“Why didn’t you wake me up?” He puts a hand on my knee. “We can talk it through.”
I wish he wouldn’t touch me like this, as if we belong to each other. I should keep things light and step away from this as soon as possible. Tristan isn’t that guy. “Honestly, I just need to get through today.”
“Lexi…” he starts, but he stalls as he looks to the sea.
My ears prick up, and my eyes try to find the source of the sound too.There. A speedboat heading straight in our direction.
“Who’s that?” I’m so tired I don’t know if I’m seeing straight. “At this time of the morning?”
Tristan stands, and I follow suit. “Looks like the coastguard.”
“Jeez, they make a lot of noise.” We’ve never had the coastguard come to the island like this before. A slow coil turns my stomach. “Why are they even here?”
“Who knows, but they’re patrolling these waters as if they’re waiting for something.”
I glance back toward the guest area. Waiters have paused their work to look. Along the beach, the odd guest is also staring at the boat plowing through the waves. “Tristan…”
I have a bad feeling. Jem at her desk so early. Jem telling me squat.Oh my God. That fist that keeps churning in my stomach gives me a punch from the inside out. “Jem’s done something. Last night?—”
“Something’s definitely up. Something must have gone down during the night.” He reaches for my hand, but I pull away.
“This isn’t a joke.” I rush up the beach to the office.
I’m halfway there when Jem appears on the path.
“What’s going on?” I ask, noting her stiff demeanor.
“I’m on to you,” she says. “That’s what’s going on. And there’s no place to run, no place to hide.”
Chills streak down my spine. “What do you mean?” I turn to see Tristan still standing on the beach. The speedboat has anchored, and two uniformed coastguards are wading through the shallow waves. With them are two policemen in black uniform—holstered guns, batons, the works.
My throat squeezes as panic invades me, just like it did all those years ago. I have double vision of sorts. One image is that of the cops as they raided our house, arresting Dad at ten o’clock at night. This one is a fresh overlay, the tropical version. I’m going to be sick.
“Best we go to your cottage, Alexandra O’Reilly. We don’t want the guests to witness.” Jem has me by the elbow and tugs.
Tristan is walking up to the troop of law enforcement.Clueless.
“Tris!” I yell, but my voice croaks and gets lost in the distance between us.
“Don’t make a scene. They’ve got yourfiancé,” Jem hisses. “Come with me. That’s Officer Odinga, the tall one. The fat one is Officer Mwamba. Between them, they’ll dig down to the root of this.”
“The root of what?” I tug, but Jem is pinching my arm painfully. Now Tristan is surrounded by the four men who don’t bother to shake his hand. Instead, one of the coastguards slaps a handcuff around his wrists.
Adrenaline spikes my blood, and I want to break free and sprint to him, but Jem’s nails dig into my arm, her other hand circling my wrist. “We’re all going to your cottage to see what’s going on there.”
What the actual…?The two police officers are hurrying along the beach in the direction of our cottage. Tristan stands tall, but the coastguards have him firmly by the shoulder, steering him along.
I sway on my feet, dizzy and sick to my stomach, and so shocked that I let Jem drag me into the forest, losing sight of Tristan.What if they hurt him?
We get to the cottage first, and Jem lets go of me by shoving me to a sofa. “Sit.”
I sink down onto the seat and watch in horror as the two police officers raid our room. They rip at the bed and open drawers, tossing the contents to the floor. One takes the other side of the room, and the other disappears into the closet.
“What’s going on?” I’m rattling like a leaf. “I don’t understand!”
“Uh,” Jem grunts. “What isn’t going on? All this pretending! You think I can’t see right through you?”
The coastguard walks up, Tristan in a firm hold between them. He is pale but his gaze immediately finds mine. “You’re okay, babes?” he asks.
