“Sabotaged the plane,” Cort finished. “I know. I believe you. Sebastian believes thattoo.”
“Sebastian. That asshole would have raised me from the dead and shot me himself if he could have,” Damonsaid.
Cort leveled a look at his brother. “Can you blame him?” he demanded, taking Sebastian Seaver’s side for possibly the first and only time ever. “What would you have done if an official investigation showed some guy was at fault for killing your parents and yourfiancée?”
Damon swallowed and looked away. “Looked like a sign of guilt to me,” Damon declared. “Someone had to have paid Jack. The asshole didn’t work for free.” His voice wasbitter.
“Someonepaid Jack, but it wasn’t the Seavers. I really believe that,” he told his brother. “Levi Seaver’s will left the company to charity, so Sebastian had no motive, Damon.” Cort frowned. “And how did you know Jack, or John, or whatever the fuck his real name is, in the firstplace?”
Damon’s cheeks flushed beneath his beard. “We were sleeping together. Had been off and on for a few months before the crash. He works for Senator Shaw, and happened to fly the Senator into my airport when Shaw was visiting family in Boston. He made a joke about the irony of Shaw trusting a gay pilot. Seems so stupid now,” he saidbitterly.
“Anyway, we’d been together for maybe two nights right before the crash. Taking time off, he said. We had some wine.” He looked at Cort. “One glass, Iswear.”
Cortnodded.
“I fell asleephard. I don’t know whether I was drugged or what.” Damon sighed. “When I woke up the next day, I was really groggy. Jack offered to help me with the pre-flight check since he’s a pilot himself, and I agreed. But I checked everything myself, anyway. Or I thought I had.” He shook his head angrily. “If Seaver didn’t pay Jack, whodid?”
“I don’t know,” Cort said. “But why not at least listento…”
“Hey,Cortland!”
Damon straightened and Cort craned his neck around to watch Sebastian and Drew jogging toward them. Drew wore his perpetual scowl, while Sebastian lookedworried.
“What’s up?” Cort asked Bas. “Did you find SenatorShaw?”
Bas shook his head. “But one of the gardeners saw him headed this way a little while ago, along with his assistant. He’s nothere?”
Cort glanced at Damon, who shook his head. “Shaw? Fuck, no. I haven’t seen him, but I’ve been avoiding this place more or less since his plane landed. Jack’s been promoted from pilot to personal assistant, and I don’t want to take any chances he might recognizeme.”
“So, you’re Damon Fitzpatrick?” Drew accused. “Back from thedead?”
“Shockingly brilliantandhandsome,” Damon sneered. “The girls must loveyou.”
Drew snorted and glanced around. “Where’s Cam?” hedemanded.
“He stepped away to give us some privacy,” Cort said, glaring at his brother. “He’s waiting over there.” He waved a hand toward the front of the hangar, the same direction Sebastian and Drew had come from. “Didn’t you seehim?”
Bas shook his head slowly, darting a glance at Drew that made Cort’s pulse skip a beat. “We definitely didn’t see him, and we were looking out for youboth.”
Cort glanced toward the other side of the hangar, where the mechanics had been talking, but there was nobody around anymore.Shit.
And then an ominous clanging came from a plane nearby, the unmistakable sound of metal-on-metal.
The four men exchanged glances and, as one, hurried toward thenoise.
“Come on, boys!” a voice drawled. “Don’t be shy. The mechanics are having a long, sleepy lunch break on me, and if you’re not over here in one minute, I promise you Cam won’t beeither!”
Heart racing, Cort dove around the nearest plane to find Cam caught in a chokehold by Jack Peabody. Jack’s left elbow encircled Cam’s neck, just below his chin, and he was holding Cam up so his toes barely touched the floor. In Jack’s right hand, pressed against the sweaty hair just above Cam’s ear, was a .45 caliberpistol.
“Aw, see that? I knew they’d come for ya, Cam,” Jack sneered, bringing his mouth to Cam’sear.
Rage, hot and fluid, bubbled up inside Cort as Cam looked at him with wide eyes. “Let him go, Jack,” Cort demanded, just as Sebastian asked, “What do you want? Name yourprice.”
Jack smiled at Sebastian. “I have all the money I need, friend. What I need now is a way off this island. I saw all the texts you were sending Shaw. Imagine my surprise when I saw you’d pieced together my identity.” He turned to look at Damon. “And imagine myshockwhen I foundyouwere still alive.” He smiled, a cold and menacing expression. “How are you, lover? You’re looking pretty good for a dead man. I’ve missed you somuch.”
Damon’s hands were braced on his hips and his eyes bored into Jack’s. “Fuck you. You set me up back then, and if you think I’m gonna let you getaway…”
Cort reached over and hit Damon in the stomach, hard. “Shut the fuck up, Damon.” He turned to Jack. “If you leave now, I’m not going to come after you,” he vowed, deadly serious. “I won’t let anyone come afteryou.”
