Isla

 

I’d been watching out the window surreptitiously as Kai and Piper talked. Then I started when Kai abruptly sat down as though she’d told him something that knocked the wind from him. Part of me felt guilty about spying, but I had so many questions, I was ready to burst.

“Do you read lips, Isla?” Baltsaros Kazan teased from where he was sitting on the couch.

With a rueful chuckle, I turned and shook my head. “No. I wish I did.”

“Piper will answer your questions, don’t worry,” he said, stretching out and patting Bonsi’s head. All the cats had congregated to him.

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me anything,” I said, throwing myself into the couch opposite.

It was so strange to see Balt and Piper here. I’d known them for almost a year – we were buds who went to shows together, got dinner and talked about everything. Piper and I had met at dance class. At first, I’d found her a little aloof and bitchy, but I regretted ever thinking that now.

She was a fierce and loyal friend. I guess to the point of kidnapping me.

“What is that face?” Balt asked gently, his faint Greek accent familiar and comforting.

He was the kind of handsome that made women stop and stare. Taller than Kai, with huge shoulders and broad, muscular body, he was an intense looking guy. Everything about Balt was dark, from his deep olive skin to his dark eyes. Yet, in spite of that, his smile was like a ray of sunshine. Even though I’d been initially skittish around him, I’d never been attracted to him.

No, I couldn’t be, because there was something brotherly about him that had made us fast friends within an hour of knowing each other. And second, the first time I’d met him, I’d seen the way he’d looked at Piper. I’d assumed he was her long-time boyfriend. But Piper had said they were just old friends and now colleagues.

Colleagues in kidnapping? Hm.

“Did you help kidnap me?” I shot at Balt.

He started and the cats all did too. “What?” He asked with his million-dollar smile, then he shook his head. “What has that knucklehead been telling you?”

“Nothing, really,” I said in a mulish voice. “Made some jokes about kidnapping me.”

Balt pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “He would.” Then he looked at me and smiled. “Kai always makes me think of those laughing Buddha statues, you know? He is full of wisdom but knows not to take it, or the world, or himself too seriously.”

I nodded, suddenly far more intrigued by the Weslark family than I had been before. “He’s the opposite of Piper in a lot of ways, huh?”

Staring out the window, Balt’s expression became one of concern. “If you mean I wish Piper would laugh more, than yes.”

“Well, she’s just so much more intense than he is, too. Kai is pretty care-free.”

An amused look crossed Balt’s face and he looked at me. “Maybe most of the time. But Kai has that Weslark passion in him and he can run as hot as Piper does. They are a family who cares with every fiber of their being – especially with people important to them.”

“I don’t think Kai–” I broke off as yesterday rose up in me. The look in Kai’s eyes, the tension radiating off of him and the way he’d said my name.

“Hm?” Balt asked curiously as color rushed into my cheeks.

“Nothing,” I said, standing up and going back to the window. “They’re coming back.”

The floor creaked behind me as Balt stood up. “Do you want something to drink?”

“No, thanks,” I said as I scurried over to the couch he’d vacated and plunked down among the cats. My nerves were singing through my body, but not because of the questions.

But at the thought of Kai.

I heard him distantly shouting something, then Piper entered the house. She seemed thinner and paler than the last time I’d seen her. I was about to say something when Kai burst in after her, his cheeks high with color and his eyes bright. When he saw me, he seemed to lose track of what he was going to say or do.

“Something you needed, Kai?” Piper asked, her tone far too innocent.

Kai glared at her, then pushed past her and sat down next to me, throwing his arm across the back of the couch. “No, but I think Isla might.”

He was close enough that I could almost feel the energy shaking through him. His skin seemed to give off more warmth than a normal human, almost as though he were carrying around a little sun, although his gaze was dark and moody.

“You okay?” I asked.

A baffled look crossed his face then he ruffled my hair. “Me? Kid, don’t make me laugh.”

“Isla,” Piper said and I jumped. I’d almost forgotten she was in the room.

Balt had come back and handed her a glass of POG, before sitting down next to her. For a split second, as she smiled at him – her radiant, gorgeous Piper smile – and the look on Balt’s face made me melt with envy. I would kill to have a guy look at me like that.

“Where would you like me to start?” Piper asked, turning back to me.

I raised my hands. “Why did you kidnap me?”

Her lips parted and she spluttered, “Excuse me – Kai!” Glaring at her younger brother, her knuckles went white around the glass. “Why do you do things like this?”

“Isla’s just messin’ with you, sis,” Kai said with a yawn.

“Sorry, Piper,” I said with a smile and she sighed. “I couldn’t resist. But why didn’t you tell me what was going on? You know I trust you. Do you not trust me?”

She pressed her hands together and stared at me. “The group I work for is covert, Isla. It wasn’t a matter of trust, but of absolutely necessary protective measures. For my team and for you.”

“But who are the TLO? What could they want with me? Are they just sickos?” I asked.

Kai let out a snort of laughter, but Piper’s face became troubled. “I can’t tell you everything. Not yet. We’re still establishing their motives when it comes to you – but the story goes something like this…”

Piper proceeded to explain how the TLO lured in victims slowly and carefully, hooking into them, getting them to trust them with promises and payments. For me and others, it was buying our art. Other people might get promises about their dream jobs and training. It was a meticulous web meant to entangle and snare until there was no way out.

I interrupted her. “You’re making it sound like their scheming for money and labor. But what the hell was with that room with all the medical equipment?”

Piper’s eyes went wide and Kai let out a diffident sound. “Oh yeah, forgot to mention Isla had a little memory episode yesterday. She remembers Hunter knocking her out.”

“It’s more than just money and scheming gullible LA dreamers, isn’t it?” I asked.

"Yes," Piper said heavily and Kai shifted. "You all have something in common – a possibly dormant gene that the TLO desperately wants to wake up." Her eyes closed and she sat back. "To them, the ends justify the means to get to that goal."

My mouth went dry. “They’re experimenting on us because of some gene? What is it?”

“Well, kind of,” Kai started to say.

“Kai, let me handle this,” Piper said, her eyes opening and flashing at him.

“Bossy, bossy,” Kai murmured.

“How have they not been shut down?” I demanded. “This is completely illegal.”

“Because they’re good, Isla,” Piper said grimly. “They know how to bend the law and get away with it, to hide in plain sight.” She paused. “And to silence those who learn the truth.”

At that, I thought I saw her eyes flash to Kai, but then she was looking straight at me. “Well, I’ve seen it. I’ll testify. We’ll go to the police, the FBI–”

Balt and Piper looked at each other, then at me, their expressions grave. “You can’t go back to LA, not yet,” Piper said. “You are still in danger. They’re hunting everywhere for you.

“And did you not sign papers?” Piper asked and I blanched. “Say we were to somehow evade them and keep you safe while the court date was set – they know how to cover their own trail. They’d spin a tale about you being a drug user and signing these papers, about trials and then the judge would dismiss the case. And you would vanish one night, no one the wiser.”

Silence fell.

"Oh my God," I finally said, sitting back and covering my mouth. “What have I done?”

“Isla, this isn’t your fault,” Piper said sharply. “These people are master manipulators.”

“So, what now?” I asked. “What can I do? How can I help you?”

Piper gave me an affectionate smile. “This is why you’re my friend.” She stood up and came over to sit on the other side of me. “Isla, you stay safe. Give me more time to figure out a way to take them down. And then you come forward as a witness, help me end them.”

“Okay,” I murmured, even as anger rose up inside of me. How dare these bastards do this? I wanted to rush back there and kick down the doors, burn the place to the ground.

“Thank you,” Piper said. “So–”

My heart seized in my chest. “Piper, oh no. My friend Tina Ruyes. You met her once, I think. She was in the TLO and I haven’t seen her in a month – they brought her to Northern Cali…” I paused. “Please tell me – did you get her out in time?”

Piper went quiet and still, looking down at her hands on her lap. “I don’t think so. I’m sorry.”

A dull pain went through my chest. “Why not?”

Her fists tightened. “There is only so much we can do, Isla.”

"Oh, God, Tina," I murmured. "Please, Piper, let me come back now. Let me help you."

When Piper looked up at me, her eyes were glassy but her face was solemn. “Isla, taking down the TLO requires patience. Haven’t you been listening to me? They are cunning and calculating, with little regard for who gets in their way. I have been trying to take them down for years – to the point where they vanished for a while.

“Now they’re back and I’m doing my best.” She shook her head and her throat worked. “Sorry. I know, believe me I know, how frustrating it is. But bear with me.”

Crushing down everything I wanted to say, I nodded and squeezed Piper's arm. “Whatever you say, boss. I just wish there was more I could do.”

“Trust me, I get it,” Piper muttered. “Anyways, do you want to stay here or be moved?”

“Huh?” I asked, blindsided by this about-face. “I-um, well, I don’t know,” I trailed off and glanced back at Kai. He’d folded his arms and was staring blankly at the ceiling. Swallowing, trying to think of something to say into the awful silence, I looked around the house.

I don’t want to leave, I thought miserably. But is that fair to Kai?

“Kai doesn’t mind, you know,” Piper said mildly.

I looked at her, then at Kai and asked slowly, “You don’t?”

He looked cornered and shot an evil look at his sister. “No. Of course not.”

“Oh,” I said, slumping down into the couch cushions with relief. “Then I’ll stay here.”

“You will?” Kai lurched up and stared down at me in amazement.

Heat was rising from my belly and into my face. I wished I was sitting upright so I could stand up or look away without it being obvious I was trying to escape. Nodding, I squeaked, “Yes.”

“Kai, stop hovering over her like a big mosquito,” Piper ordered and Kai flinched, moving away. “Now, Isla, there are a few more things–”

"Hold on, Piper!" Kai interrupted, sounding every bit the sullen little brother. "If she's staying, then you have to get her a disguise because I can't keep this girl locked up in my house forever."

“Dad’s house,” Piper corrected, glaring at him.

“We need to get groceries and be able to go places,” Kai plowed on, ignoring her. People are already starting to wonder where the hell I’ve been. I can only pretend to be sick for so long. Isla can be my college buddy, here recuperating between jobs.”

“I don’t know… You’d need to be incredibly careful, Kai,” Piper said.

“Haven’t I–?” Kai started to ask in a harsh voice, then stopped. “Piper. The girl needs to be able to leave the house. And she’ll be with me. We’ll be fine. Tourist season is over.”

“Balt?" Piper asked, her tone indicating layers of questions.

“I think it will be okay, Piper,” Balt said slowly. “After all, we did not rescue her to lock her up in a prison. Perhaps a blonde or red wig, some sunglasses? She will be perfect.”

“I’ll be careful, too, Piper,” I spoke up, looking over at her.

She was biting the inside of her lip and I could tell her mind was going a mile a minute. “Alright,” Piper said reluctantly. “But watch your backs.”

I still had more questions, but I was temporarily bereft of the ability to ask or care. Instead, I let the couch support me as I tried to process everything that was happening. My life in LA now felt like a distant and strange dream. It was almost difficult to believe the TLO was so dangerous, everything was so far away and murky.

Kai and Balt were now talking. The sound of Kai’s voice washed over me like a warm wave. And his presence was like an anchor, holding me steady in this maelstrom.

In my secret soul, I was glad I wouldn’t have to leave him, even though I couldn’t quite suppress a sense of guilt about it.

Someone took my hand and I glanced over to see Piper giving me a fierce and protective look. She’d become the big sister I’d never had. And I would help her stop the TLO. Somehow.

With a Weslark sibling on either side of me, an unfamiliar feeling was settled over me.

I’d always had a hum of anxiety going in the background, a sense of desperate reaching and clawing. Now it was gone. I felt safe and at peace.

Closing my eyes, I realized something.

I wasn’t alone in the world any longer.