"I don’t understand. Then why did you even come back here with Salt?"
"Things got complicated, and I need to deal with them. I’ll try to return within a month. According to the contract, I’m allowed that. Salt will have to wait for me."
"Well, I won’t pry into your reasons, but don’t expect me to arrange a ferry for you. It went to pick up the new warden. It won’t be back for a while."
"I’m not expecting that. I’ve arranged my own transport. I just came to notify you officially."
"One second."
Bram checks something on his computer, then prints out a document.
"You’d better sign this if you don’t want us to treat it like you vanished without a word."
I examine the paper carefully, making sure there’s nothing hidden in it, but it is indeed a formal request for a thirty-day leave from the island.
"Thanks," I mutter as I sign.
The rest of the betas see me off with rather cold looks.
I leave the building and head toward the dock.
As I stand there, the pain tries to force its way back into my mind, but I make a gargantuan effort to stop thinking about what happened between Salt and me. I cut off the emotions, the sense of loss, the pain. I shut down my mind, filled with grief, bitterness, and hurt. There is no point in trying to convince someone who doesn’t want to be convinced.
I do, however, have a responsibility toward Salt, and I intend to fulfill it as best I can. I want to give him back what I took from him, the chance I deprived him of.
It’s a matter of honor for me.
I promised him before he escaped that I would find a solution, and I still intend to keep that promise.
The motorboat arrives an hour and a half later.
While I’m still on the beach, I call Storm to inform him that I need to leave the island for a month. I feel it’s necessary to notify him, since the marriage contract signed through Fate’s Choice is still legally binding unless Salt formally terminates it.
Storm is clearly surprised when I tell him I need thirty days off. He tries to probe whether there are issues between Salt and me, but I shut the conversation down.
Eventually, he unexpectedly offers to let me stay at their house if I need to.
After a moment of consideration, I realize it is not a bad idea. I cannot stay in the Ferro skyscraper where Ennio lives on the top floor, since there are cameras everywhere and Rocco could track me down, or one of thesoldatimight recognize me.
So I agree, and he promises to pick me up by car.
I can guess what’s behind the offer. He probably wants to get information out of me, but I fully intend to resist.
???
A few hours later I’m riding in Storm’s car, and of course the intrusive questions start, but I quickly change the subject and ask him to drop me off at the bank.
I just need to check my bank account. It costs me a lot of nerves, because I know that in the past Anzo and Rocco tracked people down through bank transfers, IP addresses, and even ATM activity, thanks to their connections inside the bank. To my great displeasure, I find the account is… blocked.
Just like my brothers’, I was only an authorized user, not the actual owner, which means I can’t withdraw any money.
Yes, Beta Activation does pay us a stipend, but I have no idea how to access the account I share with Salt or what the login details are. Which means I’m completely broke.
I leave the bank in a hurry, slipping through side streets and ducking into shops until I finally head for Storm’s small house.
From the moment he sees me, he immediately resumes interrogating me. If I thought he’d forgotten, I was very wrong. Storm puts me through an intense barrage of questions, wanting to know the details of my ‘island adventure’, as he calls it, and my relationship status.
Eventually, with Damien joining in and pressing just as hard, I give in and tell them that my relationship with Salt is far from simple. I can see the near shock on Storm’s face. Heprobably didn’t think there could be any problems in the case of True Mates.
