Page 6 of Isla by Any Other Name

Lara scoffed. “Hey! Just because I burned one dish, you’ll never forgive me. One dish! It wasn’t my fault that we ended up in a gun fight and I forgot to turn off the stove before I pulled out my revolver and joined in. Besides, it worked to our advantage. The smoke worked as a distraction and we caught the guys. I promise I can cook. I’ll prove it to you all, I’ll make dinner tonight.”

The men around the table, looked at each other and smirked. Isla laughed, “Lara, you’ve been played! You walked right into that.”

The men just laughed.

After breakfast, Max and Dirk went upstairs. Mitch looked over at Isla and said, “Molly, I want you to know you’re not a prisoner here. You can go outside, with one of us with you. Do you have a hobby or something else that can keep you happy and occupied?”

Isla thought about it. “Happy isn’t a feeling I’m aiming for right now. But I do paint, sometimes—well, before I got my job. Can you maybe get me some watercolor art supplies? That’ll help me to pass some time. And why don’t you let me take over meals? I’m a foodie at heart, and my mom taught me everything she knows about cooking. Lara, if you don’t mind, I’ll make dinner for everyone.”

“Cook away!” Lara whooped.

Mitch looked at Isla. “Are you sure?”

Isla shrugged. “It’ll give me something to do. And I’d like to take a walk if that’s okay with you. I need a way to get some of this pent-up energy out. Maybe it’ll clear my head.”

Mitch brightened. “Give me fifteen minutes and we can go for a walk. Lara, if you’d give Jax a call, ask him if he can have his wife pick up those art supplies. Tell him not to buy the stuff himself. I don’t want him calling attention to himself. This is a small town and if you had a look at him, you’d know why I want his wife to buy the supplies.”

Isla cut a square of the breakfast casserole out of the pan and put a bagel in the toaster. While waiting for her bagel to toast, she refilled her coffee mug and sat across from Mitch. “How long do you think we’ll be here?”

“It depends on when they arrest Hernandez. Hopefully we’ll know more soon. But Molly, I don’t want you to be disillusioned—it’s not over when Hernandez goes into custody. There’s the hearing. He’ll try to get to you so you can’t testify. You’re his ticket into prison. Without you he’s a free man. He’ll be after you even when he’s in jail. Molly, you may have to go into witness protection. Men like Hernandez don’t stop even if they go to prison. It doesn’t matter if he’s sentenced, he’ll be out for revenge. As of right now this place is the best place to be. No one knows about it, except me, my supervisor, and those who are here. We’ll stay here unless we hear otherwise.”

Isla saw her life flash before her eyes—the car crash that took her mom, becoming a foster kid at six, in and out of homes, finally adopted by loving, older parents. A marriage, failed, and an ex who left her with nothing. Going to school for six years while working full-time. Finally getting her dream job at thirty-six years old this year. She finally loved her life.

But Isla knew then that the life she’d built for herself—was over.

“Come on, let’s get out of here for a while,” Mitch said, directing her to the garage. The SUVs were parked inside and along with those were two ATVs, two snow mobiles, and two WaveRunners. Mitch went over to a board on the wall and pulled some keys off the hook. He hopped on one and pulled it out of the garage. “Hop on, it’ll be fun.”

Isla slid behind him. She felt funny being so close. It felt intimate and unnerving at the same time. “How much do SEALs make? This guy is loaded!”

“They don’t make as much as you’d think. He’s a trust fund baby—his family’s loaded. Put your arms around my waist and hold on.” He revved the engine and they were off.

Isla held on for dear life. She’d never been on an ATV before, and it terrified her. The thrill of it vibrated through her body; or was it the thrill of being pressed against a man for the first time in over eight years? After her divorce from Jason, work and school had consumed her life. There was no time for romance. While her friends were happily married with kids, she was working her fingers to the bone for a caterer and going to school full-time. She worked at the hospital during her rotations. Men were out of the question.

Jason had left her with an empty bank account and a broken heart. They’d been married five years when he decided to take another woman to their bed. She’d come home from her catering job early that evening with a migraine. As she climbed the dark stairs and walked down the hallway, she’d heard noises coming from their room. She found Jason having sex with the woman who lived down the street—her own friend. She’d just stood there frozen in place until Karen turned her head and saw her standing there. Karen squirmed herself out from under Jason and pulled the sheet around herself. Jason had looked up with a smirk on his face and said, “Care to join?” She never went back, and he drained their joint accounts the next day. She never wanted to be homeless and broke again—so new relationships were a no-go.

Isla was happy that riding on an ATV wasn’t conducive to conversation—she wouldn’t want Mitch to know what she was thinking. She leaned into the moment. Soon, they were roaring down gullies and up cliff sides. And she was having fun—it was exhilarating to be flying around the countryside. For a moment, she forgot the mess her life had become.

Mitch pulled the ATV into a clearing. “Do you want to try?” he asked as he climbed off and pulled off his helmet.

“I wouldn’t know what to do,” Isla laughed. “I’d probably crash us both into a tree.”

“Come on, you can do it. It’s easy. Skooch forward.”

Isla slid to the front and he slid behind her. “We’ll take it slow till you get the hang of it.” He showed her what to do and she tried her best.

They spent the next hour riding in circles around the meadow. Then Mitch said, “Ready for some rough terrain?”

Isla could imagine them crashing into a tree. She shook her head. “Maybe next time, please.”

“We’ll come out tomorrow again if the weather holds,” Mitch promised. “Deal?”

Isla smiled. “Deal.”

Chapter four

When Isla and Mitch pulled up to the garage, a huge Hummer was pulling in front of the house. Four of the biggest men she’d ever seen climbed out of it. They all stood over six feet and had muscles on top of their muscles.

“Yeah, Mitch, good to see you. It’s been a while,” a broad man with long wavy brown hair said as they clapped each other into a bro hug. “Who’s this?”