Tyler noticed. “We need to hydrate. I suggest we get a drink from the water I boiled earlier, put some more wood on the fire to keep it going awhile, and then head back up to the pool.”
She nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan.”
“And I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on sitting around and waiting for someone to show up. I’d rather be proactive about our rescue. If we head to the highest part of the island—the ridge of cliffs that seems to separate one side of the island from the other, we’ll be able to see much further. Plus, I’ve not seen the other side of the island yet. You never know, we might find some sign of life there, even if it’s just a fishing boat or something.”
“I’d give my right arm for a fishing boat right now.”
He shot her a smile. “Yeah, me too.”
Together, they headed back along the beach. Charlie couldn’t pretend she wasn’t relieved to leave Agatha’s body behind.
Charlie caught sight of something floating on the breakers, and she drew to a halt. Something else had washed up on shore, this time at the bottom of the cliff, near the rock pools where she’d caught the crab. Her stomach turned, her heart immediately pounding hard, her breath short. She reached out and caught hold of Tyler’s forearm.
“What ...?” he started and then caught sight of her face and followed the line of her gaze. “It’s okay.” He reassured her. “It’s not what you think. In fact, it may even be useful.”
Leaving her side, he took off at a jog across the sand. With more care, he balanced across the rocks and headed toward where the waves hit the coast and the shape of something swelled and deflated with the motion of the sea.
Now she was closer she could see that whatever the thing was, at least it wasn’t another body.
Tyler bent and scooped the item from the water. He caught hold of the corner and pulled and pulled, dragging the thing in as if he was pulling in a fishing line.
The parachute!
At the end of the masses of material, water sodden and heavy, Tyler heaved out the backpack that had held the parachute and been strapped to his shoulders. He lifted it above his head and grinned. “Now we’re in business!”
What on earth did he think they could do with a parachute? It wasn’t as if they could sky-dive off the island.
But then she realized she was being shortsighted. The material could be used for plenty of things—a bed to sleep on, shelter from the sun, even a fishing net.
Charlie clambered over the tops of the rocks, ignoring the sharp ones threatening to split open the bottoms of her feet, to help him.
Caught up within the material was something long, black and sodden.
“What is that?” she asked, frowning.
Tyler clambered over and untangled the object. He lifted the item up and water poured out from it. “It’s the boom from the sound guy’s equipment.”
The moment he said the words, she recognized it. Twisting her head left and right, her eyes scouring the coastline, and she realized a number of other objects had also washed up.
A large, curved piece of metal batted back and forth with the force of the waves. She turned from the parachute and splashed her way through the breakers. “Is this what I think it is?” she called out.
Tyler hurried over and bent to inspect the metal. “If you’re thinking it looks like a piece of the plane, then I think you’re probably right.”
She brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh, God. So the whole thing might have broken apart when it hit the water.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“No, but I’d say this is a pretty damn big clue!”
She continued to walk along the water’s edge, her gaze skirting the sand and numerous pieces of plastic refuse that were tangled with driftwood. Something else stood out to her and she bent to untangle the object.
A set of black over-the-head headphones. Exactly the kind the pilot had been wearing.
Her heart sank deeper into her stomach, her lips pressed together in a tight line. If Agatha’s body hadn’t been enough to prove to her that the plane had gone down, she thought all of this debris would be.
Tyler gave a shout and she turned to see him holding a large piece of leather and foam. “I think this might be a piece of one of the seats.”
Charlie chewed her lower lip and nodded. He was right.
Something else, right on the edge, where the cliff turned into another bay, caught her attention. A spark of recognition jolted through her. “Oh, look!”
She climbed back across the rocks, too excited to pay any attention to her feet.
“Be careful, Charlie,” Tyler called out after her. “You don’t want a broken ankle out here.”
She reached the object and, balancing precariously, lifted it from the water. “My backpack!” She almost squealed with glee when she discovered her flip-flops still attached to the front of the bag. All her stuff would be sodden with seawater, but at least she would have some of her belongings with her. She’d never been so happy to see something that belonged to her in her whole life.
Charlie lifted one of the sandals to her lips and kissed the sole. She glanced over to see Tyler standing on the rock, one hand shading his eyes, watching her with a smile on his face. He looked like a model out of a photo shoot, and for a moment she had to remind herself about their position.
Clambering back over the rocks, she slung her backpack over one shoulder, its weight quadrupled due to the waterlogged stuff. Seawater poured down her back and soaked into her clothes but she didn’t care. She had more clothing in the bag, and now she’d be able to take the clothes up to the freshwater pool, rinse the items out and dry them off, and be able to change into fresh clothes. Plus, she wouldn’t be forced to wear Tyler’s over-sized shoes to stop her feet from being mangled on the way up. He might have said her choice of footwear wasn’t appropriate, but it was a hell of a lot better than nothing!
“Here, let me help with the parachute,” she said reaching out to grab a corner. Even though she was already struggling, Tyler wouldn’t be able to manage the whole thing on his own. He might be strong, but the parachute was also waterlogged and not the easiest shape to carry.
In the end, they resorted to dragging the huge swath of material across the ground, with Charlie running back to unhook it every time it snagged on a rock. They pulled the parachute across the sand, leaving a damp trail as they went. They dumped it down, together with Charlie’s backpack and the pack Tyler had been wearing, which was attached to the other end of the parachute, onto the beach beside the fire.
Charlie could barely remember what she’d packed, and eagerly emptied the contents out across the palm fronds they’d slept on the previous night, ensuring the items wouldn’t get any sandier than necessary. Tyler did the same, though the only part of the parachute bag he’d kept anything in was the pockets in the straps, so he didn’t have much—a pocket knife, a small tin containing an iron flint, a lighter which had been sealed in a Ziploc baggie.
Tyler turned his attention to her stuff, showing no embarrassment at picking through her bikinis and changes of underwear. She wanted to protest, but this wasn’t a time to be precious over her things. She knew he was looking for items that would help them, not perving over her panties. From the jumble of wet material, he pulled out her little bag of cosmetics and some sanitary products. A couple of bars of dark chocolate which were still intact but probably tasted awful. What the hell, she thought, I’ll eat them anyway. Perfume.
He held up the little bottle. His eyes lifted to hers, his eyebrows arched. “Perfume? Seriously? Who the hell were you trying to smell nice for? The rats?”
She snatched the bottle off him, heat rising in her cheeks. “It was just habit,” she mumbled, unable to look at him. The truth was, she’d packed the fragrance for him. It all seemed stupid now.
“Now this may come in useful ...” He held up a small first aid kit which she’d thought to pack. She hadn’t wanted to appear as t
hough she’d not thought to bring anything practical.
Tyler opened the lid. “The plastic box seems to have kept most of the contents dry,” he said, poking through the small selection of bandages, antiseptic wipes, and safety pins. He fished something out. “Now these might be handy.”
Her mouth dropped open. Between his fingers he held a couple of small foil squares. Condoms!
What was he implying? Not that she minded too much, but even so, wasn’t he being a bit forward?
He caught the shocked expression on her face and threw back his head, laughter bursting from his mouth. “Oh, no.” He wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that. They’re great to keep things dry—like the lighter or flint.”
Her cheeks flamed hot. “I didn’t think you meant anything else,” she muttered, unable to look at him. Was the idea of having sex with her really so laughable?
Tyler pocketed the condoms, together with the penknife and a couple of other items into his khaki shorts. She quickly grabbed a turquoise bikini and a clean tank top, meaning to rinse them out in the pool. She also slipped on her flip-flops, relieved to have something that fitted covering her feet.
The day grew hotter by the minute. At least deeper into the island there would be more shade. She longed for the dappled shade of the pool and the cool, clear water. The memory of the water from the small waterfall made her mouth even drier. She took a drink from the water Tyler had already boiled, though it was lukewarm, and tasted faintly of dirt, and then picked up the empty bottles in which they would collect more water.
Charlie got to her feet and dusted herself down. “Right, then. Let’s go.”
Chapter Ten
They trudged through the forest, following the natural path created by the creatures which inhabited the island, the same trail they used to reach fresh water.
As she walked, something dawned on Charlie. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn’t need to worry about distant paparazzi cameras focusing on her as she went about her day to day life. She didn’t need to think about which ‘friend’ might currently be snapping her image or recording video footage on their cell phone to sell to the press.
Ironically, she’d embarked upon this adventure expecting her every move to be filmed and broadcast to the nation, but she’d ended up with the most—albeit enforced—privacy she’d ever known.
She watched the broad, strong back of the man who walked just ahead. His muscles flexed beneath his t-shirt as he moved, sweat and humidity causing the material to cling to his sculpted form. There would be nothing to stop Tyler from selling his story once they made it off this island—assuming they ever did make it off the island—but at least he wouldn’t have any sordid pictures to go with his story. Not that he had any story to sell anyway. Nothing like that had happened between them.
A flash of Tyler dangling the condom packets in front of her face popped into her head, and something deep in the pit of her stomach tightened with a pleasurable pulse.
Not that she didn’t want it to, however.
Strangely, despite knowing they were stranded here, and after the shock of finding Agatha’s body, she felt something that had been weighing heavily on her shoulders lighten. The space behind and around her seemed to open, the air growing thinner, even though they were now sheltered in thick foliage and surrounded by trees. It was elating, this sensation of freedom. For once in her life, she didn’t need to worry about being watched twenty-four-seven.
Tyler glanced back at her. “Everything okay?”
She gave a rueful smile. “Other than being stranded on an uninhabited island, you mean?”
“Yeah, other than that.”
She nodded. “Yeah, actually, I’m surprisingly okay. I just realized this is the first time in forever that I haven’t needed to worry about a camera being pointed at me.”
“Really?” he said, looking over his shoulder at her as he walked. “You get that a lot?”
“Every minute of the day.”
“But you must have been away from the cameras when you were at home.”
She shrugged. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” An uncomfortable memory rose inside her, and though she would normally have pushed it away, this time she allowed the recollection to flow from her lips. “There was this one time I discovered my landlord had bugged my apartment with tiny cameras hidden in the lights and the drape railings.” She’d never spoken about this with anyone other than her father and her therapist, but for some reason she felt the need to tell Tyler. She wanted to purge the memory from her body. “I’d never felt more violated,” she continued. “My father threatened to sue and have the landlord prosecuted, and none of the video footage or images made it online or to the press, but I kept thinking of all the times he’d been watching when I’d thought I’d been alone.”
Tyler drew to a standstill. “That’s fucking awful. What a piece of shit.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
The truth was, she’d found herself running every moment of her life in those rooms over and over in her head. Times she’d walked around naked, thinking she was alone, had squeezed pimples in the mirror, had scratched her butt, and of course, pleasured herself in both the shower and in bed. The idea that someone had been watching the whole time had made her sick—literally. She’d thrown up after she’d found the first camera, positioned in one of the spotlights in the bathroom. After that, she’d promised herself she’d never live in rented accommodation again, and her father had complied by buying her an apartment in Los Angeles. But after his embezzlement was discovered, all of his possessions had been reclaimed, and that included her apartment. She’d found herself homeless and needing to rent once again.
“So what happened?” Tyler asked.
“Nothing much. I moved out. The pictures and video footage were never published. End of story.”
His face darkened with anger, and his fists clenched at his sides. “I’d have beaten the guy to a pulp.”
Her heart fluttered at the idea of Tyler standing up for her. In a way, she wished her father had done the same thing, rather than just using more money to make the problem disappear.
She offered him a smile. “Thanks.”
Tyler huffed angry air out through his nostrils and turned back around to keep walking. “Well, I hope the guy got what was coming to him.”
She didn’t respond. She wanted to forget the whole horrible incident had ever happened.
Her breath left her body in gasps as she slogged through the undergrowth, following Tyler. Despite being dehydrated, and probably still in shock from the discovery of her agent’s body and the realization that she was stranded here, the journey seemed to take less time. The small thing of having her own shoes on her feet helped. It made her understand how important the little things were.
Finally, they broke into the clearing where the pool and small waterfall were located. The tranquility of the pool and the sound of running water only served to help further soothe Charlie’s frayed nerves. Dappled shade, lush, green vegetation ... if she could only forget they had no way of getting off the island and that there wasn’t a hotel and bar right around the corner, she’d have been in paradise.
The sight of the free-running water made her throat constrict with thirst. She suddenly needed a drink worse than anything else she’d ever needed in her life. Unable to reach the water fast enough, she put on a burst of speed, pushing past Tyler to get to the small waterfall first. The warm, gritty water Tyler had boiled back at the camp was nothing like the sweet nectar gushing from the rock. Charlie held onto the rock and leaned forward, placing her mouth beneath the flow.
“Charlie,” came Tyler’s scolding voice. “Remember what I said about predators.”
She pulled away from the water long enough to say, “I think you’ll let me know if a mountain lion is about to pounce on me.”
But she was aware of what had happened the last time she’d drank too much w
ater, so she splashed her face a couple of times and moved away.
“Your turn,” she said. “I’ll watch out for all those wild animals.”
He lifted his eyebrows at her sarcasm, but she just flashed him a smile.
Tyler took her place to get a drink. Charlie glanced down at her backpack, and the clothes she’d brought with her. What she wanted more than anything was to wash off, and rinse out all her salty belongings. Her skin felt tight with salt from the ocean, and the sun, and everything she wore was stiff like cardboard. She had brought her bikini with her, so it wasn’t as though she’d be stripping down to her bra and panties this time.
She cast a quick glance at Tyler. He was occupied, leaning across the rock face to cup handful after handful of water from the flow to his mouth.
Decision made, Charlie grabbed her bag and hurried behind a small clump of bushes. Faster than she’d ever changed before, she yanked off her t-shirt and shorts, quickly followed by her underwear. She pulled on her bikini bottoms, wriggling them up her hips, and then tied her bikini behind her back, and at the nape of her neck.
“Charlie?” Tyler’s worried voice called to her.
“It’s okay,” she shouted back, her voice unnaturally bright. “I’m just getting changed!”
“Getting changed?”
She slipped out from behind the bushes, and tried not to blush as Tyler’s eyes widened at the sight of her in her bikini. She resisted the urge to cover her body with her arms, telling herself he’d seen her in her underwear not so long ago.
“I wanted a swim in something that wasn’t predominantly salt,” she said.
“Oh, sure, yeah.” He seemed to struggle to tear his eyes away from her. “Go for it.”
Charlie walked to the edge of the pool, conscious of Tyler’s eyes fixed on her. Her heart beat hard, every inch of her skin tingling as though his gaze were an actual caress. She sat on the edge of the pool, and then used her arms to lower herself in.
Dangerous Encounters: A Romantic Suspense Boxed Set Page 30
