Page 69 of Uncharted Desires

“You’re going to fucking blow him up?” Dec yelled. “That’s the complete opposite of low-key.”

Kat felt shock flow through her body as she put two and two together. Had he been on the deck? Had he been the one to trip West? Had West actually felt someone push him? And holy shit, were they about to blow him up now?

“Don’t worry. He planted a device on his car. It will look like an accident.”

Kat’s stomach churned. She had to warn West.

Without waiting to hear what else they said, Kat took off running down the pathway. She didn’t have a phone, and the quickest route to the lobby was through the courtyard Luke and Dec were in. She couldn’t go that way. Panic set in as she debated her next move.

She had to get to him and tell him not to get in the town car they had sent for him if it wasn’t too late already. The press conference would just be starting. She had to call Stacy. Who even had Stacy’s number?

Declan.

Her mind reeled as she rounded the corner to the exit of the resort. Hoping her plan would work, she ran into the middle of the road and attempted to get a taxi.

Out on the road, a car whizzed past, causing her to jump back in alarm. “Wait! Stop!” She waved her arms in the air as she tried to flag down the taxi, but it wasn’t like New York or Chicago. There weren’t nearly as many taxis wanting to run her over. Kat ran up and down the street, her heart pounding until she finally chased down an empty cab.

“Do you have a phone?” she asked the cab driver as she threw herself in the backseat.

The driver looked at her, confused.

“Ah shit, you don’t understand me do you?”

The man’s eyes narrowed as he attempted to decipher her words.

Kat held her hand up to her ears like she was holding a phone. “Phone. I need your phone. Call the police.”

“Ah!” The man reached into his pocket and held up his phone.

“Yes!” Kat reached for the phone as the man unlocked it and handed it to her.

“How do I call the police here?”

He blinked an inordinate number of times.

“Emergency. Police.” Why the hell hadn’t she learned basic Indonesian?

“Ah, ya polisi,” the driver responded.

“Yes!” Kat sighed, relief swamping her body.

“How do I call them?” she gestured with the phone at her ear.

The driver reached out, taking his phone back, and Kat hoped he knew what she wanted. He dialed 112 and handed the phone back to her.

Lifting the phone to her ear, a voice echoed through the earpiece. “. . .keadaan darurat Anda?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake . . . I need to learn more languages.” She looked to the driver, staring at her expectantly and waiting for directions.

“Drive to the Jakarta Globe, and fast!”

The driver thought for a minute and then nodded. Kat prayed to the spirit he understood her.

She knew there were cops who spoke English. She had spoken with them the day before. Now she just needed to remember their names and convince the phone operator that someone was truly in trouble, and then somehow get a hold of Stacy in time.

Kat squashed the bile that rose in her throat as she thought of West blown to pieces. She couldn’t spiral into despair, she had to save him. She only hoped she wasn’t too late.

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