The Island

 

Another meeting was taking place, and Nikki knew it wasn’t a social call. Someone was going to die that night. She usually saw a body on the news the next day, floating in the port, and it was never ruled an accident. Her throat dry, she glanced over at the clock and read the blinking red digits.

2:18 a.m.

Yeah, there was something special about this meeting.

Suddenly, she heard a small noise from the room below, followed by a thud, and she stiffened, struggling to block out the reality of what had just happened.

A silencer.

The master bedroom was directly above the office, and if she got down on the floor and put her ear to the wood, she could actually hear whole conversations, as well as the bodies fall to the floor.

Oh, God, another one, she thought, her heart pounding with dread as she lay in the king size bed, the silk sheets twisted around her shaking legs. What had the poor person done to cross her bastard of a husband?

She glanced over at the closed closet to the right where her suitcase was stashed and felt her eyes burn with the pain of what she refused to reveal. She had gotten into this mess almost ten years before. No one else could get her out of here. Only one person had tried, and he paid for it with his life.

Nikki closed her eyes, blocking out the images of that fateful night almost five years before. She couldn’t go back. She could only follow his final words he had yelled as the fire consumed him—to escape, no matter what.

The past had taught her a powerful lesson. Those who tried to help her died at the hands of her husband, and she refused to have anyone else’s blood on her hands. All she could do now was wait for a single moment to get inside his safe for the stash of money Nikki knew he kept. She wouldn’t be able to touch the account or any other methods where he could track her. She had to disappear. It was the only way she would survive.

She didn’t know how much time had passed from that single thud, but before she could glance at the clock, she heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and quickly rolled over onto her side, facing the wall away from the door. In seconds, she had her breathing even as if she were asleep.

The door creaked open, and a large shadow fell across her, his steps silent on the plush carpet as he came closer to her.

Rustling came from his side, and before long, the covers shifted as he got in the bed. Liquor and smoke drifted toward her, but she was used to the smell and remained still, praying he was tired and just went to sleep without…

God wasn’t answering her prayers as a large hand pulled the covers away from her body. Shivering in her thin nightgown, goosebumps rose on her arms from the slight breeze of the ceiling fan he had insisted on.

The same hand unbuttoned the nightgown from the back as kisses trailed down the side of her neck.

“I know you’re awake,” he whispered, his hand trailing down to the front of her stomach and between her legs. He pinched her thigh, and she flinched. She knew what it meant and spread her legs for his invasion. It was hard, harder than usual, and she gasped as he dug in. Suddenly, he flipped her onto her stomach and yanked her hair back.

“Ass in the air,” he growled, yanking harder.

Nikki felt tears slide down her cheeks but obeyed, getting on her hands and knees.

Minutes felt like an eternity as he rode her before finally stiffening and falling to the bed at her side. Seconds later, he started to snore softly, and she got out of bed, limping into the bathroom to clean up. Walking back into the bedroom, she stilled, her heart pounding at the realization that her moment had come. He was passed out and would be sleeping soundly for at least a few hours.

Without missing a beat, Nikki quickly left the bedroom and ran down to the office, an area that had been off limits to her for years. She quickly glanced inside to make sure it was empty and made her way over to the safe in the corner, still sore but willing to risk it to get the last of what she needed to escape.

She kept her eyes away from the dark stain in the center of the room she knew was blood. Someone had just died that night, but she couldn’t think of that now. Hope blossomed for the first time in years as the locks disengaged; the combination of numbers she had spent months, even years, trying to figure out finally worked. The door opened, and sure enough, stacks of bills lay inside. With a shaking hand, she quickly grabbed a few stacks. Any more and he would notice.

Closing the heavy metal door of the safe, she made her way back to the bedroom, and within minutes, the money was safely stashed away, hidden in the closet.

Heart pounding, Nikki slid back into the large bed and tried to sleep, but her excitement, her hope, was too much, and she stared up at the ceiling as dawn began to fill the room, the shadows of the night disappearing. The snoring had stopped long before, which meant her husband was now just dozing. Suddenly, his phone alarm went off, and he jerked awake. Within seconds, he was out of bed and getting dressed without a word.

She made a sound as if she was just waking up and turned to look at him as he finished buttoning his white shirt.

“Would you like some breakfast?” she asked quietly, playing the dutiful wife of the past ten years. She avoided looking at the closet, at her means of escape, as she kept her eyes on Edward.

“No,” he said curtly as he finished tying up his boots. He stood, his tall frame overshadowing her as he headed for the door. “I’ll be home late, so stay inside today,” he ordered before leaving the room.

It would be hard, but Nikki couldn’t disappear yet. Not everything was in place yet, but now that she had money, she could set those plans.

Soon, she thought as she, too, got out of bed and began to get dressed. Very soon, this will just be a dark memory. I’ll be free.

Soon.