Lincoln stared at him as if not comprehending his words. “A safe place? Where?”
“It’s probably safer if I don’t give you that information. And technically, I don’t actually know.”
Lincoln gently bumped the back of his head against the wall. He must really be upset to want to add more pain on top of what he was already experiencing. “You don’t understand, Rory. Nowhere is safe for that crystal.”
“What do you mean? Because people are looking for it? Because it’s worth so much money?”
“No. That’s all true, but that’s not it.” Lincoln rubbed his forehead between his eyebrows. “It’s not safe for anyone to handle if they don’t know what it can do. Where is it? Please tell me it’s under some rock in the jungle where it can’t do too much harm.”
“What can it do?” Pure dread made his voice sound like it came from a million miles away.
“Just tell me where it is, please. It’s very important.”
Rory drew in a deep breath. “It’s in Mathilda’s pocket. I slipped it in there on the beach before all the fighting started. I figured that would be the best way to keep it out of the grasp of these guys.” He waved at the yacht to indicate everyone onboard who’d tried to hurt them.
Lincoln’s mouth fell open. “It’s in her pocket? Just…sitting there? Loose?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Then we have to get to her right away.” Lincoln staggered to his feet, then swayed as the boat slammed into a wave.
“How are we supposed to do that?”
“Isn’t that what I pay you for? I just gave you a raise. Now earn it!”
“I don’t care about your fucking raise.” But he cared about Mathilda. Rory’s stomach clenched as he pictured her in that speedboat, blithely on her way to marry a British lord, with no idea she had something potentially dangerous lurking in her pocket.
“What can it do?”
“Just get us out of here. Her life might depend on it.”
26
The small speedboat that had picked up Mathilda and Philip Phelps passed Pololu Valley, then rounded the northern tip of the Big Island. Mathilda had never witnessed the island from sea level, and the sight was breathtaking. The northeastern coast featured the deeply cut, lush green valleys that she knew intimately from the inside, but were even more spectacular from this angle. At the shoreline, lava cliffs formed fantastical shapes thanks to the constant pounding of the ocean surf. From high on the slopes, waterfalls plunged hundreds of feet.
The landscape was so stunning that she occasionally forgot she’d been coerced into this boat ride. But the thought of Rory stuck back there with all those dangerous people never left her mind. She had no idea if Philip Phelps’ bit of information would help him or not.
He’s smart, she kept telling herself. He’d landed on his feet so far. Maybe this would be just one more crazy episode on the craziest trip to Hawaii there ever was. He’d tell the story to his brother in his residential home, or his grandmother over a pot of jasmine tea.
Her heart ached to touch him one more time, to look into those dark eyes and see that intimate smile just for her. Jeez, she was down bad.
I’m in love.
The thought flashed through her mind in bright neon lights.
I’m in love with Rory.
Holy shit. It was absolutely true, and yet completely pointless. In her current situation, she wasn’t sure how much of a choice she was actually going to have. Would Philip Phelps really be kidnapping her if there was a chance she’d say no to Duncan? They must have some extra tricks up their sleeves, even beyond the extremely persuasive reasons that already existed.
Excellent timing, she scolded herself. Why couldn’t she have fallen in love a couple of years ago, maybe with someone who wasn’t caught up in billionaire shenanigans? Why couldn’t she have given herself some time to really establish a relationship, to confirm that her feelings were real and not just the result of a high-pressure crisis situation? Oh no. No no, not Mathilda Wheeler. Mathilda Wheeler had to leave it to the last minute and then just wing it.
Inside the cabin, safe from the untidy wind, Philip Phelps was going over some paperwork. She made her way inside and sat across from him. He barely glanced up at her. Since giving her a sandwich after they’d first boarded, he hadn’t said much.
“Are we on our way to meet Duncan Aberdeen?” she asked, since that was the only thing that made sense to her. “Why didn’t he come find me in the jungle?”
“He’s afraid of snakes.”
“Hawaii doesn’t have any snakes.”
