in the air out of the car. “Alright, that’s enough, babe.”
IKE chuckled, getting out while I sat there stumped. Was I really going to jet around the country with a woman who once held IKE’s heart? That sounded like the worst time ever. But he needed backup, and I didn’t want to sound like a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum because I didn’t want to be friends with his non-ex-lover.
I shoved my door open and got out, putting an uncaring, free-as-a-bird look on my face. I could do this. I was an adult, and there were more important things than fighting over a man. Not that it was a contest anyway. IKE chose me. Well, he chose me after she chose IRIS, but that was beside the point. I was his spark. He never said he sparked with Jane. And if he had, he wouldn’t be standing here with me.
“Isla?”
“What?” I asked, jerking my head in his direction.
He was standing beside me at the trunk, smirking at me as I stared into the distance. “Everything okay?”
I pasted a smile on my face. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
His sharp blue gaze wandered over my face for only a few seconds before he tugged me to him and slid his lips right next to my ear. “I didn’t invite her.”
I swallowed hard as shivers raced down my spine. “I…I didn’t say anything.”
“I can tell what you’re thinking. You’re wondering if I still have feelings for her, if I’m thinking about her. You’re wondering how you’re going to get through this trip with her. But Isla, you’re the only woman I see. I let her go a long time ago. She doesn’t make my heart trip. She doesn’t make me obsess over her. And she sure as fuck doesn’t do this to me.”
His lips were on mine the next instant, kissing me hard, leaving me breathless as his fingers wound in my hair. His tongue slid smoothly over mine, reminding me of the first time his hands were on me in the dark at his house.
A throat cleared, but IKE didn’t pull away. I grinned against his lips, feeling my face flush bright red.
“You know, some of us were forced to be here and would like to get on with this trip so we can return to our regularly scheduled lives,” IRIS muttered not-so-quietly.
“Forced?” I asked IKE.
“I suggested it would be best if he came along. What’s wrong with that?”
“I’m totally on board with this,” Jane grinned. “Of course, I like getting out from behind the typewriter every now and again to see how regular people do it. And by regular people, I mean murderers and thieves.”
She grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward the plane. I glanced over my shoulder, certain IKE would stop her, but instead, he was already deep in conversation with IRIS.
Just as she was about to drag me up the steps to the plane, I tore myself from her grip. “Why are you really here?”
She cocked her head at me in question. “What do you?—”
“I know IKE was in love with you,” I blurted out. “Is that why you’re here?”
Her cheeks burned bright red as she chuckled. “Uh…no. I was never in love with IKE. Infatuated, maybe. He’s got that whole dangerous vibe that really intrigued me. Then again, I was infatuated with my next-door neighbor and he turned out to be a serial killer who was using my books as inspiration for his killings. So, I may not be the best judge of character. Not that you have to worry about IKE.”
“You were infatuated with him?”
“For story purposes. He was my muse of sorts. I’d never met anyone with his…skill set before. And I guess I didn’t really realize just how much he…loved his work until I hopped in his trunk and went on a very long ride. Then I witnessed him in action and—well, I’m ashamed to say it changed my mind about him.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “What exactly did you see?”
Her eyes widened and she grabbed me, dragging me up the stairs to the safety of the plane. “I didn’t mean to say that. I’m sure he would never let you witness?—”
“I don’t care about what he’ll let me witness. What did you see?”
She snapped her mouth shut, refusing to answer.
“Look, clearly you know him well?—”
“Enough to know that he really likes you. Probably loves you.”
“Why would you say that?” I already knew he did, but I wondered what she saw.
“IRIS told me. It was clear to him the moment he saw IKE sitting outside your house in the cold after he nearly died with you in that container. He said IKE was really hurting, but he refused to leave you. That is, until IKE dragged him to another state to find your ex. That didn’t turn out so well.”
He did what? He never told me about any of that.
“Look, all I care about is that you’re not here on some sort of twisted game to get IKE back. You can’t have him. He’s mine.”
Her eyes widened as a low growl came from behind me.
“I fucking love hearing you say that,” IKE rumbled.
I closed my eyes in mortification. I hadn’t meant to basically piss all over him just because his ex…lover—or whatever she was—came into the picture. I turned and gave him a sweet smile. “Did you need something?”
The way his eyes roamed over every inch of my body told me exactly what he needed, but this was a small plane, and there wasn’t nearly enough privacy for what he had in mind.
Another man came shoving between IKE and IRIS, pushing them further into the plane. “Alright, if we’re gonna get this rust bucket in the sky, take your seats and strap in tight. Oh, and uh…I’m gonna need all your vomit bags. I left my spares at home.”
I frowned, glancing around at the others. What was this guy talking about?
“Scottie, it’s a plane. Keep her steady and everything will go according to plan,” IRIS said.
“Really?” Scottie glared at him. “ Really ? Everything will go according to plan? Since when in the history of us working together has that ever panned out? Name one fucking time!”
“Um—”
“See, you can’t fucking do it!”
“You didn’t give me a chance to answer!” IRIS snapped.
Scottie jabbed his finger in the man’s face and snarled. “I have been accident-free for almost two years now, and I will not let you ruin that record with your superstitious sentences and your unhelpful advice.”
“How is it unhelpful to tell you to keep her steady?” IRIS argued.
“Because it’s common sense. Of course, I’m going to keep her steady. Did you think I was going to steer her side to side and hope for the best?”
“Well, sometimes I wonder when I’m sitting in the back and you’re vomiting in front.”
“I’m vomiting because you put me in a reckless situation!”
“Name one!”
Scottie’s nostrils flared in anger. “When is it ever a good time to bring a bomb on board a plane?”
IRIS opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. “Okay, yeah. That’s a good example.”
“Now, sit your ass down and don’t fucking bother me.” Scottie snatched the puke bag out of IRIS’s hands and stormed to the front of the plane. IKE walked over and took my elbow, guiding me to a seat.
“We should probably buckle up.”
“Because your pilot is likely to crash the plane?”
“That’s debatable.”
I snorted. “Well, that’s comforting.” I buckled in, making sure it was extra tight, then took a deep breath. When I glanced to my right, Jane was doing the same thing. If we were going to make it through this trip, I was going to need a major distraction.
“So, you were in love with a serial killer. What’s that like?”