Kisses for the Billionaire: Lost Kiss (David and Carrie Book 3) Read online

  The sound of a key in the door once more had Rosa racing for the bathroom. She ducked in behind the door as I turned to face the intruder.

  Andy poked his head around the door, an apologetic smile on his face.

  “Naomi told me she’d moved you up here, I’m so glad you cooperated with her,” he said, his voice low and soothing, almost as though he was speaking to a spoiled child.

  “Her argument was persuasive but I don’t appreciate being locked in here,” I said starting towards Andy.

  He raised his hands in mock surrender and shook his head. “I’m not the one to blame for all of this. Keeping you locked in here isn’t what I want either but I don’t have a choice.

  “If Dom finds out where you are then I need to know he can’t get to you. He’s pissed enough as it is that Taylor spoiled his fun tonight.”

  Andy studied me, his face a mask of concern as he stepped into the room.

  “How’s your face, my father can be a brute.”

  I shook my head and laughed, “are you for real? You’re his son and yet here you are, pretending to care about how hurt I am and whether or not your brother is going to get his hands on me. Stop lying to me, I know this is not who you are,” I said, my voice firm as I stood my ground and stared at him.

  He met my eyes and a small smile curled his lips, it was a glimpse of the cold man I’d seen back at the Sovereign Club as he’d handed Dom the knife to slit David’s throat.

  “I thought it would make it easier on you if you thought I was someone you could have on side.”

  “I know what you are, I’m not a fool, Andy.”

  “That I’m more than aware of and you can certainly handle yourself, I watched you stab my brother with the fork, there was no remorse in you, no guilt as you buried it up to the hilt in his forearm.”

  “Why would I feel guilt? He was choking the life out of me,” I said, genuine curiosity colouring my voice.

  “Because most people feel guilt, most can’t hurt other people even when their life is on the line, it’s what makes them weak.”

  “I’m not weak,” I said, lowering my voice.

  It was the truth, there was a time when I was weak, when at every turn I’d allowed others to walk all over me, to treat me as a pawn to move around the board at their own whims.

  But not anymore, that part of me was long dead and I was happy it was gone.

  I didn’t want to be that naive girl anymore. I wanted to be strong, my family needed me to be strong, capable of taking care of them and that was who I would become.

  “I know, it’s what makes you so perfect for all of this,” he said, a wide grin splitting his face.

  “Perfect for what?” I said as he turned back for the door.

  “You’ll see, Carrie, given time everything will be revealed…”

  He stepped back out through the door leaving me to stare after him. The door slammed shut after him and the tell tale sound of the key turning in the lock greeted my ears once more.

  I wasn’t weak. And I wasn’t about to let scum like Andy and the rest of his family tear my own apart.

  I needed a way off the island and I needed it fast.

  Chapter 10

  Crossing the room, Rosa poked her head out from the bathroom and stared at me.

  “What are you going to do?” She asked but I didn’t look at her.

  Instead I reached the chair and grabbed it. Although it was heavy it wasn’t unmanageable as I hefted it in my grip.

  “This,” I said as I launched the chair at the largest window pane.

  It smashed into the glass with a satisfying crash. Shards of the window tinkled down from the pane, as it exploded outward with the force of the blow from the chair.

  “We don’t have much time, someone is bound to have heard that,” I said reaching out to Rosa who hesitated near the bathroom.

  “What will he do if he finds us?”

  “I have no idea, but I can’t imagine it would be good but we don’t have a choice, Rosa, we need to get off this godforsaken island.”

  She chewed her lip and shot a nervous glance back at the door before nodding her ascent.

  Crossing the room she reached my side and took my hand, her small fingers wrapping around mine as she peered at the broken glass.

  “How are we going to get out of here?” she asked.

  I didn’t have the answers but the warm breeze fluttered in the window at that moment, and I swallowed back my uncertainty.

  If David was here he wouldn’t hesitate in jumping out the window. But I wasn’t like him and jumping from a second storey window wouldn’t ever be a good idea for me.

  “Get the mattress,” I said grabbing the bedding and tugging it from the kingsize bed.

  I draped the duvet and sheets across the splinters of glass that glinted in the window frame. The last thing we needed was to cut ourselves open on the broken glass.

  Grabbing the edge of the mattress, Rosa tugged on the opposite side, her thin arms straining against it.

  My body protested as I lifted the mattress and propped it against my chest.

  “Go behind it and we’ll push it over to the window,” I said to Rosa and she complied instantly.

  I pulled at the mattress as she pushed and we finally started to slide it across the plush carpeting.

  Reaching the broken window I glanced down at the drop, it didn’t seem that high and yet I knew it would be enough to break bones if I landed wrong…

  Or worse, I thought peering down at my bump.

  What if the jump hurt the baby?

  It was an impossible situation, staying here would end with the baby dying of that I was certain now.

  I’d seen the look in Taylor’s eyes before he punched me. There was no way I or the baby would make it off the island alive, not so long as he was in control.

  Of course, if Andy or Dom were in control I still wouldn’t survive but…

  I trailed off from my own thoughts and shook my head. I couldn’t keep thinking about it or I wouldn’t get anywhere.

  “On three we’ll push it out the window,” I said bracing myself against the mattress, I could only hope it worked.

  “One, two, three,” I said pushing against the impossible weight of the mattress.

  It popped out through the window easily, its own weight creating a momentum and it flipped over the window ledge before dropping into the bushes below the window.

  Rosa stared out at it, her dark eyes huge and filled with fear.

  “I don’t think I can jump,” she said, her voice low.

  “We don’t have a choice, we need to get out of here. We’re going to get off the island and this is the only way.”

  She shook her head and glanced back down the mattress.

  Sighing I stared around the room, my eyes coming to rest on the fluttering curtains that lined the windows.

  I didn’t waste any time, dragging them from the curtain poles I tied a few knots down the length of them before securing the other end around my hips the way I’d seen David secure rock climbing rope around his in the past.

  “You can climb out and slide down the length of it until you’re closer to the mattress. Then all you need to do is drop down, you won’t need to jump at all,” I said keeping my voice soft.

  “Carrie, I don’t know if…” she trailed off and stared out the window once more.

  “Rosa, we don’t have a choice, we need to go now.”

  She climbed onto the window ledge, the duvet and sheets protecting her from any stray shards as she grabbed onto the curtains.

  I could see the fear in her eyes but it was drowned out by her determination as she wrapped her body around the curtain and dropped out of sight.

  Gasping I fought to counter balance her weight as she climbed down the curtains.

  Every time she jerked the curtain, I felt my body being dragged forward towards the window until finally I was bracing myself against the frame.

  Sucking in a deep breath I
fought to keep my grip on the fabric, my nails snapping as I dug my fingers into the curtains.

  Groaning sweat trickled down my spine as I held on.

  Rosa’s weight suddenly disappeared and I fell backwards, my arms windmilling as I fought to keep my balance.

  I hit the floor, pain flaring up through my back and hips as I landed awkwardly. But it wasn’t enough to keep me down and I hastily scrambled back onto my feet and peered out the window.

  Rosa stared up at me, a wide smile on her face as she gave me the thumbs up and stepped off the mattress.

  My turn.

  Grabbing a second length of curtain I tied the ends together and quickly secured it around the centre of the heavy wooden dresser that sat next to the window.

  I didn’t have a choice, I was going to have to take my chances and hope to hell the curtain didn’t snap.

  Swallowing back my fear I stared out the window, the drop suddenly seemed so much higher and my head spun.

  My eye was still practically swollen shut, maybe my depth perception was off and the drop was far higher than I’d first anticipated. It was entirely possible.

  But if Rosa could do it, then so could I. Anyway it wasn’t as though I had another choice in the matter.

  Swinging my leg over the ledge I let it dangle down, I wasn’t going to jump. Doing it would only end up with me badly injured and then we would never get away.

  Sliding over the ledge as far as I could I lay down, propping my body up on my arms as I swung my other leg out the window and slid down over the edge.

  I clung to the window frame, my body half in and half out as I grabbed the curtains with one hand and slowly lowered myself.

  My fingers started to slip as my arms grew tired. This wasn’t something I was used to doing. Hanging out windows and doing James Bond type shit wasn’t really who I was.

  But desperation gave me the strength I needed.

  I clung to the window with one hand and the curtains with the other until I’d lowered myself as far as I possibly could.

  I hung there, pain screaming in my arms and shoulders. There was no where left for me to go, I was going to have to trust my full weight to the curtains and hope and pray for the best.

  Sucking in a deep breath I let go of the window and gripped the curtains with both hands, my feet digging into the knots I’d tied into the fabric to make it easier for Rosa.

  I felt the curtain moving and the sound of the dresser sliding across the floor met my ears.

  It wasn’t going to hold, I was too heavy and I was going to fall.

  David’s voice filled my head, “just go limp, when you fall don’t tense up…”

  In theory it sounded like a good idea and in a gym doing self defence on padded mats falling wasn’t exactly a danger.

  I slid down the curtain, the fabric burning my hands as I fought to climb down as fast as my clumsy body would allow.

  The curtains shifted again and I chanced a look down just as they gave way and I dropped.

  I didn’t have a chance to scream as I fell. The mattress racing up to meet me.

  Landing on my feet, I felt my ankle roll underneath me as the uncertain surface of the mattress broke my rapid descent.

  Groaning I rolled away from the curtains and crawled to the edge of the mattress.

  My entire body felt as though it had been hit by a truck and the last thing I wanted to do was climb to my feet and run blindly into the trees surrounding the house.

  “Are you all right?” Rosa asked, her face half masked in shadow as she helped me to my feet.

  “I’m fine,” I lied, the pain in my ankle blaring through my body and I sucked in a deep breath.

  Testing my weight on my leg I bit back a cry of pain. I was just going to have to get through it, it’s what David would do.

  “We need to find a way off the island,” I said aloud more to myself than Rosa.

  “I know where there’s a boathouse… It might be somewhere to start,” Rosa said, staring up at me, her dark eyes filled with concern.

  “What?” I asked turning to face her properly, my heart suddenly stalling.

  “There’s a boathouse on the other side of the island, we could go there and see if there was one of the boats…”

  It was chance, an honest to God chance. Of course I had no clue how to drive a boat but I could try. How hard could it be?

  “We need to move while its still dark,” I said, “ you lead the way and I’ll follow.”

  Rosa smiled and put her hand through mine once more. She seemed so innocent and I couldn’t help but think how unusual it was for a teenager to want to hold hands.

  Most teenagers wouldn’t be caught dead holding hands with an adult and yet her fingers were wrapped around mine as she tugged me along after her.

  It was as though she’d been starved of affection her entire life.

  Reaching the edge of the tree line Rosa paused and peered into the darkness before nodding.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, stalling as the pain in my ankle flared once more making it almost impossible for me to put weight on it.

  “I wanted to make sure I had the right path, this place is like a maze and it’s really easy to get lost.”

  “Tell me about it,” I muttered, remembering how I’d wandered in circles for hours earlier in the day. “How do you know we’re going the right way?”

  “I marked one of the trees,” she said pointing to the tree nearest her.

  I could just make out a faint white mark, as though something had scratched away some of the bark.

  Smiling I followed her into the darkness, it wasn’t something I would have thought to do. Rosa was obviously far cleverer than her captors had given her credit for and as I hobbled after her I couldn’t help but feel admiration for someone so young and yet so capable.

  Chapter 11

  Rosa paused and I came to a halt behind her. Staring over her shoulder I could make out the lights that lined the dock and the two storey structure that I could only imagine was the boathouse she’d been referring to.

  It was less of a boat house and more of a warehouse and the lights that illuminated the inside made me nervous.

  Where there were lights that meant there would guards or possibly worse.

  “Are there normally guards here, Rosa?” I asked, watching the dock area carefully for any signs of life.

  “Normally just Freddie, he lets me come down here and hang out at the water.”

  “But can he be trusted?”

  Rosa looked over her shoulder at me and shrugged, “I don’t know, I mean he is one of the guards but…” she paused and glanced back at the dock. “I guess not, he’s nice but I really don’t know.”

  I nodded, and chewed my lip. How we were going to get past Freddie was beyond me. If he couldn’t be trusted and as far as I was concerned he couldn’t.

  Anyone who worked for the Banks wasn’t to be trusted.

  But we didn’t have any weapons and we weren’t in any fit state to overcome armed security.

  My mind chose that moment to conjure an image of David and Jenson in my mind.

  They needed me, they needed me to come home to them and that was what I needed to do, no matter what.

  “What are we going to do?” Rosa said, her gaze trained on the building ahead of us.

  “We need to get into the warehouse but…”

  “I can distract Freddie, he knows me, he won’t suspect anything from me,” she said taking off through the long grass that lined the edge of the dock area.

  “Rosa, wait!” I whisper shouted after her but it was no use, she was already gone.

  I followed her but she moved too quickly and before I could reach the edge of the dock she’d already disappeared into the warehouse.

  Shit, I muttered under my breath as I crept around the side of the warehouse and peered in through the side window on the ground floor.

  Rosa stood in the middle of the room facing me, a wide smile on her face as sh
e spoke to someone.

  He had his back to me and I couldn’t see his face. But I could see the boat bobbing in the water at the back of the warehouse that opened up onto the sea.

  This was our chance to escape.

  Creeping along the side of the warehouse I found a second door and carefully tugged it open. The door creaked and I cringed but Rosa chose that moment to giggle, her laughter drowning out the sound of the door as it became unstuck.

  Slipping inside Rosa caught sight of me and I watched as her eyes widened giving her away.

  Grabbing an old wooden oar from the wall I swung it at the guards head as he spun around to face me, his gun already drawn.

  He went down silently as the oar connected with his skull, the thin trickle of blood from the side of his head made me nauseous.

  “Is he dead?” Rosa said, her voice small as she crouched down next to the unmoving Freddie.

  “I don’t know, I didn’t mean to but I had no choice…”

  Bending down next to the body, I pressed my fingers in against the side of his neck. His pulse was thick and steady as it beat against his neck and I let the tension whoosh out of me in on long breath.

  “He’s alive,” I started to say, my voice trailing off as I spotted the cell phone in his pocket.

  With hands that shook I grabbed the phone and flipped the case open, my fingers flying across the keys as I dialled David’s number.

  There was a momentary pause before the phone connected and started to ring.

  “Hello?”

  The breath I’d been holding escaped me and I slumped back on the floor at the sound of his voice.

  “David, it’s really you…” I said, my voice cracking over the words as tears started down my cheeks.

  “Carrie, Christ where the hell are you? Are you hurt?”

  His voice was strained and filled with emotion as his questions flew at me like machine gun fire.

  “I’m fine,” I lied biting down on my tongue.

  “Where are you?”

  “I don’t know, they’re holding me on Taylor’s island but I have no idea where it is…”

  “I do,” Rosa said, climbing to her feet and crossing to a desk set against the wall. She rifled through the papers covering the surface before pulling down a map and carrying back over to where I sat.