Rescuing Mila

Mila Watkin blinked. It couldn’t be. She tracked the blonde head of hair weaving above the mass of dark-haired Indonesian locals at the market, hoping her eyes were deceiving her.
They had to be.
No way on earth Vance Bradley would be on a remote Indonesian island without indoor plumbing, paved roads, or any modern conveniences besides a single bar and small medical centre.
It was way beneath him.
Heart pounding, she ducked into a fruit stall, greeted the owner, and peered out into the square.
Stylish beach-blond hair, a too-perfect nose, aqua polo shirt to bring out the blue in his eyes, pressed beige linen slacks and boater shoes.
Yep, it was definitely him.
Her chest tightened, and she exhaled.
What was he doing here?
Though she wanted to believe he’d travelled all this way from Sydney to beg her forgiveness, and profess his undying love, she wasn’t delusional.
Not anymore.
Not since she’d caught him in bed with another woman.
Bastard.
“Is something wrong, Mila?” Ibu Minar asked in Indonesian.
Mila jumped and looked down at the older woman who owned the stall. “I’m not sure.” As she watched, Pak Agus, the man who controlled the island, joined her ex-fiancé. They smiled and shook hands as if they were best friends. Agus was dressed in a similar style to Vance, which would have appealed to Vance’s snobbery.
Money didn’t buy you class.
Concern filled her. How on earth did Vance know the smuggler? More than likely, Agus had made it a point to introduce himself when word reached him that a rich white man had arrived on the island.
But if Vance was looking for her, he could have told Agus things about Mila that she’d gone to great lengths to hide from Agus.
She had avoided Agus since she’d gone through the obligatory meeting with him when she’d arrived. He liked to know who was on his island and had questioned her extensively about her background. His far too casual body language had triggered her wariness. Years of her mother picking out those most likely to cause trouble whenever they went out had rubbed off and Mila had kept quiet about the fact her mother was a major-general in the army and her father owned a very successful business back home in Sydney. Instead, she’d played the role of the backpacker trying to find herself.
Which wasn’t far from the truth.
“Oh, there is Pak Agus!” Ibu Minar waved and called out, “Pak, please try one of my rambutans.”
Mila winced, but it was too late to hide. Agus turned and spotted her. He tapped Vance on the shoulder and pointed.
Damn it.
“Mila!” Vance cried, and several people in the square turned to look. Foreigners weren’t common here as Pulau Tengah wasn’t set up for tourism. Usually only die-hard surfers ventured all this way looking for the perfect wave.
It was one reason Mila was here—to teach the locals English so they could expand into tourism.
Mila moved out of the stall, not wanting to get stuck in a confined space. “Vance. What are you doing here?”
He grinned that bright smile of his which she’d once thought was charming. “Looking for you, of course.” He smiled at Ibu Minar and pulled out a ten dollar note, handing it to her. “I’ll have some of those.”
Ibu glanced at Agus who translated for her and told her he would convert the note into rupiah for her, and then she pocketed the money and happily bagged the rambutan.
Vance liked to splash money about, but hadn’t even taken the time to get the correct currency. His apparent generosity had appealed to her until she’d realised he’d only done it when he’d had an audience.
“Why?” She hadn’t had the energy to yell at him when she’d caught him in bed with another woman, but she’d been extremely clear in her breakup text.
He had the grace to look bashful. “I never had the opportunity to apologise. The guilt has been gnawing at me.” His sincerity was so convincing Mila took a half step forward before she stopped herself. Vance’s earnest smile slid its way around her. “Can we talk at your place?”
She shook her head. This was all an act, though worthy of an Oscar. She couldn’t be fooled this time. “No.” She wasn’t letting him into her little one- room long house. It was her sanctuary and she didn’t want any association of him there.
“Why don’t we go back to my place for a drink?” Agus suggested, his tone smooth and friendly, but his dark eyes never left her like a snake ready to strike.
Goosebumps leapt on her skin. He knew she’d lied, maybe even knew who her mother was. That was the only reason he’d take time out of his day to help Vance track her down.
Going to his house was an even worse idea, but before she could come up with an excuse, Agus smiled at her, his eyes hard. “I insist.”
Damn. Fear gripped her and she glanced around, but there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Her mother and brother, Jared, who had also joined the military, would tell her not to go with him, but she had no choice.
No one refused Agus.
He gestured towards his brand new black four-wheel drive on the edge of the square. One of Agus’s bodyguards was with the car, and the other was behind Agus.
Vance seemed oblivious to Agus’s implied threat. As the son of Australia’s Minister for Defence he would have had security training, but knowing Vance, he hadn’t paid attention. “Please, Mila. It’s just a chat. There are things we should discuss.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Like how long you’d been sleeping with that woman?”
Vance held up his hands, but she caught the flicker of annoyance in his eyes before he was all contrite. “Please.”
She didn’t have a choice. “I have a class in an hour. I need to be back by then.”
“I’ll make sure you are,” Agus assured her. “I wouldn’t like my people going without.”
His people. Mila caught herself before she rolled her eyes. Sure, some people like Ibu Minar saw him as a saviour because he’d built the bar and the little medical centre, but most realised any favours came with a lot of sticky strings attached.
She climbed into the four-wheel drive and Vance got in next to her, with one of Agus’s men on her other side. Definitely no escaping.
Her mind whirled. If Agus knew who her mother was, Mila couldn’t stay. It would be too dangerous.
She only had herself to blame. If she’d told her parents where she was going, her mother would have warned her.
But no, she’d wanted to be decisive for once and had arranged the trip through one of the women her mother had kept in contact with over the years.
It was only after she’d arrived, she’d discovered her mother had arrested Agus when he’d stolen supplies from the relief effort after a tsunami. His engagement to the chief’s daughter had been broken and Agus had vowed vengeance.
No one knew exactly what had happened after Agus got out of gaol, but ten years later, he had arrived at the island and taken over.
He’d told everyone her mother had been the thief, not him, and vowed to pay her back someday.
Which meant Mila needed to leave before Agus decided what he wanted to do to her.
The air-conditioning cooled her whirling mind on the ride from the village to the cliff top where Agus’s three-storey house was located. Mila closed her eyes as she tried not to panic.
“You look good,” Vance said.
Mila didn’t answer. She wore a light summer dress she’d picked up at a market on the mainland before catching a boat here. It was cheap and colourful, and exactly the thing Vance would normally suggest she save for dinner with her parents rather than going out in public where people might see her.
He wanted something from her.
Of course he did. Why else would he be here? It had taken a couple of months before she’d admitted to herself the main reason she’d accepted his proposal was because she was sick of being so indecisive. She’d flitted from a commerce course, to working with her father, then trying the army reserves and back to do an arts degree, without anything appealing.
Both her brothers had known exactly what they wanted to do after university—one working for her father, the other going into the military—and Mila felt inadequate, flighty even. People had started looking at her with pity or amusement when they asked where she was working.
So when Vance had proposed, she’d not wanted to appear indecisive in her love life.
The car pulled up in front of Agus’s concrete monstrosity.
Aside from the medical centre in town, it was the only building made of concrete, but it had been painted a rich earthy orange similar to a Spanish hacienda. The gardens out the front were beginning to take hold and were full of frangipanis, bougainvilleas, and other lush tropical plants.
Two men with a Belgian Shepherd came around the corner of the house. Security.
Did Agus actually have to worry about his safety, or was this all for show? Mila wasn’t certain what illegal activities he took part in, but from the rumours she’d heard, it sounded as if he was part pirate, part smuggler. Maybe he’d made powerful enemies.
As she walked down the path to the front door, she noted another two guards with a dog coming from the other side.
Did he have more covering the back, or didn’t they realise how easily someone could scale the cliffs and get in via the back while both guards were at the front?
She hoped the latter, particularly if Agus decided to keep her here.
Inside, the house was cool. Two doors led off the main hallway and stairs led to the next floor. The corridor in front of her led to another door on the opposite side of the house facing the cliffs. She followed Agus and Vance into a lounge room which contained heavy sofas covered in thick brocade, a stupid fabric for this kind of humid climate. Though the air-conditioning was blasting, so perhaps he didn’t have to worry about such things as mould.
She shivered as she sat on the sofa Agus indicated. “What do you want, Vance?” The less time she spent here, the better. A strand of her dark hair fell across her face and she quickly undid and redid her loose bun.
“I wanted to apologise.” Vance sat next to her and tried to take her hand. She shifted away and clasped both hands in her lap. Agus stood across the room, watching with interest.
“That woman meant nothing to me.”
“So you ruined your engagement for nothing?” Was it better that it was just sex? No, neither option made her sympathetic to him.
He pressed his lips together before giving her his sad puppy dog eyes. “She seduced me.”
So now it wasn’t his fault. God, she’d been so stupid to fall for his charming, loveable rogue act.
Or so desperate to have something in her life that had meaning.
Mila shifted in her seat, wanting to be anywhere but here. She sighed. “Go ahead.”
Vance frowned. “What?”
“You said you wanted to apologise,” Mila replied. “I haven’t heard one yet.”
His eyes widened and then he grabbed her hand. “Of course. I’m so sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me.”
Mila tried to pull away but Vance held tight. Not wanting to make a scene, she said, “You’re forgiven.” She’d dodged a bullet finding out about Vance’s infidelity before the wedding and it had given her the excuse to break off the engagement so she didn’t seem flighty.
Vance sighed in relief. “You’re so good to me, Mila. We can return home on the next barge and tell everyone the wedding is still on.”
Mila burst out laughing, but Vance stared at her in all seriousness. Her laughter died and her skin crawled. “No.”
“But you said you forgave me,” Vance said, his expression wounded.
“Yes, because your affair showed me what you’re truly like. I’m not marrying you.”
Vance’s scowl peeled the earnest façade from his face. “My father wants me to settle down, get a proper job, and get married.”
The truth hit her and she lost her breath. “That’s why you dated me. To get a job with Dad.” She acknowledged the hurt even though she didn’t care for Vance any longer.
“Right.” He agreed as if it wasn’t a big deal, shifting into bargaining mode, and her weak heart ached.
She’d been so flattered by his attention and so surprised he’d been interested in her despite the far more glamorous and sophisticated women at the fundraiser.
“We get married, I get my job back at your dad’s company and my father continues to pay me my allowance.”
Mila switched her attention back to what he was saying. She stared at him. Was he serious? “And what exactly is in it for me?”
He blinked. “Well, you want to get married, and you can show your face in society again.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, you must have been embarrassed about the breakup to hide on this backwards island.”
He really had no idea who she was. She’d spoken to him about wanting to volunteer in the future, and he mustn’t have listened to a word she’d said.
“I’d share some of my money with you.”
Some, not all. Out of morbid curiosity, she asked, “How much would you share?”
Vance pursed his lips as if he was making a hard decision. “Ten percent.”
A bit of her died inside. Was she worth so little?
Agus shifted to lean against a sideboard, listening to every word. Vance had to stop talking about money. She could practically see the dollar signs in Agus’s eyes.
“Firstly, Dad wouldn’t reemploy you even if we did marry. You did nothing of value the whole time you worked there.”
“Surely he wants to please his little girl.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t ask him to. You’re a bad investment.” Plus, both her parents had told her how relieved they were that she’d broken off the engagement.
He scowled, the genial bargainer personality glitching for a moment. “I can take you away from this hole, and you can live in my townhouse on Bondi Beach.”
“I like this island.” Bondi was too crowded for her.
“Be reasonable, Mila. I’m offering you everything you could ever want.”
He didn’t know what she wanted. Had never cared enough to ask her. “No. You’re offering me everything you want. We don’t want the same things, Vance. We never did.”
“You’ve got to do this, Mila.” A hint of desperation now.
“Why? There are plenty of women who would marry you.” Plenty who wouldn’t look past the shiny sports car and beachfront townhouse.
“I need a job.”
She sighed. The only reason he’d sought her out was because of her father. “Then I suggest you apply for one.”
“You’re so selfish, Mila. I can’t believe you won’t do this for me.”
And here was the child throwing the tantrum. He’d kept this side well-hidden during their relationship.
She was relieved she’d seen the true Vance prior to the wedding, but the fact their entire relationship had been a lie made her sad.
“It sounds as if your father has plenty of money to help one person,” Agus said.
Her skin tightened at his curious and slightly menacing tone. She glanced up as Agus approached them.
“I didn’t realise your father was so powerful,” Agus added.
Mila glared a warning at Vance, but he didn’t notice. “My father doesn’t have power. He owns a business.”
Vance snorted, oblivious to the threat in Agus’s words. “A multi-million dollar business.”
She slapped his thigh hard, trying to convey shut the hell up in her gaze. “It’s irrelevant. Agus doesn’t need the details.”
Agus chuckled. “If I remember correctly, you also said your mother was a team leader at an organisation.”
Vance laughed. “Good one, Mila.” He turned to Agus. “She’s a major-general in the army. That’s how we met. Dad’s the Minister for Defence and there was some army fundraiser he dragged me to. Mila was there.”
Mila wanted to be sick. She took a moment to fantasise about gagging Vance and then stood. “I have to get to my class.”
Agus stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Vance has been very forthcoming.”
A heavy dread sank to the bottom of her stomach.
Agus smiled. “Did you know I met your mother twenty years ago?”
Mila forced a polite smile to her face. “No, I didn’t.”
“Yes. Imagine my surprise when Vance told me who she was.”
Mila shot Vance a glare. He stared back confused.
“I know what it’s like to have marriage plans cancelled. You really should give Vance’s proposal proper consideration.” His grip tightened on her arm and she winced. “On this island, we believe when you make a big decision, you need to focus all your attention on it. It’s better for the soul.” He held out his hand. “You need to leave your phone here.”
She placed a hand over the bag she always wore crossed over her body. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Oh, I think it is. And your laptop as well.”
She clutched her bag to her chest. If he took both, she couldn’t contact anyone back home. “I need my laptop for my classes.”
“I’ll get Ali to collect it after each class.”
Perhaps he wanted to toy with her, or perhaps he hadn’t decided what his revenge would be. Or maybe his revenge was making her marry someone she didn’t want to marry. She had to leave the island.
Vance smirked. “Good idea. She’ll realise my offer is the best thing for her.”
Arsehole. “I can think about it while also having my phone.”
“I insist.” Agus held out his hand. “Quickly now, or you’ll be late for your class.”
She would be stuck on the island until Agus changed his mind. No one came or left without Agus knowing.
She understood the threat for what it was. “Yes, Pak.” She dug around her bag and her fingers gripped the phone. Slowly she pulled it out and handed it over, noting the strong Wi-Fi signal. So the small bar in the village wasn’t the only place to have Wi-Fi—Agus had it here too.
Not that the knowledge helped her if she didn’t have a device.
“Vance, might I have a private word before I go?” She glanced at Agus for permission. He inclined his head and smirked. She was trapped, and he was enjoying it.
Quickly she grabbed Vance’s hand and dragged him to the door.
“You’ll realise marrying me is the best solution,” Vance said.
He still had no clue what he’d done. She closed her eyes to channel some patience, because her whole body thrummed with fear. “Do you realise what Agus is, Vance?”
“He’s the only decent guy on the island. I was lucky to run into him when I arrived.”
Luck had nothing to do with it. “He’s a criminal. The reason he’s so wealthy is because he’s a smuggler. He’s dangerous.”
Vance’s eyes widened. “You’ve been watching too many movies.”
“He took my phone.”
“To give you the time to consider my offer.”
She glared at him. “Half the villagers are terrified of him. I kept under his radar and now you’ve told him who I am. What do you think a man like that will do with this information?”
“Chill, Mila. You’re blowing things out of proportion.”
Imbecile. How could he be so clueless? “If I were you, I’d leave right now, before he forces you to stay too.”
Instead of the fear she’d expected, his forehead crumpled in contemplation. She didn’t want to know what he was thinking.
“Goodbye, Vance.” She’d done her best to help him. What he did from here wasn’t her responsibility. She got into the car and Ali drove her back to the village for her class.
Mila stared out the window down to the small village below, her heart aching.
She’d been happy here. It was a safe place to nurture her broken heart and figure out what she wanted out of life.
But she could no longer stay.
Not now Agus knew who she was.
She rubbed the chill from her arms.
She just had to figure out how to leave without Agus stopping her.