Surrender Your Heart (13 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Penny

I’m nowhere
closer to understand my situation, my reactions to it, and…Carter Forbes. She
saved my life and makes no mention of the fact that I betrayed her. Not completely
intentionally. Hanks did terrify me, because of what he said, even more because
he had a gun when he urged me to come with him. I did, though, betray her. I’m
still not sure what that makes me, but Carter has enough faith for the both of
us. She can’t seem to take her hands off me, and yes, I have to admit I’m more
than okay with this kind of coping.

It’s like magic
between us, hot, undeniable, causing a warm rush to my core even at the
memory…but she doesn’t plan on us having a real relationship, on equal footing,
anytime soon.

Instead, she
left me here, which scares me more than I let on. I don’t even dare go to the
pool. I tell Marlene I don’t feel so good. After Carter has left, I spend most
of the day napping, evading the world.

I don’t resent
her—I can’t. This alternate reality is still damn exhausting, and the only time
I can entirely leave those thoughts behind is when we’re naked together.
Something’s not perfect with this picture, but we can work it out eventually,
right? If not now, then after the year?

I am half asleep
once more, bolting upright in the bed—my own—when the door is carefully opened.
Instantly, I hope Carter has returned, but it’s not her who walks in with an
expression that hovers between sympathy and pity.

“Ms. Elliot?
We’re here to take you home,” Colette Grady says.

Behind her,
there are two men, colleagues of hers, and Marlene, looking terrified, in
handcuffs. I can’t help it—I start to cry, and not from relief, because I know,
this is the end of the life I’ve almost become accustomed to.

* * * *

“Give us a
minute?” Grady says to the other cops, then she closes the door. The sound of
it falling into the lock jolts me out of my overwhelmed state. I have to think.
I have to be very careful about how to play it. This is not a life-threatening
situation, but it has the potential to change the lives of various people
forever—people I’ve grown to care about.

“Please put on
some clothes, then we’ll drive you to the airport. Everything else, we can take
care of later.” When she speaks to me, her voice is soft, sympathetic. I don’t
deserve or want any of that sympathy, not anymore. I have no use for it.

“This is a
misunderstanding. I don’t want to go anywhere, and you need to let Marlene go.
She’s a cook and a housekeeper. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“What about
Carter? Has she done anything wrong?”

I shake my head,
taken aback by the disappointment and bitterness. I remember when Grady showed
up out of the blue, and Carter tried to make me believe it was nothing.
Obviously, there are some issues between them beyond the fact that she took
money from Carter. Have the two of them been lovers before? The flash of
jealousy is not much of a surprise to me. It’s not helpful at this moment
either. I need to convince her.

“No.”

Grady walks
closer to me, holding my gaze with the same kind expression—or maybe it’s pity.

“I don’t know
what you’ve been told, or what you think you know. You got it all wrong.” That
sounds pretty good to me. My voice is firm and convincing—I think.

“Ms. Elliot, we
know that you’ve been taken from your apartment. We know about the shooting
that took place on the island. You can tell us the truth. You’ll be safe.”

“I’ve been told
that before.” I get out of the bed and put on my robe, aware of her watching me
cautiously. “A man showed me a false badge, said he was FBI, when in reality he
was going to hand me over to a guy named Laydon. Why would I trust you?”

I didn’t miss
her flinch at my depiction of the events.

“You are right
to be careful,” she concedes. “This has gone much too far. Let’s get you home
now, shall we?”

“I’m taking a
time-out for a year,” I insist. “Carter was nice enough to be my host in the
meantime.”

I can’t help it,
I’m shaking. I might never see her again. My mind refuses to process this. I
open the door to the giant walk-in closet, satisfied when Colette’s jaws drops
slightly.

“Look at all
this? Does this look like I’m forced to be here? I’m a
guest
. I’m free
to go whenever I like.”

“Do you know
that your parents have been looking for you? They’re worried. Your friends are
too.” Then, Colette says something I didn’t expect, something that leaves me no
choice. “If you really want to help Carter, you’ll come with me now. We’ll get
all of this sorted out, and you’ll get a chance to tell everyone what really
happened.”

“Why can’t you
tell everyone that I’m
fine
?” I have the feeling I’m fighting a loosing
battle.

Grady shakes her
head. “I need you to work with me, Penny. Otherwise, this will be out of my
hands soon.”

She doesn’t
leave, and so I have no choice but to get dressed in her presence—though I do
entertain the thought of slamming the door of the closet in her face and hide
in there until Carter returns. On the other hand…maybe Nick had a chance to
tell her what’s going on here, and she knows not to come back to the house at
the moment. If she could hide me for this long, there might be a chance she
could be hiding from the police as well? I feel dizzy, sick with worry. I don’t
want to leave. I don’t want her to get into trouble, and maybe Colette Grady is
right—when my loved ones get a chance to see me, they will realize I’m not the
victim of a crime. In fact, I got a nice tan from the time lounging by the
pool. Only the band-aids still on my knees are an indication I did get hurt,
but that is another story.

If my side of
that story helps Carter, I will do anything I can to make sure there isn’t
another misunderstanding.

God, I hope she
knows I won’t betray her—not again. She promised she’d never get tired of me.
Hopefully that will still be true when we see each other again. With a defiant
gaze, I strip out of my PJs and choose a dress at random. It’s not the closet
full of luxurious outfits I’m sad to leave behind, but I can’t dwell on my
emotions now. I need to do this the right way.

“You want to
pack a few clothes?” she asks. I wonder if I heard a trace of irony.

“No. I’ll be
back soon, won’t I?”

Another sigh.

“Do I look
traumatized to you? Yes, I was almost kidnapped, by that man working with
Laydon. I hope you won’t give Carter any trouble for shooting at him. She saved
my life!”

“Unfortunately,
the man you’re talking about has made some different claims, and he is ready to
repeat them in court, so your testimony is important here.”

“You believe
him?” I ask, incredulously.

She shakes her
head. “No, not that it matters.”

“Why not, aren’t
you going to testify? Wait, shouldn’t I be here then?”

“The trial will
be on the mainland anyway, and given the circumstances, everyone will be fine
with your testimony on camera. There might even be an extradition, but you
don’t have to worry about that.”

If I don’t why
does she give me more to worry about with every word she says?

“There’s your
bad guy. I really hope you can put him away for a long time, but Carter…all she
did was try to save me. You have to believe that.”

“Like I said,
we’ll figure it out. Come on. Time to go home.”

* * * *

When the small
plane ascends into the sky, I stare in awe at the expanse of clear blue water,
with patches of green, underneath us. How far away from home have I been? Now
that we’re leaving the island, I still don’t know where I’ve been all this
time, and I don’t dare ask, because that wouldn’t look good for my story, that
I was a guest all along.

I miss her badly
already, but I’ll keep myself together, make sure I’ll contribute whatever to
clear her name. Carter will come find me again, right?

Colette asks the
question I secretly wanted to ask her.

“How did you two
meet?”

“Don’t you
already know? She came to the café where I worked.” Despite the dire
circumstances, I have to smile at the memory, the instant attraction, my own,
somewhat naïve confusion about the enormous tip—and then I sit up straighter in
my seat. This might help.

“She gave me a
tip of $1,000. I guess she liked what she saw…and we went from there. Look,
Agent Grady, you don’t have to
respect
me. I want to make sure you know
the truth, that’s all.”

“Sounds like a
lucky break, until Hanks got involved.”

I hold her gaze,
my heart beating loudly. I wish I could tell what she’s thinking, and if she
believes me. “It was. We were still kind of recovering from it, and you and
your folks barging in wasn’t helpful to anyone.”

“Yeah, sorry
about that.” This time, it’s impossible to ignore the sarcasm. I expect her to
say more, but she picks up her coffee and takes a sip staring out of the window
thoughtfully.

“She has done
nothing wrong,” I say, close to tears again. “I love her. Do you think I could
love someone who decides one day she wants me and takes me from my life without
even asking?”

I don’t need an
answer. She and I both know stranger things have happened.

* * * *

After hours in
the air and two layovers, I’m exhausted, but still aware enough to get an idea
of the geography. I’m not sure how to feel about how all of this started, but
it doesn’t matter, and it’s not like I can talk about it to anyone. When I have
a private moment, I will do some investigating on the internet. It doesn’t look
like that’s going to happen anytime soon.

My parents,
together with Haley and Lara, are waiting at the gate.

My eyes well up,
not because I thought I’d never see them again, I know Carter would have kept
her promise. After the long trip I’m ready to crash from sheer exhaustion, but
I’m aware of Grady studying me. I can’t give her the wrong impression.

“It’s great to
see you all,” say, after numerous close hugs, “but I want you to know I’m fine.
There was a misunderstanding. I came with the agent here so we can clear it all
up. Nothing happened to me.”

I can see the confusion
in everyone’s faces. “Mom, I called you, remember? I’m sorry, I should have
told you about the vacation. I really needed a time-out, and I made my decision
very quickly.”

“That’s what
your friend, Gaby, told us.” Dad looks doubtful. “There was nowhere we could
reach her though, and that made us suspicious. Giving up your job and
apartment, that’s not like you.”

“Well…I couldn’t
turn down that chance.”

I turn to Haley
who smiles at me uncertainly, hoping I’m not blushing too hard. I have no
desire whatsoever to detail to anyone where exactly the benefits lay for me.
The giant library, the closet, the incredible luxury in every corner of the
house, it seems unreal now—but I do remember why I wanted to stay right there,
with Carter.

Much to her
credit, Grady doesn’t mention all the things that actually did go wrong, and
the bad things that almost happened, but there’s an awkward pause nonetheless.

I know they’re
all wondering how I could do something so against my usual habits, my
personality—be this irresponsible, to drop everything so I could spend time
with a woman I just met. Maybe they’re wondering whether I’m telling the truth,
if I was so shaken by my experience that I can’t distinguish between reality
and fantasy.

“You can go home
now,” Grady tells me. “We’ll be in touch for your statement.”

Home—I’m not
even sure where that is anymore. My apartment is not mine anymore. I look into
the familiar faces, see their concern, their worry for me all this time. I
guess the least I can do is spend some time with them, try to make them believe
everything is fine—when it’s not.

* * * *

I am free. I
can’t believe there was a time when I was frantically thinking about how to
make this happen. I can’t believe the motivation vanished completely. I’m aware
of everything that happened, and how. At night, I dream about it, waking up
with my heart hammering, with an ache, a longing unfulfilled.

I wish Carter
would try to contact me, but I know she can’t, not now.

I met with Grady
to record my statement. She refused to tell me anything about the case, about
Carter, but I did my own research on the internet—a branch of Forbes Inc. is
under investigation. No arrest made though.

My heart lurches
when I read those lines, and I can barely breathe. This is good news. Of course
I know Carter has expensive lawyers that will help her, but with the safe space
she provided for me being breached twice, I’m not so sure what to believe
anymore these days. I should try to reach my former landlord, see if there’s
anything free in the building, pick up my classes again, find another job
.
Weeks pass by, and all those tasks seem too
daunting as long as I don’t know about her, our fate, but I’m aware I can’t put
them off forever.