Diego felt a growing urgency as he opened and closed cupboard doors. “I thought there would be more food here.”
“It’s just left over from parties past. The cabins are stocked with food when they have guests. The wedding crew will be bringing all the food with them. Most of it is prepped ahead of time.”
Hunger ate at his gut the more he searched.
Samantha found some bottled water and tossed him one. He chugged it, but soothing his thirst only intensified his awareness of the hole in his belly. She retrieved some packaged cookies and crackers.
“We’re wasting time. Let’s make a run for my cabin. I know there’s food there.”
She tore open one of the cookie packages. “Okay.” She handed him a cookie.
He devoured it while he moved toward the kitchen door.
He pushed on the bar to open it, but it didn’t budge. He pushed harder.
Feeling a tightening through his chest, he took a step back. “Let’s try the other door.” He worked his way back into the dining area already knowing that it, too, would be blocked, but he had to give it a shot.
When he got there, it was just as he’d feared. They were trapped.
Panic permeated Samantha’s voice as she twisted the handle and then pulled. “What does he have planned now?”
“Step out of the way.” He slammed his whole body against the heavy wood of the door, but it wouldn’t give. The windows were too high up and small to hope to escape from.
“If he’s not going to shoot us, what is he going to do?” Her voice trembled when she spoke.
Diego stared at the floor and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Noises on the flat metal roof indicated that the shooter was walking around above them. Samantha edged a little closer to Diego. They listened to the slow careful steps. Thump. Thump. Thump. Like a funeral dirge. Their funeral. They followed the noise as it led into the dining area.
“He can’t get in from up there,” she said.
“And I doubt he has a gun powerful enough to shoot through the roof, even if he knew exactly where to aim.” Diego’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what the shooter had in mind.
Then he saw. “The fireplace.” He wrapped his arms around Samantha and pulled her away from the fireplace. A whooshing noise sounded in the chimney, and smoke billowed out of the fireplace, filling the dining room. There was no fire, just some sort of toxic smoke bomb.
Diego dragged her toward the kitchen. He closed the door between the two rooms but smoke seeped under the door. He coughed as he made his way to the blockaded door. Even if they got out, the shooter was probably waiting for them, ready to pick them off.
The situation was impossible.
Diego had been in near-death experiences more than once in his life. He wasn’t giving up so easily. As he dragged Samantha through thickening smoke, he knew there had to be a way out.
God, help me.
His foot hit something solid, a giant mixer on wheels. “A battering ram.”
Samantha coughed. “What?”
“Help me smash this against the door.”
His eyes watered from the smoke as they pushed the colossal mixer across the floor. “On three,” he said and counted down.
Together they slammed the mixer hard against the door. It became more pliable after six times. Diego struggled for breath, growing weaker each second without clean air. “Again,” he said. He summoned all his strength and pushed hard. The door burst open.
“Drop down.” The smoke provided them with some momentary cover. The first gunshot caused a rush of wind by Diego’s shoulder. He grappled to find Samantha’s hand in the confusion. The smoke cleared.
He struggled to get a mental picture of where the shooter might be. The shot had come from higher up. He was probably still on the roof. That bought them time to find some cover while the assassin climbed down.
Samantha grabbed his hand. “This way.”
At first he wasn’t sure what she intended until a storage shed came into view. They dived behind it. Diego pressed his back against the rough wood of the shed and struggled to catch his breath. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take. But they had to hold on until the ferry arrived, bringing help.
Diego’s heart sank as he realized that the ferry would also provide a way for their attacker to get off the island. His deep sense of justice rose to the surface. He didn’t want more hours of running only to have this guy slip into the shadows and escape when the boat arrived.
“We need to catch him,” he said.
* * *
Samantha pressed her back against the storage shed, listening for the sound of approaching footsteps. Diego’s words tied her stomach in knots. “What do you mean?”
“We need to catch him and turn him over to the authorities when that boat gets here,” he whispered. He tugged on her arm. “First, though, we need to hide and come up with a plan.”
Surveying the area all around, he rose to his feet and sprinted toward the trees. She cowered, expecting more shots to be fired. What was Diego thinking? They were not equipped to catch a criminal as determined and well armed as this one.
He led her up the steep terrain. When she was confident the assassin wasn’t in earshot, she spoke up. “Where are we going?”
“There’s an old zip-line platform up at the top of the hill. I need to get some sleep. We’ll wait for the cover of darkness and then we’ll set a trap for him.”
“Why can’t we just wait for the ferry to arrive? They must have some kind of security on those boats.”
He stepped closer to her, locking her in his gaze. “I don’t want to risk him getting away. Even if the ferry contacts the police right away, in the hours it takes them to get here, he could escape or he could kill us.”
Her breath caught as she lowered her head. Panic caused the edges of her vision to fill with black dots. “I just don’t know if I can do that.”
“I’ll come up with a plan that will work,” he said.
It felt as if a cord was being wrapped around her chest. Hiding out and running seemed like the safer option.
He grabbed her arm above the elbow. “I know this is hard for you, but I will keep you alive and we will get off this island.” He narrowed his eyes and locked her in his gaze. “Samantha?”
Her head cleared as she focused on the warmth of Diego’s touch. His grip on her arm was firm yet gentle. She searched his dark brown eyes. “I wish I understood why this was happening.”
His knuckles brushed over her cheek so lightly and so quickly she thought she might have imagined it. “Faith is believing in what you can’t see. It’s stepping forward when you don’t have a complete picture. I’m asking you to have some faith in me.”
Her throat went dry. Have faith in a man? It took her a moment to even process what he had said. Tears rimmed her eyes. “You have no idea what you are asking of me.”
“I think I can guess.” His voice filled with compassion and then he turned away from her.
She stared at his back. Something shifted inside her like a door cracking open and letting in a little light. If they survived this, then maybe someday she could tell Diego her whole ugly story.
They made their way up the hill through the trees.
Diego turned toward her. “How much longer until that ferry gets here?”
Her mind reeled. She’d completely lost track of time. “It comes tomorrow morning. The rest of the workers are coming on it to set up for the event, and then the wedding party will be on a private charter in the afternoon.”
He tilted his head toward the sky, gauging where the sun was. “That’s less than fourteen hours.” He continued to walk and she trudged behind him. He got to the base of the tower. He stepped to one side so she could go up first.
She glanced back down the hill, but still didn’t see any movement. She started up the ladder.
The platform for the zip line was made of thick plywood that had been warped by time and the weather. Diego handed her a package of crackers that he had had the presence of mind to stuff in his pocket. They ate in silence, both of them keeping an eye on the camp down below.
When he finished his food, Diego scooted up beside her. “I need to ask you to do something for me.”
She turned to look at him, her face only inches from his. “What?”
“I haven’t slept in almost twenty hours.”
Her throat went tight. “You want me to keep watch.” It was only fair. He’d done that for her at the lighthouse.
“At this point, I need rest or I won’t be any good for either of us when we have to confront that guy again,” he said.
She nodded, though fear made her want to refuse.
He grabbed her hand. “You see him coming this way, wake me.” He squeezed her fingers and locked her in his gaze. “Got that?”
She said, “Yes,” even though every muscle in her body tensed. She could do this. For Diego, for herself. She could keep them safe. Diego lay down on his side with his back to her.
She stared out at the early-evening sky. It took only minutes before Diego’s breathing changed, indicating he was asleep. She scanned the camp below, not noticing any movement. Once she thought she saw someone in the trees by the cafeteria, but she couldn’t be sure. The sky turned charcoal.
The sun sank lower on the horizon. Still no sign of the caretaker either. Had something happened to him or had he left the island? She sat up a little straighter. As darkness fell, she shifted to keep her legs from falling asleep. A light moved across the camp.
“Diego.”
The light disappeared into her old cabin.
“What?” He sat up, fully alert.
“Either George or the assassin went into cabin four,” she said.
“My guess is it’s our would-be killer.” He scooted up beside her and studied the camp below. “He must know we wouldn’t go back there, so either he’s going in there for food or for sleep. It’s our chance to trap him. There are only two ways out, the bathroom window and the door.”
Samantha crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know why we can’t just stay up here where it’s safe.”
“He’ll find us before morning.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I want this guy to go to jail. Let’s give him a taste of his own medicine.”
She steeled herself against the rising terror. Why did it feel as if they were going from the frying pan into the fire?
* * *
As they climbed down from the platform, Diego said a prayer of gratitude for the cover darkness provided. It meant they had to move much slower, but the degree of protection it gave them was worth it.
Samantha’s hand slipped into his, probably not a gesture of affection. She just wanted to keep track of where he was.
They knew better than to talk. The assassin could be in the cabin or he might have slipped out. Diego’s feet hit a patch of rocks that collided with each other. The noise made them both stop for a moment in their tracks. He gave Samantha’s hand a squeeze to let her know everything was all right as they started walking again.
A light flashed to the side of them, on and off quickly. Adrenaline kicked into high gear. They’d been found. So much for ambushing him in the cabin. He must have left the cabin without using a flashlight.
They took off running down the hill. Diego let go of Samantha’s hand, losing her in the darkness but trusting she would stay close.
A gunshot sliced through the silence. The shot was not even close to them. The gunman was having trouble tracking them in the dark.
Diego quickened his pace. He could hear Samantha right behind him. She let out a tiny scream. She’d fallen. He turned to help her up.
Weight like a brick wall slammed into him from the side. He wrestled with the assassin, but he’d been caught off guard, giving the other man the advantage. They rolled on the ground until the assassin had pinned him. Samantha jumped on the assassin’s back, but he stood up and shook her off.
“Run,” Diego said, jumping to his feet.
He hadn’t meant for her to get into hand-to-hand combat. He’d handle this guy. He landed several blows to the man’s face and stomach before the assassin slipped away into the trees. He must have realized he was going to lose the fight. Diego dived in the direction he thought the shooter had taken, but he couldn’t see him. A moment later, he heard branches creaking in front of him. The shooter was headed down the hill where Samantha had gone.
Diego pumped his legs. He had a vague sense that he and the shooter were running parallel to each other as they descended the slope. Another shot was fired, this one close to his feet. He veered off in a different direction and slowed his pace to make less noise.
He saw a flash of light up ahead by the edge of the forest. Samantha must have run into the trees and now the shooter had found her. He worked his way toward where the light had been and entered the forest, careful to tread lightly.
The canopy of trees made everything pitch-black. His other senses took over as he extended his hand to feel what was in front of him. The lush scent of the evergreens and rich earth hit his nose.
Branches creaked, and he heard a noise that might be a footfall. How was he going to find Samantha in the dark labyrinth without alerting the assassin? He glided across the forest floor and pressed his back against a tree.
Slowly, he was able to discern the sound of footsteps placed far apart. Maybe it was Samantha, maybe not. He moved a little deeper into the trees. Then he detected the faintest sound of movement. He took a chance that it was her. She had to be close, not more than one or two trees away.
He extended his arm, feeling nothing. He pushed off the tree and took a step toward another. The scent of wool that had been wet hung in the air. He reached a hand out and touched the sweater he’d loaned her. He found her hand in the darkness and squeezed it.
He held her hand, leading her through the forest. A tree branch cracked when he stepped on it.
Three quick shots, all of them close, reverberated through the air.
He sprinted, away from where the shots had come from. The trees thinned and moonlight revealed the landscape.
They ran without stopping to a high bluff. The roar of the ocean was behind them as they both collapsed to the ground.
Samantha drew her knees up to her chest. “Do you think he followed us?”
“He knows the general direction we went. He might find us.” He scanned the dark area below. He noticed she was shivering. “Are you cold?”
She scooted toward him. “A little.”
He wrapped his arms around her, amazed at how comfortable she seemed with him being close.
“Do you still want to catch him?”
“I think we need to try. The closer we get to that ferry showing up, the more likely he’ll just escape and come after us some other time,” Diego said.
She took a long time to answer. “What should we do?”
“Let’s move to the edge of the camp, watch and wait for an opportunity. He probably hasn’t slept or eaten much either. He’s got to be drained and weak.”
They moved away from the bluff down the hill. All of the cabins were dark. The lights were still on in the kitchen. He was starting to think the caretaker had left the island. To get help or save himself, Diego didn’t know. They’d been all over the island, shots had been fired and smoke had come billowing out of the kitchen. George must have noticed something.
They came to the border of the camp that was more uphill and provided a view of most of the cabins.
Diego leaned close to her and whispered, “Let’s sit back-to-back so we can see him coming if he locates us before we locate him.”
She sat down in the grass. He felt the warmth of her back pressing against his. He watched the camp, looking for any signs of the would-be killer. He dozed off and jerked awake, half expecting to feel a gun pressed into his temple. The night wore on without either of them seeing anything. He wondered if maybe they should reposition but decided against it. The heaviness of fatigue overtook him. He went through cycles of sleeping for a few minutes and then startling awake, looking for an opportunity to capture the man who had tormented them for two days.