Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 100563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
The man touched my wrist, making me flip the card back to the front. He frowned. “No mistake. See? Your name is authorised beneath Mr. Sinclair’s.” He looked me up and down, as if judging what I’d done to deserve such a gift.
I didn’t want a damn credit card.
I wanted a ride home.
A way to return to Sully’s side, despite the danger.
My trembles increased as I looked closer. Goosebumps sprang over me as, sure enough, my name was scribed beneath Sully’s.
What the hell does this mean?
That he’d given me the power to clean out his bank accounts? His version of showing me his trust? His way of tracking me with every swipe of his card?
He doesn’t want me to find him, but he wants to be able to find me?
The man strode away in his dress shoes, returning to his desk. Swiping the screen to activate his computer, he asked again, “So...which airline would you like to fly home on? I can book first class anywhere you need.”
I shivered, unable to fight the chill from the air-conditioning snowing over my shoulders and the fear of what happened to Sully.
He’d premeditated this.
He’d had time to request a card be issued with my name on it.
Why?
Had he known Drake would attack or had he planned on getting rid of me all along? And if he did want to get rid of me—if he wanted us over—then why give me access to his damn bank accounts?
“Ma’am? Your flight. Most large airlines leave around dawn, so it’s advisable to book—”
“Send me back to his Goddess Isles.”
He blanched, genuinely afraid for my mental capacity. “You cannot return, ma’am.”
“Why not?”
“I told you. Because you are not welcome. No one is permitted to return.”
“And like I told you, all I want is a private charter back to Mr. Sinclair.” I strode toward him, clutching Sully’s credit card. “That’s the only destination I need.”
“Not possible.”
“Make it possible.” My anger appeared. “I don’t care who you are or what your guidelines require. Mr. Sinclair is in danger. He only sent me away because he believed it would keep me safe, but I need to go back. I need to make sure he’s—”
“Mr. Sinclair does not permit anyone to know his location. Only those who have been carefully screened and approved—”
“I’m not a guest seeking to indulge. I was a goddess who lived there. We’re going around in circles.”
“What country are you from? I’ll book that—”
“You’re not listening to me!”
The man glowered. “And you are not listening to me. Your return is not possible.” He hovered his fingers over his keyboard, his teeth clenched as he snipped, “Preferred airline?”
“I’m not leaving until I get a lift back to Sully Sinclair.”
“No one will take you, ma’am.” His black eyes narrowed as his patience reached its limit. “Please advise me the airline you’d—”
“No flight!”
He sounded like a damn robot with pre-approved sentences.
He was the gatekeeper.
And Sully...God, Sully.
Please be okay.
I crossed my arms, Sully’s credit card dug into one hand and my fake/real passport dug into the other. “If you won’t help me, I’ll find someone who will.”
“No one will help you, ma’am.”
“Sully is well-known. Someone will spill.”
He bared his teeth. “You are not permitted to stay in Indonesia. What airline—”
Swooping toward him, I let go of my temper. I shouted like I should’ve shouted at Sully. “I am staying in this damn country because I deserve answers. I deserve to know what the hell he meant sending me away with no way of going back to him. I deserve to look him in the eyes and see which was the lie...loving me or getting rid of me. You and his pilots and all the guards in the world cannot stop me. Put me on a plane, and I’ll fly back. Ship me off to somewhere, and I’ll swim back. I will leave when I’m good and ready. And I will find a way back to him with or without your help.”
His eyebrows soared into his black hairline, his own temper fading under mine. “But...it’s just not done.”
“I don’t care. I’m not just any goddess.” Pointing a finger in his face, I snapped, “So, what’s it going to be? Will you help me, or do I have to find someone else?”
He licked his lips. “I will not help you, ma’am.”
“Fine.” My heart fell.
More delays.
More worry.
More time when Sully could die before I ever found my way back.
Bracing my shoulders, I commanded, “Take me to the closest hotel then. I’ll find my own way from there.”
Chapter Thirteen
THE SEA DIDN’T HAVE favourites.
The predators she kept safe one day could become chum for a bigger beast the next. I’d spent long enough in the salty embrace to know how traitorous the depths could be. But I couldn’t hate the ocean for choosing me as its next casualty.