Page 37 of Hunted (Desert Island Duet #2)

I scoff and turn back to face the front, not wanting to lie but refusing to admit that I was.

A part of me wonders if anything has ever happened between the two of them before.

Not that I’d blame her. Bower is the total package.

And she’s beautiful. But I don't like the idea of him being around someone he’s slept with.

“Don’t worry,” Bower whispers in my ear, so only I can hear him. “She’s got nothing on my future wife.”

I inhale sharply. He keeps making comments like this, about us getting married. It was a little funny at first. But now, with the way I feel about him, it makes my heart beat heavily, filled with excitement and hope. Does he really mean it?

The elevator pings, distracting me from my thoughts, and I step inside with the others.

I’m not a lover of small spaces, but it moves quickly enough that I don't have any time to start panicking before the doors open on the fourth floor.

I jump out quickly, rubbing my hands down my arms to try and get that feeling of being confined out of my skin.

“What’s wrong? Was it the elevator?” Reece asks, noticing my actions.

I nod, pressing my lips together in a thin line.

“We’ll take the stairs next time.” I nod, not wanting to talk about it anymore right now.

He places his hand on my lower back and guides me forward.

When we reach the end of the hall, he guides me into a large meeting room and pulls out a chair for me near the end of the table.

The guys all take seats around me as Mira and a couple of security guards follow us in.

She sits down and clasps her hands together on the table in front of her.

“Glad to see you all made it in one piece. Sorry about the press outside, it’s unavoidable. Everyone wants to hear about the woman who survived alone on an island for fifteen years.”

My face pales at her words. Of course, I knew that people wanted to know what happened to me, but when she puts it like that, it sounds like the whole world wants to hear my story, and that thought terrifies me.

I don’t want everyone to know who I am. In some ways, I’d rather stay hidden on that island as a nobody, that seemed way easier than this.

But when I glance around at my men, I know that they couldn’t stay there, and if I had to choose between staying on the island alone, or living here with them, I’d choose to be here, every time. I was just going to have to get used to it.

“The more we tell them, the less they will ask, right?” Bower confirms with Mira.

“Yes and no. This is a completely unique situation. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Today is the first step, we officially tell the press who you are,” she says, gesturing to me, “confirming their suspicions, and we tell them where you’ve been.

We also need to explain Mr. Voss and Mr. Riggs disappearances, too. ”

She glances around at each of us as she continues.

“We leave it at that for today, but we should schedule another statement in a week or two where we give them more details. It will give us time to find out what people really want to know and figure out the best way to explain some of the details, like your father’s death.

” She gives me a look of understanding. But even she doesn't know the full story.

We had told her who had killed him, and she considered multiple angles.

She gave me the choice of telling the press that he died in the crash, but I didn’t want to lie.

I didn’t want to hide from the world the fact that he had done so much those first four months to help our survival.

If he hadn’t been there with me, I never would have survived as long as I did.

We take the next half hour to discuss who’s speaking and who’s saying which parts. All the guys insist that I don't need to speak, but Mira keeps pushing me to say something, even a simple short statement. She insists that the press need to hear from me the most. In the end, I agree to speak .

After we agree on all the details, she starts discussing security with the head security guard, and I turn to Kingsley sitting beside me, seeing the pensive look on his face.

“Are you okay?” I ask, placing my hand on his arm.

“Hmm? Me?” he asks, his eyebrows raising in question. I nod as he turns our chairs to face each other, then pulls me into his lap so I’m sitting sideways. He wraps his arms around my waist and presses his face to the top of my head. “Better now,” he mumbles.

I giggle and press my body against his, enjoying the relaxed energy that his body presses into mine. He’s not normally this forward. Normally, Weston is the one to drag me into his lap, so I know he must be unsettled right now.

“Are you worried about the press conference?” I ask after a few minutes of silence.

“A little. I just want to get you home safely.”

“It’s going to be okay, Kingsley.”

“I know, I know.” He nuzzles his face a little closer to mine.

“Alright, well, I think we should head down now, everyone ready?” Mira asks.

Kingsley helps me to stand, taking my hand as we all head out.

This time, we take the stairs, and when I see Lisa still sitting at reception, I can’t stop my frown.

She gives off bad energy. And not in a way where I think she’s dangerous, it’s just that I don’t like the way she looks at all my men.

“Hey, Kingsley?” I ask, tugging his hand so he bends down closer to me. “How long has Lisa worked here?”

He stands up and frowns in her direction. “I’m not sure, maybe three or four years, why? ”

The truth was, if she couldn’t bag one of these guys in four years, then she had no right still lusting after them.

“Did any of you date her, or… sleep with her?”

“God, no!” he replies, instantly putting my worries at ease. “We’re professional, we don’t get involved with employees.” The knot in my stomach loosens, knowing they’re mine, and she’s never had so much as a taste of them.

Mira escorts us to the front doors and asks us to wait until she waves us out. She steps outside and raises her hands, getting the crowd to calm down instantly.

“She’s good,” I mumble, surprised at how fast they listen.

“This isn’t her first press conference,” Reece says, giving me a small smile.

I can see nervousness written all over his face and try to give him a smile of reassurance, but whatever he sees just makes him frown at me.

“You sure you’re okay with this? We don’t have to go through with it yet, if you’re not ready? ”

“I want to get this out of the way. I want to move on.” His frown turns to a look of understanding as he nods, but before anyone can say another word, the door pushes open and security motions us out.

I thought that’d be a little podium setup, but it’s just us standing there in front of what now looks to be about twenty people, half with cameras and the other half with microphones extended towards us, hoping to catch anything we say.

Weston moves in behind me, placing a hand on my back, letting me know he’s with me. Bower and Kingsley stand on either side of me and I grip their hands tightly, needing to borrow some of their strength to get through this .

Reece steps forward from where he’s standing beside Bower to address the crowd.

This is the part we discussed in great detail, whether Mira or Reece should make the statement.

But Mira insisted since Reece was comfortable speaking, it should be him.

He’s convinced people don’t like him, but she said if he speaks truthfully, he actually comes across much better than he thinks he does. In the end, he conceded.

“Thank you all for giving us some space before making any official statement. We will not be answering any questions today; however, if you do have any, they can be directed to our PR representative, Mira Young, after our statements.”

He pauses and thankfully the crowd stays quiet, eagerly waiting to hear what we all have to say.

“As I’m sure you’re all aware, my associates, Bower Riggs and Kingsley Voss, went missing on a flight from Perth to Africa, along with their pilot, Weston Callahan, almost three months ago.

During that time, the incredible employees at Titan Tech worked tirelessly to come up with new ways of tracking them down.

In the end, we were able to use the AI software they developed, along with a combination of other systems, to track down the signal on Mr. Voss’s watch.

It was a prototype we’d been experimenting with for a completely different purpose, but in this case, it worked to give us a location.

“I took a search team with me and found their location within days, where we found the three of them alive and well, on a deserted island.”

The crowd starts yelling questions, but it doesn’t faze Reece. He just raises his palm until they quiet down. Kingsley gives my hand a squeeze then lets go as he steps forward and Reece steps back. We’d already discussed who was to speak which part, but the loss of him at my side makes me uneasy .

Weston’s hand sneaks around my side, grabbing mine and helping to ease my nerves.

“When the three of us first arrived on the island, we thought we were alone, apart from the wild lemurs and boar who inhabited the island. But it turned out there was one other occupant.” He reaches his arm back to me and Bower and Weston release my hands.

I take a deep breath and step forward as Kingsley wraps his arm around my shoulder in support.

“She had been stranded on the island herself, not seeing another human in over fifteen years.” There’re multiple gasps from the crowd and I hook my hands behind my back, squeezing my fingers tightly as questions start to be shouted from the press.

Kingsley pulls us back and Weston holds both my hands behind me back, giving me his strength as Mira steps up and quickly quiets them down, reminding them we aren’t answering any questions right now and to please allow us to finish.