Page 26 of The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold (The Blonde Identity #2)
Eight Years Ago
The Island
King
After twenty minutes of walking, King was certain of one thing: Cupid’s Arrow was a very stupid name for a very beautiful
island. Merritt might have even been right to call it “paradise” but he was never going to tell her that.
They followed Flora down lush, green paths surrounded by wild orchids and singing birds. Even though there were obvious signs
of civilization, it was as if the lights and buildings had sprung from the island itself—like the volcano had spit them out
a millennium ago and Flora was some ancient goddess whose job it was to keep things dusted.
“It’s beautiful.” Alex must have read his mind.
“Thank you.” Flora turned back and... yeah... gave the weird bow again.
“Is the whole island like this?” Alex tried. She was subtle when she needed to be and—King hated to admit it— good .
“Oh no.” Flora sounded concerned. “The other side is much too steep and... inhospitable.”
“What about hiking?” Alex tried again. “I love hiking and—”
Flora stopped so quickly that King almost collided with her back. “We do not go to the other side of the island.”
“Of course.” King glanced at Alex. “Surely this side is big enough for both of us?”
She wasn’t even acting when she scoffed and said, “We’ll see.”
Something about the look Flora was giving them made King suddenly worry that maybe the Farm hadn’t trained them well enough.
It was like Flora of the Made-Up Sayings could see right through their covers and into the heart of them.
Worse, it was like she saw something the two of them had missed, and King didn’t like it—not one bit.
***
“Come along, lovers!”
King spoke five languages, but he was starting to hate that word more than any other. When Alex gave him a come-hither look
over her shoulder and mouthed lover , he rolled his eyes and turned back to the mountain terrain and tried to make the most of the situation.
They’d ridden in a Jeep for twenty minutes, up a steep, winding trail, and then they’d walked for twenty more. Alex had done
it in heels, and King wanted to strangle Flora for not at least asking if they wanted to change clothes first, but Alex was
looking at him like they’d hit some kind of jackpot and won the undercover lottery.
The path was wider here, with wooden blocks stuck in the ground for makeshift steps, but King slipped his hand into Alex’s
anyway. He could have listed off a dozen reasons—from maintaining their covers to the fact that she would be nothing but a
liability if she fell and broke her leg—but as they followed Flora up the final twisting bend, he didn’t share a single one.
He just kept climbing until they came through a break in the trees, stepping out onto—
The edge of the world.
Or so it looked.
It wasn’t the highest peak—or the roughest—but no one could deny the view was like something out of myth as they stood there,
looking out over a sea of steep mountains and lush, green foliage. A wispy layer of clouds circled the jagged peaks that stood
in the distance, and King thought the whole island must be a study in contrasts: rocky and lush, hard and soft. Terrifying
but beautiful.
Kind of like the woman beside him.
“Gasp,” Alex whispered. It was a tone of voice he’d never heard her use before, and King couldn’t help but turn. He wasn’t staring, he told himself. But he also couldn’t look away. “What?”
“Nothing. I just... Nothing.”
“Come, lovers! Come!” Flora was beckoning them along the top of the ridge to a wide, open spot in the trees. A half-dozen
couples were already standing there, all of them a little sweaty and nervous, and King wondered how long they’d been up there,
waiting.
“We are gathered here to welcome our hearts and our minds into the state of cupidism and tranquility.” Flora did the weird
and possibly offensive bow again, and King wondered if he should just hurl himself into the volcano. Their intel said it was
dormant, but that might give it a kick start. Surely the Agency would cut them some slack if an eruption cut their mission
short.
“Now, lovers, as we begin our journey of transformation, I ask you to introduce yourselves and share why the goddess has brought
you to our island.”
What religion is this? King wanted to shout, but he already knew the answer: it was the church of profit and pretension and Flora was its high priestess.
King glanced at Alex and cursed the short plane ride from the mainland. There’s a reason people prep for undercover work for
weeks—why the same teams go into the field together time and time again. There’s a shorthand that’s needed. A level of trust.
A—
“I’m Donna.” Alex jumped right in. “And we’re here because he said he wanted to strangle me with a garden hose!” Alex pointed
at King, then burst into tears.
“That’s just ridiculous.” Ten sets of eyes were glaring at him. “Do you people have any idea how hard it would be to strangle
someone with a garden hose? An extension cord, yes. A strand of Christmas lights, obviously.”
“And he hasn’t touched me in months.” Alex was silently sobbing, but all King could do was scowl.
“If you want me to touch you, then all you’ve got to do is say the word, sweetheart. Any time. Any place.”
They were standing way too close and breathing way too hard. He didn’t even notice when Flora turned to the next couple in the group. “Tell us about yourselves.”
“I’m Jennifer.” She was the kind of beautiful that came from being very young and very wealthy. Her hair was perfect, and
her makeup was painstakingly applied to look as if she wasn’t wearing any makeup at all. But the most obvious thing about
her was the look on her face that said that, somehow, she’d ended up in the wrong life—or maybe just on the wrong island.
She jerked her head at the young man beside her and said, “And that’s my idiot husband, Todd.”
They looked like they should be on spring break and not at a resort that charged six figures to save dying marriages.
“Hi. We’re—”
“ We’re here on our honeymoon,” Jennifer cut Todd off with no small amount of anger and irony.
“It was the most expensive,” Todd whispered in the tone of a man who had already had this conversation. “You said ‘just book
whatever’s most expensive.’ And this was the most expensive!”
“Do we look like a marriage in trouble, Todd?”
Even the birds went silent—as if they were afraid of chirping You do now .
“We want a refund.” Jennifer wheeled on Flora.
“I’m afraid—”
“We should stay,” Todd said. “We’re here. It’s beautiful.” He flashed her a look that could only be described as puppy dog
eyes. “ You’re beautiful.”
“Fine.” Jennifer crossed her arms over her white dress and looked like she would have thrown a fit if she wasn’t afraid it
might mess up her makeup.
“Oh. Well then. We’re the Johnsons,” a woman on the other side of the clearing chimed in. “I’m Felicia. This is my wife, Kimberly.
We do something like this every five years, just as a tune-up.”
“Like a colonoscopy,” her wife put in.
“ Ooh ,” the group said in unison.
“We’re both MDs,” Felicia added, and everyone smiled as if that made the image make sense.
The other guests took turns, going around the circle, but King, frankly, tuned them out. Half of his brain was paying attention,
of course (because half of King’s brain was always paying attention), but the other half was scanning the trees and the mountains—the distant waterfalls and steep cliffs that
seemed to slice the island down the center. From that vantage point, he could just make out the place where the coastline
curved and the ocean met a mountain so steep, the trees didn’t even try to grow there.
That’s where they tried to climb , a part of his brain put in. It was no wonder the other CIA teams had failed.
“We welcome our lovers and invite you to—”
“No, I don’t have any gum, Todd,” Jennifer whispered loud enough to be heard from the other side of the circle.
“—open your minds and your hearts to this new experience. And each other,” Flora droned on. King would occasionally catch
bits about goddesses and the elements and maybe a little bit of astrology thrown in for good measure, but he was too busy
taking in the cliffs and the trees and the rocky ledges covered with lush, green grass.
And there—in the distance—a fortress. It was the only word that would do the structure justice.
“Is that...” Alex murmured.
“Yeah,” King whispered. “That’s it.”
It was on the opposite ridge, just below the clouds, looking like it had grown out of the mountain itself—nothing but stone
walls and steep descents. There were towers with views of the water, but as far as King could tell, just one road in and out—a
steep, narrow path that zigzagged down the mountain’s side.
“I don’t like this,” Alex whispered under her breath, and for once, King couldn’t argue.
On the other side of the circle, Flora was practically vibrating. “This was once a powerful volcano. Full of fire and ice.”
“I highly doubt that,” someone said before another voice chimed, “Shut up, Todd.”
“Hot and cold come together in this place.”
For the first time, King thought that Todd might have a point.
“Just as you—our lovers—must come together. And work together. To soar over adversity and pass through the valley of your
love.”
“Does she actually know the meanings of these words?” King whispered, but Alex shhhh ed him. As if he were the one being ridiculous.
He was just getting ready to say so when Alex gave him a nudge. “Look.” She pointed to the place where the clouds were parting
and a helicopter was dropping out of the sky and landing on a pad near the fort.
“Guess that’s one way in,” King whispered.
“Excellent! Just excellent!” Flora was clapping. “Now, where to begin... David? David, why don’t you start us off?”
King honestly felt sorry for this David guy until an elbow connected with his ribs and he looked down at Alex, who cocked
an eyebrow, and one word landed in his mind: wife . Followed quickly by mine . And then...
David , she mouthed. And he had to shiver because, that’s right... He was David. And...
He’d forgotten.
King hadn’t even known it was possible, but—
“You’re wasting your time.” Alex spun on Flora. “David doesn’t share. Anything. Ever.” She crossed her arms and stared daggers
while King wound his mind back far enough to hear Flora’s original question.
Lovers, what did you think when you first saw your lovelies?
“You might as well call on someone else,” Alex was saying. “David doesn’t—”
“Three things,” he said, and Alex went silent. “I thought three things the first time I laid eyes on her. I thought she was
the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I thought she’d be the death of me. And...” It was like the whole world leaned
forward, listening. Waiting. Even the birds stopped singing as he said, “And I thought... there are worse ways to go.”