Chapter 7 #2
“Hunter, get out of there! You’ll drown!” I plead with him, caring more for his safety than any replaceable items.
The captain of the ship is yelling at us, only adding to the chaos.
He keeps pointing towards the shore where Hunter needs to go.
The dock isn’t long and I run down it, never more grateful that I’d worn flats for this journey.
This vacation is turning into a disaster!
I should have stayed home and been miserable alone.
I race towards the end of the dock and down the sand, where Hunter is slowly coming out of the rough waters.
He holds up my bag, water pouring out of the bottom.
“I grabbed as much as I could. I’m so sorry, I’ll replace absolutely everything that you’ve lost,” he promises in a panic.
My stomach drops. At least half of the things I packed are gone. I grab my phone and click the side button multiple times. Nothing happens, the screen staying black.
Fuck. I’m not going to be able to tell Harper that I arrived safely, she’s going to be so fucking worried. I try to shut down the blasting apprehension. I can find her in a different way. I’ll log into my social media account on Hunter’s phone so I can update her.
I trust Hunter will replace everything, and I try to remember that at least we arrived safely.
Maybe it would be a good thing for me to stay off my phone for a week, a little reset, and knowing Hunter, he’ll buy me the latest model as an apology as soon as he can.
Probably even a new bag, too, since this one is probably going to be destroyed from the saltwater.
The captain yells something and we turn to look at him. He points towards the back of the house, where he’s left our luggage and waves as he gets back on the boat, speeding away, probably to outrun the storm and make it home for dinner.
Hunter takes my hand. “Come on, let’s get inside. It’s dry and dinner should be ready for us soon. I have a big surprise for you!”
Relaxing a little bit with every step, we run together through the rain towards the warmth of the villa.
I do love surprises. Is a designer bag stuffed with cash too much to hope for?
The patio is covered and we stop for a moment to catch our breath.
A hot dinner, and maybe a glass of wine, is exactly what I need to relax after watching him risk himself for my belongings.
He’s totally the type of guy who would jump into the ocean for my purse.
I lean on the tops of my toes. “That was sweet of you,” I say against his lips before kissing him.
Hunter relaxes against me, deepening the kiss until he pulls back with a frown. “I’m sorry about your phone.” He slides his own out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Do you need this?”
I give him a grateful smile. “Yeah, I actually do, thank you.”
“Hunter, what the hell is going on?”
Ice flows down my spine. I don’t need to turn around to know who’s there. I would know that surly tone anywhere, but I still spin on my heel, needing the confirmation that Alric is truly here to process it.
His gray eyes widen when he sees me and his fists curl. “What are you doing here? Why haven’t you responded to my messages?” he demands. It’s not an alpha bark, but it might as well be.
He looks between both of us, fire burning in his expression. Hurt and longing. Although Alric has never given me any reason to fear him, my omega side screams for me to run away anyway. So I do what I did as a child when one of my alpha dads was mad at something I did. I hide.
The boat has left and I don’t have the survival skills to run out into the open terrain on this unfamiliar, secluded island. I turn and run the other way, towards the door farthest away from Alric, leading into the other end of the house.
Please be open. Please be open.
The relief is crushing when it unlocks. One of the closest doors once I get inside is a bedroom, a neatly made bed in the center and one large suitcase against the wall.
It’s clearly not my room, as it has someone’s essentials and books on the night stand, but I rush into it anyway, slamming the door shut.
I lock it before running into the attached bathroom and locking that door, too.
I slide to the ground. Why is Alric here? Did he have Hunter bring me here because I broke up with him? My heart beats wildly. Hunter made it seem like we would be alone.
My bag is still leaking water, a puddle joining me on the floor.
Loud knocking thunders against the bedroom door.
“Madeline! Open this door! Please!” Alric’s booming voice has me sinking into myself.
How do I get home?
Hunter’s phone is thankfully still unlocked and I open the airline app.
I frantically type all the information to find a flight to get the hell out of here.
I’ll figure out the boat situation next, but right now, I’m not going to be able to breathe again until I have an airline ticket with my name on it.
I’m leaving as soon as possible.
His credit card information apparently isn’t saved on his phone, which I find even more irritating, so I go to grab my wallet. He will absolutely be paying me back. In fact, I might even sue him for damages. He should have told me if anyone else is going to be here.
I reach around in my bag, but my wallet isn’t there. I throw almost everything in my bag to the ground, desperate for it. Thankfully my passport is here, but my wallet must have been washed away.
I want to cry.
Harper will help me. I open a new browser on Hunter’s phone and type in the social media link we use to chat the most on. I type in my username and password, only to be met with an invalid login attempt message when I can’t type in the code that was sent to my dead phone.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Why hadn’t I thought of memorizing her phone number in the years we’ve been friends? What good is an emergency contact I can’t reach in a real emergency? I want to crawl out of my own skin to escape the waves of fear and anger at myself for getting in this situation.
This once again proves that alphas can’t be trusted. How many times do I need to learn that lesson?
The only flight that leaves tomorrow night is criminally expensive so close to departure. I need to be able to get into contact with someone who cares about me and has money to spend.
Zachary!
I don’t know his number, either, but I pull up his business’s website.
After a few minutes of searching, I find a company directory.
I scroll until I find the only Aaron. It doesn’t list his job title, but it does have a phone number and extension.
I smash the call button. With every ring that goes unanswered, more of my hopes of being rescued from this place dissolve into a pit in my stomach.
“Hello, you’ve reached Aaron, Zachary Clark’s assistant, how can I help you today?”
I choke on a budding sob. “Hello, my name is Emilie, I need to speak with Zachary. He said if I needed to reach him that I could contact you and you would help me and I just need to—”
“Of course! I’ll connect you right away. If he doesn’t pick up, call me right back and I will assist you in any way possible.”
The line goes silent.
Zachary will help me. He’ll get me out of here, even if he has to fly here from the States himself.
His phone rings, but any relief I was beginning to feel mixes with new dread as I pull the phone away from my ear. Hunter and Alric are yelling at each other, but a phone is faintly ringing outside my door, mirroring the sound on Hunter’s phone.
“What the hell is going on? Hunter! Why are you calling me?” Zachary’s muffled voice demands.
My trembling finger hits the red end button.
Did they bring me here because they think I’ll go into heat and have no choice but to use them?
Did they think that they could trick me?
My blood becomes lava.
Whatever they think is going to happen, they are severely mistaken.