Some upper hand. She had a degree in archaeology, not martial arts.

“I swear to god, Volkan, if I die, I will haunt you forever.”

“You’re not going to die,” he insisted. “You’re a scrappy little fighter. Remember when you tried to escape the condo? You were magnificent. You fought tooth and nail. I expect you to do the same if anyone lays a hand on you who isn’t me.”

“I barely made it a dozen steps outside the condo!” she cried. “I’m screwed!”

“You’re not screwed, but you have to listen – ”

She heard the drone of an airplane overhead. “I think they’re here!” Her stomach dropped and she had to take a deep breath to stop from throwing up the half a sandwich she’d eaten. “What do I do?”

“Listen to me, Yaz, you’re going to be okay, you understand?” He sounded angry.

“Come get me, Volkan,” she begged. “Please don’t leave me here.”

“Never, baby, never.”

The lights went out and she jumped, letting out a squeak.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“The lights are gone.”

“Fuck, they’ve cut the power.” She heard a door slamming on Volkan’s side of the conversation, then feet hitting the pavement as he ran. Seconds later, she heard his airplane’s engine coming to life. “Run and hide. You better fucking be okay when I get there.”

“Volkan!” she said desperately, not wanting to hang up on him, but she needed to hide.

“I love you, Yasmin.”

The phone went dead.

Chapter Forty-Three

Yasmin rushed through the house, grabbing everything that looked like it could be used a weapon. She didn’t have long to make a plan. It had only taken Volkan a few minutes to drive them from the landing strip to the house when he’d brought her to the island, which meant, if they were taking a Jeep, they would arrive in about two minutes. And they were definitely going to take a Jeep. The keys were right on the wall next to the vehicle. Short of a flashing sign that read “Keys right here! Please steal Jeep!” they didn’t need much more of an invitation.

“Focus, focus, focus!” she told herself, trying to use every second she had before the bad guys arrived.

Oh god, there were bad guys coming for her!

She searched under the sink in the kitchen until she came up with a fire extinguisher. She’d seen movies where the protagonist lets the extinguisher go into the face of the bad guy. She snatched up the sharpest bitcher knife she could find and then ran as fast as she could for the second floor of the house.

Every step she took had her questioning herself. Was it stupid to go upstairs where they could trap her? No, she had a plan. Plus, she was on a deserted island, so it didn’t matter where she went. They were going to find her.