Page 9 of Caretaker

“Yes.” I walked toward him, my stare on the dark-haired man at his side. “You must be Rhys’s buddy.”

He nodded and offered his hand. “My name is Alejandro Rodríguez. You can call me Al.”

I laughed and took his hand. “Hi, Al.”

“Shall we go?” He dropped his stare to my chest. “Nice.”

“Hey,” Shane said. “Don’t make me kick your ass before we even get started.”

Al turned to him, an eyebrow cocked. “What did I do?”

I grinned and reached out to squeeze Shane’s arm. “He was complimenting the pin Rhys gave me. But thanks for defending my honor.”

“Fuck,” Shane muttered under his breath, then yanked the car door open and climbed into my backseat. “I’m going to sleep. Don’t wake me until we get there.”

Alejandro chatted the entire hour it took to get to Byrd Island, and I was grateful he was so talkative. It helped take my mind off the monstrous butterflies trying to escape my belly.

I had a couple of inches on the new guy, and his delicate bone structure, quick black eyes, and full lips made him pretty but didn’t exactly scream “tough guy.” He looked delicate, sweet, and innocent. There was no darkness in his eyes.

I wasn’t used to that. “How long have you known Rhys?” I patted my phone, tempted to call Rhys to ask him if he hadn’t sent the wrong guy, but I restrained myself.

“Since I was seven years old.”

I glanced at him. “Long time.”

He smiled. “Yes.”

When he saw I had no more questions or comments on the situation, he began chatting once again. Meaningless drivel that provided background noise until at last, I parked the car.

“We’re here.”

He stared through the windshield at Lake Crane, shuddering. “I don’t like water.”

I looked heavenward and sighed before rousing my hunter partner. “Shane. Wake up. We’re here.”

He sat up immediately. “I’ll go see about hiring someone to ferry us across.”

“Okay,” I said. “And hurry. We don’t have a lot of time.” But the thought of crossing over to Byrd Island filled me with dread. Not because I was afraid of water, as poor Al was, but because I was about to see Angus.

And that scared the hell out of me.

I didn’t move, not even after Shane climbed from the car. Alejandro got out and leaned against the hood, staring at the lake.

Shane was back in five minutes. “Let’s go. Guy will take us from Pier 7 in ten minutes.”

I got out, my entire body shaking. “I don’t feel well, Shane,” I whispered.

He shook his head, stared down his nose at me, then finally, he pulled me into his arms. “This is what you’ve been after for six months.”

“Why am I so afraid now that I’ve got it?”

He tightened his arms around me briefly, then set me away from him. “I’ll leave Al to protect you, and I’ll visit Angus alone.” He patted my head. “Wait here.”

I straightened my spine and narrowed my eyes. “I will not.” More than a little ashamed of myself, I swept past him and his smirk and strode to Pier 7, my outrage temporarily larger than my anxiety.

I shivered all the way across the lake, my gaze never straying from the island in the distance. The huge prison, tall and angular and cold, loomed large and ominous against a pretty blue sky.

A feeling of doom settled into the pit of my stomach and refused to budge. My gut tried to keep me safe, but my heart made me rush into danger as fast as I possibly could.

It’d be interesting to see which one killed me in the end.