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The motor stops, and a chill comes over me. I’m being hunted again, without a vehicle. And something tells me Alessandro is going to be even more forceful this time.
I take off into the woods, neck prickling with goosebumps.
***
Maybe 20 minutes later, I’m feeling slightly less anxious. I haven’t seen or heard a hint of Alessandro, and despite the tantalizing dread of knowing that can’t last forever, my escape seems to be going pretty well so far. I munch my Oreos, trying to chew quietly.
Then, in the distance, the motor starts. And it doesn’t seem to be staying in one place. My heart thumps as I realize this can only mean one thing:
My husband has the ATV again.
The good part is, now I know his location on the island, at least roughly.
The bad part is, it sounds like he’s coming right at me. The rumbling just keeps getting louder and louder, until I realize in a flash that I have to move.
I scurry through the bushes, ducking my head, and then, to my terror, Alessandro rides right past me on the quad. He turns, and I’m sure that he sees me. I take off running, ditching the backpack so I can move faster.
The motor screams behind me as I start to full-on sprint. I’m going in the opposite direction he was, so I know he must be scrambling to make a U-turn. I just run and run and run, and somehow, the engine doesn’t seem to be getting louder. Heaving for breath, I drop down and crouch behind a big rock.
I can still hear him driving, searching for me. But it’s obvious that he doesn’t know where I am. I remain in my hiding spot, formulating a plan for my next move.
***
Alessandro
Fuck! I just had her! I can’t believe I let her slip away. Where the fuck did she go? Grunting in frustration, I pull the ATV to a stop and check the video feed on the tablet.
All I can see are palm trees swaying gently against the sky. I stare at the image before realizing the obvious truth: she must have gotten rid of the backpack.
There goes my biggest advantage.
I circle the island one more time, then drive back to the beach house to regroup. Pulling up the quad, I stomp to the front door and pull it open.
Or at least, I try to. It doesn’t open. Shaking my head in confusion, I twist the handle harder.
The door is locked.
I guess I must have locked it from the inside before I left. Shaking my head, I go around to the other door.
Also locked. Okay, shit. In my hurry to leave, I didn’t bring the keys. I’m trying to figure out what I should do, and that’s when I hear a tapping at the window.
Ava waves at me from inside the beach house, sipping a glass of orange juice. She dangles the keys in front of the glass, grinning.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ava
“What? I can’t hear you,” I say to Alessandro as he rages at me from the other side of the window. “I’m going upstairs to take a nap. I’ll talk to you later?”
I go upstairs, tremendously pleased with myself. I’d say I’m winning this kinky game of hide and seek.
The sound of breaking glass from below instantly causes me to rethink. Peering down the stairwell to the bottom floor, I see my husband reaching through the glass panel on one of the doors to unlock it. He lets himself inside.
Shit. Not winning.
He rushes to the staircase and starts stomping up it, forcing me to run up the steps. At this point, it feels pointless: I’m trapped. Unless I can go out a window…
As I fumble with the window screen, I hear his feet hit the second floor. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me away from the window.
