Chapter 9
WADE COULD HAVE KICKED HIMSELF for leaving his phone up at the tree house. He’d have gotten a weather alert. Shelby still seemed a little unsteady, so he wrapped an arm around her. He didn’t dare risk her having too much time away from him, not before they’d had a chance to talk more. Even so, when she encircled his waist with her arms, he wanted to shout his victory. But he knew better than to count the win as his until she said so when she was fit.
“Do you have your phone?” he asked.
“No. I forgot it in my office when I got the vase.” Shelby still held on to him.
“Do you have some—” Wade broke off. He knew her well enough to know she’d have snacks in her office. Just in case. “Never mind. Let’s get you up there.” He swept her into his arms, and it was a measure of how weak she was still that she didn’t argue about it. She rested her head against his chest, as he carried her to the jeep. He hated seeing her like this, his feisty bundle of righteous indignation.
Martinez ran up to the jeep and opened the door for him. “The tower is down.” She started latching Shelby’s seatbelt.
“What do you mean, the tower is down?” Wade asked. “It can’t be power.” He nodded toward the lights on in the distance.
“Our communication tower.” Martinez looked grim. “Looks like part of the storm is going to hit us. This could be bad.” She hopped into the back of the jeep, behind Shelby.
As Wade turned the ignition, he thought about the implications. What tough luck to happen during a bad storm. There’d been a couple of short outages since they’d been there, something that would have to be fixed before the park opened to the public. He hadn’t forgotten, however, the significance of Shelby needing bodyguards. With Alan due to arrive the next morning, Wade couldn’t shake the feeling that the tower going down so conveniently meant something more serious might be happening. He told himself he was being paranoid, but his gut didn’t believe it.
“Where’s Shang?” Wade asked.
“He told me the tower was down and then went to check on it,” Martinez said.
The wind had continued to increase, and the first heavy drops of rain hit them. As he helped Shelby from the jeep, Wade wondered how bad it had to get before all the windows might break. He’d never been in a hurricane, but as he staggered with the wind against his back, he understood the need to board up the windows. Martinez hurried to unlock the door.
“She has a little fridge in there,” he called to Martinez. “More juice or hard candy first, and then we have to get her to eat again.”
“I know.” Martinez closed the door behind him.
“You’re doing it again,” Shelby said.
“You can read me the riot act when you’re feeling better.” He helped her to the couch where he’d sat earlier that afternoon. It seemed forever ago. He grabbed a throw and covered her with it before pulling her feet up and insisting she lean back. While Martinez unscrewed the lid from an orange juice bottle, Wade slid behind Shelby, so he could provide support for her to drink. A gust of wind rattled the windows.
“This is embarrassing,” Shelby said, but she drank from the bottle and accepted a stick of beef jerky. “I hate feeling like this. Where’s my phone?”
“Did you hear what Martinez said?” Wade accepted the phone the bodyguard held out to him.
“Something about the tower. Give it to me.” Shelby took a bite of the jerky. It looked to Wade as though chewing required more energy than she had to give it.
Lightning flashed. The swirling dark clouds seemed ominous as they roiled toward them from the beach, the waves now huge.
“I’ll check it, so you can eat that.” He gave her a nudge, and she chuckled. Wade took that as a good sign and slid his arm around the back of the couch. She put his hand to use by placing the bottle in it, but she also rested her head against his arm. He pressed his lips against the side of her head. With his other hand he woke her phone. “Password?”
She hesitated before saying, “Wild Thing.”
Wade’s chest seemed to swell, and his throat tightened. “I love you, Shelby Nash.”
“Then you’re certifiable.” She took the bottle back and sipped some of the juice. Her voice turned soft as she spoke again. “I love you too.” She kissed his arm and rested her head against it again.
He blinked. Shelby might not be herself again yet, but the juice and the hot dog had done much to revive her already. For the first time in a long time, he let himself believe. What he really wanted to do was to send Martinez away, so he and Shelby could have some privacy. A quick glance out the window at the driving rain, and he knew the bodyguard would not leave her charge, even to his care.
“Martinez,” he asked instead, “shouldn’t we move to the interior of the island?”
“As soon as Shelby’s able.” She closed up Shelby’s computer. “The internet is tied to the tower, but that’s also where the generator is if the power fails. Did you get any messages from Mr. Bradley?”
“I forgot my phone.” Wade typed in the password to Shelby’s with a grin. He opened her email icon and saw a message from Bradley. “Shel, there’s an email from Alan. Is it okay if I open it?”
“Yes.” She brought his arm from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her. “And tell him not to come tomorrow; it’s too dangerous.”
Wade scanned the message and groaned. “He decided to come today.”
