Chapter 4

<Gavin Forrester>

It's been a week since we arrived in Barbados. The news headlines are still all about the international man-hunt for me and my friends but no one in Barbados seems very concerned despite the reports that there could potentially be FBI wanted criminals in their nation. I've been outside multiple times and people who look directly at me in town don't even bat a lash. Apparently the disguises worked better than I thought they would.

For the past 4 days, Victoria has been complaining about how we're in the islands but we have to stay in the house behind the curtains and away from all society. Blaze has tried to explain to her that there are cops and FBI agents looking everywhere for us but she'll have no part of it. She has her heart set on doing tourist things and actually exploring the islands as if we're on a vacation.

"Please Gavin, I just want to go out of the house for a few hours. I'm having a vitamin D deficiency." Victoria pouts and sits down next to me on the couch.

"I'll buy you some vitamin D supplements." I mutter and continue reading a travel magazine.

"I want to see the sun. Please, please, please." Victoria pleads and takes away my magazine from me.

"No, you know what's at stake if someone recognizes us."

"Fine, then I'll go on a hunger strike." Victoria crosses her arms and turns to face the black TV screen.

"Fine, then I'll tie you to a chair and force feed you. Your move, Victoria." I smirk and put my hands behind my head as I sink into the plush cushions of the couch. "Just so we're clear, this is a game you'll never win."

"You're so aggravating." Victoria lets out an annoyed noise before standing up.

"C'mon, babe. I'll take you into town. Just put on your contacts so we can sneak out before the others figure out what we're doing." I sigh and watch as a smile plays on Victoria's lips.

I know being stuck inside on top of being away from her dad and her house is hard on her so, if I get a chance to help her feel a little better than I'll take it without a second thought.

"I knew you'd come around." She leans down and places her lips on mine.

I try to pull her back down onto the couch with me but she lets go and walks off to our room with a little smirk. I check the time on my new disposable phone and run my fingers through my hair. Victoria comes back into the room wearing a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a pair of oversized sunglasses. She grabs some cash from the coffee jar and the keys to the Jeep.

"Let's go, Gavin." She motions towards the door and I get up and follow her.

Luckily, the others decided to take a nap because they'd gotten so little sleep the last few nights which means Victoria and I have straight shot out of the house without getting caught or yelled at. We close the door as quietly as possible and then lock it before walking down the steep staircase towards the Jeep.

Victoria hands me the keys and hops into the shotgun seat. I take the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. The engine sputters to life and I begin to drive down the dirt path towards town.

"That wasn't nearly as fun as my Ferrari." I chuckle as I pull into a parking lot behind some Caribbean grill.

"Nothing is as fun as your Ferrari." Victoria agrees as she gets out of the car.

"Speaking of my beautiful car, where exactly did you leave that?" I grab her hand as we walk around to the front of the grill and continue towards a little clothing shop.

"The bottom of a river." Victoria says jokingly but I'm not amused at all.

"We don't joke about my over 200,000 dollar car." I shake my head and hold the door open.

"It's parked safely in your apartment's garage." Victoria chuckles as picks up a blue bikini. "What do you think of this?"

"I think it'll look gorgeous on you." I say absentmindedly as I take a seat on a chair near the dressing rooms.

"We'll have to see. I mean I need to try it all on before I buy it anyway." Victoria winks as she picks up a dress and a few more items of clothing.

Victoria closes the curtain to her dressing room, leaving me alone in the store except the beady eyed lady who seems to be judging me from behind her cash register. I tap my fingers on my leg as I wait to hear the swishing of the curtain which means that Victoria is coming out again. The swishing thankfully comes and Victoria steps out in front of me wearing a sundress and a pair of flip flops. She spins and the blue fabric billows out around her.

"What do you think?" She smiles coyly and waits for my answer.

"I like it, you look beautiful." I grab her hand and hold it gently.

She smiles and then walks back to the dressing room to try on some more clothes.

~~~~~

It's been a couple of hours and I'm pretty sure Victoria has been inside of every clothing shop on the island. I say this because I am carrying every single one of her bags. She's walking a foot ahead of me, clutching her phone and window shopping with her oversized sunglasses shielding her eyes from recognition. She stops in front of a store selling some tacky island trinkets. My arms groan at the thought of anything more to carry.

"Gavin, isn't this pet shell adorable?" Victoria coos and I walk towards the shop window she's looking at.

The thing that's captured her attention is a generic seashell with some cheap googly eyes and a painted on smile. I roll my eyes and turn to her.

"I love you and I want to get you whatever you want but I am not buying you a damn seashell that looks like it was made by a kindergartner." I chuckle and now it's Victoria's turn to roll her eyes.

"Fine, I guess I'll deal without it." She sighs melodramatically and begins to saunter down the sidewalk again.

"Thank God," I smile and attempt to keep up with her.

Victoria walks into a jewelry shop next and begins to admire the necklaces and rings encased within the glass confines that are customary to every jewelry store in existence.

Her eyes light up as she comes across a heart-shaped locket that has a porcelain engraving of a woman on it. She grins and asks to see it out of the glass case. The man behind the counter pulls it out and places it gently in her hand. The heart itself is navy and the engraving is white. Victoria opens it and runs her finger over the smooth, silver metal of the inside.

"I really love it." She breathes slowly as she returns it to the man. "But I've bought so much already. I think I'll wait."

"Good idea. Hey, can you take the car keys and go get the car. I think I'll drop something if I try to walk all this stuff back to the car." I smirk as she takes the keys from me.

The bell on the front door jingles as Victoria walks outside to get the car.

"You didn't really think you'd drop something, did you?" The man chuckles, his voice booming throughout the small shop.

"Not a chance in hell. I've had to carry more than this at once. I'd like that necklace please." I attempt to gesture towards the locket Victoria was looking at.

The man grins and rings it up.

"Cash or credit?" He questions, his thick island accent making it very hard to understand him.

"Cash." I mutter and struggle to reach my wallet.

I hand him the money and take the jewelry bag from him. I slip it into my pocket just as Victoria walks through the door.

"Car's parked out front. Do you want me to help you with these bags?" Victoria points at the ones on the floor that I set down so I could put her gift in my pocket.

"No, I got them." I squat down and pick up the three bags form the floor.

We walk out to the car and I put everything in the backseat. She takes the passenger's seat and I take the driver's. I put the key in the ignition and ignite the engine.

"We should go get something to eat." I say and run my fingers through my hair.

"I don't know any good places." Victoria stares thoughtfully at the sky.

She glances over and sees a girl standing up against the front of the jewelry store.

"I'll go ask her." She gets out of the car and walks over to the deeply tanned girl who looks completely bored with everything.

I watch Victoria and the girl talk and then Victoria comes back over to the car with a smile and a new friend. I raise my eyebrow at her and wait for an explanation.

"This is Ainsley. She's going to show us some of the best places on the island." Victoria looks at me innocently and smiles.

"You've got to be kidding me." I mumble under my breath as I get out of the car.

I put the roof on and lock the car before walking over to Victoria and Ainsley.

"I'm Hunter." I say and hold out my hand for Ainsley.

"It's good to meet you and Victoria. I'll take you guys to this great little restaurant on the edge of town and then show you some other things on the island if that's cool." Ainsley smiles and begins to walk ahead.

My gut is completely against trusting her and so is my brain but I can't leave Victoria alone with her...

I let out a deep breath and hold Victoria's hand. She smiles and pulls my arm so we're walking right next to Ainsley who is talking about the island history. She stops in front of a pair of glass doors that have a neon sign reading 'Mojo's Island Grill' above them. Ainsley opens up the door and greets the hostess with a wide grin.

"Table for 3." Ainsley gestures for us to follow the hostess who is walking down the aisle with 3 menus.

We all take a seat in the booth where the hostess is waiting for us. Victoria and I sit down on one side with Ainsley sitting across from us. She opens up her menu and begins to scan over the entrees I'm sure she knows by heart.

"What do you recommend?" I ask politely.

"The spicy grilled chicken is good." She says without looking up at me.

~~~~~

It's been a couple of hours and we're still walking around the island with Ainsley. I've given up paying attention and instead walk a few feet behind Victoria and her friend. Victoria seems very interested in whatever Ainsley is saying as they walk back towards the car. I let out a relieved breath and unlock the Jeep. Victoria waves goodbye and gets into the passenger side while I slip into the driver's seat. I put the key in the ignition and speed away from the town.

"Is there something wrong, Gavin?" Victoria tilts her head and cocks her eyebrow.

"I don't think you should be trusting her, Victoria. I just don't have a good feeling about Ainsley." I bite my lip and look at the street signs to make sure I'm taking the right way home.

"Well, she did show us some good places to eat and now we have a new friend." Victoria crosses her arm and faces the windshield.

"I know, I wish you had just asked for a recommendation. I didn't want you to ask her to take us on a tour." I say gently so I won't offend her.

"She offered and she was just being nice. Why can't you accept that not everyone has a double motive?"

"Victoria, I worked for Talon. He always had more than one motive as to why he asked me to kill specific people. Take your case for example. His first motive was to spite Carter because Carter's dad fired him and left him jobless. Then I found out that you were his daughter and the real reason he wanted you dead was 'cause he thought you broke up his marriage. So, I know a bit more about double motives than you do. Also, in case you haven't noticed I have a price on my head and I'm running from the FBI. I'm sorry that I don't trust every person who comes in my path." I grip the steering wheel tighter as I pull onto the dirt road that leads to Jeffrey's house.

"Gavin, I guess you're right but I mean is there anything wrong with her?"

"She attached on way too fast. Can you just promise me you won't hang out with her without me? I mean we never know who's working for Talon or who's just being nice." I put the car in park underneath the stilts of Jeffrey's house and turn to face Victoria.

"You think he's out there? Just waiting for us or something?" She gives me a sacred look and I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I wouldn't put it past him. Please just promise me you'll try to be safe." I grab her hand and hold it close to my heart.

"I'll do my best." She whispers in a gentle tone, a small smile playing on her lips.

The hair I put behind her ear falls in her face as she leans in close to me. I brush it out of her eyes and place my lips on hers. She puts her arm around my neck as she continues to kiss me, the small smile still playing on her lips.

"We should go inside before the others decide to come looking for us." I say as we let go, my hand still cupped on her cheek.

She sighs and rolls her eyes a little.

"I guess if we must." Victoria chuckles and grabs a few bags from the backseat.

I do the same and lock the car as I follow her up the stairs.

"Where the hell do you two think you've been?" Blaze shouts the minute we walk through the door.

"We were in town all day." I mumble, not sure how I want to handle the situation just yet.

"You scared us. We thought the FBI had taken you two or something." Slick glares at us as we set our bags down by the door.

"Victoria just needed some fresh air." I respond in a calm voice so I won't anger them any more than they already are.

"Six hours' worth?" Blaze gives me a cold look. "We can't go prancing around in town because someone is bound to catch us. These disguises aren't invincible. They're temporary, just like our freedom if we get too comfortable with our circumstances. We're not here for a vacation. We're here to avoid arrest. As soon as the FBI is off our tails then we can enjoy our time here."

"You don't see it do you?" Victoria shouts causing us all to turn around. "They are never going to give up. My dad will have them on your guys' tails and on mine until I'm back in my stupid apartment in New York and even if they do have to turn into a cold case, that won't happen for years. I can't stay trapped in here for years. We'll have to suck it up and go outside at some point."

"We can't jeopardize what we've worked so hard to achieve just because you can't deal with being trapped inside. Last time I checked, your name wasn't on the FBI wanted list. Now that I think about it, your name isn't anywhere near the media even." Blaze snaps and walks out to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry my dad won't let them release my name but that isn't my fault. He's the one who wants to keep it private."

"He's the police chief. If he can pay off somebody to keep your name secret then why can't he pay off the FBI to not hunt us down in exchange you coming home or something?" Slick says thoughtfully.

"I don't know, I'll ask if I ever get to see him again." Victoria crosses her arms and takes a seat at the dinner table.

"Quit being so dramatic. This isn't permanent because we're bound to get caught some time soon." Slick brushes off her sarcastic comeback and sits down in the seat across from her.

"There's something you guys should know." Victoria says quietly as if she's ashamed of whatever the thing is.

"What? What more could possibly go wrong?" Blaze throws his hands up in frustration and lets out an annoyed huff.

"Chief Grayson had a chip implanted in my wrist when I was three. He told me it was so if I ever got lost, he'd be able to find me. He had it switched off when I turned eighteen but he can switch it back on whenever he wants. I think he forgot about it but there's still that chance that he could turn it back on and find me. I just thought you guys should know. I get it if you want me to leave after hearing that." Victoria stands up and tries to walk out of the kitchen but I grab her around the waist before she can.

"It's not on right now so you don't need to leave." I smile and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Gavin, get this through your head. Her dad can track her which means it'll lead him right here to us." Blaze is red in the face with anger.

"You're a computer genius. Hack into it and steal the data. Then you can make extra copies of the chip and have their locations be all over the world so it'll throw him off her track." I state simply and let go of Victoria.

"I don't think I can hack into his chip. He probably had it programmed against hacking and made his password something only he'd remember. He's the police chief, if he's getting this chip to protect his daughter than I don't think he'd mess around. I imagine he'd take every precaution so only he'd be able to access it. It can't be done." Blaze rants while crossing his arms and putting on a serious face.

"Fine, let's just hope he doesn't remember it." I sigh and then a cell phone rings.

Victoria walks over and I see her pick up her old phone. Her eyes widen in horror as she sees who's on the caller I.D.

I thought I told her to use the disposable one...

"Guys, it's my dad." Victoria's voice is shaky as she looks towards me.

Blaze walks over and takes the phone from her. He walks back to the kitchen and takes out the iced tea pitcher from the refrigerator. He takes off the lid and drops her phone in without a second thought.

"I told you I was serious. Now, don't mess around. I refuse to get caught." Blaze sets the pitcher on the counter and walks down the hallway to his room.