Chapter 6
Jason made another hard turn, and Tayla’s body slammed into her door. She wished she had her seatbelt on. Staying practically folded in half, she felt around for the seatbelt and pulled it across her lap.
She heard Jason say, “Yeah, good idea.”
She tugged it to the opposite side to click it in place, but the SUV’s movements and her awkward position made it difficult. She felt Jason jerk the seatbelt out of her hand and shove it into the buckle. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He jerked the wheel again, forcing the lap belt deep in her gut. She would probably have bruises tomorrow.
“Leland? You still okay?” She asked.
“Yes, yes. Just stay down and hang on.”
“They’re still back there, but I put some good space between us,” Jason said, in his serious-calm voice. “Listen carefully. When I stop the car, jump out and run up the steps. Don’t stop until you get to the top.”
“What? What steps?” she asked.
“You’ll see it. It’s the only building out here.”
Leland’s voice traveled from the backseat. “Trust him, Tayla.”
Three breaths later, the SUV skidded to a stop.
He unbuckled her seatbelt before she reached it. “Now! Run!”
Not having any idea where she was going, she flung open her door and looked up. Twenty yards ahead, a three-story tower-like structure jutted out from the dense, tropical foliage. She took off.
Just inside the tower doorway, she saw nothing more than a metal staircase commanding her upward.
Adrenaline pushed her up the steps faster than she thought possible.
When she reached the second story, she was surprised Jason hadn’t passed her.
She was sure his long legs could take the steps two at a time faster than her adrenaline-fueled sprint.
But what about Leland? She paused, then heard both men bolting up the metal steps.
She raced up the last flight and stumbled into a fifteen by fifteen foot room.
The space was bare, apart from a few folding chairs.
Centered on each wall was a large, open-air window.
Jason and Leland rushed in behind her and shut the door. And she realized what took them so long. They each carried a black bag, apparently ones Jason had stashed in the SUV. Jason’s bag was much longer than Leland’s.
“Stay low, up against the wall, away from the windows,” Jason said. He pulled a sniper rifle from his bag.
She heard a car approach. The driver stopped and cut the engine. Tayla couldn’t see outside. All she could do was watch Jason’s back as he looked out a window through the rifle’s scope. Leland stood next to her.
“You getting a good view?” Leland asked.
Jason seemed to follow their movements with the scope. “Yep,” was his only answer.
Remembering the ringing in her head from this morning, she whispered, “Should I cover my ears?”
Still watching through the scope, he repeated, “Yep.”
She stuck her fingers in her ears. Not a moment too soon.
He fired one shot, then another and another.
A moment later, she thought she heard the car start its engine. Jason lowered the rifle, and she took her fingers out of her ears.
“They’re leaving.” He turned to Tayla. “How are you holding up?”
“Did . . . did you shoot one of them?”
The corner of his mouth crept up. “If I was aiming for them, I would have hit them. I just made them dance around a bit.” He looked at Leland. “And the fact that I scared them off with three shots in the dirt shows you what kind of goons we’re dealing with. They didn’t fire back, just took off.”
Jason and Leland did their silent communicating thing again. At that moment, Tayla didn’t want to know what the looks meant.
She tried to coax her heart rate back into the double digits while Jason returned the rifle to its case. “Where are we? And how did you know this place was here?”
His subtle smile barely reached his eyes. He didn’t seem to mind her questions. “We have lots of satellite imagery of Isadora Island. I studied it on the flight here.”
“Seriously? And you just remembered there was a . . . what is this place?”
“A wildlife observatory. I probably scared off the monkeys and birds with my shots.” He shifted his focus to the scene outside the nearest window. “But I bet this area is buzzing with life when humans aren’t making a racket. It’s gorgeous out here.”
She hadn’t taken time to notice—because her life was in danger.
But now, she followed his gaze out the window to the raw beauty of the island’s jungle.
The tallest palms she’d ever seen mingled with large-leaf plants and trees of every shade of green.
Splashes of red, orange, yellow, and purple dotted the leafy landscape—courtesy of flowering plants and vines.
For the first time since standing on the ferry this morning, she was really seeing Isadora—and appreciating her beauty.
“Okay, kids,” Leland said. “We need to get going.”
“Yes, Dad,“ Jason said. “Just admiring the view for a second. We’re in an island paradise, remember?”
“Yes. And I want to spare this paradise any more bullet holes. So, let’s go, before those idiots scrounge up enough courage to circle back.”
Leland was wearing his familiar, grumpy-old-man scowl. But Tayla sensed the true respect and camaraderie between him and Jason.
She couldn’t believe she’d thought Leland spent decades monitoring spreadsheets.
The office job he’d described never did fit his personality, but she didn’t think too much of it.
Lots of active people have boring office jobs.
She never suspected he was some kind of action hero.
But today, he was clearly in his element.
They hurried back to the SUV. This time, Tayla buckled her seatbelt before Jason started the engine. “What now? Do we go back to the hotel?”
“No,” Jason and Leland replied in unison. Apparently, that was a bad idea.
“Okay, so what do we do?”
“I have a new plan,” said Jason. He started the engine and drove in reverse until he reached the paved road.
“I know of a cottage on the north side of the island. It wasn’t rented as of this morning, so it’s probably empty.
You and Leland are going to hole up there while I meet up with Knox and Rowan.
They should be here by now. I need to ditch this car.
I’ll get them to bring me back to the cottage and we can go over our next steps.
We’ll be able to go back to the hotel later, after Rowan sets up surveillance for us. ”
“No,” Leland said. “I’ll meet up with Knox and Rowan. You stay with Tayla.”
“What? No offense, Leland, but this is—”
“Your mission, I know. But we don’t know that those goons, or others, won’t track us down, and Tayla’s safety is paramount.
I pulled something in my leg, climbing up that tower thing.
I’m going to be limping for a while. Plus, you’re a better shot than I am.
” He wagged a finger at Jason. “And if you ever repeat that, I’ll deny it.
But right now, you can protect her better than I can, if you have unwelcome company. ”
His crusty tone didn’t keep his concern from warming her heart. “Are you sure?” she asked. “How bad is your leg? Are you sure it’s just a pulled muscle?”
He waved off her questions. “I’ll be fine. I can still drive better than this cowboy,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Jason. “I’ll get the boys. And a new car.”
She watched Jason eye Leland in the rearview mirror for a beat. “Okay. We’ll do it your way. And bring back some food too. I’m starving.”
“You just keep Tayla safe. Stop worrying about your stomach.”
Tayla glimpsed the grin on Jason’s face. Obviously, he could hear the sincerity behind the grouchy-old-man voice too.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the cottage.
Jason hadn’t mentioned the waterfall. When he said they were driving to a cottage hidden in the jungle, she pictured a shack overgrown with vines. Without a waterfall thirty yards from the back porch.
Leland didn’t acknowledge the gorgeous island hideaway. He gave Tayla a quick hug, promised to be back soon, and took off in their bullet-ridden SUV.
She followed Jason into the cottage.
“Wait here,” he said. “It’s probably safer in here than outside, but let me clear it first.”
She nodded like she totally understood what he was saying, and that it made perfect sense.
‘Clear it?’ like they do in the movies when they check all the rooms and closets to make sure no bad guys are hiding inside?
Fantastic. She was living in her own cop-spy-action-whatever drama.
With no spy skills. No military skills. No ninja skills.
She’d never desired ninja skills until today.
Jason returned with, “All clear.” Well, that’s a relief. Especially since she had no idea what she would’ve done if it wasn’t “all clear.”
She glanced around the living area and let the luxurious tropical retreat soothe her nerves.
If they weren’t hiding from armed criminals, this adorable bungalow would feel like heaven.
The hammock on the back porch called to her, but Jason insisted they stay inside and away from the windows.
She wandered into the bedroom and ran her fingers along the side of the fluffy, white comforter on the kingsize bed.
If she had to spend the night here, she wouldn’t complain.
Jason was less impressed. “The bathroom has all kinds of fancy soaps and lotions, but there’s no food in the kitchen.”
She felt herself smile. That felt nice. She hadn’t smiled much today.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, while closing the curtains in the living area.
“I saw some coffee in the pantry. Will that suffice for now? You take it black, right? Or was that just because you didn’t want our waitress this morning to recite the seventeen creamer options for you?”
She enjoyed the surprise on his face. Maybe a little too much.
“Coffee sounds great. But, you don’t have to—”