Page 44 of Wild Idol (Tyson Wild Thriller #82)
T he scruffy band of men aimed their weapons at us. With dark hair and swarthy tans, the five of them huddled on the dock around the girls. There was something hollow and soulless about their eyes.
The shortest of the group was their leader. He shouted, “Hola, gringo. Want to tell me what’s happening on my island?”
JD took cover behind a tree at the edge of the beach and kept his weapon aimed at the men.
I stepped from the trail and approached with caution, keeping my hands in the air. I didn’t want to escalate the situation. I wasn’t sure, but I had a suspicion about who these guys were. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.
“I didn’t know this was your island,” I said.
“Let’s just say I have a vested interest in what happens here. ”
“Your crop of heroin is safe, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
The short man looked at the crowd behind me that hid in the trees. “Who will work the field if you take all the people off the island?”
I shrugged. “I have no doubt you’ll find someone.”
“I don’t want to find someone else. I like the arrangement I have with Solomon. Is he still in charge here?”
“For the time being. I think if you talk to him, you’ll find you may be in a position to renegotiate your deal. Perhaps with more favorable terms.”
“My terms were favorable to begin with.”
We stared each other down for a long moment.
“I don’t like change. And this feels like change. Things were running smoothly. I get the impression that you have disrupted that.”
“We just kept the entire village from getting slaughtered.”
“I work for people who don’t like disruptions. This seems like a disruption.”
“Your problem is not with us,” I said. “These people just want to leave the island.”
“And I want to date supermodels and be a rockstar. But I’m here, in the middle of the night, wondering what has happened.” He paused. “I came here to talk to Solomon but stepped into a war zone. You can understand my concern.”
“Solomon brought this upon himself,” I said. “If you want to talk to him, I suggest you do it now. ”
“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
“I’m not telling you what to do. I’m trying to help you out.”
“Help me?”
“See, my guy in the trees, there. He’s really good with that thing.”
The cartel guy looked around me and spotted Jack angling his weapon around a tree at them. The barrel lined up with the short man’s head.
“He’ll drop you first. It really doesn’t matter what happens after that, because you’ll be dead.”
“My men will kill the girls,” he replied in a casual voice.
“Tell me, who wins in that scenario?”
“Nobody.”
“Or we can let each other go about our business, and we both win.”
He stared at me for a long moment, then burst into laughter. “Okay, gringo. This time we will pass like ships in the night. But if I ever catch you on my island again…” He slid his finger across his throat.
He nodded to his men, and they let the girls go and marched past me on the dock. They moved down the trail and disappeared into the jungle.
JD led the rest of the survivors down the beach to the dock, and we all boarded Solomon‘s boat.
There was just enough space for 10 of us.
I took the helm, fired up the twin outboards, and Jack cast off the lines.
I throttled up and pulled away from the dock, crashing through the swells, leaving the small island behind.
The refugees watched with a range of emotions as the island grew small behind us. The paradise had turned into a nightmare. Star stared at the island, taking in one last look. Her eyes brimmed.
“Are you okay, Star?” Sunshine asked.
Star wiped her eyes and nodded. “Yeah.” After a solemn beat, she said in a light breath, “Call me Ivy.”