Chapter 50
CHAPTER FIFTY
It’s boiling hot on the island when I step off the plane. Or maybe it’s my anxiety that’s causing my insides to fry in a cocktail of stress hormones.
I can just visualize wrinkles and grays multiplying by the hour. At least, I managed not to throw up during the flight. Yay me. Turns out, laying down is a huge help. Lord knows I didn’t have the same kind of distraction from Wolf this time.
He barely even looked at me. Instead, he buried his nose in a laptop, researching large scale soil removal and excavation techniques.
While I appreciate his determined effort, I see right through his sudden cool, distant about-face. Mikail’s call stirred up something dark that’s lurking around in Wolf’s cobwebs.
And I have a feeling this is going to come to a head.
In the small airport terminal, Wolf uses his corporate card to rent a car. Our personal accounts are still empty. Another thing that’s stressing me out. At least, on the island I can access my grandmother’s accounts by meeting with her personal banker.
Wolf holds the passenger door open to the rental 4X4. As he slides into the driver seat and starts the Range Rover, his face is one of determination. “Put your hat and sunglasses on and lean the seat back.”
“I’m sure it’s fine. I think the only three people on this island who would be a risk to me are Wilton and the two guys who grabbed my purse.”
The muscles in his jaw flex as he looks ahead at the road. “And the guard…”
My stomach turns as I remember Roberto’s cruelty. “I sort of forgot about that part on purpose.”
His voice is rough. “Well, I didn’t. And I won’t forget seeing him shoving you. I thought about literally breaking him in half.”
I shudder. “Your tolerance for violence makes me kind of queasy. Not that I don’t appreciate you taking care of me. Because I do. I can’t imagine what Wilton and Roberto would have done to me if you hadn’t been there.”
His eyes flash to mine. “I can’t even think about that. And if they get near you again, I’m not sure I will be able to stop myself from making them pay.”
Gripping the wheel until his knuckles turn white, Wolf navigates toward the island’s main roadway.
Grimly, he says, “The violence is as much a part of me as my blood and bones are a part of me. I was already a rough, streetwise kid when I was young. Then I spent my career in the SAS seeing and doing things that would make you hurl your breakfast. Which is another reason I can’t believe that something between a Princess and someone like me could ever work. ”
“But that’s not all you are, Wolf.”
“You might be wrong about that, Katalina.”
I turn away, forcing myself to look out the window. I might also be right, but now’s not the time to argue that. After we get this nightmare behind us, I’m determined to prove that he’s just the man I want. Just the way he is.
Wolf drives silently for a few more minutes as we roll toward the GPS coordinates Mikail provided him. Dread grows like an ugly vine, wrapping itself around my lungs as we cross Isla Rosa’s narrow waist.
When Wolf turns off the main road onto a narrow dirt lane, I frown. “There’s an old dilapidated house out here, but nothing more.”
“Sounds like a good place to lay low.”
The SUV bumps along as Wolf navigates the deep ruts and holes filled with water from the recent rain storms.
I peer through the surrounding trees. “Not far from here is the area where the soil would be removed.”
Wolf slows the Rover. “Where did the stones in the ring and pendant come from?”
“I suspect a rocky outcropping just over that way—” A gigantic puzzle piece falls into place rattling my whole body.
Wolf nods. “I think we just figured this thing out.”
“Oh my god. The soil removal isn’t about the soil. It’s about the green rock.”
“Or the hunt for green rocks.”
My heart rate triples. If I was worried about the soil selling fiasco before, it was mild. Now I’m terrified for Isla Rosa. Our island will be destroyed.