Page 63 of Tempt Me
"Yeah. That's what's so annoying. I don't need you."
"Ouch." Feeling frustrated, I stand up abruptly, ready to disappear back into the kitchen and away from the hurt being near her causes me.
"Wait," she says, her voice small and hesitant.
Stopping, I don't turn back to face her. "What?"
"I'm sorry," she says softly. "I don't know why I'm being such a bitch. I don't want to be alone."
Turning around, I see the vulnerability in her eyes. "You don't have to be alone." Walking back over, I sit down next to her. "We're in this together."
She nods, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Thank you."
Silence falls between us once again as we wait for some word from her parents. It's a long and restless wait, but eventually, the burner phone on the mantlepiece rings. Jumping up, I answer it, knowing it can only be them.
"Yeah?"
"We've got new intel," Vik says urgently. "Meet us at the secondary location in half an hour."
"Understood," I mutter before hanging up and tucking the phone into my back pocket.
"What did he say?" Rue asks immediately.
Ignoring her question, I say, "Let's go."
This time she rises quickly, following me out the door as we make our way back towards the dock where we left our boat.
Chapter34
Rue
Knowing better than to ask again what my parents' phone call was about, I hurry to keep pace with Mr. Giant-Strides, blowing out a breath when we finally hit the sand, and he is forced to slow down. Although that’s debatable. He is kicking sand up all over in his haste to return to the boat.
“Hey!” I snap, spluttering sand out of my mouth. “Slow the fuck down.”
With a glowering silence from him, we re-board the small motorboat, and Isaac heads off into the dark night, away from Neilstown and further away from Coe Bay.
"Okay, where are we going?"
Isaac turns to me, his face inscrutable in the dim light of the boat. "We're going to an island," he says.
I raise my eyebrows. "An island? What island?"
He shrugs, which is about as helpful as a boat with holes in it.
We cut through the choppy waves, inching closer and closer to the dark silhouette of land looming on the horizon. As we draw nearer, I make out the outline of trees and bushes, and a scattering of small buildings.
Isaac cuts the engine, and the boat drifts to a stop against a line of terraced rocks that undulate into the water. Isaac expertly guides the boat around a rocky outcropping and onto a narrow beach. We hop out onto the sand, and he gestures for me to follow him up a winding path leading into the island's heart.
"Where the fuck are we?" I ask after what seems like an eternity. "I've never seen this place before."
"Your family owns it. It has another safe house on it."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," I mutter. "Look, what did my parents say to you? Why are we here?"
He shrugs again. "Fuck knows why here. Vik just told me to meet them here."
We approach a rustic-looking cabin, and Isaac shoves open the front door.
