Chapter 20

When I regain consciousness, I am feeling only a little bit better. My head appears to be stuffed with wool, and the nagging pain in my side remains, though it feels different now, less sharp and more like an ache. For a second, I think that I fell asleep feeling sick and dreamed the whole thing, but the smell convinces me otherwise. It's that unmistakable antiseptic odor that you only encounter in doctor's offices and hospitals.

That odor means I'm alive . . . and off the island.

My heart starts racing at the thought.

"She's awake," an unfamiliar female voice says in accented English, apparently addressing someone else in the room.

I hear footsteps and feel someone sitting down on the side of my bed. Warm fingers reach out and stroke my cheek. "How are you feeling, baby?"

Opening my eyes with some effort, I gaze at Lisa's beautiful features. "Like I've been cut open and sewn back together," I manage to croak out. My throat is so dry and sore that it actually hurts to talk, and I can feel a dull, throbbing ache in my right side.

"Here." Lisa is holding out a cup with a bent straw in it. "You must be thirsty."

She brings it toward my face, and I obediently close my lips around the straw, sucking down a little water. My mind is still hazy, and for a moment, the wall between the good and the bad memories crumbles. I remember that first day on the island, when Lisa had offered me a bottle of water, and an involuntary shiver runs down my spine. In that moment, Lisa is not the woman I love; she is again my enemy, the one who stole me, the one who made me her against my will.

"Cold?" she asks, taking the cup away before leaning over to pull the blanket higher up, covering my shoulders.

"Um, yeah, a little." I'm off the island. Oh my God, I'm off the island. My mind is spinning. I feel torn, like I'm two different people—the terrified girl who insists this is her chance to escape and the woman who desperately craves Lisa's touch.

"They took out your appendix," Lisa says, brushing back a strand of hair that had been tickling my forehead. "The operation went smoothly, and there shouldn't be any complications. Isn't that right, Angela?" He looks up to the left.

"Yes, Ms. Manoban."

Manoban? Is that Lisa's last name? Recognizing the voice from before, I turn my head to see a petite young woman in white scrubs. Her smooth skin is a beautiful light brown color, and her hair and eyes are dark, nearly black. To me, she looks Filipino or maybe Thai—not that I can pretend to be an expert on either nationality.

What I do know is that she's the first person I've seen in fifteen months who is neither Sorn nor Lisa.

I'm off the island. Oh my God, I'm off the island. For the first time since my abduction, there is a real possibility of escape.

"Where am I?" I ask, staring at the young nurse. I can't believe Lisa is letting someone else see me—me, the girl she kidnapped.

"You're in a private clinic in the Philippines," Lisa replies when the woman merely smiles at me. "Angela is the nursing assistant who will be looking after you."

At that moment, the door opens and Sorn walks in. "Oh, look who's awake," she exclaims, coming up to my bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I think," I tell her cautiously. Holy shit, I'm off the fucking island.

"They said Lisa got you here just in time," Sorn tells me, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to my bed. "Your appendix was getting ready to go. They cut it out and sewed you right back up, so you should be right as rain."

I let out a nervous chuckle . . . and immediately groan, the movement tugging at the stitches in my side.

"Are you hurting?" Lisa gives me a concerned look. Turning to Angela, he orders, "Give her more painkillers."

"I'm okay, just a little sore," I try to reassure her. "Seriously, I don't need any drugs." The last thing I want is something clouding my mind right now. I'm off the island, and I need to figure out what to do. I'm doing my best to remain calm, but it's taking all of my willpower not to scream or do something stupid. Freedom is so close, I can practically taste it.

"Of course, Ms. Manoban." Angela completely ignores my protests and comes up to the bed, fiddling with the clear bag that's feeding into my IV tube.

Lisa leans over the bed and lightly kisses me on the lips. "You need to rest," she says softly. "I want you healthy. Do you understand me?"

I nod, my eyelids growing heavy as I feel the medicine beginning to work. For a moment, I feel like I'm floating, all pain gone, and then I'm not aware of anything else.

When I wake up again, I'm alone in the room. Bright sunlight is streaming through the clear large windows and several plants are blooming merrily on the windowsill. It's actually quite cozy. If it weren't for that hospital smell and the various machines and monitors, I would've thought I was in someone's bedroom. Whatever this private clinic is, it's quite luxurious—a fact that I didn't have a chance to really appreciate before.

The door opens and Angela walks into the room. Giving me a wide smile, she says in a cheerful voice, "How are you feeling, Jennie?"

"Okay," I reply, a little warily. "Where is Lisa?" Something about this woman rubs me the wrong way, and I can't quite figure out what. I know she's probably my best chance to escape, but I don't know if I can trust her. For one thing, she could easily be in Lisa's employ, like Sorn.

"Ms. Manoban had to leave for a couple of hours," she says, still smiling at me. "Sorn is here, however. She just went to the restroom."

"Oh, good." I stare at her, trying to gather my courage. I have to tell her that I've been kidnapped. I simply have to. This is my one opportunity to escape. She might be loyal to Lisa, but I still have to try because I may never get a better shot at freedom.

Angela comes up to the bed and hands me the cup with the bent straw. "Here you go," she says in that same cheerful voice. "I'll bring you some food in a bit."

I lift my arm and take the cup from her, wincing a little as the movement pulls at the stitches. "Thanks," I say, greedily gulping down the water. I really, really need to tell her to call the police, or whatever the local law enforcement officials are called, but for some reason, I don't. Instead, I drink the water and watch as she walks out of the room, leaving me alone once again.

I groan mentally. What is wrong with me? Freedom is a real possibility for the first time in over a year, and here I am, waffling and procrastinating. I tell myself it's because I'm being cautious, because I don't want to risk anyone getting hurt—not Angela and certainly not anyone back home—but deep inside, I know the truth.

As alluring as freedom seems, it's also frightening. I've been a captive for so long that I actually long for the comfort of my cage; being here in this unfamiliar room makes me stressed, anxious, and there is a part of me that just wants to go back to the island, to my regular routine. Most importantly, however, freedom means leaving Lisa, and I can't bring myself to do that.

I don't want to leave the person who kidnapped me.

I should be rejoicing at the thought of the police coming to arrest her, but I feel horrified instead. I don't want Lisa behind bars. I don't want to be separated from her, not even for a minute.

Closing my eyes, I tell myself that I'm a fool, a brainwashed idiot, but it doesn't matter.

As I lie there in that hospital bed, I come to terms with the fact that I'm no longer an unwilling captive. Instead, I am simply a woman who belongs to Lisa—just as she now belongs to me.

I recuperate in the clinic for the next week. Lisa visits me every day, spending several hours by my side, and so does Sorn. Angela takes care of me most of the time, although a couple of doctors have dropped by to view my charts and adjust my painkiller dosage.

I still have not told anyone about being a victim of kidnapping, nor am I planning to do so anymore. For one thing, I get the sense that the clinic staff is paid to be discreet. Nobody seems the least bit curious about what a foreign girl is doing in the Philippines, nor are they inclined to question me in any way. The only thing Angela wants to know is whether I'm in pain, thirsty, hungry, or need to use the bathroom. I'm pretty sure that if I ask her to call the police for me, she would just smile and give me more painkillers.

I have also seen a number of guards stationed in the hallway outside the room. I catch glimpses of them when the door opens. They're armed to the teeth and look like scary sons of bitches, reminding me of the thug who beat up Hanbin.

When I ask Lisa about them, she freely admits that they're her employees. "They're there for your protection," she explains, sitting down on the side of my bed. "I told you I have enemies, right?"

She did tell me, but I hadn't grasped the full extent of the danger before. According to Sorn, there is a small army of bodyguards stationed at and around the clinic, all protecting us from whatever threat Lisa is concerned about.

"What enemies?" I ask curiously, looking at her. "Who is after you?"

She smiles at me. "That's none of your concern, my pet," she says gently, but there is something cold and deadly lurking beneath the warmth of her smile. "I will deal with them soon."

I shudder a little, and hope that Lisa doesn't notice. Sometimes my lover can be very, very scary.

"We're going home tomorrow," she says, changing the topic. "The doctors said you'll need to take it easy for the next few weeks, but there is no need for you to stay here. You can recover at home just as well."

I nod, my stomach tightening with a mixture of dread and anticipation. Home . . . Home on the island. This strange interlude at the clinic—so close to freedom—is almost over.

Tomorrow my real life begins again.