“How do they gain access to the island? Is it an air strike?”
“No,” I shake my head. “They come by water—they swim to shore—that’s how they get in undetected.”
“On what part of the island do they stage their arrival?” he asks.
“The beach in front of your cottages.”
“Is that their only access point?” I think for a moment, and then I nod my head. Kyon pulls me closer to him, resting his chin on my head. “Good girl,” he whispers.
“You don’t get it!” I try to pull away from him. He lets me go enough so that I can look into his eyes. “We have to leave! They’re going to kill us!”
His eyes soften. There’s no fear in them whatsoever. “No, they’re not—”
I clutch his arm, trying to make him understand. “Yes! They are! They’re coming and you can’t stop them all—”
“They can’t do anything to us now, Kricket, because you’re going to tell me everything you know that will happen and I’m going to take care of the rest.”
Panic overwhelms me. He still doesn’t get it! “There are too many of them! They’re sent by the Brotherhood—by Excelsior!”
“I know. You scare them.”
“I scare them?” I laugh humorlessly.
My incredulous response is met by unflagging stoicism. “More than anything in this world,” he replies.
“Why haven’t you handed me over to him?”
His expression turns angry. What I just said to him is something he finds completely offensive. “I told you—you’re mine.”
I shiver. “They want me dead.”
“They want to kill anything they can’t control.”
“Well, they’re gonna do it tonight,” I promise as I look up at the exposed beams of the boathouse ceiling. The water makes diamond patterns on the wood. Normally it’s hypnotic and beautiful, but now I find no pleasure in it.
Kyon’s hand reaches over and cups my cheek. Turning my face toward his again, he says, “If we’re to die tonight, then I want one last kiss.”
Before I can react, he covers my lips with his own. It’s not a last kiss—there’s no desperation in it. Instead, his body grows closer to mine, as if magnetically pulled to me. As his lips move over mine, my skin erupts with fresh goose bumps. I want to fight him, but there’s something in his kiss that I desperately need at the moment—an assurance that we’ll live. My traitorous body reacts to his, to the safety he offers in this moment. The moment passes, though, and I wrench my lips away from his. My heart pounds hard against the cage of my chest. His breathing is heavy against my neck.
“We’re going to live, aren’t we?” I ask with a shaky voice, touching my fingers to my swollen lips, which still feel his against them.
He smiles against my skin. “That I can promise you,” he says softly, “at least for tonight.” He lifts his head to look at me. His blue eyes make me think he can see inside my soul. He lets go of me and gets up from the boathouse floor, then extends his hand. “I need you to show me exactly where they come ashore.”
I grasp his hand and he helps me to my feet. I feel dizzy. He holds me close, but I push away from him. “I’m fine now,” I grumble. I feel awkward. I just want to put some space between us.
“You need me, Kricket.” He reaches for my hand again.
I snatch it back from him. “No, I don’t.”
He frowns, but he doesn’t try to take my hand again. Instead, he gestures toward the door. I precede him to it. Outside in the sunlight, everything feels more unreal. How can anything be wrong in this place—this tropical paradise?
“It’s this way to the beach cottages.” He walks along a small, sandy path through the palm trees. I follow him, and he slows until we walk beside each other on the path. I wrap my arms around myself in a protective way. My thoughts are consumed with the imminent attack. When we reach the other side of the island, I show him the precise point where the soldiers will make it onto the beach. We discuss the type of weaponry they’ll possess. I tell him about the squelch trackers.
Kyon listens to every detail, making me go over things several times. Then he says, “I’ll set more squelch trackers to accommodate their numbers.”
“I hate squelch trackers,” I mutter, remembering the one that almost killed me.
“None of the squelch trackers I’ll set will hunt you, Kricket. If one comes across you here, it will ignore you. They’re programmed for specific targets. They’ll be unable to hurt you.”