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CHAPTERNINETEEN
Isaac
It’sthe sound of silence that wakes me up. The first thing I do is look at my wristwatch. It’s twenty after four. Ana and Billy left an hour ago. I leap up, almost knocking the side table off the wall in the process.Fuck, fuck, fuck. I slept on the job.
I wrench open the door to my suite, barely noticing the blanket that has slipped to the floor. I don’t call out for her, even though every part of me wants to. I can’t let her know that even a second of daytime has passed where I haven’t had eyes on her and her safety. I walk hastily though the villa, my eyes scanning every corner, every surface. There’s no sign of life anywhere. I’m on the deck in an instant. Nothing. No empty glass or coffee cup, no indent on the lounger where her weight has been lightly pressed. I turn on my heel and scoot to her suite. I press my ear to the door and knock.
“Aurelia, you in there?”
When there’s no reply I push open the door and walk straight in. The room is in slight disarray, like any teenager’s room would be, I guess. Drawers are open, pens are scattered, the contents of a bag are strewn across the bed—a beige trench coat I’ve never seen her wear, various sunglasses and pairs of shoes that don’t look like anything she would put on her feet.She been playing dress-up in here, or what?
“Aurelia?” I shout, loudly. “You here?”
My pulse vibrates in my ears and I silently curse it. I can hear even less with the throbbing of blood against my temples. It quickly dawns on me she isn’t in the villa. I run to the main entrance and fling open the door, my head whipping left to right, up and down the boardwalk. Seeing nothing, I narrow my eyes and scan the shoreline. No sign of Luca, Ana or Billy. No sign of any golf buggies. No sign of any helicopter. No sign of Aurelia.
Years of working as a CIA operative have conditioned me to remain calm under this kind of pressure but, for the first time in my career, my heartrate is through the roof and my limbs are stunned. They want to move but they don’t know where to. I know the resort is secure. I know we have eyes on every possible access and exit point. I know the guys are the best in the business. But I also knows there’s a strange woman loitering around. If she can find a way to get onto the island undetected, there must be a way off it. I want to break my own bones for not addressing this sooner. I’ve got complacent. I’ve got carried away with simply being around Aurelia. My vision’s been blurred; my professional integrity compromised. And now, the one person I need to put every ounce of my focus into protecting, is missing.
I whip my phone out of my shorts. “Luca,” I pant. “Aurelia’s gone. She’s not in the villa.”
“What are you talking about? She was right there when I left. I watched her go inside.”
“Fuck!” I rush out, tugging my hair. I can’t believe what I’ve done. “I fell asleep, Luca. I don’t know where she’s gone. I’ve looked all over the villa.”
Luca speaks slowly. “When did you fall asleep?”
“Not sure. Just before Ana and Billy left, I guess.”
“What were you thinking, Isaac?” Luca’s words smack with disappointment but there’s no malice or judgement behind them. He’s too good a friend for that.
“I wasn’t thinking. I was too tired to think. Damn Bianchi and his midnight delivery from Mexico. I can’t juggle this stuff. I thought I could…”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Isaac. We’ll find her. I’m on my way to the CCTVs now. Stay where you are in case she comes back to the villa. I’ll call Hud at the marina. If she went down there, he’ll find her.”
I nod, even though he can’t see me, then I say the words that are turning my stomach as I think them. “What about the woman?”
“We haven’t seen her in a while, and Jax is on the monitors. He’s got eyes like a hawk. We’d know if she was back on the island. Relax, Isaac. We’ll find Aurelia.”
I hang up and scan the coastline again. It’s calm and empty but for a few wandering guests in bathing suits.
My breathing is short and shallow.
Where the fuck are you, Aurelia?
