Page 71 of Corrupted Lies

October 20th

2:32 P.M.

Those were not fishermen.

Or explorers.

Or anyone who just happened to be out for the day and decided to stop at an island they passed to walk around and have some fun.

Those men were hunters.

And she and Jake were the prey.

The two men dressed in black had big guns slung over their shoulders, and as they walked, they scanned the landscape around them.

Searching.

For her and Jake.

There was not a single doubt in Alannah’s mind that these men were working for the last person involved in Jake’sstepmom’s rape. The man who was so determined to protect himself and his secrets that he would go to any lengths he had to.

Including murder.

That was what would happen if they got caught.

She and Jake would be killed.

Maybe not right away. Maybe they’d be tortured first, maybe they’d be leveraged to try to get Jake’s brothers to back off. Maybe they’d even try to trade them for Cassandra, because the remaining rapist was Jake’s stepsister’s biological father. She was living proof of what had happened.

Not that any one of the Charleston Holloway brothers would ever trade their baby sister for anything or anyone.

Not Jake.

Especially not her.

So possible torture and death were all that was in her future if those men caught sight of them.

And how could they not?

The island wasn't very large. It took only a couple of hours to walk it. After a few days there she could find her way fairly easily from any point back to their shelter. Even if the men walked past them now, it wouldn't mean they were out of the woods. Sooner rather than later, the men would find their little shelter, and once they did, they’d know that the two of them were there.

All they had to do then was scour the island until they caught them.

Pressing her body tighter against Jake’s, Alannah found she could no longer watch the men approach. She didn't want to know the second they were spotted, didn't want to see those weapons aimed at her and Jake, didn't want to watch the men stalk toward them.

Against her, Jake’s body was strong and steady. She had no doubt he would fight, might even get the upper hand. But it wouldn't last. Not only were there two armed men against them,but she was sure more of the men in black were scattered on the island, or at least close by.

Jake might fight, but he couldn’t win. The odds were stacked too high against them.

Sooner or later the magic of this island had to end, the bubble they’d been living in would pop, Alannah just hadn't thought it would be this way. She’d thought they’d either try to make it off the island and perish at sea or slowly waste away and die. If they were lucky, she thought his brothers might find them before either of those scenarios could take place, but she hadn't thought they would be captured.

Why didn't the men just believe they’d perished in the explosion?

It was totally plausible that even without bodies it could be assumed that they were dead, and their bodies had simply floated away or been eaten by ocean wildlife.

The voices grew louder, and she held her breath as though her subconscious actually believed so long as they couldn’t hear her breathing then they wouldn't see her at all.

Waiting was the worst.

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