Pushing that thought aside, she started back on the trail. Five minutes hadn’t passed before another strong dizzy spell hit her. Nausea rose up and she almost threw up. This wasn’t good. Not at all. Knowing it might be too soon, but she didn’t know any other way, she went off trail again, finding the mini trail that led to a banyan tree. Leaning against a tree, she pulled out her phone.
For a moment, she hesitated. Who could she call? She had no real friends, except the twins. And, at the moment, she didn’t want to include them in this unless she had to. Another wave of nausea had her breathing through her mouth trying to keep her lunch down.
Then, with little thought to what she was doing, she called the one person she knew she could trust and who was on Kauai.
“I’m on vacation, so there is no reason for you to call,” Ian said over the phone.
Tears filled her eyes. Dammit, why was she crying like a baby today? It had to be the stress of what she had just gone through, right?
“Listen,” then she swallowed another wave of bile that threatened. “I’m calling in a favor.”
“Sam? Are you okay?” Concern filled his voice.
“Well, I’m not sure.”
She sank down against the tree trunk, unable to keep her balance anymore.
“Where are you? What happened?”
“I got back to my house and there was an asshole waiting for me. With a fucking knife. He was not a good person.”
“Sam? Where is your house? Fuck, are you even on the islands?”
The woods around her started to rotate as if she were on a merry-go-round. “I’m on your island. I’ll leave it on as long as there is battery.”
Then the world around her spun out of control and she dropped the phone. She wished to have at least had one day of a normal life. But that hadn’t been for her. Just one kiss, one normal date, one…she thought of Ian, of the smile he had given her at the restaurant when he didn’t know it was her. Yeah, a date with Ian would never happen, but it would have been nice.
It was her last thought before everything went black.
Three
“Sam!” Ian shouted into the phone. “Answer me.”
Nothing. Just dead silence from her. The line was still open, but Sam was not responding. Fuck. He tried to listen as he rushed through his house. The only sound he heard was wind and a few birds.
What had she said? Right, that she would leave it on so that he could find her. What did she mean she was on his island? If she was on Oahu, then he would have to get someone to go save her. Knowing he needed help, he picked up his work cell and called in. If anyone walked in, they would question his sanity because he had two phones up to his ears. He kept trying to listen to Sam, see if he heard anything.
“Aren’t you on vacation?” Emily Daniels asked.
“I need help. Well, I need help finding Sam.”
She sighed. “I told you that woman is too good.”
“No. She called me, said she had been attacked, and that she would leave her phone open. You can trace her, right?”
“Yeah, I should. You’re still connected?’ she asked, all humor gone from her voice.
“Yes, on my personal phone.”
He listened to the clicking of keys. For the first time in a long time, panic hit him. It wasn’t like her to call and ask for help. That never happened, so she must be pretty bad off. And bad with Sam could be catastrophic. Not that he knew her, but in a weird way, he could sense what that would mean. Visions of her bleeding out somewhere all alone had his entire body buzzing with adrenaline.
“Hmm she isn’t on Oahu.”
Fear lanced through him. If she were somewhere far away, it might take them forever to get the authorities to go look of her. “She said she was on my island. I don’t know what the bloody hell that meant.”
“That’s because she is on your island. She’s there on Kauai,” Emily said. “I’m sending you the coordinates. It doesn’t look like it’s that far from you.”
“Thanks, Em.”
