Heart Thief

by Ker Dukey

  “Eli is my best friend—was Clara’s too.” She peels the skin on her banana back further and takes a bite, chewing and swallowing. I watch her neck move as she does.

  “Best friend,” Cash repeats, taking a swig from a water bottle.

  Well, that’s not too bad. I thought she was going to say her husband the way she tensed up. A wave of relief I’m not going to dissect washes over me.

  “She never spoke of him.” Cash frowns.

  “Is that it?” I ask, moving toward her, crowding her in. “He’s your best friend, that’s nice.” I take her banana and throw it in the trash. My balls are painfully tight in my slacks.

  Exhaling a long breath, she shakes her head. “No, we’re more than friends.”

  Fuck.

  “What do you mean more?” Cash asks.

  “He asked for my hand in marriage.”

  She talks like a lady from the eighteen hundreds.

  It shouldn’t make me feel like putting my fist through the wall. This is ludicrous, yet here we fucking are. “Is that why you ran away?” I ask, my tone biting.

  “Partly,” she dips her eyes to her lap. “Eli has always had plans for us since I was thirteen years old and he gave me my first kiss.”

  I knew she was familiar with intimacy. She didn’t flinch away from contact like I remember Clara doing with my brother. “I thought you weren’t allowed to be intimate with each other before marriage? Clara said that included kissing.” Cash frowns.

  “Eli doesn’t mind breaking that rule, and I…” she sighs, “I’m not like my father. I don’t believe as he does. I think life should be experienced. Sensations explored. I want passion, adventure. I want to live.”

  I knew there was something different about her. You can feel her need to explore and discover what she’s been missing out on. There’s an aura all around her.

  “But you didn’t want this with Eli?” I ask.

  “I didn’t feel that with Eli. There has to be more. I can’t believe what I feel when I’m with him is desire—passion is love.” She almost weeps with the need to be told she’s right.

  “He didn’t fulfill your needs,” I growl, my dick fully awake in my slacks.

  “I don’t think so.” She looks confused, perplexed.

  “Did you come when you were with him?” I ask.

  “Colt,” Cash warns, getting up and tugging me into the kitchen. I reluctantly allow him to do so.

  “What kind of fucking question is that?” he groans, pushing a hand through his hair.

  “An honest one.” I jerk a shoulder.

  “It’s inappropriate.”

  “Since when have you given a shit about what’s appropriate?” I almost laugh. When did he get knighted in sainthood?

  “Just go easy on her, okay?”

  I hold my hands up in surrender and smirk when he loosens the collar of his shirt.

  Her talking about sexual fulfillment is getting to him too. We go back through to the living space.

  “So, Eli not being good at sex was only part of the reason you fled, what was the other?” I ask, ignoring my brother’s death glare.

  “I have nothing to compare Eli too, so it’s unfair to call him bad, but yes, there was another reason.”

  “And that is?” Cash asks before I can say anything ‘inappropriate.’

  She unclasps the necklaces from her neck and drops them into Cash’s palm.

  “Clara was wearing this the night she left and didn’t return.”

  “It wasn’t on her body.” He frowns, examining the chain.

  Mona leaps to her feet, moving away from him. “How would you know that?” she gasps, fear taking over her features. I don’t want her to fear us.

  “He discovered her body,” I say for him, edging forward. He clutches the necklace, his head disappearing into his hands.

  “It was the worst night of my entire life. Still is,” he chokes out.

  “If she left the island wearing that, but it wasn’t on her body, how did you get it?” I ask, watching her to see if she’s going to break.

  “It was on my doorstep wrapped as a birthday gift yesterday.”

  Cash stands abruptly, making her jump. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means the killer took it from her body and is now taunting her sister with it.”

  Cash’s eyes cut to me. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “What doesn’t?” Mona asks, still wary of us.

  “Sit down, Mona. Let’s finish the story of how Cash met your sister. You have nothing to fear from us. We’d never hurt you,” I assure her, wanting it to be true.

  She keeps her distance but sits.

  “Our mother got sick,” I say, void of emotion. It destroyed us when she fucking abandoned us, our father telling us she didn’t care or love us. We were five years old. My sorrow grew into anger and resentment, but Cash just grieved the loss of her.

  “She came to see us. That’s how we found out about the kid, Eli,” Cash adds.

  “When it came down to it, your father said Jesus would heal her, but she knew that was fucking crazy. She needed doctors, hospital treatment.”

  “That’s why she left?” Mona asks.

  “She went back after my father paid for treatment.”

  “But she didn’t come back.” Mona shakes her head.

  “She did,” we both say in unison. “I brought her there myself,” Cash states.

  “So, she left a second time?”

  “What are you talking about?” Cash asks, confused.

  “Judith? Eli’s mother left the island a long time before Clara and was forbidden to return. She never came back.”

  What the fuck?

  Fourteen

  Cash

  I look to my brother, who has the same confused look as me.

  “You’re saying you haven’t seen Judith on the island since she left before Clara?”

  “Correct. Eli has always felt like he had to make it up to my father. He was ashamed of his mother, wouldn’t speak about her.”

  “That makes no sense. I took her back myself. It’s how I met Clara. She was down by the water. I knew I couldn’t dock, so my mother showed me a place to drop her. Your sister was there playing in the water.”

  “She never told me any of this.” Mona inhales, her hands clutching the necklace I gave back to her.

  “What did she tell you?” Colt asks, sitting on the arm of the couch.

  “That there’s a whole world out there, that when a boy you love kisses you, you get butterflies in your stomach and shivers in your spine,” she says dreamily, lost to the memory. “She only told me fairytales.”

  “They’re not just stories, islander.” Colt reaches over, brushing her hair over her shoulder. Her eyes dart to his, a bloom of red coloring her neck.

  “If your mother returned but was caught, she’d be in the dungeon.” Mona turns to look at me, lines creasing her brow.

  “She chose to go back. It’s her own fault where she ended up,” Colt grinds out, folding his arms.

  “Colt,” I admonish, “she’s still our mother.”

  “No, fuck that, she made her choice and it wasn’t us. Let her precious Eli save her.”

  “Eli thinks she never came home.” Mona hugs herself, the information becoming too much.

  “Not our problem,” Colt says again, and I think back to the night she asked me to take her home. I begged her to stay, to choose us, but she wouldn’t.

  “You’re right. Let her live by the rules of the place she chose to be,” I tell them.

  “We still haven’t identified who hurt my sister,” Mona murmurs.

  My father flickers into my head, the media and fucking mess the whole thing made. “They did make an arrest for her murder, Mona,” I tell her, getting narrowed eyes from Colt. I hate the fact that I have to inform her of these details, but she needs to know.

  “Who was it?” She stands.

  Colt groans, running his hands through his hair
. “Our father.”

  “What?” she looks between us.

  “He denied it,” I add.

  “But you said he hates our kind…and hated her.” She nods, the cogs of her brain turning.

  “That doesn’t mean he’s capable of killing someone in such a brutal way,” I defend. Fuck, I want to believe that, but on the other hand I understand he’s a ruthless monster.

  “Take me to his dungeon,” she demands.

  Colt’s eyes cut to me. “He’s not in a dungeon. He didn’t go to prison. He’s rich, powerful. His lawyers got him off.”

  I can tell she doesn’t understand,

  Colt goes to her, taking her hands in his, lowering himself so he’s within her eye line.

  “There wasn’t enough evidence to get him a prison sentence. He is free in the world living his life.”

  “So he could have brought the gift, the necklace?” she asks.

  He wouldn’t have the knowledge of when Mona’s birthday was, would he?

  “It doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t have the motive, not really. Unless…” I ponder.

  “Unless what?” she asks.

  “Unless he’s still bitter over our mother and is getting back at your father.”

  Why wait five years?

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Colt announces.

  “And what’s that?” I ask.

  “We go see him, bring Mona with us.”

  “No.” I jump up. “We shouldn’t give him the chance to see she’s here. If he did it, he would have access to hurt her.”

  “He can’t hurt her with us there, and we’ll take her to his club so there’s an audience. He wouldn’t risk trying anything.”

  “And…what? Just ask him straight out?” I mock.

  “Why the fuck not? Let’s just put her in front of him. If he recognizes her, we’ll detect—we’ll see it in his fucking eyes.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” I ask. “What then?”

  “Then we know it wasn’t him who sent the necklace.”

  “It sounds fucking risky.”

  “Don’t be a pussy, Cash. He has no power over us anymore. We own everything but that club. And if he shows signs of recognition, I’ll take that too and more.”

  “What more can you take?” I ask.

  “His fucking pulse.”

  Fifteen

  Mona

  Things are so different here. Sound, light, touch—it all feels heightened. Like I’ve been living in a dream and I’m just now waking up. Rumbling of music vibrates all around us as we enter the place Cash called a club. There are people everywhere, gyrating against each other to music I’ve never heard before.

  Lights embedded in the floor and walls offer the only source of ambiance, giving the space a dark pulse. There’s a sharp taste in the air that reminds me of the drink Colt gave me that burned my throat.

  Heat thickens the air as people grind and stir with the beat. My heart pounds heavily in my chest as I watch them. They look so…so free, weightless, like they’re dancing in the water.

  “Drink?”

  “Like the fiery one?” I ask, wary.

  His smile renders me mute. “I’ll get you something sweet. Stay by Cash’s side.”

  Cash slips his hand in mine, making my eyes drop there. A spark ignites, like when Colt touched me. “You okay?” he asks, and I just nod. I feel good. I came here chasing a phantom into the darkness and found light and beauty. Colt and Cash aren’t scary or evil. They evoke a warmth inside me, and I want to chase that feeling. “You want to dance?”

  “I’ve never heard music like this before.” I shake my head, and he chuckles, pulling me amongst the people moving their bodies in time with the beat.

  “Just feel it,” he whisper-yells at me, pulling me against his body.

  He’s hard planes of muscle beneath his shirt. A fluttering of butterflies takes flight inside me from our proximity. He brings my hands up and slings them around his neck, hugging me closer. Our bodies entwine. It’s almost obscene.

  I’d be sent to be cleansed for this back on our island…but why? Why does this feel so good, so fun, if it’s wrong?

  Energy fills my veins, my skin heating. I sway my hips, swinging. “Like this?” I ask, glee exploding inside me. This feels good—really, really good!

  I see girls tossing their hair and try it myself, losing myself to the beat of the music. Another hard body pushes against me from behind, caging me in. I lean into Colt, his scent surrounding me. I dance with them both, carefree for the first time in my life. No wonder Clara didn’t want to return for me. If this is the life she was living, I never want to go back either.

  The song changes slightly, and I dance between the brothers for another song. I feel eyes on us, watching, dissecting. “They’re just wondering who you are. We’re well known, little islander, and it’s been quite some time since we’ve been seen out together,” Colt whispers in my ear, observing the people watching us too.

  “Why?” I ask, breathless, a sheen of sweat dusting my skin.

  “Because Cash fell in love and I didn’t,” he whispers into my ear, his message cryptic. Does he mean Clara?

  “Let’s get our drinks.” He clasps my hand as Cash takes the other.

  He leads us to a curtain, which gets pulled open by a giant man, like the one who brought me to Colt after finding me on his property.

  There are seats and a table. The table is covered with glasses, all full of different colored liquids.

  Colt whispers something into the big man’s ear, then takes a seat, pulling me into a position between them. He reaches out, picking up a pink drink. “Try this.”

  “There’s fruit in it.” I gasp, excited to eat the strawberry bobbing in the glass.

  “Yes, there is.” He chuckles.

  I take a tentative sip, wary in case it burns my throat. Bubbles pop over my tongue, a burst of flavor caressing my taste buds. “That’s gorgeous!” I exclaim.

  “Yes, yes it is.” He gazes at me, his eyes dropping to my lips. Heat builds in my lower stomach and pools between my legs. With just a look, I feel flustered and bewildered. It’s dangerous, and I love every second of his attention.

  Colt stiffens abruptly, his eyes flicking to someone over my shoulder.

  I follow his gaze to see an older man who’s joined us in our little corner of this club. A beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair clutches his arm, her smile sugary sweet, aimed straight at Colt. “Annemarie?” he says, bewildered.

  “Oh, sorry, son, didn’t you know I’ve been seeing Annie?”

  Son?

  This must be their father. I see it now. They have similar features, hard jawlines and penetrating eyes.

  “You really are pathetic,” Cash grinds out.

  “Now, now, no need to get hostile. I’m not the one walking into your club.”

  “Annemarie?” Colt snorts, shaking his head.

  “You were done with her long ago, Colt, and it looks like you’ve found someone else to occupy your bed.” He turns his gaze on me. “Hello,” he drawls. Anger taking hold, causing my muscles to coil.

  “Does she speak?” He chuckles, looking between the brothers and then to the one they call Annemarie.

  “Not to assholes like you,” Cash spits out.

  Holding his hands in the air, their father steps back. “Ouch. So she’s here with both of you. Since when did you start sharing again?”

  “Do you recognize her?” Colt asks.

  “Should I?” He’s curious now, watching me more closely. “She does look familiar. Have we fucked?” he croons.

  Colt is on his feet before I can blink, his fist connecting with his father’s face, sending him tumbling backward, Annemarie being dragged down with him. She screams as they plow through the curtain into the crowd of people who all scurry to clear the space. Wrapping an arm around my waist, Cash guides me around them.

  “You little fucking shit,” their father roars.

  Colt insp
ects his knuckles, then pulls on his jacket to straighten himself up.

  “That’s been a long time coming. Sorry you had to fall with this piece of shit, Annemarie—in more ways than one.”

  We tip out into the night, the moon full and round in the sky. Energy courses through my body.

  “That was…fun.” I grin, the drink from before swirling in my bloodstream.

  “He didn’t recognize her,” Cash announces.

  “I know.” Colt nods.

  “So it wasn’t him.”

  “It doesn’t mean the person who killed Clara is the same one who gave Mona back the necklace. Maybe someone found it.”

  I hadn’t thought of that.

  A shiver ripples through me. I feel eyes on me from the shadows, watching.

  “Can we get out of here?” I ask.

  “Sure. Let’s go back to my place, sleep on it, and decide what the plan should be,” Colt decides.

  “I want to swim in the ocean,” I announce.

  “It’s dark.” Cash chuckles.

  “I don’t care. We’re forbidden from doing so on the island. I want to do everything, experience all my urges, live out every dream and wish,” I exclaim.

  Cash looks to Colt, who shrugs and does his sexy smile.

  Sixteen

  Colt

  “Is this wise?” Cash whines, scratching his head.

  “The girl lived surrounded by the ocean and was forbidden from swimming in it,” I remind him. She could tell me she wanted to swim around the world and I’d be there to see it happen.

  “I’mma go get some drinks,” he groans, and I smile. I can’t think of anything better than alcohol and nighttime swimming. Wise indeed.

  I watch the beautiful islander begin to strip from her clothes. I’m sure there will be a swimsuit amongst the clothes from Annemarie’s overnight stays. My father thought he could rattle me by having her on his arm. There’s no doubt he’s been waiting for the moment he could parade her around to anger me, but the truth is, she was company on lonely nights. When I realized she wanted more, I stopped our fling.

  “What the fuck?” Cash almost drops the bottle of Jack and fruity cider he brought for Mona. “She’s just wearing her panties,” he states.