“I know exactly what you mean.” He stopped still and looked at me for a few seconds before continuing. “I’ve got a bad feeling about him, Bianca. Please be wary around him.”
“I will be.” I nodded, and we continued walking. My stomach rumbled, and I could feel the tension in my back. I rubbed my arms as we walked back through the jungle and tried to get rid of the image that had just popped into my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about Jakob standing there next to the boar with the bloody rock in his hand. My brain was ticking, and all I could think was that maybe I should be wary around both Jakob and Steve. I was pretty certain that I was underestimating what both of them could and would do. I only hoped that their targets were each other.
Steve was waiting on the beach for us when we made it back with the boar. His eyes widened as he saw the beast, and I noticed an exchange of looks pass between him and Jakob.
“I’m going to get some sharp rocks to see if we can get this boar’s fur off.” Jakob glanced at me and walked away. I stared after him and wondered if he wanted me to come with him.
“I have something for you.” Steve walked over to me quickly. His limp was more pronounced, and I wondered if he had injured himself even more by walking through the jungle with us.
“What is it?” I looked at him puzzled.
“I found this note in the jungle.” Steve slipped it into my hand and walked away quickly. I looked down and read it.
Be careful of who you trust and fall in love with. They are deceiving you. You should run away as soon as you can.
I reread it again carefully, then threw it into the fire. I stood still as I thought about the note. It was on the same paper and had the same handwriting as the other notes. Only, this time it looked like it had been hurriedly scribbled. And the tone of the note seemed off. The advice in it was a little too direct, compared to the other notes. It was as if the writer of the notes was upset that I had become close with Jakob. My heart started racing as I realized that Steve might be the one responsible for leaving the notes on the island and the letter at my house. My head spun as I realized that I had no idea which way was up. However, I knew that if he was the same person who’d left all the notes, he might know exactly what was going on. I didn’t expect him to tell me everything, but even a few clues would be helpful.
“Steve,” I called after him. Where did you get that note?”
“I found it in the jungle, near the waterfall.” He shrugged and turned away. I sighed and glanced down at the fire. Had he really found it near the waterfall? If so, how had it gotten there? And who had left it? Was there someone else on the island with us, or did I already know the man who had been leaving me the notes?
I didn’t know if I could trust Jakob or Steve. Had Jakob tried to kill Steve, and was he out to get me as Steve was implying, or was Steve really the mastermind behind everything? The problem was that I didn’t know why either one of them would want to harm me, unless this was just some sort of sick joke. I knew from watching Criminal Minds that sometimes there was no rhyme or reason as to how or why psychopaths chose their victims. I wanted to believe that Steve was the one who had been leaving the notes, but the fact was that Jakob was the one who had lied to me so many times. Why would he have pretended he didn’t know the Bradleys? And it suddenly struck me that Jakob had disappeared every morning. He could have hidden the notes as well. In fact, he could have left the first note on the beach next to us. He’d been awake before me, both in the car trunk and on the beach. As far as I knew, he hadn’t been drugged either. Maybe Jakob worked for the Bradleys. That would explain why he’d been at the coffee shop that day. Maybe he was the one in charge of trying to figure out where the papers were. Maybe his cat-and-mouse game was deliberate. He wanted to confuse me into trusting him. But then I looked back at Steve and saw the calculating look on his face and I knew that his goal was to make me doubt Jakob. Everything he had done and said was in the hope that I would no longer trust Jakob. I knew for a fact that Jakob hadn’t told me the entire truth, but I knew in that moment that if it came down to Jakob or Steve, I was definitely choosing to believe Jakob. I looked back at Steve with narrowed eyes, and I saw the disappointment in his eyes as he walked away from me.
“You okay?” Jakob walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.
“I’m fine.” I nodded. “I just wish we were off this island.”
“Where’s Steve?” His voice changed from caring to hostile.
“I think he went into the water.” I kept my eyes ahead and debated telling Jakob about the note.
“I’m pretty sure he has a knife.” Jakob’s tone was low, and he leaned toward me.
“How do you know?” I swallowed hard.
“I saw it.” He looked around. “I didn’t want him to know that I knew.”
“Why does he have a knife?” I shivered, and Jakob pulled me into his arms.
“Remember when I asked you if you could kill someone?” he whispered in my ear, and I froze.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I need you to get me that knife.” His eyes peered into mine. They looked dark as night, and if they were any indication of his thoughts, I knew they were extreme.
“What do you want me to do?” My stomach dropped as I realized where this was leading. If I had been scared by his killing the boar, I didn’t know how I was going to react if he actually did something to Steve.
“I just need you to get me his flask.” His fingers gripped my arm. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but the bottom of the flask looked like it had something glued on to it.”
“I didn’t see any such thing.”
“Just go and ask him for a drink. He trusts you. He’ll let his guard down around you.”
“I guess so.” I closed my eyes to allow my nerves to settle.
“Just bring the knife to me when you have it,” he commanded me. “Do you understand?”
“Yes.” I nodded, unsure of what to do. If the note was right, then that meant that Jakob was after me. If I stole the knife from Steve and gave it to Jakob, I could be putting a nail in my own coffin. I felt Jakob’s lips on my cheek, and I melted into him. I didn’t think Jakob would hurt me, but I already knew that he was lying to me about something. He’d admitted knowing both David and Mattias in some capacity. He’d even made a comment about them working together. How could he know that? Unless, of course, he knew the two brothers better than he’d let on. And if that was true, maybe he was here to shut me up, to stop me from finding out exactly what had happened to my mother. There was a possibility that he had been put on the island to harm me, so that I’d be quiet forever. Part of me wondered if he was here to find out exactly what information I had. It would make sense, what with all the questions he’d asked about my father. Who else would be so concerned?