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She’s dabbing at her eyes with the tissues I left her. “Thanks so much for coming. I hated to pull you away from whatever you were up to, but what happened to…” her lower lip trembles as she tries to get her late husband’s name out, “M—Mark, happened to your husband too.”
“I know. Did they say what happened?”
“I only know there was what the brothers call foul play.” She shakes her head. Her eyes go stony and cold, her chilling tone sending shivers down my spine. “This was no accident.”
“Oh.” My head spins. At the time, I’d been told my husband had ascended too quickly from deep water. And that dissolved nitrogen formed bubbles in his blood. That he’d died of decompression sickness, or “the bends.” “And you weren’t with him on the scuba excursion?”
“No. It was the only thing I wanted to sit out on. We went snorkeling together, but I went shopping while he was scuba diving. I didn’t care for all the equipment.”
Someone wanted him alone, just like my late husband. My stomach turns as I think of what could have happened to the men. Were they drowned? Were they given faulty air tanks? My hands begin to shake. I feel queasy.
I’m not so sure I’m the best help for Shannon. I’m barely holding on right now. I feel so weak, and I just want to be in Nikolaos’s arms.
I want to know more. I also don’t want to think about this at all. It’s so hard. “I don’t know what to say. I need to talk to Rockland.”
“You should.” She gives a little laugh. “Maybe he can give you more information than he gave me. He told me basically nothing.”
“To keep you safe.” I put my hand gently over hers. “Rockland would only keep us in the dark if it was to protect us.”
“I know.” She takes a sip of her tea. “It’s still hard.”
I ask her about the rest of the trip, getting her to smile at the good parts, the happy memories they’d made together. “Hold on to those thoughts,” I say. “When times get tough, you just keep thinking of those magical moments you had together.”
I change the subject, asking her questions about Ireland, trying to keep the mood light. She talks of her family and how much she misses them. Tess texts me to tell me Shannon hasn’t eaten much and to see if I can get some food into her. I spend twenty minutes naming every place I can think of that is allowed to deliver to the gates of the Village. Finally, we settle on soup from the French place on the corner.
Which only makes me think of Remy and his good cooking at the castle.
She has a bowl of soup and a roll. I put extra butter on the bread, trying to build in a few extra calories. After we eat, she’s fading fast, the chamomile and grief taking hold of her. I take her up to her bed, tucking her in like a child. I offer to stay with her, but she says she’ll be fine. She’s planning on taking a melatonin tablet and passing out.
I stay till she falls asleep, pulling the covers all the way up to her chin.
Aiden walks me back home and the moment I close the door, my phone rings. It’s Rockland. I’m sure Aiden informed him of my return.
Rockland is a powerful man. Tall with large muscles, dark, shorn hair, a cropped beard. He has the tattoo on his chest like the other brothers in Greece. Nikolaos has one too. It’s super sexy. Rockland’s a fearless leader, lethal and brilliant, but he hates attention on him. And he prefers to drive his old pickup truck, Thunder, over all the fancy sports cars he could afford.
He's an amazing leader. As caring as he is deadly. He’ll be anxious to speak to me and fill me in as best he can.
I pick up the phone with shaky hands. “Rockland. How are you?”
“I’ve been better. You never get over the pain of losing a brother. How are you, Charlie?”
“I’m holding up. Mark’s death has shaken the entire family, that’s for sure.”
“We’re having the celebration of life in a few weeks.”
“I’ll be sure to be there.”
“So, I’m guessing you’ve noticed the similarities between your late husband and Mark’s deaths.”
“Yes.” Thinking of Shannon, I swallow back the tears. “Too similar to be a coincidence.”
“Correct. I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you there was foul play when your husband was killed.” Hearing him say that word,killed,strikes my heart. Before now, we’d always said “died.” He died. Now, the past has changed.
“We thought the less you knew, the better,” Rockland says.
“It’s okay. I understand.” I think of the women in the boathouse. “I know some secrets are kept in order to keep people safe. What can you tell me?”
“I assume you know by now what we are doing on Dark Island.”
