Page 77 of The Night Island
How long haveyou and Luke known each other?” Phoebe asked.
“It’s all been a blur, to tell you the truth,” Talia said. She opened the industrial-sized refrigerator. “Let’s see, we met at your house in the early morning, then came here to Night Island the next day. Spent one night here, and the following day we went down below to find you. We spent last night in the lab, and now here we are. That makes about three and a half days, give or take a few hours.”
“Seriously?” Phoebe sounded shocked. “You just met him three and a half days ago?”
“That’s right,” Talia said. Her spirits leaped skyward when she saw the untouched potato-and-leek pie on the center shelf. She picked it up and turned around. “Why?”
Phoebe was sitting on a stool on the far side of the long worktable, a mug of tea in front of her. After Luke had left she had followed Talia into the kitchen. It was clear she did not want to be left alone. Talia understood. She didn’t want to be alone on Night Island, either. Luke’s pistol was on the table within easy reach.
“I don’t know,” Phoebe said. She hesitated and then shrugged. “I guess I sort of assumed that you two had been together for a while. I figured you were a couple.”
Startled, Talia set the pie on the table. “What in the world gave you that idea?”
“I dunno. Something about the energy between you two. Like you’re more than friends.”
“Luke and I have been through a rather stressful experience together,” Talia said. She turned away to give herself a moment to compose a logical explanation for a relationship that defied logic. The connection she felt with Luke was growing stronger by the hour. It was not simply physical attraction. It was as if something deep inside her recognized Luke on a primal level.You. You’re the one.Yes, they were more than friends.
Her gaze fell on a knife lying on the counter. There were crumbs on it. That wasn’t right. Octavia never would have left one of her high-quality knives lying around. “That sort of thing tends to create a bond between two people. It doesn’t necessarily imply a romantic relationship.”
Although it could, she added silently. But probably not in her case, because she had a poor track record in the relationship department, and so did Luke.Commitment issues, she reminded herself. Nevertheless, when she envisioned a future with Luke in it she didn’t get the usual this-is-okay-for-now-but-won’t-last warning from her intuition.
“So you’re, what?” Phoebe pressed. “Partners?”
“In a way,” Talia said. “We worked together to find you.”
“Weird,” Phoebe said. “I could have sworn you two were a couple.”
“We posed as a couple when we arrived on the island, but it was just a cover story,” Talia said.
“So you are sharing a cabin?”
“Just one night,” Talia said. “Separate beds.”
One hot morning in the same bed did not count, she decided. It wasn’t like they had been sleeping in the bed.
She could not stop staring at the knife. It should not have been left on the counter. It was wrong. Out of place. But what did it matter? Octavia was dead. Murdered by Nathan Gill.Let it go. Picking up the knife will only confirm that she’s dead. You don’t need that.
But she could not stop herself. She had to know. She braced herself and reached out for the knife. Her fingers closed around the handle just as Luke spoke from the doorway.
“Thanks for clarifying our relationship,” he said.
“Oh, shit,” she yelped.
“Is it that bad?” Luke said. “I realize it’s been a little rocky at times, but on the whole I thought we were getting along okay.”
She ignored him because the shock of energy from the handle of the knife was rattling her senses. For a moment the kitchen was too bright and too loud. The room was starting to spin around her.Sensory overload, she reminded herself. She could handle it.
She caught her breath and managed to stave off the anxiety attack with sheer willpower. She turned around and saw Luke standing in the doorway. He was carrying his duffel and her overnight bag. The pack was slung over his shoulder. He was watching her from the Luke zone.
“Luke,” she gasped.
“Something about seeing you with a knife in your hand will always remind me of our first couple of dates,” he said. “The one you aimed at me the morning we had biscuits together definitely got my attention. But I think it was the vegetable cleaver you used that night that sealed the deal.”
Luke humor.
Talia glared at him. “That is not funny.”
“I’ve got news that is not funny, either.” Luke dropped his duffel and her overnight bag on the floor and let the shoulder pack slide off onto a nearby counter. He picked up the pistol and tucked it under his jacket. “Clive Venner’s body is missing, and all the evidence indicates that Octavia did not make it off the island. Looks like she was in the middle of packing, but she never finished.”