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Your boat was sluggish to obey rudder commands, so you drifted until you ended up on this tiny island. Searchers have been seeking you and have given you up as lost at sea. But a plane will fly overhead later tomorrow and spot the SOS you made on the beach. You’ll be rescued. The rudder has been damaged, and your electronics blown to secure the veracity of your tale.
There is food and water on the island, which would have helped you survive, and obviously, you stayed on the boat for shelter. There is nothing that would put your story to question, and we have ensured that the story you tell will be believed. Of course, you can tell the truth. Still, considering our efforts to make you look shipwrecked, you may find yourself with that white jacket quicker than expected.
We wish you the best of luck in your endeavours,
V.
“Wow,” Willow whispered. “I’ve been missing three weeks?”
Her hand crept to her stomach and touched where the bullet had hit her. The letter didn’t mention the injury.
Willow glanced at her flat belly and realised the wound would be noticeable. She’d have to say she dug it out and looked after herself.
She went into the bathroom and she pulled the first aid box out where there was a course of twenty-eight-day antibiotics. Willow counted out twenty-one and threw them into the water. She went to empty all the fresh food and drink out and discovered Vladimir or whoever, had already taken care of that.
Even worse, as she glanced at the beach, she saw some of her clothes hanging out to dry and a large stone SOS. Willow stumbled back downstairs to her cabin and almost shrieked when she saw her reflection. She was as white as a ghost with huge bags under her eyes. Her veins were translucent through her skin, and she shuddered at her hair’s mess. The hell, she was being rescued with her hair resembling Medusa!
Her thoughts momentarily flicked to Jase, and she wondered if he’d seen her like this. Then she shrugged him off. She’d never see him again. But she gave his team credit. This was professional.
Sitting on the deck under a scavenged tarpaulin created to give her shade, Willow let her thoughts drift.
The main question was who had attacked her, and would they try again? Whoever it had been had hired professionals. Those three yachts had targeted her with precision, and it hadn’t been with piracy in mind. No, they’d intended to kill her and sink The Swallow’s Nest. Which meant she couldn’t file her plans. It was required, but she did out of courtesy and in case she hit trouble. The searchers would have a designated area to search.
Not anymore. She’d taken her chances with the ocean, and that brought her to the next puzzle. No doubt, the sea life protected her that night. The two whales had easily snuggled up to the sides of her boat, not letting anyone near and seals and dolphins had crowded around too.
She had never seen creatures act like that. It had been completely puzzling. Even more so when they appeared to be trying to communicate with her. This whole situation was full of events that shouldn’t have happened but had.
Then, there was the final perplexing thing. Poseidon and his mummy friend. Willow hadn’t doubted her eyes, although she thought she was going crazy. But she knew what she’d seen. A sea monster, aka Poseidon, and an Egyptian mummy. A freaking mummy riding on the back of an orca whale. At the time, she’d been terrified and panicking about being shot at, but now calmer and safer, she didn’t doubt her mind.
So the question remained: What were they? They weren’t human or mystical. They were real and… hunted?
Was there more of them?
Vladimir had commented that his home was a sanctuary, a safe place for those seeking refuge. But what if it wasn’t the Bratva Vladimir was running from? What if Vladimir was the mummy or another creature? If she had the internet, she’d go online and do some research—and then Vladimir’s warning hit her.
Willow might be being watched by those hunting them. Internet searches could lead them straight to her. And Willow didn’t have the information they would demand.
Nothing was worth opening her up to those types of people. Vladimir had made them sound very unpleasant indeed.
Yes, she already had a target on her back; why make it bigger?
Willow settled down and grumpily accepted she’d never have the answers she wanted. There was no doubt that Vladimir and his friends didn’t want anything to do with her, so Willow would respect their wishes. But that little part of her nagged; she craved answers, and they held them. It was very annoying when they wouldn’t give her them.
A splash caught her attention, making her look over the boat’s side. She saw two turtles playing and smiled. A loud squee caused her to jump, and Willow gazed wide-eyed at a bottle-nosed dolphin.
“Saviour of Babies,” the dolphin squealed, and Willow blinked.
That had not just happened.
“Returned. Seas. Safe waters. Saviour of Babies,” the dolphin clicked and clacked, and the turtles looked up at her.
“Is knowing. Is She. We come greet,” one of the turtles answered, and Willow’s eyes widened.
Okay, she’d lost her mind in between the attacks and being shot. Because there was no way she was listening to a dolphin talking to her.
“Swim, swim!” the dolphin demanded, and Willow sank down to the deck, laughing her head off. Holy shit, she’d imagined everything.
Chapter Five.
