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“Eighties and I had a bit of a dust up earlier, but I didn’t kill him,” I say, hoping I sound convincing. “Like I said earlier, I last saw him on the beach when I was on my way to Miss Amato’s room.”
Jim places his glass on the table, then steeples his fingers in front of his mouth as he turns to look at Kindra. “If you were with Miss Amato, perhaps she can vouch for you?”
Kindra shakes her head and stands.
Chapter Thirteen
Kindra
Iplace my hands on the table and shake my head again. A mental war wages on inside my brain.
Yes, this incredibly attractive man has given me some of the most mind-blowing orgasms I’ve ever experienced, and he makes this horrible retreat almost bearable, but he’s also a distraction I don’t need. If he’s thrown off the island, I’ll regain my focus and get that much closer to discovering the identity of my brother’s murderer. And after allowing me to eat human meat, he deserves to be cast out.
I raise my head and look at Jim. “Ezra was with me. I don’t enjoy airing my personal business, so that’s as much as I’m willing to say.”
My ass drops back to my chair. I curse myself for providing his alibi and securing his place on the island, but I couldn’t rat him out. My pussy overpowered my brain. That’s my only excuse.
Just as forks begin clinking against plates and I think we can put this whole thing behind us, a chair scoots across the floor, and Cat gets to her feet.
“I can vouch for him too. I was there,” she says.
Fucking fabulous. Now it sounds like we were engaged in some hedonistic threesome on Murder Island. I close my eyes and mentally will her to have a brain aneurysm.
“Well, I can’t argue with two people providing an alibi, can I?” Jim says with a smile. “I suppose we’ll just have to keep our eyes peeled, hmm?”
Cat nods and sits down, but not before looking at me and shoving a conspicuous wink in my direction. I’d have kicked her shin beneath the table if she’d been in front of instead of beside me.
The remainder of the dinner passes without much fanfare. Dessert is served—a fabulous tiramisu, which I demolish—and many of the guests retreat to the sitting room with Jim for after-dinner cocktails. A cocktail sounds amazing right about now, but so does a good night’s sleep.
I walk toward the front of the mansion and step into the night. Instead of the hum of New York traffic, I hear only the sound of waves rushing over sand as I pause at the foot of the steps. Above me, the sky is a tapestry of starlight like I’ve never seen. The lack of artificial light allows the universe to glow more brightly.
A breeze blows off the water and races over my skin as footsteps approach behind me. I turn and see Ezra drawing closer. Before I can scurry off, he spots me.
“Wait up,” he says as he jogs until he’s at my side. “I need to thank you for that. I was sure you were about to reveal my secret.”
“If you want to return the favor, you can start by helping me figure out which of these killers is AA.” I sigh and begin walking down the jungle path toward the villas.
“If I agree to help you discover his identity by the end of the trip, will you go back to the fun Kindra from the hotel?” He keeps pace beside me, and I wish he wouldn’t stand so close. His body heat is like waving a packet of cocaine in front of Bobby Brown. I’ll slip and do a line of Ezra’s dick if I can’t get some space.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say.
“And why is that?”
I stop walking and turn to face him. “Because I find you incredibly attractive and instead of looking for my brother’s killer, I’m afraid I’ll spend the entire retreat in bed with you.”
“And miss all the fun activities? I won’t let that happen.” He smirks, and I can’t decide if I want to kiss him or slap him.
“I don’t plan to participate in any of the activities, so that’s off the table.”
“Not even the basket weaving with intestines demonstration?”
I grimace. “Especially not that one.”
We start walking again. As someone who prefers quiet to meaningless conversation, I’ve never experienced an uncomfortable silence until this moment. It’s as if the universe is waiting on two actors who’ve forgotten their lines. We amble along the overgrown path, our faces occasionally lit by the glow of a tiki torch, but we don’t speak again until we reach my villa door.
Standing on the steps, I feel as if I’m preparing to say a final goodbye to a longtime lover. I’ve known this man for mere days, but I feel as if we’ve been brought together from another lifetime. His sighs, his smirks, his every expression—I know them all.
Ezra grabs my arm when I turn to go inside, and his firm grip prevents me from moving away from him. “I don’t want to go without seeing you again,” he says, his voice low. “I’m used to getting what I want, and what I want is you. Multiple times and in every position. The ropes I used on you were just a sampling of the new world I can show you. Just think about that before you make a decision.”
