“Island three intercepted Olin’s radio message to someone on their island,” I say softly. “They knew you were against them. I thought they wiped out your memories somehow and reprogrammed you.”
His eyes soften. “No.”
“Where did you go? If you didn’t come back here after Island Three, where were you?”
“It’s a long story. Can we get into the cave? I did some surveillance on our camp, and when I saw you weren’t there, I figured you were here.”
I smile, still not believing he’s here, and he’s okay. “Kiss me.”
He puts his hands on my waist and bends, lowering his lips to mine. It’s a slow, soft kiss, his mouth reacquainting itself with mine. The heat of his body and the brush of his stubble over my lips make me want so much more than this.
After a few seconds, I reluctantly pull away. We can’t risk getting so lost in each other that we forget the danger we’re in.
“I have so much to tell you,” I say.
“Same. But let’s do it in the cave.”
I cringe inwardly. “Okay, but before we go in ... I’m not alone in there.”
“I figured Nova and Amira were with you since I didn’t see them at camp.”
“Right. And also Ellison, Olin, and ...” I wet my lips with the tip of my tongue, afraid to finish.
He arches his brows. “And?”
39
“Word on the street is the ILF is recruiting pilots. I can fly, and I’m tired of playing as a street peddler. Use me or lose me.” - Decoded message from ILF undercover operative Nightingale to ILF handler Hiro Tanaka
Marcus
“You better be fucking with me, Briar,” I whisper-hiss. “I know you’re smarter than that.”
She lowers her brows a notch. “Don’t do that. You have no idea what’s happened since you left.”
“The volcano blew. The Tiders came into our camp.”
“It’s not as simple as you think. He saved us. Me, Amira, Nova, Ellison, and Olin. We’d be dead if he hadn’t saved us from Ingrid’s men.”
“He’s a fucking opportunist. Pax is a hooker working every corner, loyal to whoever benefits him most and subject to turn on them at any time.”
She puts a palm on my chest, holding my gaze. “Either you trust me or you don’t. Which one is it?”
I scowl. That fucker wasted no time trying to win Briar over. “It’s him I don’t trust.”
“I’m asking you to trust me by tolerating him. Will you do that?”
I look away, taking a deep breath.
She’s okay. I was a wreck the entire trip back here, worried she wouldn’t be. But she’s safe and we’re together again.
Reluctantly, I nod. “But if he tries to hurt one of us, he’s dead.”
“He won’t.”
I love that she still has enough goodness to trust people. In this case, though, she’s trusting a snake. When Gussie finally got to the island, I would have run here without stopping if I’d known Briar was holed up in a cave with fucking Pax.
She adds her other palm to my chest, looking up at me. “Before we go in there, I just want to say I love you. I love you. I love you. I never thought I’d get to tell you that again.”
