But I honestly didn’t know if I’d find myself on the other side.
I might cross an irrevocable line I could never return from.
I’d said goodbye to Eleanor.
I’d given her no way to find me again and no promises to go after her.
After tonight, there would be nothing left of the Sully she knew.
Bringing the radio to my mouth, I murmured, “Jinx…”
If Eleanor wore the headset in the cabin, she’d hear me. She’d know, even with her above me and out of reach, I was still hers, for the next few heartbeats at least. “Eleanor…I’m sorry.”
Sorry for betraying you.
Sorry for loving you.
Sorry for saying goodbye.
My thumb stayed on the call button, not wanting to hear a reply. I braced to dive into the ocean, only for a spray of hot fire to ricochet over the horizon, thudding into my men, wounding more, knocking them to the sand.
“Shit!” I turned, violence crashing through me.
I stormed forward, inhaling a final breath to vanish into the brine, but a creature rose from the ocean before me.
No, not a creature…a man in full scuba gear with a harpoon aimed at my chest.
I saw red. I threw the radio at his masked face.
Calm water around me danced with a volley of bullets as Drake shot toward his own men, seeking me. “Fuck!” Ducking to the side, I dove into the wet darkness, only for a harpoon to hiss with release.
A spear sliced into my thigh.
A rope jerked me back.
And a foot planted squarely on my back, shoving me underwater.
Chapter Twelve
“HERE.”
I looked up, my eyes unable to focus on what the pilot held.
“Jinx…”
“Eleanor…I’m sorry.”
For the past sixty minutes, Sully’s voice echoed like a terrible melody in my head.
His apology set fire to all my fears that he’d agreed to a temporary separation, but really…it’d been a terrible lie.
He’d sent me away knowing he’d never see me again.
His voice gave the truth.
His violent curse following his despair hinted that the gunfire that’d been aimed at me had been aimed at him instead.
Dammit, Sully!
While I’d been flown against my will, he’d been shot at, attacked, and possibly died on the very beach where I’d been delivered to him.
Oh, God.
I curled up, hugging my hollow stomach, my heart long ago reduced to ash.
“Take it.” The captain who’d ripped me from war and left Sully to battle alone entered the cabin and grabbed my lifeless hand. “You’ll need this. Read it carefully. Obey completely. And your life will continue without further harassment from Mr. Sinclair.”
I blinked, forcing numb fingers around the envelope. “What…what do you mean?”
“I mean your time as his goddess has ended. You’re free.”
“I don’t want to be free. I need to go back. He’s in trouble—”
“Stop.” He rolled his eyes as if he’d heard it all before. “He is not in trouble. And regardless of what you want, it doesn’t matter. Come on.” Leaping from the cabin, he brushed down his pilot’s uniform and held out his hand. “I’ll pass you over to the ground staff.”
I sat straighter, refusing to move. “Take me back to Sully.”
His body stiffened, illuminated by the lights from the private hangar outside. “I only take orders from Mr. Sinclair.”
We’d landed on the outskirts of a busy airport. Jets and commercial planes all went about their business in the distance, unaware that the man I’d fallen for might not breathe air anymore.
“He might be hurt.”
“He has guards. They’ll defend—”
“The last radio call…it sounded as if he’d been ambushed.”
“The sooner you remove yourself from my aircraft, the sooner I can return and offer assistance.”
“Take me with you.”
He crossed his arms, his nostrils flaring. “You will not be returning to Mr. Sinclair by my services, Miss.”
I flinched, lost and alone, doing my best to figure out how to stop this runaway train separating me from Sully. “I’ll pay.”
“You have been evicted. You can bribe me all you want, but you will not find Goddess Isles again. By me or other means of transportation.”
A flush of panic tried to resurrect my heart. “Just because you won’t take me doesn’t mean I won’t—”
“You can’t find his islands, ma’am.” He clenched his jaw and launched into the cabin again. His fingers unlocked my harness; his hand wrapped around my arm and jerked me unceremoniously from the helicopter. “No one can find Mr. Sinclair if they don’t have an invitation. And you, Miss, no longer have an invitation.”
I fought him. “His brother found him. I doubt he was given an invitation.”
The pilot sniffed. “Forget about Mr. Sinclair. Don’t waste your time trying to find him. No one will help you. No one will take you.”
“Stop it!” I struggled against his strength as he dragged me closer to the hanger. My bare feet grazed on the tarmac, flaring with pain. My simple dress fluttered with the night breeze. I’d been sold to Sully without a single personal belonging. I’d been removed from Sully in the exact same condition.