Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

T he night finally covered the island in darkness. Relief from the heat was welcome, but the fever was still running rampant through Waverly's body. The talk this morning with Lark had solidified Waverly's plan. She would try to escape. Even if it meant grabbing a piece of wood and floating in the ocean until someone found her, she'd do it.

Waverly had climbed onto the tub and listened to Bruno talking to his minions when he left after the video call. She heard the money demand. She heard that he would let her die. She had no other option but to escape. Besides, the cold ocean would feel good with this fever.

The night fell and she heard the men talking. Usually, they kept to a different villa, but now they were walking toward her.

"We have all this money, Bruno. Let the bitch die. Let's go party on the mainland." That was Jesus. Ironically named since he was definitely not going to save her. He was the one ready to use her in any way he wanted.

"Come on, Bruno. We haven't been off this island except to drop the hostages in almost a week. It'll be suspicious if people don't see us around," Luis argued. He brought her water every day. He wasn't mean, but he wasn't nice. He simply didn't care enough one way or the other to be concerned about her.

"We can't leave her alone," Bruno argued. He had her nighttime protein bar in his hand. They'd stopped several villas away and probably thought she couldn't hear them. "Not until her family has paid and then we can kill her. Until then, we have to keep her alive since that asshole keeps insisting on proof of life. I know I can get a million out of him."

"Dumbass. He'll pay just to get a dead body in return." Jesus laughed, and then they all chuckled. "Leave Julio and one of the young guys. You know Julio doesn't care about clubbing. We need to be seen Bruno," Jesus argued, sensing Bruno's resolve weakening.

"Fine. Leave Julio in charge and have him pick a guy to stay with him. The rest of us will leave in ten minutes. We'll meet at the boat."

"Want me to give her the protein bar, boss?" Luis asked.

"No, I'll do it."

Waverly stepped off the tub and hurried to lie on the ground, her face toward the wall and her back to the door. She closed her eyes until she felt the protein bar hit her in the back.

"Dinner is served."

That was the first protein bar she'd gotten today. They were already decreasing her meals. Waverly turned and picked up the bar. "I'm so weak. Please, help me."

"Not until they pay. Blame your sister and Kane. They're the ones killing you."

Bruno slammed the door and Waverly was left wondering who the hell Kane was. It didn't matter. Tonight was her chance to escape. As much as she wanted to devour the entire protein bar, she only took a couple of bites and then shoved the rest into her bra. She'd need it for later if she was on the run.

Kane watched the satellite feed as he steered the boat toward the island. He didn't have any of his running lights on. He didn't want to be seen. Darkness had fallen as he neared the island. He cut the engine when he saw five guys gather around a boat.

Kane looked up to where he could see the island in the distance. The men had lanterns that looked like small specs of dust on the horizon, but Kane was able to watch them get into a boat. The engine came to life and lights lit up the boat. They took off in the opposite direction from Kane.

Interesting. There were islands all around them, but at least an hour away. The mainland in that direction was known for its exports of drugs and kidnapping of missionaries.

Luck must have been with him tonight because that only left two men on the island. Kane started the engine again and cruised toward the far end of the island. The island wasn't large, so it didn't take long to reach the location he was aiming for. When he got close, he shut off the engine and used a paddle to come ashore.

Shore wasn't really what he landed on. It was mostly mangroves, but there was a path leading inland.

Kane tied the boat to a mangrove and jumped into the water. The waterproof backpack he carried had a range of weapons, medication, and military meals. Kane didn't go inland though. He sank into the water near the shore of the island and swam toward the two remaining zodiac boats.

It took about twenty minutes to reach the boats. He pulled out his knife and sliced both boats. He could take this path straight into the villas, but he knew the guards walked this path. They didn't walk where he tied off his boat.

Twenty minutes later, Kane had waded through the mangrove roots and up onto the shore. Kane hadn't trained in Special Forces like Hunter had, but he'd trained with Hunter and he'd been lucky enough to attend a specialized training facility in Kentucky that taught him a more military-style fighting and more than he'd learned during his FBI training.

It enabled him to slide quietly through the darkness as he approached the villas. He heard two men talking ahead of him. Kane paused. He looked at his watch. One of them would walk by Waverly's villa any minute now to check on her. They did so every hour.

Sure enough, an alarm went off on one of their watches and he stood up. He grabbed a bottle of water, but the other guard stopped him. "She's had enough."

"It's been really hot and she's clearly sick," the guard said in Spanish.

"Boss's orders."

The guard reluctantly put the water bottle back, and they took off on their walk to Waverly's villa while they talked about sports. Kane slid from the shadows and entered the villa the men seemed to hang out in the most.

Kane glanced around, clearing the villa, before heading to the desk covered with papers. He saw the sheets of papers indicating each hostage and how much they got for them. But the most interesting was Waverly's.

NO LIBERES was written in giant letters across the top of her paper. Do not free . They'd never intended to let her go. Only her. Kane read the rest of the paper, translating as he went before taking a photo of it all.

It had her age, her personal information, her home address, and her ID attached to it. Kane snagged the ID. He'd had her passport shipped to Lark the second they knew she was taken hostage. He could get her back into the country, but it was clear these guys would know where to look for her.

His eyes dropped to the bottom of the page where it took a moment to translate the handwritten notation: Fifty percent has been paid. Balance to be wired upon proof of death.

If it hadn't been clear before, it was crystal clear now. Someone was paying for Waverly Davenport to be killed and to have her murder covered up. The infection was perfect for them. It would kill her, and sooner rather than later, and it would look like an accident. Not a premeditated murder. It would be a kidnapping gone wrong. But since they'd kidnapped everyone, it wouldn't stand out. Waverly would just be the unlucky one who died because her sister was a poor college student.

Kane glanced down the path. Now it was his turn to show who would be unlucky. And it wasn't going to be Waverly.

Physics. Waverly decided to use physics to aid in her escape. It had taken all day, but she'd slowly chipped away at the broken tile floor until she had a small but sharp sliver of broken tile.

Waverly tore at her already tattered dress and made a handle for her shiv. Then it was a matter of waiting. She knew the guard would be walking by to check on her. If she could get them to come into the bathroom, she could try to fight her way out. The best position would be on the sink. She could get the height she needed to increase the momentum and the force of her hit once he entered the room.

Waverly heard their voices first and it made her pause. No! There were two of them. She hadn't counted on two guards. Waverly glanced out the window and frowned. Luis was one of the guards. He was the nicest one, but that didn't mean he wouldn't kill her. But it would give her a moment to fight the first guy.

Waverly's heart was fluttering and not because she was scared. The infection was wrecking her system. Her heart rate was up, her fever was spiking, and she wasn't the steadiest on her feet from exhaustion, hunger, and dehydration. It didn't matter though. She was going to try to escape. It was her only chance. She couldn't leave Lark alone in life. Not now. Not when they were becoming sisters again. Not when she was on the cusp of adulthood. Not when Waverly still had so much love to share.

Waverly began to cry aloud. It wasn't all for show. The tears from her emotions ripped her raw from the inside out. She climbed, with wobbly legs and slightly blurry vision, onto the sink. Holding on to the wall, she managed to stand and then slowly turned to face the door. Her breathing was shallow. Sweat poured down her face, back, and between her breasts. Waverly trembled as she gripped her homemade weapon. If only the Earth would stop trying to shake her off the sink, she had a chance.

Her breathing caught when she heard the chair move away from the door. Her eyes focused on the door handle as it turned. Waverly told herself she could do this. She could kill in order to survive. Even as tears ran down her cheeks and even as her body shook from the infection and the adrenaline, she told herself she could do this. She could do anything to get home to her sister.

The door opened. She didn't see a face. She only saw a body and knew she had to move. She pushed herself from the sink, screaming and crying in primal fear as she stuck her arm out and used the force of her momentum to stab the man who walked through first.

Luis cursed in Spanish as the tile sunk into his chest and together, they fell to the ground. The force knocked Luis backward into the second guard, with Waverly landing hard on Luis's chest. Waverly needed to move. She needed to fight, but she just stared at the blood pouring from the wound.

Luis wasn't dead. She didn't know how to compute that. Instead, he was livid. Luis swung his arm and hit her hard against the side of the head as he called her names in Spanish. Waverly was flung to the side. The force of the hit to her head sent the world spinning even more.

The second guard stepped over Luis and into the bathroom and Waverly knew it was over. He pulled a gun and there was nothing Waverly was going to be able to do about it. She'd never make it back to Lark. Everything she'd worked for seemed so inconsequential compared to facing death and knowing there were things she'd do differently. She'd have stayed closer to Lark. She would have been a better sister. She would have found time to find love. Right before the trigger was pulled, she wondered if her parents had felt the same way upon knowing they were facing death.

Bang!

Waverly closed her eyes. This was it.

Except it wasn't. She was still breathing. Waverly flinched as the second gunshot rang out. This was when she was going to die.

"Waverly Davenport, my name is Kane Townsend. I'm here to take you home."

Waverly opened her eyes at the sound of a deep voice and an unmistakably American accent.

A tall man stood at the front of the bathroom wearing all black. The only things that showed were his bright blue eyes. Two dead guards lay on the floor between them.

"Who?" Waverly asked, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Kane Townsend. I've been the one negotiating for your release. When it was clear they weren't going to release you, it turned into a rescue mission. Lark will be excited to have you home." Kane pulled off the black face covering, exposing more of his face and his blond hair. "Now," he said, stepping over the two dead guards. "I need you to lift your dress."

Waverly stared at him in shock as Kane reached into his backpack.

"I will not! Some kind of rescue this is. I'm not paying you in sex. I'm leaving." Waverly stood and about fell over. Large hands reached out and steadied her.

"It's for the antibiotics." Kane removed one hand and held up a large syringe and a plastic bag with medical supplies in it.

Waverly began to cry with relief. She couldn't help it. "Oh. I've never been so happy to show my ass to a stranger before. Do you know the chance of untreated infection turning septic?" Waverly stopped herself from rambling random facts.

"I do, which is why I brought medicine. Let's get you cleaned up and then get you out of here."

Kane's voice was so deep and so calming. He wasn't rushing her. He didn't seem to care about the two dead guards, which led her to not care either as she turned her back to Kane and leaned against the wall.

Waverly's breath caught though as she felt Kane pulling up her dress. "Tell me about yourself, please, or I'll start talking about physics and I might put you to sleep before you can rescue me."

She heard Kane chuckle. "I'm cleaning the site," he said a moment before a cold alcohol pad was pressed to her bottom. "Well, I'm the fifth of nine children. I moved to Shadows Landing recently."

Waverly wasn't expecting that. She didn't really know anyone from there. "The pirate town?"

Kane chuckled again. The sound was not only sexy, but it was also strangely comforting. "That's right. It's a very cool town."

"Why did you move there? Are you stationed at the military base in Charleston?" Waverly asked.

"Get ready for the first injection," Kane warned. She hissed as the needle was jabbed into her skin, but come to Mama you sweet, wonderful antibiotics. "My family moved there over the past year or so. My sister was first. Then my older brother moved there because we thought we needed to protect her from the guy we thought she was dating. We might be a smidge overprotective but don't tell her that. I'll deny it. But, when we all came to visit, we all loved it and we realized how nice it was to be together again. And no, I'm not military. I was FBI."

Waverly felt her dress drop back down after he cleaned the other cheek and injected the second shot. Her legs were growing very tired.

"Sit down while I clean your arm. Then we'll get going."

Waverly happily slid onto the ground as he got to work on her arm. She hissed as he cleaned it. That did not feel good.

"Was FBI or are FBI?" Waverly finally asked.

"Was. I opened my own company. I own the Hostage and Ransom insurance company that has the policy for you, purchased by your employer. You get kidnapped and I either pay your ransom or rescue you," Kane explained as he efficiently cleaned her cut, put antibiotic ointment on it, and then covered it with a waterproof bandage.

"Wait, what policy did Garvey have on me?"

Kane held out his hand. "Come on. We have to move." He helped her up and Waverly thought he wasn't going to answer the question, but when he helped her over the dead bodies and cleared the villa, he answered.

"When you got your promotion, Garvey took out a hostage and ransom insurance policy on you."

"I had no idea Garvey had any kind of policy for me," Waverly told him as she started to breathe heavily. She hadn't walked more than a couple of feet across her bathroom cell in days.

"It's policy to not tell employees." Kane was holding her hand and stopped, looking back at her. "Are you okay?"

"Just a little dizzy." Waverly tried to step forward again and would have fallen if Kane hadn't reacted so quickly.

Strong arms wrapped around her and lifted her up. She laced her fingers together behind his neck and her knees dangled over his arm. "Don't worry. I've got you. Let's get you out of here."