Chapter 12
Mila’s ankle was definitely sprained. It hurt when she stepped, but at least she didn’t need to lean on anyone to walk. She gratefully sank onto a large tree trunk on the shore to wait, with Ali and the young man standing guard. Not that they needed to. She wouldn’t be able to run from them now.
“Where is the soldier?” Ali demanded.
Mila sighed. He’d asked her the question multiple times on the walk here. “I told you. He escaped in the helicopter.”
“Why didn’t they take you?”
“I wasn’t their mission, Vance was. I stayed to help here.”
“Then why were you hiding in the jungle?”
“I wasn’t hiding, I was coming to the village, but I must have got a little turned around.” She gave a helpless shrug. “It’s hard to walk in a straight line in the jungle.”
“Why run from me then?” Ali asked.
“Because you stole my laptop and do whatever Agus tells you to. I didn’t want Agus to know I was still here so I could help people without him bothering me.” It would have been the truth if Damien had left her here.
Ali grunted a non-committal sound.
She casually scanned the ocean, trying not to make it obvious she was looking for Damien. Relief swept through her when he raised his hand in acknowledgement.
He would come for her.
Five minutes later, Agus’s luxury cruiser motored into the bay. Of course. With the road damaged, this was the only way to get around the island.
It mustn’t have spotted Damien because she was certain Agus would have stopped and there hadn’t been enough time.
A small tender was lowered from the cruiser and motored into the bay. Agus wasn’t on board.
Getting his minions to do his dirty work.
Would Damien rescue her before the boat got to the shore?
She fought the urge to look behind her, not wanting to tip off the others that he was still here.
The tender reached the shore, and she limped over, hissing at the pain in her ankle.
As they motored out, she stared at the shoreline where she’d waited for Damien. She’d hoped he would reach her before the cruiser arrived, but he hadn’t.
He was probably working on Plan E. The thought made her smile.
“You’re happy to see Agus?” Ali asked.
She turned her attention to the luxury cruiser where Agus was standing on the deck. Today he wore a red polo shirt and beige slacks and appeared as if he’d had an excellent night’s sleep. His wide smile wasn’t at all comforting.
Mila on the other hand was covered in mud and scratches and fatigue weighed heavily in her head.
She exhaled. She could do this. The villagers had only seen her with Damien before the extraction.
One man on the cruiser grabbed the tender’s rope and held it steady while Ali helped her off. She winced as pain shot through her ankle and awkwardly hopped her way up the steps to the main deck.
“Mila, you are injured?” Agus stopped a metre away from her and curled his lip as he took in her filthy appearance.
“I sprained my ankle.” She was tempted to brush off some of the dried mud from her legs onto his pristine white deck, but it would be better if she let him believe she was more subservient after her ordeal.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t have run from Ali.”
“He scared me.” She took in a shuddery breath. “It’s been a hellish few hours. After the earthquake I was caught in the tsunami and almost died. Then Vance and the special forces men used me to escape, without taking me with them.”
Agus shook his head as he gestured for her to follow him. “I’ll protect you. Come. I have first aid downstairs. You can shower and I’ll find you some more clothes to wear.”
She glanced back to the island but still couldn’t see Damien. Would Agus lock her below deck? “Where are we going?”
“Back to the village. The doctor has reopened the medical centre. We can get your ankle seen to and then you can rest at my house.”
Rest. Right.
“Take your socks off here and then Ali will help you downstairs.” Agus waved his hand, not wanting to touch her, and headed below deck.
Nerves prickled her skin as she peeled off the socks and shoes and placed them on the clean, white deck. Ali handed her a bowl to wash her feet in and then a towel to dry them.
A bruise had already formed on her sprained ankle and she touched it gingerly. It didn’t feel broken.
Ali threw her socks and shoes into a nearby bin and she bit her lip to stop from protesting.
Maybe she wouldn’t need them if Damien rescued her from the boat.
Mila took Ali’s arm and hop-limped down the stairs to a beautiful lounge area.
Agus sat on a sofa that followed the curve of the boat, his arms stretched out along the back rest. “I put some of my sister’s clothes in the bathroom. You should shower.”
He didn’t want her dirtying his boat.
The idea of getting clean was enticing, but was it safe? “Is there a lock on the door?”
Agus inclined his head. “Naturally, but if you take too long, I do have a key.”
She forced a smile. “A shower sounds lovely.” She could clean her new cuts and scratches and examine her ankle.
Ali led her down a corridor to a bright white and gold bathroom which contained a large basin, toilet, and a self-contained shower cubicle. Thick white towels were folded underneath the bench and on top was a beautiful blue summer dress with strappy sleeves and some underwear.
Much better than what she was wearing now, if it fit, but not the best outfit for a daring escape.
The bathroom had no window. The only exit was the door she’d come through.
“Don’t be long,” Ali said.
Mila locked the door behind him and while the lock snicked into place, it wouldn’t be hard to pick it, or force it open.
She stared at herself in the mirror, barely recognising the wretch in front of her. Mud and dirt covered her, as did dried blood from the scratches. Her ponytail was barely hanging in there and exhaustion made her eyes shadowed.
She exhaled. She was alive, and she’d be thankful for that. After she was clean, she’d work on an escape plan. She washed her hands and picked up the dress, measuring it against her body. It should fit.
She stripped off her bag. If she had time, she’d wash it, but it wasn’t her priority. She ran the shower, not waiting until it warmed before she stepped under the spray fully clothed.
The water was blissfully clean, and she scrubbed at her face and limbs, getting most of the dirt off her before she reached for the shampoo bottle and lathered her hair in soap.
She glanced towards the door as she rinsed herself.
She would have to get naked eventually if she was putting on dry clothes. She stripped off Damien’s shirt, her thin top and shorts, washing any remaining dirt from her skin and stepped out of the shower, leaving the water running.
Fastest shower on record.
She placed her wet clothes in the sink and dried herself, before putting on the dress and underpants Agus had left for her. She’d missed a bit of dirt on the underside of her arm near her elbow and she scrubbed it off.
Mila wrapped her hair in the towel and then turned her attention to the bag she’d had slung over her body since the earthquake.
She emptied out the contents; purse, comb, hand sanitiser, tissues which were a sodden mess, a couple of bandages she’d grabbed from the medical centre, and the multi-tool.
It felt like an age ago that she’d used it to cut the vines from the door.
Flicking it open, she rinsed the dirt from it and checked the knife. She had a weapon.
Pity she didn’t have any pockets to put it in.
The bandages caught her eye and she grinned, unwrapping one quickly and then wrapping it firmly around her breasts. It would make a decent makeshift bra and she could tuck the multi-tool into her cleavage. Perfect.
With a glance at the door, she rinsed her clothes, the bag and its contents and then turned off the shower as someone banged on the door.
“I won’t be long,” Mila called.
She squeezed water from her wet clothes and folded them small, placing them with Dobby’s shirt and then wrapping the lot in a large hand towel which she placed into her damp bag.
She threw the sodden tissues out and used the comb to remove the knots from her hair and tie it back into a ponytail and then checked the drawers and cupboards for anything useful.
A brand new toothbrush and toothpaste, plus some tissues.
“You’ve got one minute,” Ali called.
“Just brushing my teeth.” She gave into the temptation and cleaned her teeth and then studied herself in the mirror.
Dark circles under her eyes and myriad cuts over her arms. Her hand went to the waterproof bandage on her arm where Axle had stitched her gash. If Agus asked about the injury, she’d say she’d got it the evening before the earthquake.
Her legs were worse than her arms from all the running through the jungle, but nothing looked red and inflamed yet.
Another bang on the door had her jumping. She exhaled and looped her bag over her head before limping over to the door and pulling it open. She smiled at Ali. “Sorry. There was a lot of dirt to scrub off.”
He held out his arm to help her walk.
“How did your family fare. Did they escape the tsunami?”
He grunted. “Most were in the mountains for a wedding.”
Mila’s eyes widened. “Are you related to Dewi?”
He nodded.
“She was pretty scared when her grandmother was stuck.”
He squeezed her arm. “Did you save them?”
“Yes. Fajar’s family and Ibu Minar needed help as well. They got away.” She needed his goodwill even if she knew he wouldn’t betray Agus.
His lips pressed together, and he pulled her into the living room where Agus waited.
“Ah, don’t you look nice now.” He gestured to a seat across from him. “Please help yourself to refreshments.”
On the coffee table was a bottle of water and fresh fruit. Mila glanced out the window to see they were coming into the bay at Batara and then lowered herself to the seat. “Thank you.” She cracked the seal on the bottled water and drank half of it.
Then she ate an already peeled rambutan.
“Tell me what happened to Vance,” Agus said.