Charlotte forced herself to focus on the strange new world outside the car, and though she couldn't completely forget the presence of Jackson beside her, she soon found herself enthralled by the city around her. Split was nothing like she'd imagined. Below them, a thousand red-orange roofs gleamed in the rising sun, and beyond that, the Adriatic Sea shone a bright turquoise blue. She'd never seen anything like it. It was half modern city - complete with grimy advertisements on every corner and stray cats scampering down the side streets - and half historical wonder. She kept catching glimpses of a white tower poking out among the roofs down near the water."That's Diocletian's Palace down there," came Jackson's voice at her ear. "Built by the Roman emperor of the same name. They let you climb the bell tower. If you have a chance, you should. The view is amazing."He spoke to her as if she were on a vacation instead of possibly running for her life. But another thing struck her about
She doesn't belong out here.That's what Jackson kept telling himself, anyway. Charlie belonged somewhere comfortable, somewhere safe. And yet no matter how many times he repeated that fact to himself, he couldn't stop staring at the way the sun made her hair shine like burnt gold, or how the wind danced around her like it wanted to keep her here forever. Right now she was stretched out on her back beneath the sail, basking like a cat in the sun. Every once in a while she'd shift and stretch, arching that soft, curvy body toward the sails. It reminded him of the way she used to arch beneath him, lifting her body to let him go harder and deeper inside of her.A low laugh sounded behind him. "I knew it, old boy."He turned. It was Leo, with a can of that cheap Croatian beer in his hand and a smirk on his face."I knew she still had you by the balls," Leo said. "I just didn't realize how bad it was."Jackson swung his elbow at his friend, but Leo dodged it."Hey, I never said I blam
Charlotte knew she needed to be more careful.Back in the bay, she'd almost let herself forget how much Jackson had hurt her. She'd fallen right into his arms, let him touch her and kiss her neck and chase away all of the pain he'd caused for a few heart-pounding moments. That couldn't happen again. What kind of idiotic girl trusted a guy who'd already broken her heart once?Fortunately, Jackson was occupied for most of the day. When they got back to the port town of Vis, Roth had sent the men out in two-man teams across the island to look for their missing teammate. Apparently, the teammate in question was the sole female member of this crew, and Charlotte wondered why the hell they'd ever send her off on her own - until she realized that any woman who willingly joined this group was probably tough enough to handle herself. Not every girl out there was as inexperienced or as afraid as she was.Roth and the big Russian guy stayed on the boat while the others were searching. The two
Jackson didn't get the chance to reply. At that moment, Leo returned, leaping across the gangplank with an armful of grilled fish."Dinner!" he declared, then stopped when he saw the two of them."That's all right," she said. "I'm not sure I'm hungry. I think I might go lie down for a little while."Jackson reached for her. "Goose - ""Stop calling me that!" she said, slipping out of his grip. Her tone must have gotten through to him, because he didn't try to follow her as she darted back across the boat and went down below.Her eyes burned, and she hated herself for it. What did she expect, tagging along on this expedition? That by hopping on a plane and flying across the world she'd suddenly be an adventurer?Her eyes fell to the small table next to the ship's kitchenette. Roth had left out the atlas, along with the notebooks she'd assumed were Rinaldi's journals. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stepped forward and picked up one of the leather-bound volumes and flipped t
Jackson went cold.His first instinct was to drop down on top of Charlie, to protect her as much as he could. It took him a full minute to realize the gun hadn't gone off in the room with them. But it had been close - which meant the danger was still very real.He leaped up and tugged up his pants. Charlie tried to get up, too, but he shook his head. "Stay down here. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me."Heavy footsteps sounded above them - then a curse and a shout.Fuck. He stumbled over to the cabinet over the kitchenette, yanking open the door and shoving aside the cans of food. In the back of the cabinet was a hidden compartment where they stored a number of small handguns. He hadn't been wearing one. That was fucking careless. He threw a glance at the stairs, but no one was coming down. Vincent's journals and atlas were still on the table."Leo?" he called.There was no answer.He ran up the stairs. Leo was on his knees on the deck, gripping his arm. Dark blood o
Jackson woke to the sun coming in through the window.His head pounded, and he moaned as he rolled away from the light. He was normally up before dawn, but for some reason, he was still exhausted this morning.His arm hit something soft. Something that murmured and shifted beside him.Immediately, his eyes flew open. He sprang up in bed.It was morning. He'd fallen asleep next to Charlie, drifted off with his arms around her when he should have been out tracking down the rat who shot Leo.He leaped up off the mattress. The motion woke Charlie, whose eyes fluttered open."What's going on?" she asked groggily when she saw him reaching for his gun on the nightstand."I fell asleep," he said. "I fucking fell asleep. The bastard's probably long gone by now." But it didn't matter. If the fucker was anywhere on the island, he'd find him.Behind him, a soft sound escaped Charlie's lips. It was so quiet, he doubted she even realized she'd made it, but when he turned around, he found her
Charlotte was finally on the adventure she'd dreamed of.The coordinates led to a point about four miles away from the city of Hvar, on a section of the island they'd quickly realized was undeveloped - though they learned after a quick stop at the Tourist Information Center by the wharf that there were a number of foot trails along that section of coast. To save time, they rented a motorized scooter to take them as far as the roads would go.She asked to ride behind him on the scooter. She told him it was because she'd never ridden one before - which was true - but the truth was that she just wanted to be close to him. Their conversation in bed had left a knot in her stomach the size of a watermelon. She didn't know what would ultimately happen between them, but in the meantime, she wanted to be as close to him as possible."You ready?" he asked over his shoulder as she settled onto the seat behind him.She slid her arms around his waist and pressed herself against his back. He see
When he saw Charlie go over the cliff, Jackson's vision went red.He'd come upon them just in time to see the bastard try to grab Charlie's leg. Just in time to see her stumble and fall. And in that second, his entire world had exploded.In no time at all, he was on top of the bastard. Beating him. Trying to tear his head off.But this man was bigger than his companion - who currently lay unconscious back on the trail. This man met Jackson punch for punch. Kick for kick. For every strike Jackson landed, he received one in return. And all the while in his head he kept seeing Charlie go over the cliff. Charlie, who was only here because of him. Charlie, who had somehow become his entire world.Charlie...His opponent got him in the ribs, knocking the breath right from his chest. He didn't have time to recover, and the next swing swept him onto his back.He hooked his leg around the larger man's knee and pulled him down to the ground. He had to finish this guy. Had to get over the c