a/n
so turns out i posted this chapter yesterday and left it up for over 24 hours without realizing that it was the wrong draft and was missing like a pretty large chunk of plot towards the end omfg so i'm republishing it completely.
if u read this chapter already, skip to the end to see what you missed and i'm sorry if last chapter made absolutely no sense ahahaha when i'm telling you like SO MUCH dialogue was cut out ??? lmao
if u haven't read this chapter already, enjoy
- jane
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
[24]
song: kidnapping an heiress by black box recorder
Though the sun had set, and both Cassie and Rafe were exhausted, neither of them slept.
Their time was running out, each chime of the grandfather clock every hour serving as a reminder.
Cassie took the bed, while Rafe lay uncomfortably close on the ground, his suit jacket acting as the only separation between him and the hardwood floor. She would've insisted he just slept up on the bed with her, if not for how much satisfaction she got in seeing him in pain.
She'd probably be better suited for the floor. She'd grown accustomed to uncomfortable nights asleep on the island, another one on a hard floor wouldn't have been too bad. But despite how soft the bed was, and how heavy her eyelids felt, her body wouldn't let her rest.
And she couldn't tell what was causing her stirs. Whether it was the fact that she'd witness a man shot in the head not four hours ago. Or if it were the threats against her family. Or the idea of a looming death she couldn't prevent. Or that Rafe was in this room with her right now.
It was everything.
Every feeling she thought she'd be free of when she saw Jimmy Portis' plane turn around in the sky to rescue them. She thought she'd be home by now. In her own bed. In her own clothes.
Not here. With Rafe.
She kept her head propped up against the pillow, watching the guard's shoes from behind the door. He stood against it on the other side, his shadow moving every once in a while as he shifted his weight to the other foot.
Light from the hall seeped into the room under the door, perfectly illuminating Rafe's silhouette as he lay on his back. His eyes were closed, though she wasn't convinced he was asleep.
He'd been pacing the room for half an hour before this. When he finally gave up and went to the floor, she listened to him stir and huff, trying to find comfortable position, bunching up his suit jacket to use as a pillow.
Cassie could've given him one of the many pillows she slept against, or one of the blankets. But he didn't ask. And Cassie was surely not gonna go out of her way for the sake of thoughtfulness.
She watched him, how still he was, how so seemingly unbothered he looked. She remembered the curves of his face so well, even if she'd only felt them a few times. She could still feel how strong he was when he held her, how small he made her feel.
But not in a bad way. In a way that she liked. She liked feeling like he was big enough to protect her if needed. She liked feeling like she was being taken care of.
And she didn't realize how much she liked it until it was gone.
"Are you awake?" Rafe asked, unexpectedly.
Cassie switched over onto her other side so fast, she didn't get a chance to see if Rafe caught her staring. She closed her eyes and lay still, hoping he'd leave it at that.
She heard him sit up. "Listen, I have an idea—"
"Shh." She cut him off.
He was quiet. "Are you serious?"
"I'm sleeping."
"No you're not."
She listened to him stand, keeping her eyes closed like that would convince him. Then he walked to the door, and as she leaned up to see what he was doing, she watched as he put an ear to it.
She held her breath, afraid the sudden movement within the room would set-off the guard outside. Rafe kept a finger to his lips, insinuating her to be quiet.
Then he moved to the window, peaking around the lace curtains, letting the moonlight outside serve as his only light source.
Cassie watched him steadily from the bed, a blanket over her lap, still wearing that red dress from dinner. There was no use in asking him what he was doing. Frankly, Cassie didn't really care. She knew he tended to act impulsively, and if he wanted to get himself killed, it wasn't her problem.
She sighed, lying back down into the pillows, pulling the cover back over her shoulders as she turned the opposite direction.
"I have—" Rafe starts, in a whisper, then stops. "What are you doing?"
"Sleeping." Cassie repeated, her eyes falling shut.
"There's not gonna be a better time to break out of here than now. There's only one guard posted out front." Rafe whispered, walking over to the bed.
Cassie whispered back, her eyes still closed. "And what about the fully-guarded mile-long strip of land between us and civilization? Actually— not civilization, we're in the middle of nowhere. And—"
"We're just not even gonna try?" He asks, interrupting her.
"You can." Cassie shrugged a bit, faking a new-found interest in cozying up into the bed. "Let me know how it goes."
Rafe lets out a frustrated, deep sigh. And though she had her eyes closed, she was sure he was running his hands through his now-buzzed hair.
"So— so what? We're just gonna sit here until our time's up and get killed?!" Rafe came around to the other side of the bed where Cassie was turned.
When she heard his footsteps, she opened her eyes and sat up, pulling the blankets back over her. She didn't have an answer to his question. If anything, his plan to at least try breaking out seemed like the most viable option right now.
She slowly lifts her hesitation gaze off of him, before leaning her head back against the headboard, and trying to think. "Okay, so we breakout. And say we survive, somehow. Then what? You think he's just gonna stop there?" She looks at him again. "He knows where I live. He knows— my grandma's there. He knows too much about me to just let this go."
Rafe listened to her, processing every word. He took several seconds to think, then spoke again. "Then what do you think we should do?"
Cassie didn't like being the one who was looked to for answers. She thought she would've. 'The leadership role'. It'd probably be a lot more fun if you knew what you were doing, and who you were dealing with.
"I tried to tell him I don't have it." She says. "I swore it to him. Clearly I don't have the stupid diary, or I wouldn't still be here. If I had it, or knew anything about it— I'd just give it to him. I don't care."
"And what'd he say?" Rafe asks.
"That he thinks I'm lying." Cassie says back, annoyed as she recalled past conversations.
"Are you?"
Cassie shoots him a look, in shock he was still thinking that. In shock that he really thought she'd still be here with him if that were the case. "Rafe, no."
He puts his hands up defensively, as he takes a step back. He starts to pace again, the size of the room beginning to feel smaller as he walked back and forth.
"I'll tell him I have it." Rafe says. "I'll tell him I have a copy, and that I can give it to him. He'll let me go—"
"—and keep me here as leverage." Cassie stops him. "Which clearly means nothing to you, and when you don't come back with a diary, I get killed."
He stops pacing, letting out frustrated huff. He was fed up with her and her dedication to keeping up whatever act she was doing. "Will you stop?" He says.
She looks at him pointedly, then looks away.
"I'll tell him we're both going. And that we want money in exchange for it." He continues. "He'll believe that more anyways."
Cassie wanted to say 'I would too', but figured she'd better just hold her tongue if she didn't want to be left behind.
"Come on." Rafe spoke suddenly, as he moved towards the door.
Cassie quickly pushed the blanket off her lap and stood from the bed. "What?! No— shouldn't we think this over more?" Cassie whispered, following him.
Rafe didn't answer, he just hit the door with a balled up fist. "Where's Singh?" He yelled, a harsh sound against the quietness of the night.
"Hey." Cassie spoke sternly. She tugs on Rafe's arm, pulling him away from the door and towards her. "I don't think you understand who we're dealing with."
He looks at her annoyedly. "I understand fine."
She thinks of her grandma.
"I'm not gonna let your mouth get me killed." She adds.
Rafe, almost rolling his eyes, turns back towards the door to hit it again, but it opened.
It was Singh, and behind him, the guard. He looks at Cassie, and then to Rafe, then smiled faintly. "Walk with me." He says.
Rafe eyes Cassie, both of them hesitant. Singh didn't really give either of them much of a choice, as he had already turned to head down the stairs. The guard stood out of the way, then nodded for them to follow.
When Rafe didn't move, Cassie pushed herself out of the door first. Rafe rolled up his white shirt sleeves as he followed shortly behind her, keeping a safe distance from Singh who led them downstairs.
"Had any sudden realizations in the past few hours, Miss Maybank?" Singh asked, and as they got to the bottom of the steps, the maid from earlier opened up the front door.
Cassie wasn't sure what this meant. If he was taking them outside to kill them now, or if he was taunting them with the idea of freedom. She stopped, and looked up at Rafe who was assumedly contemplating the same things.
"There's tea in the gardens. Beautiful flowers that only bloom in the night. Come, look." Singh says, reading the two's hesitance.
Rafe got in front of Cassie, following after Singh before she got a chance to move. "I actually wanted to strike a deal with you." He says.
Cassie eyes the maid as she walks past her and onto the porch. Humidity fills the air, and the sound of cicadas humming reminded her of home. It was dark, though the candle-lit sconces every few feet illuminated their path as they followed the porch out and around the house.
"A deal?" Singh chuckled, glancing back at Rafe as they continued forward. "You really are a Cameron. Please, help yourself."
Cassie was distracted, looking around at the land the house sat on, trying to see if she could just sneak out when no one was paying attention, and make a break for it. But when she turned back around, she saw the food, though just small plates of desserts, she could've cried at the sight of it.
It sat atop a table, amongst three cups of freshly brewed tea as if they'd been waiting for Rafe and Cassie to come to their decision. Behind it, a running fountain with lily's in the water, and surrounding it all, were tall, tropical trees and bushes, decorated with all sorts of different flowers.
Rafe looked to Cassie, not as impressed by it all as she was. He was more annoyed by the over-extravagance.
Singh started to make his way down the porch steps towards the garden, and they followed.
"I have the diary." Rafe starts, which makes Singh stop in place. "A copy of it. But not with me."
Singh starts to nod, then turns around. Cassie was expecting him to speak to Rafe, but instead, he was focused on her. "Did you know this?"
Cassie, taken aback, started to shake her head. "No, no— not until a few minutes ago."
Rafe tried to move the conversation forward. "She had no idea, look—"
"Tea?" Singh spoke, offering up a cup to Cassie.
She wasn't thinking, too blinded by her stomach to remember the task at hand. When she started to nod and accept it, Rafe put a hand out to stop the interaction. "No." He spoke sternly. "We're not here to be your friend, alright? You locked us in a room."
Singh sighed, then put the cup back down. "Sometimes you must take harsh measures to get the right results. Which, seems to have worked." He looks to Rafe. "You have a copy of the diary?"
"Yes." Rafe responded.
Cassie could tell he was biting his tongue.
"And it's not here?"
"No, it's in North Carolina. I thought I was walking into an art deal, so I didn't really think to pack it in the carry-on." Rafe snaps.
Cassie tenses, waiting for Singh's reaction.
He was quiet for a few moments. "And you're wanting to return home, get the copy, and bring it back to me?"
"Yes." Rafe rubbed his forehead, frustratedly.
Cassie steps in. "He has no use for it anymore. We can fax it, or email or—"
"You go." Singh interrupts her, he then points to Rafe. "He'll stay."
Cassie didn't quite understand. "What?"
"You go get the copy, and when I receive it, Mr. Cameron is free to go as well." Singh says.
Rafe quickly turns to look at Cassie, who kept her eyes on Singh.
She felt like she couldn't breathe, and the sudden oppressive silence seemed to mock her turmoil. In this moment, she was the judge and jury, weighing the balance of her past against her future, torn between self-preservation and retribution.
So easily could she agree, and leave Rafe to die. Like he had once done for her. But she couldn't even let herself call it poetic justice, she'd just call it stooping down to a level she never wanted to stoop to.
"I don't know where it is." Cassie says.
"I'm sure Mr. Cameron would be happy to tell you." Singh says, as he begins to walk over to the edge of the garden. He gestures to the white flowers that bloomed in the bushes. "Datura flower, ever heard of it?"
Cassie and Rafe looked at each other, not sure what to do or say.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Singh asks, looking back at them, then back to the flower. "But highly poisonous. Can't even touch it."
"We both go." Rafe demands.
Singh turns around. "How am I supposed to trust that she'll give me what I asked for if not for leverage?"
"Ten thousand dollars." Rafe says.
Singh's expression didn't change. He had been content this entire conversation, like he knew exactly what the outcome would be.
"I'm sure I can manage ten thousand dollars. In fact, I'll triple that." Singh says, then pauses. "But Mr. Cameron stays."
Rafe turns to Cassie again, silent, but pleading.
She was frozen, the idea of freedom and revenge so close. How satisfying it would be to leave Rafe in the same spot he left her.
How satisfying it would be for a day, or so.
And then the pain staking, swallowing guilt she would feel for the rest of her life would follow, and that single day of satisfaction would have been so pointless.
That was where her and Rafe differed, and she prided herself in her ability to still feel in ways he clearly lacked.
Rafe turned back to Singh, starting to panic as Cassie fell quiet. "It's in a safe that only I can get into. It's complicated, and there's a lot of legality issues tied to it—"
"No." Cassie spoke, interrupting Rafe. "We both go, or you don't get your diary."
Rafe turned to look at her again, silent, but shocked this time.
He couldn't tell what game she was playing at, what it was she had realized that he hadn't. She had to be spinning this somehow to work in her favor.
"Ms. Maybank, I hope you understand how your reluctance to leave Mr. Cameron behind leads me to believe that you are both lying to me." Singh says, speaking to Cassie directly. "Once again, you have both taken me for a fool." He slams his hand down on the table next to him, sending the plates clattering against each other, the drinks spilling.
Cassie tenses, trying to think of another way out of this as quickly as possible.
"Wise of you, Mr. Cameron, to not accept the tea." Singh says, after he recomposed himself. "See, I had an inkling I'd be met with more tricks this evening."
Cassie looks over to the three teacups sat on the table, then up to the bushes of poisonous flowers Singh had pointed out earlier.
This was it. She thought. There was no getting out of this alive.
"Not as observant as your friend here." Singh nods towards Cassie, and she looks down to the floor.
"The hell do you want us to say, huh?" Rafe took a sudden step towards him. "We don't have your damn diary."
"But we can try and find it." Cassie speaks up.
She wasn't sure why she said it. She wasn't even sure where the idea had come from. She just knew it was the last thing she could try.
Rafe looks at her, just as unsure as to what she was suggesting as Singh was.
She swallows harshly. "We don't have it. But— we're your best shot at finding it, right? Why else would you go through all this trouble into getting us here? You've tried everything else. This is a last resort."
When Singh was quiet, and Rafe began to catch on, he turned his focus to Singh to gage his reaction as Cassie continued.
"You said it yourself. I have the most to lose and the least to gain. I don't need—" she corrects herself. "I don't want the diary. But I'll do whatever you want if it means you won't hurt the people I care about."
Singh shifts his weight onto his other foot, thinking. Both Cassie and Rafe shocked by the fact that he was genuinely considering this.
"You think I'd be putting all of these people at risk if I didn't mean it? We can find the diary. Someone— one of my friends has to have it. I just have to—"
"Your friends will not just hand it over to you, Miss Maybank." Singh says.
"We'll go about it carefully. We found a centuries old cross, you really think we can't find some random diary?" Rafe says, eyes narrow.
"This leads us right back to our prior problem. How can I trust you'll give me what I need?" Singh says.
Rafe started to respond, but Cassie spoke before he got a word out. "Because you're out of options." She says. "You kill us, you've gotta go through the whole process of kidnapping another teenager, who are all probably far gone by now. And trust me, they'll put up much more of a fight than I have. And then you'd be back to square one."
Singh slowly looks to both Cassie then Rafe. She was out of things to say, out of ways to persuade him. All she could do was hope he was willing to trust her on this.
"If I take a risk in letting you both go, and I don't receive the diary?" Singh starts, straightening his posture and letting out I say. "The next person who winds up as a display of my dedication to the cause, will be someone you love."
Cassie's blood ran cold. It was a subtle way of saying he was more than willing to kill more innocent people for this diary.
She thought of Jimmy Portis. Remembering the sound of the gunshot as it echoed throughout the property. Not even that long ago, and someone had already died, because of her.
Neither Rafe nor Cassie responded. The both of them completely unaware as to what they'd just gotten themselves into.