Escape

by M. K. Elliott

  With a frown, she leaned out and looked onto her balcony. Rudy sat at her table and in front of him was a platter of food—fresh fruit, orange juice, croissants and coffee.

  “What are you doing here?” she said, shocked to see him.

  He glanced up at her, head tilted to one side, eyes creased in the bright light. “I felt bad about upsetting you at the dive and again last night. Call this a reconciliation breakfast.”

  “But...” she didn’t know what to say. He had completely caught her off guard.

  He gestured to the spare seat across from him. “Please sit down,” he said. “You’re making me nervous.”

  She was horribly aware of how bad she looked and probably smelled. “Just give me one minute, okay?”

  “You’re not going to run off on me again?”

  She shook her head, confused. What was he doing here?

  “You’re guarding the only door,” she pointed out. “I can’t go anywhere.”

  Lucy ran to the bathroom and turned on the tap. Quickly, she splashed cold water on her face and then rubbed away the rest of last night’s make-up with a wet wipe. A spray of deodorant masked the worst of her alcohol fumes and she scrubbed her teeth furiously. She was far from ‘as good as new’, but it was an improvement.

  She took a deep breath and headed back outside.

  Rudy still sat there, sipping a glass of juice, looking as gorgeous as ever in the early morning sunshine. He smiled at her as she walked out.

  “So, do you do this for every emotionally unstable woman who comes to the resort?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No Lucy, only you.”

  The way he said her name made her forget her hangover. She stared at him in confusion. The directness of her gaze seemed to fluster Rudy and he started piling food onto a plate for her, busying himself by pouring her coffee.

  “Thanks,” she said, accepting the plate.

  Maybe it was the alcohol still flowing through her system, but it gave her the balls to be straight with him. She couldn’t just sit here and eat breakfast with him as though it was the most natural thing in the world, especially when his girlfriend could walk past them at any moment.

  “What are you doing here, Rudy?” she asked. “What about Rachel? Isn’t she going to be pissed that you’re bringing breakfast to another woman?”

  He looked at her in confusion. “Rachel? What the hell has this got to do with Rachel?”

  “Well, I would have thought she would care who her boyfriend is with.”

  He barked laughter. “Boyfriend? The last time Rachel had a long term boyfriend she was in college.”

  Lucy’s mouth dropped open. “But, I thought...”

  “Whatever you thought, you were wrong. There’s never been anything between Rachel and me and there never would be. She is not my type.”

  It was Lucy’s turn to laugh. “How could she not be your type? She is stunning.”

  He shrugged. “If you like that type of thing. For me, she’s just too obvious.”

  Then she remembered something. “But I saw you two arguing on the beach.” She was embarrassed to admit what she’d seen, as though she had been spying.

  “It was nothing, Lucy. She wanted a shift covered so she could go to another island and party. I told her I wouldn’t do it and she was pissed. I’ve covered too many of her shifts recently and I had to put my foot down.”

  “Oh, of course.” She shook her head, embarrassed. “So what is this all about then?”

  “I told you. It’s an apology.” He bit at his lip and she wished it was her mouth he was biting. “I like you, Lucy,” he admitted. “I didn’t want you to hate me.”

  A flush of pleasure crept up her chest. She picked up a piece of croissant and nibbled on it, trying to hide how she felt.

  “I have to go,” he said, and her heart sank in disappointment. “I have a group of desperate tourists who want to go diving, waiting for me, but can I assume your acceptance of breakfast means we’re friends?”

  She looked down at her croissant and smiled. She couldn’t believe he had gone to so much trouble for her. “Friends,” she echoed.

  “Great. How about you come meet me tonight? The resort is having another barbeque down at the beach. Please tell me you’ll come? I promise to be waiting for you.”

  “I’d love to.”

  “Great,” he said again and they smiled at each other. She glanced away, suddenly shy and he stood up, pushing his chair away.

  “See you tonight then,” he said over his shoulder, as he headed down the steps.

  Lucy watched him go, his broad shoulders hard beneath his shirt, the muscles in his calves bending and flexing as he walked. Had she ever been so attracted to anyone in her entire life?

  A pang of guilt clutched at her throat. She had barely thought about Max since she got here and now she was fantasizing about another man. She wondered if she should call him, tell him it was over.

  The thought rang a bell of alarm inside of her. Was that what she had decided, her relationship with Max was over? It was scary how quickly her mind jumped to such an instant and final decision.

  She took a deep, shaky breath. It was a big step. They had everything together—their whole lives. But then she realised they didn’t share much at all. They rented the flat they lived in, and while they might lose their deposit, that would be about the worst of it. Everything else—bank accounts, investments, were all separate. They had never taken that next step and combined their finances. Each of them had their own careers and they hadn’t felt the need to merge.

  Lucy tried to figure out what time it was in England. What were they—eight hours behind? Eight hours ahead? She had no idea. Even if she knew, she had no idea what shifts Max was working at the moment, the chances of catching him in (and awake) were pretty slim.

  There was always email.

  Again her stomach twisted with guilt. Did she really plan to end her two year relationship via email? When had she gotten so cold? Anyway, the satellite that allowed them to connect to the Internet didn’t face in the right direction until this evening, so she couldn’t do anything until then.

  Her hangover started to fade. Part of her felt like the morning so far had been nothing but a dream. She struggled to believe the gorgeous dive instructor had just told her he liked her. Things like that didn’t happen to people like her. She was normal, ordinary, certainly not the type of woman men brought surprise romantic breakfasts to.

  Her day was free to do as she pleased. She knew she ought to try to see a bit more of the island, but all she really wanted to do was flake out.

  Flaking out won.

  Lucy headed down to the beach with a book. The hangover still haunted her, but excitement about the upcoming night overruled the fog. The knowledge that she wasn’t going to bump into Rudy, and now she knew Rachel didn’t have any kind of hold on him, meant she could relax. She even felt a certain amount of pleasure in knowing that Rudy didn’t like Rachel. Clearly the other woman had a thing for him and she had made her dislike of Lucy perfectly obvious. At least now Lucy knew the reason why.

  That evening, she walked down to the beach with a light step and an excited heart. A flutter of nerves made her take deep breaths, trying to steady them. The night was warm and Lucy had chosen a simple white shift dress, hoping to aim for a ‘relaxed but sexy’ look. She hoped he would be there, that he hadn’t changed his mind. Part of her worried he had been fooling around with her, that for all his grand gestures, he wouldn’t bother showing up.

  Despite her excitement, the guilt still clung to her. Where could this thing ever go? Did she really intend on throwing away a two year relationship for a fling with a hot dive instructor? It was madness.

  A warm, scented breeze brushed against her skin and her dress rippled around her legs. Music and laughter from the barbeque floated up toward her. The sound made her stomach twist in anxiety. What if he didn’t show? What if he ignored her or had met someone else during the day—
some leggy blond with big breasts who made Lucy look like a gawky teenager?

  She walked down onto the beach, her eyes scouring for Rudy. The barbeque was already going; huge barrel drums that had been cut in half and then filled with coals. Burgers and sausages cooked on the coals, but also whole snapper and kebabs of giant prawns and red peppers. The smell was enough to get Lucy’s attention and then she realized Rudy was one of the guys tending the barbeque.

  He saw her and smiled, his dark eyes crinkled at the edges.

  That smile would be very easy to fall in love with.

  Lucy pushed the thought out of her head. It was a dangerous path to go down.

  Rudy wore one of the cut off t-shirts he seemed to favor, showing off his toned arms, and a pair of cargo shorts and some flip-flops. He looked every part the cool, surfer type; definitely not the type of man Lucy had ever gone for in the past. She couldn’t resist this particular one.

  Rudy said something to one of the Thai boys also tending the food and handed him the tongs he’d been holding. The boy said something back and Rudy clapped him on the back, and they both laughed.

  Her heart pounded, suddenly extremely self-conscious, standing there, waiting for him. She didn’t even notice all the other people around them.

  Rudy crossed the sand toward her and leaned down, kissing her gently on the cheek. The roughness of his stubble scraped against her cheek and she inhaled the scent of him; barbeque smoke and the ocean.

  “I’m so glad you came,” he told her. “You look beautiful.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Can I get you a drink?”

  Her stomach rolled, still feeling the effects of last night’s alcohol and she pulled a face. “Do you mind if it’s just a coke?” she said. “I’m still suffering from last night.”

  He laughed. “No problem. I’ve been there before.”

  Rudy slipped behind the bar and got Lucy’s drink. Three people stopped to talk to him and Rudy’s expression grew impatient with the interruptions.

  “Hey, do you fancy a walk?” he asked, when he made it back to her side. “This place is too busy.”

  “Sure.”

  They walked away from the crowds and along the shore, in the opposite direction to the one Lucy had walked a couple of nights ago. They rounded the curve of the bay and Rudy came to a stop.

  “How is this?”

  A beautiful little cove had been cut out of the island. Palm trees swayed behind them, shielding them from the view from the resort. Rudy took her hand and tugged her down onto the white sand.

  They sat together on the sand, side by side. The music from the party drifted over to them, the dull thump of the bass vibrating through the sand. Behind them, from the bushes, came the steady trill of cicadas as they sang out to one another. Waves lapped at the shore, rocking and rolling the soft sand back and forth.

  Lucy was so aware of his body, where each limb was placed in relation to her own. Her skin felt hot and flushed from the day’s sun. Just being here with him made her nervous.

  “So where are you from?” she asked, wanting to break the silence. Her voice sounded too loud in the night, but she carried on talking anyway. She wasn’t used to silence.

  “Originally? A small town in Dorset,” he said, his head titled to one side as he took her in. “No where exciting. What about you?”

  “London.”

  “Ah,” he said.

  “Ah?” she repeated. “Does that mean where I’m from says a lot about me?”

  “You just seem a bit...”

  She saw him struggling for the words. “Stressed? Uptight?” she said, filling in the gaps for him.

  He shrugged as an apology.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “The thing with London is that you get so sucked into the place that you end up forgetting anywhere else exists. You kind of lose yourself.”

  “This place is a bit like that too—only in a good way,” he grinned.

  “Have you been to London?”

  “Yeah, I lived there for a while as well, but I never really liked the place. I thought, after growing up in a small town, it was what I wanted, but I was wrong. I lived there long enough to figure out the city would put me in an early grave. Too much noise, too many people, too damn fast. I swear as soon as I got off the train, I had to start running to keep up with everyone.”

  She smiled, knowing exactly what he meant.

  “And you’ve never regretted coming out here?”

  “Are you kidding? Have you looked around you?”

  She had and she did. It was beautiful. The moon hung low over the ocean, reflected in its waves. A light breeze touched her skin bringing with it the scent of the bonfire and the sweet smell of the barbeque. Laughter drifted over to them. A girl screamed with laughter as her boyfriend picked her up and dumped her, fully clothed into the ocean.

  “I came out to the island just like everyone else, backpacking, planning to learn to dive. When I went back home and told everyone I was moving they thought I was nuts,” he continued. “But they had never even been here; all they were doing was sitting back in the UK complaining about the weather. I had no reason to stay.”

  “Lucky you,” she said quietly, thinking to herself all of her reasons to be back home.

  “And what do you do in the big city?” he asked her.

  She glanced away and bit her lip. “Not much,” she lied. “I was a late starter and just graduated, so I haven’t figured it out yet.” The last thing she wanted to do right now was start talking about her work. The violent, angry, sad place of the hospital didn’t seem to exist here. To merge the two worlds in any way seemed like sacrilege.

  He looked at her, surprised. “I thought you were going to tell me you were some executive for a corporate bank or something.”

  She laughed. “Thanks. Are you telling me I look like a banker?”

  “Look like a banker?” he raised an eyebrow, his gaze quickly flicking across her body, and she felt a thrill of excitement race through her. “No, Lucy. You certainly don’t look like a banker.” Then he gave a tiny shrug and his eyes flicked away. “It’s just the way you talk sometimes. It’s as though something in your life is missing or something about it makes you sad.”

  She stared at him. His tone had changed, suddenly serious, his dark eyes seemed to have grown even darker. She had no idea he was so perceptive, or maybe he had simply recognized something in her that had once been part of himself.

  “You seem to know what you are talking about.” she said softly.

  “I should. I was the banker.”

  “You?” she almost laughed, but then realized he wasn’t kidding. “Wow! I would never have picked that.”

  “Well, I hadn’t picked you for the late starter, student type, so I guess we both got it wrong.”

  They smiled at each other, locked in the moment. Their eyes said more than their mouths ever could and for a moment, Lucy thought he was going to kiss her. Then he looked away and the moment was broken.

  “Maybe I should take the day off tomorrow,” he suggested. “Take you out for some proper diving.”

  She couldn’t help the grin lighting her face. “Wouldn’t your boss mind?”

  “Well, actually I’m...”

  The sound of bare feet pounded toward them on the wet sand, cutting him off.

  “Rudy!” someone shouted.

  Rudy jumped to his feet. Lucy recognized the man running toward them as the blond guy who Rudy had been drinking with at last night’s party. She thought he worked at the resort, but had no idea what he did.

  He reached them, panting for breath. “Rudy, you have to come. There’s been an accident. One of the guests has fallen from the swing bridge and she’s hurt. She won’t even let us move her.”

  “No, don’t move her.” Instantly, Lucy switched into doctor mode; her voice authoritative, her shoulders back, her back straight. She got to her feet and grabbed the guy’s arm. She felt Rudy’s eyes on her,
confusion at her sudden change, but she had no time to explain things to him now.

  “Show me where she is.”

  They set off at a jog, running along the sand. By the time they reached the girl, Lucy panted, seriously out of breath. She quickly caught it again when she saw Leanne lying on the ground, hurt.

  Lucy knelt down beside her.

  “Hey, how are you doing? Can you tell me what hurts?”

  Leanne’s face glowed scarily white in the moonlight. She looked up at Lucy with fear in her eyes.

  “My arm,” she managed to say. “And my side. It hurts to breathe.”

  Carefully, Lucy manipulated Leanne’s arm, feeling for the bone beneath the skin and muscle, checking for any obvious breakages. She couldn’t feel any obvious breaks, but from the amount of pain Leanne was experiencing, Lucy thought she probably had a fracture. However, it was the painful breathing that worried her most. That, combined with the pain in her side, indicated a broken rib and if she wasn’t careful, it could puncture a lung.

  “Is there a hospital on the island?” she asked, turning to Rudy.

  “No. There’s a medical center for the locals, but it’s pretty basic.”

  “What do you do if there is an emergency?”

  “We radio in a helicopter from one of the bigger islands, like Koh Samui.”

  “Then I suggest you get on the radio.”

  He looked at her and for a moment she could see a flash of something else in his eyes—respect, admiration, combined with a question:

  Who was she?

  Chapter Six

  I have clearly underestimated this woman, thought Rudy as he stood waiting for the helicopter to arrive.

  Several hours had already passed since he had radioed for help and he was starting to get anxious. They managed to get Leanne to the local clinic and Lucy found a good enough dose of morphine to keep Leanne’s pain to a minimum.

  He had been amazed when, in the back of the SUV they commandeered as an emergency vehicle, Lucy took her identification out of her purse to show she was a qualified doctor. It hadn’t been appropriate to start questioning Lucy about her career at that moment, but he didn’t know if he was supposed to feel impressed or intimidated.