Romance: Romantic Suspense: Seduction On Eden Island: (Dark Contemporary Romance) (Science Fiction Romance) (Romantic Suspense Mystery Romance Books) (Contemporary Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

re-enactments of the original, just so we have enough comparable data of course.”
    “Of course!” Malcolm winked and gave Rayne’s thigh a little squeeze.
    Footsteps running past the shack put Rayne and Malcolm back on edge. As soon as the last wound was clean, Rayne re-buttoned the shirt and they quietly shuffled to a far corner of the shack.
    They waited for several very long minutes until the sounds of the forest returned before recommencing their whispers.
    “So, why are you here?” Rayne ventured first.
    Malcolm failed to keep the sorrow from his face. “I’m trying to figure out why my best friend never came home from here. He told me over drinks he’d been given this exclusive invitation and wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about it, so naturally he showed me the card and everything. I thought nothing of it until his mother called me asking if I knew where he was. I did some digging and found that there have been increased reports of people going missing--people who would never normally be reported as missing.”
    “But don’t people go missing all the time? It’s hardly enough to stage a huge investigation.”
    “You’re absolutely right, but the people I found who were going missing were influential fringe-dwellers. Bankers, stock traders, socialites, trendsetters. People who sit somewhere in an area of influence, but wouldn’t draw a lot of attention; there were about a dozen cases in the past month.”
    “So, then…”
    “I did some digging and found nothing on this resort, its builders or even its location. I tried to contact the authorities, but they said this place never existed. Eventually, I worked through all my contacts and paid a lot of money to wrangle a card out of someone who was invited…Ben, an advertising guy.” He gritted his teeth as he shifted into a different position. “You a nurse back home?”
    “No, I am--well, I was --the go-to first aid person in my office. I don’t know if I can still say that I am; I don’t know if we’ll make it alive off this island.”
    Malcolm gave a slow nod. “For all it’s worth, I’m glad I met you.”
    Rayne paused and gave Malcolm a small smile, “Me, too.”
    There was a long pause, before Malcolm continued, “Why did you run from me before?”
    Rayne let out a long deep breath and mentally braced herself. “I found Billie Toms’ head in a lagoon this morning, and it was collected by men in biohazard suits. I was in shock, so when you asked where she was, I thought that maybe you had something to do with it.”
    Malcolm pulled Rayne into a crushing hug. “I’m so sorry I scared you. I had been sneaking around trying not to get caught--I had just avoided getting tased by some guys in those suits who ambushed the group I was with. I had stopped to read some stupid plaque on a tree, and before I knew it, I had to hide under the boardwalk and crawl back to the resort. I thought something dreadful happened to you...wasn’t far off the mark in the end, was I?”
    Rayne squeezed her arms around Malcolm. “So,” she mulled the words over in her mouth, “why do you think people are disappearing? Why was Billie murdered?”
    Malcolm released her from the hug but reached out and held Rayne’s hand, his warm grip returning her to the reality of the situation.
    “I’m not completely sure, but I know that the guests who disappear have acted unusual. The day before you turned up, I noticed a male guest acting differently. He was a big talker and had a huge personality. I only noticed his strangeness because in the morning he was complaining of chills and hot flashes, but by lunchtime, he had completely shut-up--you couldn’t get a word from him. He never came to dinner, and has been absent ever since.”
    “Is it possible he was bitten by something?”
    “Possible, yes, but then other guests have been acting strangely and disappearing. I had an activity with Nelson yesterday. We were supposed to go for a rainforest hike, but he was