Page 82 of The Pilot

He’d made a mental note to learn more about the geography of the area, so if he was ever in this kind of situation again, he wouldn’t feel as helpless.

Donny had told them to get out of the boat, and Kash did as ordered, helping Ginger out.

As soon as they were on the dock, Owen backed up.

“You can’t leave us here, Donny!” Ginger had cried frantically.

“Sure I can. Got the idea from the news story about that chick, the one who was brought out to one of the deserted islands around here by that crazy dude.”

Kash knew exactly who Donny was talking about—Marit.

He froze. Was Donny going to try to kill them, like that Lucas guy had planned for Marit?

But Donny had just laughed and called out, “Good luck! Have fun with the nerd!”

And with that, Owen had turned the boat and zoomed away.

Kash was extremely relieved Donny and the others hadn’t joined them on the island. Leaving them alone was definitely better than them trying to hurt them.

“Oh my God! We’re going to die out here!” Ginger wailed.

Even as he rolled his eyes, Kash was turning to examine the island. It was definitely deserted. There were no boats, no cars, no sound whatsoever.

But what there was?

Houses. Well, cabins, to be exact. They looked to be completely closed up, but that would be easy enough to deal with. Immediate relief filled Kash.

They’d been left on some random island, but there were cabins. Which meant they wouldn’t have to build a shelter, and maybe, if they were lucky, there’d even be some food inside the structures. It wouldn’t be fun to be stuck here, but at least they wouldn’t freeze, and hopefully they wouldn’t starve.

Kash wasn’t that great at outdoorsy stuff, much to his grandfather’s disappointment, but he didn’t mind getting dirty. Hell, he’d sat in Fort Bad Assery all summer, pulling more ticks than he could count off his body and happily lying around in the dirt. He could handle hanging out for a couple of days in a deserted cabin. Piece of cake. It would be like Fort Bad Assery on crack.

And crazy as it might sound, Kash couldn’t help but think about how dark the sky would be at night out here, with absolutely no light pollution. He smiled.

“What on earth are you smiling about? He left us! No one knows where we are! We’re gonna die!” Ginger yelled, then promptly burst into tears—again.

Even though this girl had been totally awful to him, Kash felt sorry for her. She was obviously spoiled, and if she’d ever been camping, it was probably in an air-conditioned RV, and never in the winter.

Thinking about the times he’d slept freezing his butt off in his mom’s minivan, but refusing to complain because there was literally nothing his mom could do about the situation, determination swam through him. He and his mom had been through some pretty bad stuff, and this absolutely wasn’t great, but it couldn’t touch what he’d already endured.

Donny didn’t want to kill them, he only wanted to scare them. To feel superior. To get back at Ginger for breaking up with him. This was temporary, he had no doubt.

Moving toward Ginger, Kash put his arm around her shoulders. She was a few inches taller than he was, and the angle was awkward, but he couldn’t not try to comfort her. Protecting was in his genes. He’d been taking care of his mom for years in whatever way he could. He’d do the same for Ginger, even if she’d been nothing but mean to him. She was Donny’s victim, just as he was. Like it or not, they were in this together.

“We’ll be okay,” he told her. “Look, there’s a cabin. We’ll go up there and find a way in. It’ll be warmer inside, and maybe we can even find something to eat. If not, I’ll go looking through the other cabins.”

Ginger sniffed and nodded miserably.

Kash led her off the dock and out of the cold wind. As they reached the trees, it felt considerably warmer. The next couple of days would be uncomfortable, but they’d be all right.

Kash worried more about what his mom would think when she finally discovered he never made it to Portland. Hadn’t been texting her. That she’d been tricked.

She’d panic. Be scared out of her mind. And he hated that most of all. Hated Donny even more for that. He could handle the asshole’s taunting. But making his mom frantic with worry? That was unforgivable.

Thank God she had Linc. He’d take care of her. Keep her calm. Organize search parties to find him. He wouldn’t give up until he figured out what happened and where he was.

“Come on, there’s a trail,” he told Ginger, pointing out the rough path through the trees.

She sniffed. “I’m cold. And hungry. I want to go home!”