15. Evie

fifteen

Evie

The guards returned me to the cell, slamming the door so hard, the lock echoed when it clanged into place. Even though it was still day, and the same cell I'd been in the last week, it was much scarier without Jasper. Nobody gave me a clue as to what was going on, and the hours ticked by. My curiosity turned to concern, and then my concern morphed into panic.

What if they really did make him walk the plank?

I'd be here all alone, and I have no idea how to escape by myself.

When the heavy wood door opened down the hall, I held my breath until I saw Jasper's familiar face appear. I flattened my body against the wall, feeling the need to be guarded until the guards left again. Instead of returning to the cell, Jasper bobbed his head in and waved me forward. "Evie, come with me. They are letting us go."

No guards were with Jasper, and he dangled a giant key ring at his waste. Doing a double-take, I scanned both sides of the hall. I was never a scholar, but one thing I'd learned was that pirates couldn't be trusted. It seemed too good to be true. My eyes raked his body, looking for a clue of deception, but Jasper wasn't even tied up anymore. I hung back in the cell, not trusting the situation yet. "What's going on?"

"I talked to Captain Gray Beard, and he's letting us go. We're docking here shortly."

"Docking where?" I scrambled forward, as disbelief circled my brain, and my body moved instinctively toward him, not stopping until I grabbed his hand. It's how we'd spent the last week, hand in hand. When his eyes hit mine, there was a warmth that hadn't been there before, and he smiled at me, a rare genuine smile that said, "everything is going to be fine."

"What happened on your walk?" I gushed out, everything about Jasper's demeanor had seemed to change as if the dull gray cloud that had been following him around since I'd met him had been lifted.

"Something important came up. I hate to be so vague, but I need to take care of some business tonight—alone."

Alarms sounded in my head but cascaded to my heart. He said I. Before we left this cell this morning, he insisted we were doing everything together. Now after he'd made friends with a pirate, he's back to saying I. Was he planning to ditch me after I'd stayed by him through everything?

"Just you are going?" My gaze was a bit scrutinizing, but I tried not to act the part of the jealous girlfriend. I had no desire to hang out on a pirate ship all by myself.

"I told you; I'm not leaving you anymore." Still holding my hand, he reached his other hand out, taking both my hands together, pulling them close to his chest. The gesture was smooth, and unlike him in every way, while twisting my intestines into a southern backroad of curves. "I said everything we do is together. I intend to keep that promise, but unfortunately this is risky business, and I can't put you in harm's way again."

"Where are you going?" My heart was sinking fast as the promise he had just made me was already a memory.

"We're going to a dock at a small island off the coast of Italy, not that far from home. I'd like you to return home, where you are safe and comfortable. I'll come find you when I know it's safe."

There was no amount of chin tapping that could help me solve this sudden change of events. These pirates were chasing us for days with every intention of killing us, and now we're getting released. "Are you sure we can trust these people?"

"Evie." His voice grew raspy, as one hand dropped to my waist. "I can't promise that this isn't a setup, but I need to trust that you are safe at home while I see this through."

He had my heart on a yo-yo string, lifting it up, and then jerk dropping it back down. So much had happened since I left home, that I wasn't sure if it would feel like home anymore. Jasper had started to feel like home, but now he was back to acting shadowy again. Maybe I couldn't trust him?

"I think," I started slowly, still unsure of what I thought, but I didn't like the way my heart was being jerked around. "I'm ready to go home," I breathed out, instantly feeling a release. "If you have business to take care of, then do that. After you're done, come find me." Maybe it was a challenge? Would he care to look me up after we'd gone our separate ways?

Was our bond only a trauma bond we'd both soon forget?

We were about to find out.

After we docked, Jasper was quiet when he walked me through the wharf and hailed a cab. You'd think I'd be relieved to be on dry land, but there was so much uncertainty in the air, I wasn't sure if this was a goodbye, or it really was goodbye .

All of my I.D.'s and money had sunk with my boat, but I was able to use the cab driver's phone to log into my digital bank and prepay for my ride. Once the exchange was done, he was ready to go.

But I wasn't.

"How will I find you?" I asked, still holding Jasper's hand the way I'd been doing for days now.

"I'll find you." His eyes roamed my face, the inflections had transformed so much over the last hour. Between the sea beside him, and the skies above us, the spirals of blue were achingly gorgeous. But it was deeper than that. It was a connection, like a secret club that we both belonged to. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. My chin quivered, the stress of the last few days rose into my throat. The fear, the hunger, the pain, the exhaustion, and something I'd never anticipated feeling, the heartbreak.

This was silly.

He was never mine.

I was hushed, feeling all my feelings, when he tipped my chin up with his finger, and whispered, "Evie, don't be scared. I'll find you." His gaze bounced from my eyes to my lips, and without hesitation I took the hint, and leaned forward. The inflections in his eyes softened even more as he lowered his chin to meet me halfway.

My eyelids lowered when our lips folded together in a cautious, first kiss, hinting at a possibility of something more. His lips were soft, asking permission, tugging at mine in the most tender way. I couldn't help but wonder if everything we went through was fate's way of bringing us together. Our bond was the first seedlings of something greater, and my heart wrenched when I thought about the possibility of Jasper leaving, and never finding me. The moment was perfection.

The cab honked, jolting us apart, and my heart sank lower as I forced my lip inward and smiled shyly. "Don't worry. I'll find you." Jasper echoed as I turned toward the cab, and got in. He shut the door as soon as my feet were tucked safely inside. Ha! I scoffed at the thought of my feet being safe again. It was everything I wanted, so why did I feel broken?