“Tell her…” I swallow and force myself to keep going. “Tell her you found Oliver, and that he’s on the boat waiting for her.”
The suggestion hangs between us, and I hate myself for it.
Logan holds my gaze for a long moment, as if he’s giving me a chance to take it back.
I don’t.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promises. “Stay here, no matter what. Okay?”
“Okay.” I give him a small smile, and then he vaults over the side of the hull, disappearing into the trees.
My legs won’t stay still, so I check the sails, the ropes, and I even check on Callie. She’s still slumped against the mast, her eyes half-closed, looking like death warmed over.
The boat rocks beneath me, the stars rearrange themselves overhead, and somewhere in those golden trees, Logan’s telling my best friend that her dead brother is alive… and I’m the one who told him to do it.
What kind of person does that make me?
I don’t have an answer.
So I just keep pacing, keep watching, and keep waiting for the moment when everything falls apart.
8
EVIE
Starlight filters through leaves,glittering against the mossy bank where I’m lying. Water laps nearby, gentle and rhythmic. Everything feels warm and safe, like I could stay here forever and never want for anything else.
I close my eyes and sink deeper into the moss.
“Evie.” A hand’s on my wrist, gripping tightly, jolting me out of my sleep. “I know where Oliver is.”
Logan Ashford’s face hovers above me, his gray eyes intent, yanking me up to stand before I can process what’s happening.
In a blink, Kieran’s in front of Logan, dagger in hand, fully dressed and armed.
“Don’t touch her.”
“Put that away.” Logan eyes the weapon, and Kieran extracts one of the knives holstered on his forearm, pointing it at Logan’s chest as well.
“I’ll put it away when you let her go.”
I look back and forth between them. Kieran’s skilled enough that he could easilyforceLogan to take his hand off me. Therefore, this must be a possessive male challenge, or whatever guys do when it comes to “claiming their territory.”
I take a deep breath of the sweet air, and as I look Kieran up and down, I want to strip those weapons off him one by one and go back to feeling his weight settling over me, his hands tracing my thighs, the maddening pressure of him right there, so close…
No.I force myself to snap out of it.Logan just said Oliver’s alive. Focus.
“Logan,” I say calmly, leveling my gaze with his. “Release me, unless you’d like to leave this island in pieces.”
Kieran raises an eyebrow at me, the start of whatmightbe an approving smile appearing on his face, but he says nothing.
Logan releases my wrist, but his expression doesn’t soften. “Oliver’s on the boat. I found him while you were...” His gaze flicks to Kieran, then back to me. “Occupied.”
“Take me to him.” I’m already moving, the moss squelching under my bare feet as I suddenly realize that I’m only wearing my undergarments. Then I remember what almost happened in said undergarments, and then?—
Kieran’s hand catches my elbow. “Evie. Think about this. We’ve been on this island for hours. No one else has arrived. He’s lying to you.”
“You don’t know that.” I pull free. “You were just asoccupiedas I was.”
