She grabbed a golf cart and sped off to the twins' villa on the windward side of the island. As Carla parked the cart the wind picked up, whipping her ponytail against her cheek. Though the air was warm and moist, goosebumps prickled on Carla's skin.
The reality of the storm looming closer lent an urgency to her knocks as she went to round up the twins.
A muffled, “go away” was barely audible over the gust of wind whipping over the island.
Carla knocked harder. “Kayla, Karena, you need to come with me to the dock right now.”
When the door remained firmly shut, Carla took out her own key and unlocked the front door. Fortunately, the twins hadn't thrown the deadbolt. The door swung open to reveal the girls lounging on the couch in the main room. Two pairs of identical green eyes glared up at her.
“Like, what the hell do you think you're doing?” Kayla said.
“Yeah,” Karena chimed in. “We're like, paying guests. You can't just barge into our room.”
Carla bit back a snotty retort, reminding herself that these evil little snots were her guests and had to be treated as such. “Ladies, I'm so sorry to intrude, but there's a major storm headed our way and we have to evacuate the island.”
Karena blinked sleepily. “Like, leave?”
“Yes, like, leave.”
Neither made any move to get off the couch. “Look, I'm kinda hungover,” Kayla said, gesturing to the array of half empty liquor bottles scattered across the low table in front of the couch, “and I don't really feel like going anywhere. So I think we're cool just, like, waiting it out.”
Carla took a deep, calming breath and pasted what she hoped looked like a sympathetic smile on her face. “Wow, I know, hangovers are a total drag, and I can see why you might want to take it easy today, but the evacuation is not optional. It's not safe for you to stay here.”
Karena settled deeper into the cushions and cocked an eyebrow. “Isn't it like, our choice if we don't mind risking it?” She and her sister exchanged another look. “I've never been in a real hurricane before,” she said, a little thrill in her voice. “Sounds exciting.”
Carla felt her patience spread a little thinner. “You can watch the excitement from your hotel in St. Thomas, but right now, you have to get down to the dock. All the other guests are waiting.”
Kayla sighed heavily, unfolded her mile long legs and got off the couch. Karena followed. Moving at roughly the speed of a banana slug, they wandered upstairs to the bedrooms. Carla followed. “For now all you'll need is your passport and enough clothing for a few days.”
Ignoring her, Karena stopped at the upstairs storage closet and yanked out a full size steamer trunk stamped with a well known designer logo. She dragged it, grunting, into the first bedroom and started emptying the contents of the dresser into it.
Carla held up her hands. “Karena, we don't have time for you to pack everything. Once the storm passes we'll either get you back here or make sure everything is returned safely at no cost-”
“Yeah, right,” Kayla said as she marched in with an armload of shoes. “Like you people aren't going to be going through and looting everyone's stuff as soon as we leave?”
Carla curled her fingers into a fist as she resisted the urge to slap her. “We're all evacuating the island so no one will be here to loot. Even so, no one on my staff would dare steal from a guest.”
Karena let out a snort. “Right. Tell that to my friend who had her panties up on eBay.”
Carla's jaw clenched and she realized short of hogtying the girls and loading them onto the golf cart, she wasn't getting out of here until the girls were ready. She dove into the fray, gathering up armloads of clothes, shoes, and lingerie and cramming it into the trunk and two suitcases the girls had brought.
The walkie talkie on her hip beeped. Carla paused in her packing to answer. “Carla, where are you?” Bryce's voice was slightly frantic as it crackled over the receiver.
“Just helping the Waters get packed up and ready to go.”
“Well you need to get down to the dock, now. Everyone's loaded up and we just got notice that the storm is moving faster than we initially thought.”
Carla clipped the receiver back on her hip and grabbed a suitcase, ignoring Kayla's squawk of protest. “You heard him girls. Edina's going to hit soon, and if we don't get you off the island, all your precious Louboutins and Louis Vuitton luggage will get carried off by the storm.”
Should have used that as my opener, Carla thought, because suddenly the girls sprang into action, packing up the last of their belongings at warp speed. Carla huffed as she lugged the first suitcase out to the cart. Rain had started to fall, and she felt the fat drops pelt the top of her head. She went back up stairs for the other suitcase and found the girls struggling to lift the trunk.