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We all sat at the dining room table and enjoyed a Filipino chicken curry in coconut milk sauce, while we chatted about how much fun we’d had here in this magical place. Relaxation had definitely been the name of the game.
After dinner, Hayley grabbed Rosa—the smiley young lady who’d served us breakfast every morning—and sat her on a chair next to her to watch us perform. My bandmates and I had only taken acoustic guitars with us to the island, but Liam, Vanilla Sky’s drummer, accompanied us on a Bodhran, a flat Celtic hand drum. We sang a few ballads, Axel brought the house down with our well-known hit, The Alchemist, and Phoenix topped the bill with her cover of Killing Me Softly.
“Your turn now, Foxy,” Axel whispered in my ear when she’d taken her bow to thunderous applause.
“I’m not sure I’m ready…” I backed away from him.
“The first time I sang Harbor in the Storm in front of a crowd, it tore the heart out of me. Once you share your creation with the public, it’s not yours anymore. But Wolf Howls deserves to be heard.”
I shuffled my feet and nodded. “If you think it’s good enough.”
“It’s bloody fucking brilliant.”
Axel spread his arms. “Guys, we have a special treat for you tonight. Foxy has written a song, and it’s so amazing I think it’ll be our next hit. I only just heard it the other day and I think you’ll love it.”
The resort staff whooped and whistled, and I caught Hayley gazing at me, her eyes glowing with love and pride. It felt weird to have everyone staring at me, felt weird not to be hiding inside the steel tank of my drum kit. But I stepped forward and said, “This song is dedicated to Hayley Wilson, who will soon become my wife.” I took a deep breath, released it, and then opened my throat to sing.
When I’d gotten to the end, everyone leaped to their feet, cheering and clapping. I choked up with emotion, bowed and thanked them, and then looked around for Hayley.
She ran up to me, the smiley server girl in tow. “Rosa would like a selfie with you, honey. Is that okay?”
“Sure,” I obliged, lowering my face to Rosa’s height so that she could snap a couple of pics.
I put my arm around Hayley and led her away from the throng. “Let’s go back to the cottage. Spend some time alone together. We can pack in the morning. We’re not leaving the island until after lunch.”
We’d barely left the building before we were kissing. “I’m so proud of you,” she told me between kisses.
“As I am of you.” I held her close. “Always remember that, sweetheart. I love you so much.”The following morning, we sat on our veranda, waiting for Rosa to serve us breakfast. But she didn’t appear. I was about to put a call through to Bryan, the resort manager, to ask what was going down, when I spotted him walking along the path toward us, accompanied by Jake.
Something wasn’t right, I thought to myself, my muscles tensing. “Where’s Rosa?”
“I’ve had to sack her.” Bryan’s face wore a pained expression. “She broke the terms of her contract by sharing the selfie she took with you last night on Twitter, and now it’s trending.”
“Jesus. Fuck,” I groaned. “I hope she didn’t say where it was that the picture was taken and that we were leaving today?”
Jake grimaced. “She did.”
“Shit…” I leaned forward and put my head in my hands.
Hayley got up from her chair, came and placed her arm around my shoulder. “Oh, honey…”
“I know you all think I’m crazy to be so concerned about Danilo Ramos, a dude I haven’t seen for over ten years. But you didn’t know him like I did. He was put away on my evidence, he’ll have made a point of finding that out. And he isn’t the forgiving type.”
“Sounds like a psycho,” Jake scowled.
“I’m so sorry.” Bryan’s face had turned pale under his tropical tan. “I remember his name, now. It was big news in the Philippines at the time. I had no idea you were involved with him.”
“It was kept secret,” I explained.
“I’ll call the airplane charter company. See if we can leave earlier.” Jake placed his hand on my arm and gave it a squeeze. “If Ramos is in the Philippines, he’s not necessarily nearby. It would be difficult for him to travel to this part of the country so fast, even if he did read about your location on Twitter.”
Finally, Jake was taking my concerns seriously. “Hayley and I will pack straight away.” I shot her a glance. “We’ll meet you at the lodge.”We all ate a rushed brunch before departing. Adrenaline had taken my appetite, and Hayley just picked at her omelet. It was horrible to be leaving the island with a sour taste in my mouth. Our vacation had been idyllic, and it was a fucking shame it had to end like this.
