“Baby, wake up.”
My eyes popped open and I stretched my arms wide. “Are we there?”
“Yeah.” He stood, tugging me to my feet. Nate had Tate huddled in his arms, her head in his neck. What the actual fuck. Those two confuse me like no other. Bishop must see my puzzlement.
“She was asleep. Don’t think into it.” As they disappeared out the door, I stepped aside to let Jase and Saint pass.
“Are you trying to convince me that he doesn’t care?”
Bishop took my hand and led me down the walkway. “I didn’t say that he didn’t care—just not enough…”
I rubbed the palm of my hand into my eye, feeling almost defeated by his words. “You boys.”
“Not me. They, and I, always knew with you. Nate, and us, and you, know that’s not the case with Tatum.”
I sighed, then started shuffling out of the plane. “I guess. I just wish she didn’t need to get hurt.” Once we come to the door, I sucked in a breath. “What is this place?” The airstrip was lined with dark bushes and tall accent stone statues, carved with thick patterns shaping weird faces and moss spilling out from the cracks. The air smelled of tropical leaves with a slight spritz of saltwater. I cranked my head to find any sign of life.
“Where’s the airport?”
Bishop snorted, taking my hand and leading me down the stairs. “You won’t find an airport here, Kitty.” I stayed quiet, unsure what to say. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I expected more life. There were three white Mercedes trucks waiting for us that were square in shape and resembled military tanks. I faltered, and just as Tatum was about to slide into one of them with Nate’s hand on her lower back, she sent me a playful wink. I smiled at her reassuringly, but I wasn’t so sure. I felt like a fraud giving her that smile, but there was only so much people could do to help someone before it became too exhausting. Bishop started to lead us toward the truck at the front of the other two and pointed to the passenger door.
“Get in and put your belt on.”
I followed orders, opening the door and quickly clicking my belt on. I felt a sense of urgency rush through me. Like we were on borrowed time. The back doors swung open as Nate, Hunter, and Jase slid into the back. Bishop got into the driver’s seat beside me.
“This feels a little tense.” I glanced out the window, unease slowly seeping in.
“Because it is,” Nate mumbled in the back. Bishop’s eyes shot to him in the rearview mirror before putting the truck into first and flooring us out of there. The silence that fell was comfortable, and actually, I preferred it. This way I could take in my surroundings without having to maintain small talk. I watched as the thick shrubs started to morph and melt into the fat green wild forest, and the asphalt road transformed to dirt. The closeness of the overgrown trees, long grass and wilderness made it feel like our trip was more of the off-road trip. I turned in my seat to see the other two trucks still behind us, my panicking semi-subsided. My eyes dropped down to Jase’s lap, and then to Hunter’s and Nate’s, all to catch them loading up AK’s.
“Why do I feel like we’re walking into a war zone?” I turned back in my seat, my hands skimming over the metal door. I bet if I googled this make of Mercedes, it would tell me it was bulletproof.
“Because we are,” Bishop replied casually, flooring it. We shot forward faster, so fast that I could no longer enjoy the scenery outside because everything looked like an oil paint mixture gone wrong.
“Nate, what are you doing with Tatum?” I asked.
“Mads, I don’t think this is the right time to ask me that.”
“Well, why did you put her in with Eli and Saint?”
“Because we all wanted to be near you, and you’re my priority.”
I sighed, resting my head on the cool window. “Why are you stringing her along then?”
He sneered. “I’m not, and sis, this really isn’t the time, but know that she knows exactly where I stand and where I’ve always stood. I’ve been nothing but honest with her, it’s not my fault if she allows her feelings to control her.”
“Nate? Just stay away from her, please.”
Silence.
“I need to tell you something, but I didn’t want to until we got here, because I didn’t want you to have to be stressing all the way”—Bishop’s eyes came to mine—“Ok?”
“Ok?” I answered.
“The reason we’re here is because Daemon called me yesterday. He sounded…off.”
I froze. My heartbeat slowed to a thunderous pace. “Wha—what?” Then just like that, everything zipped back into real time. “What!” I screamed, frantically looking around. “What do you mean off?”
“See” Bishop rolled his eyes. “I made the right decision,” he shot a stare at someone in the back through the rearview mirror.
“Someone better start talking…” I warned.
Bishop shuffled in his seat, cutting a hard left turn and onto a track that barely looked like a track. Branches slapped the windshield like thunder and the wheels of the truck dipped us low and high through the bumpy puddles. “He called me yesterday and the call cut out. I couldn’t get through to him after that, but from what he told me, it’s not looking good here right now.”
I massaged my temples. “Bishop, please cut the shit.”
“Through the broken speech, I made out Silver Swan and Madison, and that’s it. Then the call was cut. Hearing that, put us all on high alert. I called Dad and he dispatched us here to check things out. If we need, we can have more back up, but we’ve never needed it before. This island, it’s separated by four fractions, but all within a vast gated community. Nihil (Nil), Regiis (Royal), Secundus (Second), and Tertuim (third). Each faction is chosen by your family lineage and how important you are. Everyone is fluent in Latin, hardly any speak English. I need you to stay directly beside me.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Nate mumbled off more to himself, I was guessing by the volume of his answer.
“People, Nate. They’re just people.”
“So that’s why we’re here? Because it’s a threat to me? Daemon mentioning me and then something about a Silver Swan?”
Bishop nodded reluctantly. “I think so, and because I wanted to check on Daemon.”
My heart warmed a little by his confession. Whether it was entirely true or not, I couldn’t care right now.
“Okay.” I shook off all of my other feelings and straightened my head. “So what’s the worst that could be happening right now?”
Bishop cleared his throat. “The worst would be that Daemon is dead, Katsia has gone rogue, and the Lost Boys have finally taken ownership of the island. There would be riots and havoc, so we do not want this one.”
My eyes closed as my chest tightened. “No. That can’t be an option.”
“The other one is that my instincts have gone to shit and I’m wrong.”
“Shit,” I exhaled, my chest squeezing again. “That’s obviously not an option either, but there’s no way about Daemon.”
Bishop nodded. “Agreed. He will most likely be safe because he’s smart and strong, but I really fucking hope I’m wrong about everything.” The bumps started dipping harder. My head almost smashing against the roof of the truck.
(enter)