Hidden (Nicole Jones #1)(75)

‘So what happens now?’ I asked.

‘One of two things.’ Zeke shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. ‘I can take you in. Or you could come with me.’

Wasn’t that the same thing? He saw me frown and gave me a tentative smile.

‘You and I could go away together. I have nothing left at home. I’ll give it all up for you. We can go find an island somewhere, live the rest of our lives in peace. Together.’

I heard something outside, on the dock. Heavy footsteps. Whistling. Ian.

Zeke heard it, too, and he stepped away from the door, closer to me. ‘Don’t worry. We can get rid of him.’

But I didn’t want to get rid of him, and Zeke could see it in my face. His smile faded just as the door swung open. Ian came in, not seeing Zeke at first, but then he did, and he stopped.

‘Who’s this?’ Ian asked me, his eyes not leaving Zeke’s face.

‘Zeke Chapman,’ Zeke said, since I couldn’t find my voice.

‘Oh, right. The other man.’

Zeke looked stricken, as though he hadn’t considered that I was serious about Ian, but then he composed himself. ‘Yes, I guess so.’

‘Are you here for her?’

‘Yes.’

They were talking as though I wasn’t even in the room.

Ian rolled his eyes and gave me a funny look. ‘Then take her.’

Fury rose through my chest. ‘What do you mean, take her? Why do you think I want to go with him?’

‘Because he’s here, isn’t he? You must have called him. No one knows where we are.’ His eyes flickered slightly, and that was when I knew. Knew that he had somehow gotten word to Zeke where I was.

‘I’m not going with him.’

Zeke stood up a little taller then, straightened out his shoulders. ‘Well, then,’ he said, his voice suddenly steady and strong, ‘I have to take you in.’ His hands disappeared for a second and when they emerged again, he was holding handcuffs and a gun.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Taking you in. Charging you. You stole a lot of money, Tina.’ He swung the gun around toward Ian. ‘You, too.’ It was a challenging move, and if he’d wanted a fight, he was going to get it.

Ian moved closer, but I couldn’t stand here and watch this, especially since Zeke had a gun. Without thinking, I lunged toward Zeke, the move surprising him enough so that when my hand made contact with his arm, he dropped the gun. It fell to the floor with a thud. I stared at it a second before I heard a loud click.

Ian was holding a gun on Zeke. Another gun. Where had he gotten it?

‘Feels a little different to be on the other end of things, doesn’t it?’ Ian said, his face dark. ‘Tina, get the stuff together.’

Even though I’d been distracted, I knew what he meant, and I grabbed the two carry-ons we’d brought with us and began stuffing our clothes into them.

‘We’ll just find you again,’ Zeke warned.

I’d closed the suitcases and stood waiting for my next instructions.

‘Rope.’

I found some in a drawer while Ian shoved Zeke into a chair. All I could think about was how Zeke had found us and I would end up spending my life in prison, or at least the next twenty years, and I was too young for that. I knelt down and began tying Zeke’s foot to the chair.

Suddenly his leg swung out, the rope dangling, and he was somehow underneath Ian’s arms, the gun flying across the room.

‘Grab it, Tina!’ I heard Ian shout just before he grunted as Zeke punched him in the stomach.

On autopilot, I saw Zeke’s gun on the floor and grabbed it, swinging it around to hand to Ian, but something happened and it went off, the sound echoing against the wood, and Zeke was on the floor. I stood, staring at him, the gun hanging from my hand. I felt Ian take it from me. Zeke stared up at me with a puzzled expression.

‘I love you, Tina. It doesn’t have to be like this,’ he said, his voice almost a whisper.

‘Isn’t that sweet?’ Ian asked. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to go with him, Tina?’ His voice was laced with venom, and for the first time I saw how jealous he really was, but his words faded away as Zeke’s face grew white, his blood trickling toward my feet.

I took big gulps of air and yet I still couldn’t breathe.

Ian was shaking me. ‘Tina, get your shit together.’

I blinked a few times, his features coming into focus, and I glanced back down at Zeke. His eyes were half-closed, his mouth was moving but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

‘Where did you get it?’ I asked.

‘Get what?’

‘The gun, *. Where did you get it?’

He grinned, putting his hand up to my cheek. ‘Don’t worry about that. No one can trace it back to us.’

‘Us? You mean you.’

‘I’m not the one with the connection to him, Tina. Even his wife knew about you.’

I glanced at the suitcases on the bed. Ian was leaning over Zeke, his back to me. I reached up onto the shelf above the bed and grabbed the backpack that I’d prepared the day after arriving here. A glance inside told me Ian had not taken the money or the documents, trusting me. Quickly, I slipped his passport out and dropped it on the bed, slinging the bag over my shoulder and running for the door. I pushed my way outside, the air hitting me in the face like a splash of cold water. It had grown darker, the outlines of the buildings across the river just shadows. The light bled out of the small window of the boat.