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  She stood, looked at him, and asked, “What can I do for you? Who are you?”

  He didn’t look like any islander she knew, and he wasn’t dressed like it. He was dressed like a foreigner. Like Dave. But the look on his face was nowhere near as happy or as kind. He smiled an overly familiar smile that made her almost freeze inside, and she wondered if she knew him, but she couldn’t place his face. It was like a fractured version of some other face. Then she noted the scars all over his features.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, stepping closer.

  He looked at her in surprise, then lifted a hand to his face. “Yes, I’m fine,” he said, “but thank you for noticing.”

  She shook her head. “Why are you here?”

  “I came to see you,” he said, but nothing terribly awe-inspiring was about that voice.

  “Why?”

  “You have something of mine,” he said quietly. She looked at him in surprise and then looked around. “I don’t have anything at all.”

  “No, you just didn’t know that what you had was so important,” he said, “but now that I’ve found it, I do feel compelled to make a few changes.”

  Feeling like he was talking in some weird crypto-language, she stared at him for a moment, feeling her instincts kick in. She was a bit slow after the emotional set-to with Bullard yet soon realized that not only was this guy here for her but he wasn’t here for any good reason at all.

  “I think you need to leave,” she said harshly. “I don’t know who or what you think you’re after, but you’re not welcome here.”

  “Ah,” he said, “you’re finally clued in, aren’t you?”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t have a clue what you’re doing,” she said, “or why you’re even here, but there’s nothing about you that makes me feel safe.”

  “Good,” he said, “because I’m definitely not here to make your day.”

  Shocked, she didn’t know what to say.

  “Instead,” he said, “I’m here to make sure somebody else’s day takes a turn.” And, with that, he lunged forward, slapped a hand over her mouth and pinched her neck. And slowly, almost like in the comics, she sagged in his arms, until she was on the floor. He picked her up while she was barely conscious and threw her over his shoulder, then disappeared into the trees.

  *

  Bullard and Dave finally fell silent, after both had been talking so fast, trying to fill each other in on what had happened. Dave had been doing the bulk of the talking, but then he had asked about Leia, and that had started another whole conversation.

  Bullard took several long slow deep breaths. “It’s been really good to be here,” he said. “It’s been a step out of the craziness of my normal world that I hadn’t realized I needed.”

  “I kept telling you that you needed to take more time off,” Dave said.

  “I hear you,” Bullard replied.

  “But you haven’t been really hearing me. You’ve just been listening on a surface level.”

  Bullard groaned and rolled his eyes. “Okay, so the world forced me to slow down.”

  “Exactly. And now it’s a matter of slowly getting back in, and realizing how much and what you want to do, plus how much you don’t want to do.”

  “I want to ease back and not do as much traveling, and I don’t want to be as heavily involved.”

  “Let’s face it,” Dave said. “A lot of what you were doing was filling your time and your mind, while trying to forget Ice and all that.”

  “I don’t want to forget Ice,” Bullard said quietly. “She’s a very special part of me, and she always will be.”

  “Yes, but you didn’t allow yourself room to find anybody else,” he said.

  “Maybe so.” He shrugged. “But it feels like that was a long time ago.”

  “And I think that’s why this break was so important for you. Honestly I’m surprised at how well you’ve matched up with Leia. The fact that she saved your life is also a pretty positive thing and of course builds a bond that you may not have expected,” Dave said. “But, at the same time, it’s also given you a chance to get to know her. Before, you had short relationships, more of a stress relief than anything. Women were all over you, more than willing to become something more, but you couldn’t see them.”

  “Not sure I do now either,” he said.

  “No,” Dave said, with a smile, “but that’s because you also see Leia now.”

  He looked at Dave and asked, “What do you think about her coming back with me?”

  “I think that would be lovely. We do need to look into her history though, and I’ve already started the team on it,” he said.

  “Good. I think it’s completely wrong for somebody to accuse her of something like that, only to find out that they actually committed murder in order to get rid of her.”

  “The other thing you have to consider,” Dave said, “is the fact that it’s all too possible,” and he hesitated.

  “All too possible, what?”

  Dave took a deep breath. “You don’t really know Leia.”

  Bullard glared at him, though he knew better than to immediately jump in and defend her because Dave was right; Bullard didn’t know Leia. Yet he did. He knew her in the way anybody who’d survived a traumatizing event knew the person who cared for them selflessly the way that she had, day in and day out. But he also knew that Dave wouldn’t have seen it, wouldn’t have known it. And he still would be the pragmatist that said Bullard really didn’t know who she was. He stared out at the ocean, and his jaw twitched.

  “I know it’s not something you want to hear,” Dave said, “and it’s not something that I want to bring up either. But the facts remain. You do not know her that well, and, for all you know, she’s lying.”

  “Check with Ice,” he said suddenly. “Her father’s in the industry, so he would probably know something about it.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Dave said, pulling out his phone. He immediately sent off texts.

  “Did you tell Ice?”

  “Hell yes, I told her,” he said. “She’s been screaming for joy ever since she found out. Terk has been looking for you. Even telling her that you were alive. Plus, he’s the one who said he had found you.”

  Something settled inside Bullard. “I’m glad to hear that. Terk is something else,” he said softly. “Ice will always be special.”

  “She will,” Dave said. “But it’s also time for you to find something more for yourself.”

  He looked at him, looked up in the direction of Leia’s cabin, and said, “Yes, I think you’re right. And I think Leia is it.”

  “Good,” Dave said. “You would make me very happy if that was the case.”

  Bullard looked at his old friend and smirked. “Even if I don’t know her?”

  “By the time we’re done analyzing her background and tearing her life apart,” he said, “it won’t make much difference.” Immediately Bullard frowned at him. Dave chuckled. “You know what I mean.”

  “I know,” he said, “but I wouldn’t want to hurt her.”

  “We’re not in the business of pulling wings off butterflies,” Dave said, “but, if we’ve got black widows flying around, you can bet that we’ll take care of them appropriately.”

  Bullard rolled his eyes at that. “She’s not a black widow.”

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” he said. At that, Bullard stood slowly and stretched. Dave assessed him carefully.

  “I’m better,” Bullard said. “Not in peak form yet by any means, and I’ve just slowly started rebuilding the muscles, but you and I both know I’m not there.”

  “But you’ll get there,” he said.

  “Maybe. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get back to where I was though.”

  “Do you know how badly you were hurt?”

  “No,” he said. “I have no memory except that chaotic moment of the plane exploding.”

  “And you just woke up here?”

  “I woke up here, compl
etely incapacitated and tied down in many ways,” he said. “I don’t know all the details, but I had a very broken body,” he said. “I was very blessed that she was the one who found me.”

  “Interesting that she didn’t let anybody know.”

  “I think that even then she knew,” Bullard said.

  “Knew what?” Dave asked, confused.

  “That I had been targeted,” he said quietly. “She was always about secrecy.”

  “That’s kind of creepy, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe, but I’ll take it because she kept me alive.” He frowned, looked at his buddy, and said, “Speaking of which, she should have come back by now.”

  “Missing her so soon?” he teased.

  “I haven’t gone more than one conscious hour without seeing her all this time,” he said.

  “But she’s also got to deal with some difficult problems herself right now. She’s got a lot to think about.”

  “And I didn’t want it to be difficult for her, Dave. I really didn’t.”

  “You can’t save everybody,” he said.

  “I know. But I’d like to save those who helped me.”

  “Well, speaking of that, an awful lot of guys are on their way here.”

  “They don’t need to do that,” he said, turning to look at him. “I’ll be heading home.”

  “That’s an awful lot of traveling, and honestly I’m not sure you’re up for it yet.”

  Bullard glared at him. “Where’s the jet?”

  “You mean, your friend’s private jet?”

  He stopped, thought about it, and said, “Oh, yeah, that’s right. I saw trips in a private jet and assumed it was mine. But now the puzzle pieces are falling into place on that. I don’t own it, do I?”

  “Nope. But you have some very grateful people around you, people you have helped. They made certain you have equipment available to you whenever you need it.”

  “Right,” Bullard said. “I saved his daughter, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, you did,” Dave said, with a smile. “And his second wife.”

  “Interesting,” he said. “Funny how we block things out.”

  “You blocked a lot of that one out regardless,” he said. “Some of it was too painful.”

  “Did I get hurt?”

  “No,” he said, “but we had one of the only two deaths we’ve ever had in the business.”

  Bullard winced at that. “Pierre. It’s all coming back now, and that was a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, it was. So, back to the jet, he only uses it once or twice a year, but he keeps it because it’s kind of like his first car. He doesn’t want to let it go, so you get to use it whenever because he rarely uses it himself.”

  “Sounds like a good deal to me.” Looking puzzled for a moment, Bullard scratched his head, then looked up to the cabin again. “Something’s off.”

  “Oh, your instincts are back up to snuff, are they?”

  “Not by a long shot,” he said, “but something isn’t right.” Immediately he walked toward Leia’s cabin.

  “If you’re not quite up to par, maybe you shouldn’t be barging in there,” Dave murmured.

  “Maybe not, but I also don’t feel very good not checking things out.”

  “Well, we could always …” Dave trailed off because Bullard wasn’t listening anymore.

  “Something’s wrong, Dave.” He bounced up the few steps to the porch outside her place and stepped in. It was completely empty.

  “Where would she go?” Dave asked. “Where would she go on the island?”

  “Anywhere,” he said, “but she wouldn’t have left for long without checking in with me.” Dave looked at him, and he shook his head. “Don’t give me that look. I know this woman. You don’t.”

  “No, I don’t,” Dave said. “What is it you think has happened?”

  Bullard turned to look around, then frowned. Then he pointed out footprints. “Look, a man’s boot print.” He looked over Dave.

  “Not mine,” Dave said, “because I haven’t been up there.” He walked over to the other footsteps and pointed out, “Looks like a bit of a scuffle here, Bullard. And deeper footprints afterward.”

  “She’s been forcefully taken,” he said in shock.

  “Looks like it,” Dave said, as he turned and headed down, following the tracks. Bullard joined him, and the two of them tracked the footprints to a small bay on the side.

  “I didn’t even know this little bay was here,” he said. “God, I’ve been living in this idyllic prison, one so gentle and soft that I let my instincts down. And now some asshole’s come in and snatched her.”

  “But you don’t know that it is related to you,” Dave said quietly. “And we don’t know that’s what happened. I’ll keep tracking these prints.”

  “Who else would it be related to?” he said, glaring at Dave.

  “There could be all kinds of things in her own history, remember? It’s not as simple as it might have once looked.”

  Bullard stopped at that. “Did you hear back from Ice?”

  “No, not yet.”

  Bullard held out his hand. “Let me see the phone.” Dave immediately passed it over then turned to follow the tracks. Ice was one of the automatic numbers at the top. He quickly punched it, and moments later she answered.

  “Dave, how is he?”

  “Ice,” he said, and for the first time, possibly in his whole life, he felt the tears creeping up his throat as he heard her voice.

  There was split second of silence, and then she gasped. “Oh my God. Bullard, is that you?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. Damn, it’s good to hear your voice.”

  “Oh my God. We’ve been searching for you for so damn long.” And this time, there was no hiding the tears. She was busy choking them back, as she tried to call out, “Levi, it’s Bullard.”

  Immediately another voice joined the call. “Bullard, what can we do?”

  “Dammit, Levi, I just want to hate you, but I can’t do it. You’re far too good of a man.”

  “Love you too, bro,” Levi said, his own voice choking up. “What can we do to help you from here?”

  “Earlier Dave sent a message about Leia, the woman who rescued me and kept me alive for the last few months,” he said. “Have you gotten any information at all?”

  “I’ve got a call into my dad, but he hasn’t answered me yet,” Ice said. “Is it urgent? What’s going on?”

  “It is now. She’s gone missing.”

  “Missing?” He quickly filled them in on the little bit he knew. “She could be just emotionally traumatized because you’re looking at leaving,” Ice said cautiously.

  “Yeah, I get that,” he said. “She could be and likely is, but she’s not a runner.” There was silence on the other end. “What?”

  “Well, she did run,” Ice said quietly. “When her world broke up, that’s exactly what she did.”

  “I think it was more a case of walking at that point, walking away from everything important to her.”

  “Wait, my dad’s on the other line,” she said. “Hang on and talk to Levi, I’ll be right back.”

  Levi said, “Do you need a ride? Have you got everything in place to get yourself back home?”

  “Dave’s here with me,” he said looking up as Dave returned a hard look on his face. Bullard’s heart sank. That’s all the confirmation he needed.

  “Oh, good,” Levi said, “I imagine half the team’s headed that way.”

  “They shouldn’t be,” Bullard growled. “On the other hand, if something has happened to Leia, I’ll need them.”

  “Exactly,” he said. “Keep your head.”

  “Planning on it,” he said, with a smirk. “A little bit of sanity in this world would be nice.”

  “I hear you,” Levi said. “Your guys have had one hell of a time.”

  “How about you guys?” Bullard asked.

  “Hellish as always,” he said. “It seems like the world is just one step away fr
om imploding, at least that’s how it feels.” Just then Ice came back on.

  “Turns out it’s a case my father knows well. He knew a lot of the people involved at the time. She was sacrificed, plain and simple,” she said, outraged. “He says that Leia is an incredibly gifted surgeon, but the powers that be needed somebody to blame to make it all go away, and they blamed her.”

  “She says this Leo deliberately murdered the patient with a lengthwise cut to the artery, so they lost him right then and there. He already had a touchy heart, and they had done everything. The other surgeon waited until her hand was in position as well, then did it, blaming her immediately. It was a setup.”

  There was silence on the other end. “Jesus,” Levi said. “A murder right in front of her.”

  Bullard’s heart sank at the thought of what she’d gone through. “We have to do something about it,” he said. “What else does your dad know about it?”

  “He only knows the basics,” she said, “but he does know a couple people on the board. At the time when he was asking for details, they said it was under wraps.”

  “Well, it needs to be exposed,” Bullard snapped. “That woman saved my life, and she was crucified by the very people she worked beside.”

  “We’ve seen it time and time again,” Ice said quietly.

  “Not this time. If there’s one thing I can do for Leia, it’s clear her name. At the time, they came close to charging her for murder,” he said.

  “Yes. That’s what my dad was saying,” she murmured. “I don’t know how bad it was at the time, but apparently a lot of those bigwigs are still very resentful of her.”

  “But why?”

  “She pioneered a new type of surgery, and it was incredibly effective. People don’t like it when somebody gets ahead and gets better than themselves.”

  “Doesn’t matter what they like,” he snapped. “My God.” He felt the anger burning inside. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m so tired of people being shitheads.”

  “All of us are,” Ice said calmly. “So what do you want us to do?”