I snorted, squirming in my cuffs, trying to find a position that didn’t end with my bones throbbing against metal. “I’m the sane one, Jim. You’ve just unleashed the devil.”

He sniffed with a slight smile, a strained truce forming between us. “I’m beginning to see that.”

I winced as my leg burned with pulsing fire. “If you’re having second thoughts, you can try to remedy the situation by calling Peter Beck. Tell him I need reinforcements. Call the goddamn police.”

“If I do...will you cease your enterprise? Will you release your goddesses? Will you destroy every single vial of elixir and swear never to make another drop?”

My hands curled as hate sprang fresh. “I don’t bow to ultimatums, Jim.”

“Then I can’t agree to serve you any—”

The door smashed open, bringing starlight in from outside and the shadow of my cursed brother. “I hear you’re alive and talking, Sullivan.” Drake strode closer, stepping into the gloomy light of the lamp above me, his face a colourful patchwork of bruises.

Satisfaction battled back some of my pain. I’d done that to him. I’d almost killed him with knuckles and rage.

He looked me up and down, smirking. “You don’t look so good, baby brother.”

“Funny, I was just thinking the same about you.”

Snapping his fingers, he barked, “Someone get me a chair.”

Dr Campbell faded to the side, his upper lip curling with distaste for Drake. At least he still retained common-sense in that regard. He might have been the reason Drake had found my islands and learned what I’d created, but his intentions hadn’t been betrayal. They’d been out of loyalty for girls I’d purchased and kept alive with no other attention than vague awareness.

Doesn’t mean he won’t pay, though.

He’d be punished.

Painfully so.

A human life was worth nothing to me because there was so many more to plague the earth.

Turned out, Jim Campbell was my opposite.

He fought for mankind. He viewed me as the enemy just as I viewed meat eaters as murderers.

Drake sat heavily in a deck chair that one of his mercenaries brought over. He waved him away a moment later. Campbell went too, free to come and go under Drake’s command, slipping out the exit and hopefully going to tend to Skittles and Cal.

I needed them both alive.

I needed to stay alive so I could protect Eleanor from this creep.

Drake hissed under his breath as he rubbed his shoulder where I’d stabbed him. “Thought you were dead.”

I hid my wince as I tried to inch higher, giving up when my pain levels threatened to make me black out. “Hoped you were dead.”

He grinned. “Why would I be dead? You couldn’t kill me even if I held the gun for you.”

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that, brother. Your bruises say differently.”

He leaned forward, holding his side where the bullet had grazed him. “Where are the goddesses?”

I scowled. “Gone.”

“Just like Eleanor Grace?” He clucked his tongue. “I’ll find her. I’ll find all of them.”

My fever switched to ice. Thank fuck, he hadn’t caught her. Three days was a long time to be unconscious. She could be anywhere by now. Back home with her family. Back travelling with her motherfucking boyfriend.

You know she’d never do that.

Jinx was many things, but most of all, she was loyal to a goddamn fault.

Too loyal.

Shit, please tell me she’s left Indonesia and isn’t trying to—

“I actually have a piece of news on the girlfriend front.” Drake smiled coldly. “I found your favourite goddess. Seems she’s been asking around Jakarta for your whereabouts. Reports say she’s a little frustrated that you sent her away without a means of return.”

I stopped breathing. “Leave her the fuck out of this.”

“You can keep repeating that little demand, but we both know that’s not gonna happen.” Raking a hand through his hair, he added, “She’s determined, I’ll give her that. You’ve finally tricked someone into falling in love with you.” He cocked his head, fluttering his eyes like a fool. “Isn’t that cute? My baby brother has a woman. She could become my sister-in-law. It’s only fair that I help her travel home so I can meet her, right?”

Metal clanged and twanged as I thrashed in my cuffs. “Don’t fucking touch her!”

“Oh, I won’t do that until she’s here, Sullivan. I want you to watch when I fuck her the first time.” He bared his teeth. “I’m guessing we won’t have to wait too long. I gave her a pretty big fucking clue...and transportation.”

Shit!

SHIT!

I kicked the sheet from around my legs. I ignored the trickle of blood from my bandage. I fought to remain human with the ability of speech rather than an animal with sharp teeth. “I’ll give you the recipe for elixir.”

“That’s a given.” Drake laughed. “You’re going to give me the deed to your islands, your goddesses, your programs for Euphoria, and every ingredient of elixir. You’re going to watch me drug your girl and suffer all while she begs for my dick.” He stood and wrapped his hands around the cage bars, shaking it. “And once I’ve fucked her raw and everything that you own is mine...I’ll kill you. I’ll put a knife in your heart and put you out of your misery because I’m nice like that. I won’t sentence you to a life knowing that she’s mine. That I can take her whenever I damn well want. I’ll be an only child and inherit everything that I was supposed to before you murdered our parents and stole from me.”

The room darkened as my heart crashed and collided with my bruised ribs.

My blood boiled with utter fucking weakness of being trapped.

Eleanor.

Christ!

Drake put his fingers in his ears as the noise of my clanging handcuffs reverberated around the room. “Quit that. I need you alive and not having a fucking seizure.”

I snarled.

I howled.

I ignored every splintering pain and nauseous roil.

I needed out.

I needed her.

I needed to kill my motherfucking brother before he broke the only person I ever loved.

Eleanor...

Goddammit, forget about me...before it’s too late.

Chapter Sixteen

THREE HORRIBLE ETERNAL DAYS.

Fifty-seven travel agencies.

Thirty-two hotels.

Twenty-three tour companies.

Eighteen cruise liners.

Eleven airlines.

Seven helicopter charters.

And five airports.

All with the exact same phone script: “Hello, I’m enquiring about a tour/flight/cruise/adventure that includes the destination Goddess Isles. It’s located an hour or so helicopter flight from Jakarta.”

“Hello, ma’am. I will see if we have such a tour/flight/cruise/adventure that includes Goddess Isles, please hold.”

A requisite hold period where my heart would rabbit and stupid, idiotic hope would rise. Only for disappointment to crush me deeper and deeper into despair as they returned. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. We do not have anything suitable.”

“Have you heard of Goddess Isles?”