“I agree.”
“Nauti Guyis mine. Because Tom sank mySugar Daddy. He owes me. And I told him Bazza was stealing from us. He didn’t believe me.”
I didn’t give a rat’s ass who Bazza was. “Exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I did all the dirty jobs for that Australian big mouth, and how much respect did he show me?”
All righty, Garry had proven his point that he was upset with Tom. Enough of that. I needed him to ask me to show him the gold. I straightened my posture.
“So, I have your word that you won’t hurt me? We split the money fifty-fifty once we return. Yeah?” I asked. He slowly nodded. “Okay. Can you signal Jack to come back now?”
“No. I’m not an idiot.” Garry bared his teeth in a grin, and I willed myself not to cringe. How could smiling make someone uglier? “You show me where the gold is first,” he said.
And Garry fell into my trap.
“Of course. It makes sense you want to see the proof first. I understand,” I said, grateful it was too dark for him to notice my hands and legs shaking. I wasn’t sure if I could walk. “Follow me.”
A dark, cloudless sky with a light of fading stars was a promise of a calm day, but inside my chest, worry stormed. We walked out to the beach, and the peering boulders in the bay became recognizable on the inky canvas. In the distance, the lights of a sailboat bobbed in the water. For a brief moment I wondered what Jack was doing out there. Why he wasn’t noticing the bonfire.
A breeze tugged on the hairs around my face. Waves lapped the beach but crashed harder around black rocks at the end of the cove. I walked waist-high into the water, then waited for Garry to catch up with me.
Garry stopped at the edge of the water. “Why are you going there?”
“We need to go up there and move through the opening at the top.” I pointed up, even though Garry most likely couldn’t see the crack in the rock wall. “After that, it’s not far.”
I moved deeper and inched around the first big black stone. “You wait here. I’ll go alone and get some gold to prove to you it’s there.”
“No. I’ll go with you.” Garry was knee-deep when he pulled something out of his pocket. A second later, a bright light came on. A cellphone flashlight.
Damn it. He could notice the snakes.
I had no option but to move forward. He followed me, holding his phone. As we slowly trod over the rocks, my blood pounded in my ears, muting the sound of waves beneath. Hunter had better be right about becoming immune to snake venom. Because if not, I was?—
A sharp sting burned my ankle. I halted, clenching my jaw to stifle a scream.
“What?” he asked, the light of his phone blinding me. “What’s that face for?”
“I can’t take responsibility,” I said through gritted teeth, “for what my face does when you’re around me.”
Another stabbing pain struck my ankle. We were in the right spot. My legs wobbled, and I grinned.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Garry’s eyebrows pulled down, and his nose wrinkled in disgust and confusion. He ran his light from my face downward to the black swirling around us. “Fuck.” He jumped back.
With all the energy left in me, I steered behind Garry and pushed him on his back. He stumbled, then tripped and fell to his knees, losing a grip on his iPhone. The phone perched sideways, projecting light on Garry. He shouted and struggled to get up, but the look on his face froze in horror. His body jerked once, twice, and then he stilled.
My hand trembled, and my leg ached, but I could move. I took in a wheezing breath, grabbed Garry by his shoulders, and sat him upright, his face away from the water. He was a worthless person, but I didn’t want his death to be on my hands. Deep down, I was a spiteful woman, but not a murderer.
Moving carefully around him, I found his gun and threw it into the water. Well, I shouldn’t have done that. Stupidity must be contagious.
“Garry, I’m not an expert on these snakes, so just know that you might die,” I said, looking at his wide-open eyes.
The hut was a blazing mess, sending smoke signals to the world. And to Jack, too. My eyes scanned the bay for the approaching lights of the smaller boat. The coast was clear. He must not have seen the BBQ party with his good eye. Or maybe, just like Garry, he had an ulterior motive too and was gearing up to leave us all on this island. Or he was asleep.
Exhausted and dehydrated, I crawled out of the ocean onto the beach and fell on my back. My legs throbbed with pain. Saltwater burned my wounds, assuring me I was still alive. There was no time to rest, but I had no energy to move. Hunter. I needed to find him.
And then I heard him calling my name.
“Hunter!” I pushed off the sand and rushed toward his voice.
