She swore to herself softly. She had known Bullard and hadn’t wanted him to stress, since his healing had been paramount. It was so important that he become that person he so needed to be. He was a grizzly—and a wounded grizzly for the longest time. Now, as he reared his head and pulled that massive body of his back into a healthy active male, he’d also become a moving target.
As she lay here, she wondered just how much that stupid doctor was doing here. When the door opened, she confronted her kidnapper. “So why does the doctor want me? Why not just have me killed?”
He looked at her in surprise, then shrugged. “I presume he wants something from you.”
“I don’t have anything to give him.”
“Well, he seems to think otherwise,” her kidnapper said calmly. “Look. I don’t give a shit. I don’t ask questions, and, when I get a directive, I follow it. The money is too good to pass up.”
She nodded. “Of course it is. And you don’t care at all that he’s killed several people on his table.”
“Hey, I’m sure even the best surgeons lose a certain portion of their patients anyway.”
“Oh, they do,” she said, hating that he was confirming the surgeon’s role in all this. “The problem is that these are people he killed on purpose.”
He looked at her in surprise and then laughed. “Isn’t that the way of it?” he said. “So very typical of the world.”
“Yes,” she said. “Just not very nice.”
“Maybe not, but it is what it is.”
She groaned. “I don’t know what he thinks he wants from me.”
“Well, if you saw him do something, he probably wants to know who you told. So he can kill them too.” With that, he flashed her a bright grin, then turned and walked back up to the top of the deck.
She lay curled up in bed, wondering if that’s exactly what it was.
It made sense in a way. Leo couldn’t know about what else she had done, could he? She’d forgotten about it, but she had tossed the flash drive into the safe deposit box at the bank and had quickly disappeared. At the time everybody else had expected her to disappear, so they were just damn grateful when she had quietly slipped away. She hadn’t thought that he was following her back then.
But, of course, once Bullard’s people found out Bullard was alive and that she was the one who had saved him, they had likely made inquiries. Once that happened, it probably got back to the surgeon and his cronies, which ultimately led to this. She wondered who on the damn island she could thank for assisting. But then, no point in blaming them. They lived a very poor life, and, of course, she should have expected them to be susceptible to offers of money for information.
Then there was the old seer woman. Leia didn’t have a clue what her role in all this was, if she had played one. She seemed to be a messenger for whoever this Terk person was, and that made no sense either.
Groaning, Leia curled up under the blankets once again. She could use food and doubted there would be any coming her way, though water would also be nice and more important.
She lay here wondering, wishing she had a way to communicate. But she had always been one to drop the cell phones off the deep end and had done so after her world had been blown up and she had moved to the island. Getting Bullard that phone had started it all, bringing the questions and the islanders over. Ultimately it had brought enemies she had no idea she’d even had. Although realistically, Terk knew Bullard was there long before she’d asked for a cell phone, so something probably would have happened anyway.
Now what the hell was she supposed to do?
When her kidnapper eventually came back down, he gave her a bowl with several pieces of fruit and a bottle of water. She sat up and took a big slug of water, then gratefully reached for the piece of fruit closest to her. “I wasn’t sure if you would feed me,” she confessed.
“You need to be in good health when I hand you over,” he said. “And I have to be just far enough ahead of the second half of my payout but not so far that they can’t catch up.”
“Wait! What’s going on?” She froze, and her gaze shot up to stare at him.
He laughed. “Did you really think I didn’t know we were being followed?”
Her gaze went to the tiny window on the far side. She didn’t see anything the one time she had looked out.
“They were doing pretty good too,” he said, “but I’d have expected more from somebody like Bullard.”
Her breath sucked in and out of her chest at that. “And yet you’ll hand him over to be killed,” she said, striving for calmness, though inside her heart was breaking.
“You bet I will,” he said. “He’s worth big money. Bullard is the symbol of a deal gone wrong on many layers. So this guy just wants to take Bullard out once and for all.”
“Okay,” she said quietly. “But wasn’t that the end result already?”
“It was the intent,” he said, “but his body wasn’t found, so his demise couldn’t be confirmed. Bullard survived and so did the rest of his team, even though many attempts were made, and many mercenaries were hired and lost. At the end of the day, they all did a better job than the ones this guy had hired.”
“Bullard’s men did a better job?” She was trying desperately to get through the kidnapper’s convoluted information.
“That’s what I just said,” he barked, with a snort. “Bloody women,” he said. “Give them an ounce of brains, and they think they know everything.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering what else she could ask. “Do you know anything about the doctor who put the price on my head?”
“Nope. Just that the money has been verified.”
“That’s important too,” she said. “So you’ll just hand me over to him? Or to a third party?”
“Third party. Always a third party,” he said. “Don’t want to take the chance of somebody going back on their deal. If I didn’t get paid, he doesn’t get you.”
“And, of course, if the deal goes sour, you kill me, so he can’t get what he wants either,” she said.
“Now you’re getting it,” he said, with a broad smile. “But as long as you’re alive and the money deal is happening, then you’ll be safe with me.” And, with that, he turned and walked out.
*
When the old man was paid, he quickly provided the location where the boat belonged. By then, Fallon had already pulled up with a boat he’d rented. A heavy powerboat, with a powerful engine on the back, room for all of them, and, if Bullard wasn’t mistaken, full weaponry on the inside. Bullard slapped Fallon on the shoulder as he walked on board. “Good man,” he muttered.
Fallon shook his head. “Like anything else would be acceptable.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m a bit of a hard-ass, aren’t I?” Bullard wondered.
“You think?” Fallon said, but then he grinned. “Damn good to see you.”
“You too. And I’ll be safe to talk to once we find her,” he said.
“She means that much to you?” Fallon could tell something was in Bullard’s voice.
Bullard looked at him and smiled. “Yeah. Nothing like a few months on a deserted island to change your perspective on life.”