Page 25

Chapter

Thirteen

“Wow,” Alannah said, taking a step back to admire their handiwork. “This is a real upgrade from what you used to build in the woods when we were kids.”

The smile she gave him was strained. Lines of exhaustion and worry bracketed her mouth, and there were dark smudges under her eyes, but she was holding it together and Jake was so very proud of her.

She’d done everything he’d asked of her today.

No complaints, no asking for breaks, although he knew she needed them and made sure they stopped regularly to recharge.

They were both hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, but they’d worked side by side for hours, and Alannah was right, at least they had something pretty good to show for it.

“Guess all those years in the military and with Prey taught me a thing or two.”

“A thing or fifty,” Alannah corrected. “When we used to play in the woods and you and Jax would build those little huts with branches, I used to think they were cute, but this is worthy of being in a magazine.”

Her enthusiasm surprised a chuckle out of him. She was exaggerating, that was for sure, the little shelter he’d made for them was big enough for both of them to sit comfortably inside, as well as keep their new fire undercover.

Something they were going to need if the menacing clouds building were anything to go by.

Another storm was coming.

While that was a blessing in the fact that it would give them access to fresh water so long as they had something to collect it in, it was a curse in that it would drop the temperature further, and with them in a weakened state, they would be more susceptible to hypothermia.

“If I had my phone, I’d snap photos so we could post them all over social media when we get home,” he told her, only half joking. It wasn't that he thought the shelter was spectacular, but anything that made Alannah smile he would happily do.

An odd feeling for him.

Other people’s happiness had never been his top priority.

Taking care of his little brother, making sure they were as little a burden as possible on family members who didn't want them, protecting people, fighting for answers, those were all things he’d prioritized in life, but not making someone smile.

Smiling had always seemed so … frivolous.

Life wasn't sunshine and roses, you had to make the best of what you were given. Work with what you had, not what you wished for.

When he had so many other problems in life, it didn't seem worth the time or the effort to focus on making someone feel good when you could put that time and effort into making sure they were safe, protected, or cared for.

Only now, hearing Alannah giggle and seeing her smile become a little bit more real and a little bit less lined with strain, exhaustion, and fear, he realized that sometimes making sure someone was happy was worth more than anything else in the world.

An ominous rumble of thunder broke the spell of the moment, and Alannah’s giggle died on her lips as the fear took over again.

No doubt she was thinking about the storm when they’d been out in the middle of the ocean and how close it had come to claiming their lives.

But this time they weren’t in the ocean, at the mercy of the waves and the wind, they were on dry land and had a shelter that would protect them from the worst of the weather.

The fire would help to keep them warm, and the way he’d positioned it beneath the walls of branches meant it should stay lit no matter how bad things got.

At least that’s what he was hoping and praying for.

“Go inside,” he ordered gently, giving her a nudge toward their temporary home.

“You're coming in, too, aren't you?” Alannah asked, an edge of panic to her voice.

After finding her on the sand earlier when she’d decided to head out looking for him, she’d been scared to have too much distance between them. Ideally, she liked him within viewing distance.

He got it. They were alone out there. Abandoned on a deserted island that he’d been able to walk the entire circumference of in less than two hours.

There were no people, no houses, no roads, no structures other than the small one they’d made themselves, and they had no food, warmth, or change of clothes.

Their situation was serious, and he hadn't come up with a plan yet on how they were going to get out of it. For now, they had a shelter. They’d soon have some water to drink thanks to the two systems, one with leaves and the other with rocks, that he’d built earlier.

And that water would last only so long as it rained because he had no means to store it longer term.

They had literally nothing other than the clothes on their backs and whatever they could find on this deserted island.

“I’m going to be right there,” he assured her. “Just checking everything is okay with the water collection systems I set up.”

Even though she nodded and didn't say another word, Jake could feel her eyes on him as he walked through the trees back down to the beach. He’d decided it was safer to be a little further inland to build their shelter, then they could use the trees more, and benefit from their protection.

But that meant not being visible to anyone passing by on a boat.

As much as he didn't like it, their best bet at being rescued was for his brothers to track them to this island. They knew there had been an issue with the boat even if they didn't know exactly what it was, so he knew they’d be looking for him and Alannah. When they found the remains of the yacht, they’d search every island in the area and sooner or later stumble on this one.

He hoped.

He prayed.

After checking everything, Jake headed back to the shelter.

Just as he reached it, the clouds opened and a torrent of rain poured down upon them.

The wind had picked up as well, but as he settled inside their little makeshift home, he was protected from the worst of it.

Taking the space closest to the entrance also helped to block most of the wind for Alannah and the fire.

“So …” she said slowly, her big eyes blinking up at him in the dim light. The clouds had cut out most of the sun’s light, and their little shelter took care of most of the rest of it. At least with the fire it wouldn't be as bad as that complete darkness of being lost out at sea.

“So …” he echoed back, making her smile.

That smile quickly faded. “What are we going to do, Jake?”

Knowing they had to be smart about this, he’d made the decision to focus on their immediate needs first. As much as he’d love to just pick Alannah up and transport her off the island and back home, that wasn't something he could do. They couldn’t just jump back in the water and hope to swim to some other more populated island, there wasn't even anything else within sight. So shelter and water had come first. Tomorrow, after the storm, he’d find them something to eat, then they’d work on figuring out a longer-term plan including how they might attempt leaving the island.

But right now, what Alannah needed was rest not obsessing over a problem with no immediate solution.

“Come here.” Shifting slightly so he was a little closer to her in the small space but still blocking most of the entrance with his body, she didn't hesitate.

Once he had her in his arms, snuggled against his body, he laid them both down.

Curling around her so she wasn't exposed to any wind, and was closer to the fire for its warmth and comfort, he held her snug against him.

Which was nice.

Holding her like this was intimate in a different way than sex would be. Sex could just be sex, it didn't have to mean more, but cradling another person in your arms was deeper. It meant something.

Right now he just wasn't sure what.

“I don’t want you to think right now,” he told her.

“How do I stop thinking?”

“By closing your eyes and remembering that for now we’re safe, and mostly warm and dry. Soon we’ll have water to drink, and then we can work on a plan. The best thing you can do for both of us right now is sleep.”

“I'm not sure that I can. I'm so tired but … the fear, it’s too much,” she admitted in a soft whisper.

His heart cracked at her declaration. He was supposed to be her protector, but all he’d done was fail epically over and over again.

And this might be his biggest fail of all, because there were no guarantees either of them was making it off this island alive.

October 19 th

6:07 A.M.

It felt like they'd gotten sucked into a time vortex rather than gotten stuck on a deserted island.

Time just moved so slowly.

Didn't help that the storm had been going on for hours so they were stuck in the little shelter she’d helped Jake to build.

Well, he’d done most of the work and she’d just followed his instructions, not that Alannah had minded, it had given her something to do so she didn't give in to the panic threatening to consume her.

It had also helped that it reminded her of summer days playing in the woods for hours.

Thankfully, the shelter had been able to withstand the storm, the location Jake had chosen was protected by the trees, and he’d clearly known what he was doing.

His calm, steady, sure tone as he’d talked her through what he was doing and what he wanted her to do had also helped keep her from losing it.

Aware of the fact that she’d done nothing but twist and turn all night, Alannah did her best to remain still. She wasn't the only one who was exhausted, and she knew she had kept Jake awake all night.

He was the kind of guy who wouldn't allow himself to sleep until she was asleep. While she’d done her best to fake it, she was guessing she hadn't done a very good job, which meant neither of them had really slept at all.

Why she couldn’t just close her eyes and give in to the exhaustion weighing heavily upon her she had no idea. It wasn't like she wasn't tired enough, she felt like she could go to sleep for a month, it was just she couldn’t seem to shut off her mind.