‘Castle?’ I yelled, right as I heard him bellow ‘Alex?’
I scrambled up to my feet and he appeared above me sitting astride the large trunk blocking my path.
‘Stupid bloody woman,’ he yelled, with a mixture of fury and relief on his face. ‘You could have been killed.’
‘So could you!’ I yelled back. ‘I just saved your bloody life!’
‘By risking yours, never again, Alex. Take my damn hands,’ he barked. Ducking as a coconut whistled dangerously close past his head, he hauled me up, and I winced as I skinned my knees on the rough husk trying to straddle it opposite him. He lowered me down the other side, then slithered down to join me. ‘You’re hurt,’ he observed as he checked my knees and face, both of which felt sticky.
‘You too,’ I winced, reaching up to wipe the blood from his temple.
‘We’re nearly there, we can get patched up when we’re safe. Let’s go,’ he ordered, clasping my hand in his again. The anger in his eyes dissipated as he dipped his head and quickly kissed me. ‘Thank you.’
‘You saved me in London, just saving you back,’ I shouted. He smiled before his lips melded together in grim determination as we pushed on. We took a fork to the left, instead of the usual path up to the right of the house, and headed along a route that skirted the bottom wall of the garden, with his house set high above us. We had to jump over branches and keep our eyes peeled for more falling debris from the palm trees. I knew it wasn’t my imagination that the storm was worse, I was finding it hard to stay upright against the power of the wind.
‘Not much further,’ he yelled when we came to a clearing and I saw a white-washed bungalow to my left, which was already missing a chunk of its roof. I deduced it must be the security team’s residence. Moments later I heard yelling and looked up, squinting to see Alves in the distance, standing in the middle of an open patch of ground on the far side of the bungalow, waving us in.
I was exhausted, but dug down to find the last of my strength as Castle started to run towards him, pulling me behind.
‘Get in,’ Alves ordered as he bent down and lifted a metal trap door set into the rough rocky ground. ‘And don’t ever leave the shelter without my permission again!’
‘Now’s not the time,’ Castle yelled as he pulled me forwards and pushed me towards the hole in the ground, where I saw steps that led downwards.
‘I’ll kill you myself if this damn hurricane doesn’t do it for me,’ Alves shouted. I ran down the stairs, lights set into the sides of the wall guiding my way. When I reached the bottom, I took a deep breath of still and serene air, and didn’t even have a chance to wipe my eyes and look around before Rosie barrelled into me, sobbing.
‘It’s okay, Angel, I’m here and Daddy’s right behind me,’ I soothed, as I lifted her up into my arms and stroked her silky soft hair. She flung her arms around my neck and moments later Castle’s arms were wrapped around us both.
‘Daddy, I was so scared,’ Rosie cried.
‘I know, Angel, me too, but we’re safe in here. We just have to wait it out, like last time, remember?’
‘Do you have Bear?’ she asked as she lifted her tear-stained face to his. He shot me a look of concern and I shook my head. There was no point lying to her.
‘No, Angel, I’m sorry, I don’t.’
‘No,’ she cried, stiffening in my arms. ‘He’ll be so scared all alone, Daddy. Please go and save him.’
‘I can’t Rosie, it’s too dangerous,’ he said gently, which didn’t go down well at all.
‘But … you saved … Alex,’ she howled between gasps for air.
‘I love Alex.’
‘You … love Bear.’
I grimaced at him, as he pulled a “What the fuck am I supposed to do?” look at me.
‘I’ll go and get him,’ Alves said as he appeared at our side. ‘We’re nearly in the eye of the storm, we’ll have a few minutes of peace. I can run to Rosie’s room and hopefully be back before it hits again.’
‘You’re not risking your life for a damn bear, I’ll go,’ Castle warned him as he let go of us. I quickly walked away from their heated debate, taking Rosie with me.
‘We can’t leave him, Alex, we just can’t,’ she sobbed.
‘We’ll get him as soon as we can, okay? Please don’t cry, you know how much it upsets Daddy to see you cry.’
‘Come and sit down, Alex, you’re bleeding and shivering. Let me clean you up and get you dry,’ Sarah said as she appeared at my side. I nodded and blinked a few times as I looked around. The shelter was large, with bunk beds and a whole wall full of provisions. And it was so peaceful down here, you couldn’t hear any noise from up above at all.
‘Come to me while Alex is looked after, Rosie,’ Amanda called from her seat on one of the lower berths, holding out her arms to her.
‘No,’ Rosie retorted as she tightened her grip on me.
‘She’s fine here,’ I said, giving Amanda an apologetic smile. Sarah got me to sit next to her and I rearranged a still tearful Rosie in my lap as Sarah gently rubbed my hair with a towel, then cleaned my scuffed knees. She wrapped a blanket around me and tackled my jaw, making me wince with the burn of the alcohol wipes. ‘Everyone’s here and safe?’ I asked as I spotted a few of the security team, whose names I didn’t know.
‘All present and correct now you two have finally joined us,’ Alves said as he and Castle came over to join our huddle.
‘Where’s Ester?’ I asked Castle, doing another quick scan of the room, but not spotting her.
‘She left for Tortola with Miguel after your session.’
‘Ermmm, no, she didn’t. Her flight was cancelled.’
‘What? You’re saying she didn’t leave?’
‘I can’t say with one hundred percent certainty, but she told me that she was staying,’ I confirmed. ‘Can’t you check with Miguel?’
‘The cell tower is down, no communications,’ Alves said as a deep frown set on his face. ‘Okay, now we have no choice. The minute the wind drops I’ll go out and look for her.’
‘She’s my employee, I’ll go,’ Castle stated stubbornly.
‘What about Bear?’ Rosie asked, dragging her arm over her watery eyes.
‘The house is closer, you get Bear, I’ll get Ester,’ Castle ordered.
‘Ester is further away, I need to minimise your risk. I’ll get her, you get the bear,’ Alves shot back.
‘And I still pay your goddamned wages, what I say goes!’
‘Stop, stop!’ I yelled, as Rosie started to sob again. ‘For God’s sake, can’t you see she’s upset enough without you both having a pissing contest. Alves is right, Castle. He’s paid by you for a reason, to put your safety above his own. He’ll go and get Ester, you get Bear. And both of you will return in one piece with your cargo, that’s non-negotiable. Understood?!’
‘Clear,’ Alves replied, looking at me with a new-found respect.
‘Clear,’ Castle uttered, looking at me with heat in his eyes. I raised my eyebrows at him. Seriously, me yelling turned him on? I was going to have to do it more often.
‘Be safe,’ I warned him as he kissed me, then kissed the top of Rosie’s head.
We all watched as they headed back to the steps and climbed them, disappearing out of sight. No one spoke for a few minutes, until we heard the door clang and realised they’d found the right time to leave.
‘Sarah, do you have any eye wash?’ I asked, as I felt some tears trickling down my cheeks. ‘I have sand in them.’
‘Sure,’ she said, rummaging in her box with a knowing smile.
I did have sand in them, but I couldn’t deny it was the thought of never seeing Castle again that had started them watering this time.
‘It’s been ages, where are they?’ Sarah complained. I frowned at her, shaking my head as I flicked my gaze down at Rosie who had nearly fallen asleep on me. It had taken a long time for me to calm her down, I didn’t want her to get worked up again.
‘It
takes three minutes to run to the main house, three minutes back,’ said one of the team quietly, checking his watch. ‘Throw in an extra five minutes to get through the house and locate the bear, I have Mr. Castle due back in the next sixty seconds.’
‘What about Alves, Dwayne?’ Sarah asked.
‘Another five minutes, maybe ten if he’s having to carry her.’
‘And what about the calm in the eye of the storm? How long until that passes and we’re in the worst of it again?’ I asked.
‘About three minutes ago,’ Dwayne replied with a sobering look over at me as my heart sank.
We all fell silent again, everyone checking their watches repeatedly as the minutes ticked by. Both of them were well over Dwayne’s estimated return times now and I felt sick with nerves.
All of us whipped our heads in the direction of the steps as there was an almighty roar, the sounds of the storm filling the shelter as the door was opened.
Dwayne ran to the entrance, blocking our view as we heard voices talking, then he moved and Alves appeared with his arm around Ester, who was hopping on one foot, her other looking bruised and swollen. I was so relieved to see her, but my stomach dropped like a stone as I waited for Castle to appear as well, and he didn’t.
‘Where … where is he?’ I asked. My insides felt more churned up than the usually soft white sand of the ocean floor, right now, and my heart felt as if it was going to burst out of my chest.
‘Let me just catch my breath and I’ll go and look for him,’ Alves said, managing a sympathetic smile. ‘He probably figured it was safer to wait it out in the house than to try to get back here. It’s pretty solid.’
I attempted a feeble smile, but I knew better. There was no way he wouldn’t come back to bring Rosie her beloved teddy bear. Not when my detailed explanation of my past, in our many nightly and cathartic soul-baring sessions, had made him understand just how important my penguin had been to me. He knew the sense of loss I still felt that I’d never see him again, so he’d fight tooth and nail to bring her that ragged old teddy back.
Alves glugged back a bottle of water as Sarah tended to Ester’s ankle. Rosie had woken up and was asking where her daddy and Bear were, and I didn’t know what to say to her. She was on the verge of tears again, and so was I. I thought I’d experienced all of the pain that life had to offer, but sitting here, waiting, not knowing if he was alive or dead, was worse than any physical torture I’d suffered.
I shot up from the bunk, Rosie still in my arms, as the sound of the storm roared into the shelter again, then dissipated. Seconds later, Castle appeared and after scanning the room to see Ester and Alves were safe, he looked over at Rosie and me with a sheepish look on his face.
‘I found him, after searching every damn room in the house when he wasn’t in her bedroom. And I brought him back, sadly not in one piece.’ He grimaced as he held up the majority of a now pissed off looking one-eyed Bear in one hand, and a detached arm in the other.
Rosie started wailing again and Amanda prised her off me, then took the two remaining pieces of her teddy from Castle.
‘Don’t you ever do that to me again, Castle,’ I warned him, as I shoved his chest, fury flooding my veins. ‘There are people here who depend on you. We thought you were dead. You can’t make me … make me fall, then make me think you’re dead!’ I shouted as I shoved him again.
‘Make you fall?’ he repeated, his eyes searching mine as he grabbed both of my wrists when I went to push him again.
‘Do I need to repeat myself?’
‘You haven’t actually said anything that makes complete sense, Alex.’
‘It doesn’t make sense, it’s senseless, I hate that I do because it’s scary and painful, more painful than anything I’ve ever experienced, but I bloody love you, Tate Castle,’ I cried.
‘I bloody love you too, Alex Bishop,’ he uttered, pulling me to him as he bruised my lips in a passionate kiss that made me see stars, and then I heard cheers and clapping. We both laughed as we broke apart, then I blushed as he stared down at me, and suddenly it was just the two of us again.
‘You really mean it?’ he asked, hope filling his voice.
‘I really mean it. I told you that you were an easy man to fall for.’
‘Took your bloody time though,’ he smirked.
‘I’m here now, that’s what counts.’
‘It is. Tell me again,’ he whispered against my lips.
‘I love you,’ I whispered in response, feeling my heart swell. It swelled to the point of bursting when I felt a tug on my hand and looked down to see a tearful Rosie holding both bits of Bear out to me.
‘Please will you fix him for me?’ she asked.
‘Now you know she loves you, too. She’s refused everyone who’s ever offered to fix him,’ Castle said proudly as I nodded and crouched down to take him from her.
‘And I love her too,’ I whispered, looking into her big blue eyes as I said it.
Chapter Sixteen
Castle
A Thursday in December
London
I SAT BACK IN my London townhouse armchair, next to the roaring fire, nursing a glass of brandy as I watched Alex with her head down, as much concentration showing on her face as she showed when she was painting. She’d “shushed” me a number of times as I’d tried to speak, telling me getting Bear perfect for Rosie was more important than anything I could possibly have to say. And in that moment, she was right. I loved her for that. And for a million other reasons.
I loved her even more for insisting that she repair him herself, and for me not to spend my money to have an esteemed bear maker create a replica, complete with some wear and tear, so Rosie would never know the difference. She’d told me I didn’t understand the importance of it being the original toy, with all of its memories attached, even if Rosie couldn’t recall them anymore. And I didn’t, until now, as I sat here seeing how hard she was attempting to put him back together again. It was almost like she was trying to recreate the memories that she’d lost as a child. And I wanted to repair those for her.
I felt so damn helpless. Two whole months of searching for Richard, and we were still no closer to finding him, nor were the police and I was pretty sure he’d slipped way down on their priority list. I felt tense being back in London, knowing he might be close by watching us, but we hadn’t been left with a choice. Hurricane Rita had left my homes on Pepper Island with considerable enough damage that it would take a few weeks to make them habitable again. Not to mention Alex had a business that she’d neglected for the past few months, and needed to have a serious discussion with Tom and Janice, now that she’d agreed to move back to Pepper Island to live with Rosie and me when the renovations had been finished.
I smiled to myself as I recalled how Rosie had totally ruined my plans by blurting out my intentions. I’d asked her first of course, because if she hadn’t been okay with it, much as it would have killed me, I’d have waited until she was. But she was so excited she’d spilled my surprise within thirty seconds of me reminding her it was top secret. Alex hadn’t hesitated in saying yes. Tomorrow, she needed to go and tell Tom and Janice her assistants, then start to pack up her belongings. So I’d tasked Adams, my London head of security, to do a quick sweep of her flat tonight, just to make sure it was safe. With the alarm on the main door and her terrace doors, it wasn’t as if there was any chance of anyone getting inside without the police being notified. She’d be safe there with her friends downstairs and one of my team watching the only entrance.
‘Done,’ Alex exclaimed, setting down her needle and thread. She beamed at me as she held him up for my verdict, forcing the frown that had settled on my face to dissipate in an instant.
‘He’s still damn ugly, and a sorry excuse for a bear,’ I chuckled, downing my drink.
‘He’s Bear again, just without the holes, his arm reattached, and a replacement eye. It was never about making him into something he wasn’t, but recreating what he was. Mi
nus the risk of evisceration with his guts about to spill out of his tummy, or his brains from his ear.’
‘You’ve done an amazing job, Tiger,’ I said sincerely as I set my glass down. ‘She’s going to be beside herself when you give him to her in the morning.’
‘Please can we sneak in and give him to her now? We don’t have to wake her.’
‘But then you’ll miss the look on her face when you present him to her in the morning.’
‘It’s not about me, Castle, it’s about her and I can’t stand the thought of her waking up to another morning without him.’
‘You’re incredible,’ I breathed. She was so selfless, always thinking about me and my daughter above her own needs. ‘Can I speak now?’
‘I guess,’ she nodded, setting Bear carefully down on the coffee table.
‘I have something for you.’ I lifted a hip as I sank my hand into my pocket and pulled out a small black square jewellery box. She stared at it, then looked up at me with panic on her face. ‘Take a breath, it’s not an engagement ring. Let’s get you moved in first before we discuss the next steps in our relationship, okay?’
‘Okay,’ she replied, letting out a small sigh of relief. ‘It’s not that I wouldn’t say … I mean … it’s just, so much change so fast. I need some time to prepare and adjust between each major event.’
‘I get that.’
‘What is it then?’
‘A pendant that I want you to wear while we’re in London.’ I opened the box and held up the slim white gold chain, from which a black bevelled glass stone hung, set in a silver coloured frame. She gave me a puzzled look, and I sighed at the thought that this was a necessity. ‘It’s a panic alarm. If you feel in danger at any time, click the back of this pendant twice and it will alert me on my phone and give me your GPS co-ordinates. I can program in my team’s numbers, as well as your friends, and they’d all receive the alert too.’
‘You really think I’m in danger here?’ Her face paled as the bubble of safety that had cocooned her on Pepper Island suddenly burst. I knew that she wasn’t naïve enough to imagine she had nothing to fear, now that we’d returned to London. But I also knew that the fact that I’d been by her side every second since we had, not to mention the presence of my team, reassured her.
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