Deep inside the darkened cabin, Wade Travers smiled.

“Gotcha,” he whispered.

Leave it to stupid Honey McCarthy to come right into his snare and bait her alien boyfriend into giving away a major vulnerability.

His dad told him not to buy any more gadgets, but the wireless device had done its job. He’d placed the microphone in a tree the moment he saw them getting ready to head over to the island. After that, it was easy to eavesdrop from the safety of the cabin. As a result, Wade had heard every word of that pathetic conversation about their relationship.

If Nikki Fortune didn’t get together with that other alien, then Honey would lose her goofy new boyfriend.

And hurting Honey McCarthy was pretty much Wade’s only goal in life these days. That and getting off this stupid island and into his dad’s car.

The receiver for the remote listening device spluttered to life again.

Look.

Oh.

Whoever took this video was here, on the island.

Wade’s mouth dropped open.

Shit.

He had no idea how anyone could have figured it out. He’d been careful to shoot the water, not the mainland.

Wade hopped out of his chair as if it were on fire.

They might come looking for him now. What would they do if they found him?

He bent to gather his SuperSpyKid receiver and gear. He couldn’t leave evidence of his mission behind when he hid.

Wade wasn’t afraid, of course. Even if that alien was huge. Wade’s personal trainer had told him he was one of the best students in his cardio-boxing class. But if they found him, it would ruin his plan. And Wade couldn’t have that.

As he straightened up, he saw the dusty lace curtain falling back in place at the window.

Probably just the wind, he told himself.

But for the first time since he’d gotten to this creepy cottage, there wasn’t any wind at all.

We shouldn’t be alone on this island after dark… It’s not safe.

The harsh whisper coming from the SuperSpyKid receiver startled Wade so much he almost dropped it.

He shivered and headed up to the bedroom. He could keep an eye on the bank from there and hide in the closet if need be.

When he reached the top of the stairs he peeked out the window on the landing.

Kitt and Honey weren’t coming his way. They were boarding the canoe as if to leave, in a hurry.

He breathed a sigh of relief and opened up a chocolate bar.

The sugary sweetness made him feel safe. And it would give him the energy to plot.

He pulled a notebook out of the bedside table and wrote down:

Nikki & Indiana

Then he made a slash through it. Excellent.

Then next to it he wrote:

= Honey & Kitt

And he put a slash through that as well. Yes, this was coming together nicely.

If Nikki and Indiana didn’t get together, then Honey and Kitt couldn’t be together.

This was priceless information that he, Wade Travers, had obtained through a lot of skill, a little luck and expert use of technology.

But what could he do with the information?

He got up and leaned out the window to retrieve his phone. He had learned that if he put the phone in its solar charger on the edge of the porch roof he could charge it without even going outside.

The island was pretty and all, but it was so dark and Wade hated bugs and wildlife.

He texted his buddy:

Wade Travers:

Bring me a bottle of Scotch.

Jim:

They’re getting suspicious at the bar about all the missing Scotch. Can I bring something else? I don’t want to get in trouble.

Wade sighed.

Wade:

Bring me something good then, I need to think. And sleep.

Jim:

Sure.

Wade played a couple of rounds of BeDazzled on his phone even though it ran down the battery like crazy. Mindless games like that always helped him think.

When it got fully dark, he wandered down to the beach, hoping to catch Jim and maybe talk to him. It got lonely on the island, but he wasn’t going to talk on the phone like someone’s grandma.

But Jim had already been there and left without saying hello.

A wooden crate held a solitary bottle of peach schnapps.

Wade snarled in disgust, but he grabbed the bottle and brought it back to the cabin with him, twisting off the cap to take a gulp along the way.

It was sickeningly sweet, but the warm feeling that spread through him as it his stomach wasn’t half bad.

He got out his notebook again and looked at it a while.

But he got no further than before, so he decided to try and get some rest.

He crawled into bed and stared out the window at the lake. The moon was reflecting off it like crazy, every little movement of the water flashing bits of light around.

But beneath the surface were all kinds of nasty things, a gas line, a bunch of gross fish, probably at least one dead body if the ghost story about this place was true.

No, the lake was a moat, separating him from his kingdom just across it.

The warm lights coming from the main lodge of Maxwell’s glowed like a Christmas tree. He could practically smell the good food being cooked in the restaurant kitchen.

“I’ll be back,” Wade whispered.

He closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep while picturing his epic return to Maxwell’s.

But every little noise in the house seemed to have his eyes popping open, heart beating too fast.

It wasn’t that he was scared. He was just a light sleeper.

He wondered what Kitt had meant when he said the island wasn’t safe.