“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. I’m glad we don’t have to wait for these to be soaked all night,” Sam said.
“We’ll catch you later,” Andy said, and yanked Kelli by the hand.
“Where are we going?” she asked him.
“Some place we can have some fun.”
“Mr. Grant is on the phone, sir, and I’m running down to the deli to pick up some sandwiches for lunch,” Allan Dockery’s assistant, Jacquie said.
Dockery picked up the phone, his palm sweating. Finally. “Yes, Josh. I’ve been waiting for your call.”
“Allan. I’m afraid you’re not gonna like what I have to say.”
Silence.
“We’re not going to fund your show. A deal with less risk came up and we went with it. I’m sorry.”
Dockery slumped onto his chair. “No . . . You don’t understand . . .” He was finding it difficult to breathe.
“Maybe next time.” Josh Grant hung up.
Allan was hot all over. “No, this is not happening.” He put his hands over his face and couldn’t stop the tears. “Oh, God. I’m finished.”
He stubbed out his cigar, poured himself a whiskey and swallowed the amber liquid in one gulp. Sweat beaded his brow. His lungs didn’t seem to be functioning properly. He didn’t know what to do. He had exhausted every possible financing option and come up with nothing. Nada. Zilch.
What would happen to the contestants? He couldn’t pay the air charter company. He knew he should call them and tell them what had happened. They wouldn’t leave the contestants stranded out there. His hand hovered over the telephone. What about the time difference? What time would it be there? His brain wouldn’t function properly. He dialed their number. It gave a busy signal. Or was it a signal to say their phones were out? He wasn’t sure. Wouldn’t there be voicemail if the phone was busy? They had warned him about something they called load shedding—intermittent power cuts to help with the shortage they were experiencing. Would their phones be affected by the power cuts? Probably. He tried calling one more time with no luck.
His heart beat so hard he could hardly catch his breath when he opened the drawer and stared at the revolver.
Chapter 29
Sitting on the grassy bank while the others catch fish, I’m keeping my eye on the sky. I can’t believe the Old Man hasn’t arrived yet.
“Hey, did you hear me?” I realize Billy’s talking to me.
“Sorry, I was daydreaming.” He’s standing above me staring down with a broad smile on his face.
“We got six fish, and filled some condoms with water. Why are you looking so pensive?”
“It’s not important.” I force a smile.
“You’re still waiting for an airplane, aren’t you?” He sinks down onto the grass beside me. “I wish you’d change your mind about leaving.”
I can’t look him in the eye. “I can’t,” I say. I pick a stem of grass and twirl it in my fingers.
“And you ain’t gonna tell me anything more about what that psycho did to you to scare you so much, are you?
I shake my head and try to push back the tears that are welling up.
“Aww, now I’ve made you cry again,” Billy says with a very tender voice. He pulls my face into his chest and strokes my hair.
The tears come, and I hear myself sob loudly but I can’t stop. I used to cry myself to sleep every night, but I haven’t cried like this for a long, long time.
“I wish you’d tell me more. It would probably make you feel better to talk about it.”
I push myself away from his chest and see the concern in his eyes. He leans forward and kisses my cheek, and then he licks a tear off it. It almost makes me smile.
“He was my aunt’s boyfriend,” I say. “He came to live with her when I was five.” I sniff and wipe my nose on the back of my hand. I don’t know why I’m telling him.
“And he used to come into your bedroom at night and touch you,” Billy says tenderly. He strokes my hair. The smile on his face is so full of love and concern I know I can trust him with my secret.
“I was five years old. Five.” My voice breaks. “He raped me.”
There was a shocked silence for a few moments. The tears come again.
“Not when you were five. He couldn’t have actually raped you then. Nobody could be that degraded. Five years old. No way.”
“He raped me.” I hear the anger in my voice now.
“At five years old? But how . . .?”
“It hurt like heck and yes, it caused some damage. He made up some story to my aunt and then he took me to some doctor friend of his who he knew wouldn’t tell the authorities. He told me he would hurt Aunt Jess if I said anything to her, I was so scared,” I wail.
“It’s okay,” Billy croons. He strokes my hair and rocks me. “You don’t have to tell me anymore. It’s upsetting you too much. But the next time I see that asshole I know I’ll want to kill him. He’s the sickest person I’ve ever met.”
I force myself to stop crying and glance into Billy’s face. His eyes are narrowed and his jaw is clenched.
“That’s why I can’t stay,” I say.
“I’d like to say I’ll protect you, but he’s a sly asshole and I couldn’t promise you anything. I’ve seen the way he watches you.”
“So now you understand why?”
“I can’t imagine how bad it must have been and I’m so sorry it had to happen to you,” Billy says. “I thought I had demons, but they ain’t as bad as that.”
I cry into his shoulder for a long time until I’m all cried out.
“I told you my secret,” I sniff. “It’s only fair that you tell me yours.”
Billy blows out a ragged sigh and leans back the way people do when they don’t want to tell you something. He sucks air in. “Okay.” He frowns, looks down at his feet. “I was in lockup for thirteen months.” He points at the tattoo on his arm. “Prison Ink,” he explains.
I stare at him, waiting for him to tell me more.
“I did some dumb things. Boosted a couple of cars. Let my family down. So now you know.”
He doesn’t seem the type of person who would suddenly start stealing cars. At least he didn’t hurt someone—or kill them. I’m thinking there has to be more to his story, but he jumps up and holds out his hand. I take it and he helps me up. “Come on. Last one in’s a dummy.”
He already has his shoes off. He pulls his shirt off over his head, and drops his pants. He turns and stares at me with raised eyebrows, wearing only his underwear.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Jared and Stretch have crossed the creek and are on the other bank on the far side. They’re also shedding their clothes. I shrug, take off my shoes and socks, then my T-shirt and lastly my jeans. Billy stares at me.
“Come on,” he jerks my hand toward him and I jump in with him. I surface and gasp, and tread water. The water is colder than I expected, but it’s refreshing. I hear a splash and Jake is swimming toward us. I wait for him, and once I’m sure he’s okay, I swim across the pool and back again with Billy, matching him stroke for stroke. It’s too deep for me to stand in the middle but not too deep around the edges. Jake scrambles out and shakes himself, sending droplets of water flying all over the place. I stand and wipe the water off my face, breathing hard from the exertion.
“I have soap in my bag,” I say to Billy.
“Well, go on and get it, woman,” he says with a laugh, but I feel his eyes on me as I scramble up the bank and dig in my bag. When I run and jump back into the water, I notice Billy has taken off his boxers and is holding them on the surface of the water.
He grins at me. I hand him the bar of soap, trying to will myself not to stare into the water but I can’t obey. I know the reason I’m breathing hard is not
only from the exercise. I watch him soap the underwear and his clothes, and then he rubs it onto his chest.
The other two guys are still splashing around on the other side of the rock island.
“Hey, you’re staring,” Billy says. “You can watch me wash my, er, privates if you want, I’m not shy.” He wades to the bank and climbs half out. He turns his back toward me.
I am staring, thinking he has a very neat and sexy ass, when he turns and splashes me, giving me a glimpse of him. All of him. He swims out toward me.
“Here’s the soap,” he says, handing it to me. “Your turn now.”
He has that hungry glint in his eyes which is making my entire being go mushy. For a few moments I hang there, treading water. I start rubbing it on my shoulders and arms. When I look up, he’s right beside me.
“Let me have the soap,” he says hoarsely. I hand it to him.
“Now, you gonna bathe in your underwear or what?”
I glance across toward the other two guys, who are out of the water and over on the far bank drying their clothes.
“They won’t come any closer. I told them not to,” Billy says.
My heart is beating way too fast as I unfasten my bra and allow it to float up to the water’s surface. Billy is staring into the water at me and it’s making me crazy. I reach down and slide my panties down and off my feet.
“Turn around,” Billy says.
I turn and face away from him. His hands are warm. He rubs the soap over my back, slowly sliding his hands around to my breasts and takes them both. I hear myself moan and I lean into him.
His breath is hot in my ear. “You’re gorgeous and I won’t be able to get out of this water for at least an hour after this,” he whispers. “Despite the cold water. Here. You’d better wash the rest of you. There’s no telling what I’ll do if I touch you there.”
I take the soap, turn and meet his gaze for a moment, then glide toward the bank. My limbs don’t want to work properly.
“Look away, bros,” Billy says to the other two, but I know he’s watching as I climb out until I’m only knee deep in the water and soap the rest of my body. I never knew washing myself could be so erotic.
I sink back into the water and rinse the soap off.
“Come here,” is all he says.
I’m powerless to refuse. He draws me into him and I feel him, all of him pushing against my legs and I know I want it. His mouth is warm and welcoming and his lips make me tingle all over as his hands stray to my breasts and then down.
“No,” I gasp. “Not here with them . . .”
He breaks away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I almost lost control,” he pants. “Where’s your towel?”
I point, still unable to speak. He swims to the bank, climbs up it and grabs my towel.
“Thanks,” my voice is hoarse. I take it and wrap it around me. He jumps into the water again and retrieves my underwear, and lathers it, rinses it, and hands it back to me without saying another word.
“Thank you,” I whisper and head to my backpack. I have extra underwear there. I go behind a clump of bushes and get dressed, then I lay my wet clothes out on the grass in the sun and drop down beside Jake, who is lying with his head on his front paws.
“Can I use your towel?” Billy asks.
“Come and get it,” I yell.
He grins and climbs the bank toward me. He has an amazing body. I hand the towel to him. He winks, and starts drying his chest, obviously enjoying my gaze on him. He hangs his clothes on a bush and drops down on the grass beside me.
“You’re staring,” he says.
I turn my head away. “Sorry. I guess it’s not fair since I have all my clothes on.” I really want to enjoy his beautiful, sexy body. I’ve never seen such a perfect man’s body like this before.
“We can remedy that,” he says.
“We’re not alone,” I answer.
“The only thing keeping my hands off you right now,” he says with that shit-eating grin.
After a few minutes, Jared and Stretch’s voices carry to us as they cross back to our side of the creek on the naturally occurring stepping stones below the little waterfall. They’re both dressed in their wet boxers. “We should get back,” Jared says.
I suddenly remember that the Old Man is coming today. “Yes,” I say. “I should be there when Allan Dockery arrives.” I might be leaving today. The thought strikes me like a blow. Will I ever see Billy again? It’s like we’ve only started an adventure and now it’s going to end before we get to the good part.
Billy has put on his boxers. “What’s wrong? Why are you sad?” He stares into my face like he’s trying to read something there and I hope he can’t see it. He smiles at me and his gaze holds mine for few seconds.
“I . . .” I shake my head, not knowing why I’m so mixed up inside. We pick up all our stuff and make our way back along the trail, Jake trotting along beside me as he always seems to. If only my life could be as simple as his. He seems happy to be with me, even though his master has virtually abandoned him. The boys chat, but I remain deep in thought as we head back to camp.
Faith, back from the food-gathering or exploring with Trip and the others, is tending the fire as usual when we get there, and Jared hands her the cleaned fish. Stretch carries the water to the tree, and Billy returns the fishing gear to the shelter.
I dump my camera and backpack in the shelter, and spread my damp clothes over a couple of bushes where they can catch the late afternoon sun.
The others are scattered around the camp and I seek out Mark.
“The Old Man didn’t show up,” he says. “And Andy and Kelli are still out there.” He points. “They didn’t want to come back with us. Trip tried to persuade them and Faith even went back after we had also started heading back to camp. They were high on something.”
I nod. “I thought they were the other day. What do you think it is?”
“Something they can hide easily. Pills. Something like Ecstasy.” He bends down and pats Jake. “Whatever it is, it’s strong. They were higher than kites.” He sniffs. “You smell good. Don’t tell me you took a bath?”
“Yeah, we swam in the creek and I have soap. What about the Old Man? Why didn’t he come?” Swimming with Billy took away my anxiety for a while, but now it’s back in full force. Just the sight of Trip over there under the tree smoking his pipe and watching me with those eyes that I hate so much is enough to make my stomach queasy. “What if he doesn’t come?”
“What do you mean?” Mark squats to stare into Jake’s eyes and rub his ears.
“I mean, if he never comes back.”
Chapter 30
Mark shakes his head and chuckles. “Come on, Lexie. This is how he makes his money. He has a lot invested in this show. Maybe something held him up, but he’ll get here. Man, I have to take a bath, too.” He stands again and stretches his back.
Billy comes over and drapes his arm over my shoulders. “The Old Man didn’t show up,” I say.
I catch Mark winking at Billy over my head.
“You think I’m being stupid, but I’ve had a bad feeling about this show all along. I’m a Virgo, and we often pick up the vibes of things before anyone else.”
“Where’s Andy?” Billy says.
“Still at that village. There was a skeleton there. I got pictures.”
“A real skeleton?” I say.
“Sure. Been bashed on the head. Just lying there inside one of the broken down huts. Bones are clean. I guess what the scavengers didn’t get was taken care of by ants. I’ll get my camera.” Mark trots to the shelter and comes back with the camera. Billy and I stand behind him and watch the footage. Billy’s arm is still across my shoulder and he’s rubbing it. I lean into him.
The film footage is more th
an frightening. I quiver. “Faith and Lela got weird,” I say. “Faith is almost . . . ah, she’s stroking that skull like she’s comforting it.”
“Yeah, they both got weird but that was the weirdest. She was chanting something too, but it was too soft for us to hear any words. And Trip was the opposite. He pretty much treated it like he saw skeletons every day. I wanted to bury it, but Andy said it could be contaminated with some sort of disease.”
“You’re shaking,” Billy whispers in my ear, and holds me closer to him. His breath is warm and I lean into him, and suddenly I want to touch him everywhere. He must be feeling the same way because he’s shaking too, and I don’t think it’s from fear.
“You don’t know how much I want you,” he whispers into my hair.
“You guys sure smell good,” Mark says when he gets back from stashing his camera.
Billy squeezes my shoulder and turns toward Mark. “Dude, you missed it. That big pool where we catch fish is perfect for swimming.” He gives me another squeeze and I know he’s thinking about us being naked.
“Where did you get soap?”
“She had it hidden in her backpack,” Billy says.
“I have some too,” Mark admits. “I wasn’t about to share it, but I guess I could offer it to the others and maybe we could go bathe tomorrow. I know I need it. Especially now that I can smell you two.”
We busy ourselves in camp, and pretty soon dusk is falling and Andy and Kelli have not made it back.
The nausea returns to my stomach, where it sits heavily and refuses to leave.
“So, what are we gonna do about Andy and Kelli?” Billy asked.
“We’re gonna have to go and search for them,” Stretch said, poking the fire with a log. “Let’s eat dinner then if they haven’t gotten back, we should go.”
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