Page 6 of Devious Eyes

I nibble the sweet fruit, which my stomach thanks me for. Finding time to eat while you’re running between countries isn’t top of the priority list.

My bungalow is the last on this branch of the complex. Nothing is in front of me, and it offers perfect isolation. But I need to ensure I have all the exit and entry points mapped in my head. And I need to walk the rest of the resort and familiarise myself with it.

My feet splash in the water below, and I let my mind relax. It replays the events over in my mind. The meeting. The deal. The guns.

In all the time I’ve been around Andreas’ business, I’ve never witnessed a murder. Somehow, I distanced myself from the dirt and grime of his life. When I was a girl, I longed to be noticed by him. That’s how I started in this business, after all, proving myself and my worth to Andreas so he’d pay me some attention.

I never belonged in the world he created, though. He was too concerned with running his world to see me. He only saw the benefit or advantage I could offer him. Who would suspect a girl? A woman?

It was my own naivety that got me in deeper. Until I realised I didn’t need to prove anything to my brother anymore, that I was more than capable of being my own person without his recognition. But it was too late. I’d found my drug of choice, and it was the prettiest thing in the world.

Enough.

I finish the coffee and fruit, returning myself to some level of human condition, and root through the bags. I rip off the tags to a summer dress, light and flowing, and find the small pack of toiletries from my go-bag.

Ten minutes later, I leave the bungalow and survey the resort with the sun on my back.

Twelve bungalows on each branch of walkway leading from the central reception lodge. The main restaurants and bars, entertainment and other facilities are nestled closely together. What feels like hundreds of stewards and staff patrol between these facilities, bringing drinks, towels and other helpful items to residents.

No visible cameras outside of the main reception check-in desk, which is a plus. The beach is the most open point on the resort, and of course, there’s no perimeter fence. People arrive by sea taxi on a designated jetty further past the reception lodge.

If I were coming for a romantic holiday, this would be an idyllic location.

I’m not.

Right now, it just has to double as the safest place I can escape to.