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“One… two…” she counts.
Merde! “Dante, if that’s you, please come out,” I beg.
I gasp as a man steps out from behind a tree. Not Dante. He holds his hands in the air. Wearing a white polo and a pair of khaki shorts, he’s too pale to have been on the island long. He could be lost, but why was he hiding?
“Who are you?” demands Halli.
He replies, “I was hiking and ended up here. I think I’m lost.”
Halli shakes her head. “That’s the only lie you get. Next one, you’ll end up with a bullet in your leg.” Before I can argue with her that he could be telling the truth, she continues. “Think long and hard about what you’re going to say next. I already know that you were on the plane with us.”
My gaze jumps from the man to her, back to the man trying to remember if I saw him on the plane. I don’t.
A smile quirks up on his clean-shaven face. “You’re thorough, Special Agent Hughes. Call me impressed.”
“I’m about to call you dead,” she retorts in a flat voice.
“Okay, okay. I’m Agent Jason Roth with the FBI.”
“Throw your ID toward us. Slowly.” He does what she says. “Aspen, grab his ID.” My eyes never leave his as I inch to where he threw it. He stays in place, not moving a muscle. He already knows she’ll shoot if necessary. When I get back by her side, she instructs me to take her phone out of her pocket, take a picture of his ID and text it to another agent.
“Agent Hughes, we’re on the same team, can’t we settle this without getting others involved?” My finger hovers over the send button, and I glance up at her, waiting.
“Are you trying to save your ass, Agent Roth?”
He sighs. “Yes.”
At least he’s being truthful.
“How do I know you’re legit without calling it in?”
“You don’t. I was hoping you could trust this face.”
Her lips purse. His attempt to make light of the situation fails. She sends me a sharp nod, and I hit send. He drops his head and murmurs, “Fuck.”
“Why are you here?”
When he turns his attention to me, a light bulb goes off. “You’re trying to find Ru—Tobias,” I stutter. Will I always be on their radar? The idea twists in the pit of my stomach.
“When we saw you were coming to the island, we wondered if you were meeting him here.” Now, I understand why he burned down this place. They’ll never stop looking for him. But it makes me furious they’re using me.
I let out a hollow laugh. “You think I want to see the man who kidnapped me?” The phone dings in my hand and Halli nods when I glance to her for direction. I read out the text that he checks out.
“Can you put the gun down now?”
She lowers her gun, putting it back in the holster. Snatching his badge out of my hand, she scans it before walking it to him. “You know as well as I do, he wouldn’t be here. So, why are you really here?”
Tight-lipped, he answers, “We’re covering our bases.”
I ignore the two staring each other down as I turn my gaze to the burned ruins of my home. Stepping on ash, I kick pieces of wood and walk over blackened furniture. The three stoves left standing in the middle of the destruction seem out of place.
I fist a handful of ash, letting it pour off my hand. I loved this tiny house so much. It was mine, the only thing I could call my own. I have so many happy memories of it. You still have those memories, my subconscious reminds me. This is all à propos when you think about it. It’s the finality of the life I thought was real. In a couple years when the jungle takes over this spot, it’ll be as if we never happened. We’ll be whispers in the night, stories told to visitors.
An overwhelming need to leave washes over me. “I’m ready to go. There’s nothing here.” I storm back to the dock without waiting for the other two and sit at the edge. Hanging my head, I again try to calm my inner spirit with the islands’ aura.
I groan out when every minor noise distracts me. Instead, I stand and rip off my clothes, thankful I put on a bathing suit, and dive into the water. Halli calls my name right before the water envelops me.
The silent water helps clear my mind as I focus on my strokes. Stingrays glide against the seafloor and I brush the top of one. I’ve named plenty of them in the past. I smile to myself as I push forward.
