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CHAPTER 41
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Mark smirked and moved around in the bath, sliding carefully onto his side, trying to get his body into a more comfortable position.
"So where do 'we' stand?" He asked."We're good," She said immediately."Good as in?""Good as in I'm not pissed at you any more. As in we should kind of pretend it never happened and just act as if things are back to normal, hopefully."Mark laughed. "Normal for me is going into the office, no Island paradise, no amazing and hot assistant, no talking to people in the shower, or bath.""Okay, situational normality," She replied, smiling."Situational normality? I like that.""I liked amazing and hot assistant."Mark shrugged and winced. "It's true. I'd be lost if you weren't here, Jasmine."She smiled. "You keep doing that.""What?""Saying these incredibly sweet things from time to time. It makes it reallyRelated chapters
The Island CHAPTER 42
Marksighed. His hands slid off the edge of the bath to rest on her legs and he turned his head to face her. He realized that he hadn't really considered what she'd been through in the last few weeks and months, with BenjaminMoore, her mentor and friend dying. Then she'd been thrown in to look after him, and that must have been so stressful for her."You worried about today?" He asked gently."A little," She admitted, her gaze fixed on the wall. "It seems like saying goodbye to him, but I don't really want to. Does that make sense?""Absolutely," Marksaid gently. "You know I'm here for you, right?"She nodded once, then sighed. "I miss him.""I bet you do.""This whole thing with you is confusing me too," She admitted quietly. "I thought you and I could have the same sort of relationship that Benjaminand I had, but it's different.""How different?""Well, we never did anyth
The Island CHAPTER 43
Markwalked through to the bedroom, spotted an outfit that Francescahad picked out for him for the day and shook his head at the madness of what his life was becoming.It took him a few minutes to get changed, this time into a pair of black jeans, a faded t-shirt with a loose black shirt over the top, and a pair of sneakers. Smart, but informal and casual."Strange combination if there's guests arriving," He muttered, but shrugged and gathered up his phone and headed for the door.For the third time that day he lit a cigarette, although this time he was able to smoke it in relative peace and quiet. Markfelt good. Considering how badly the day had started with the argument with Jasmine, it had improved significantly when she'd slid in the bath with him and they'd... bonded, for want of a better word.He knew he was really smitten with her, knew his heart rate jumped a little every time she walked in the room, something he r
The Island CHAPTER 44
"There's nothing else on the schedule for today after that," Jasminesaid finally. "On the media side of things, our press office is getting hammered with requests, and there's been a list of people who have come forward to be interviewed by the media.""Anything about my past?" Myraasked cautiously."Not yet," Jasminereplied. "It's worthwhile mentioning that Diablo Cody used to be a dancer until she wrote Juno. If it breaks that you used to be a dancer, then with the cover story of being a writer you can probably expect calls from the studios asking you to write something for them. They're always looking for the next someone or other, in this case Diably Cody..""That'll be no comfort when the press are painting me as a slut," Myrasaid flatly."We've already got strategies prepared if that happens," Jasminereplied.Myradidn't look relieved, so Jasmineturned to Maddy."There's
The Island CHAPTER 45
The hours raced by, a constant hustle from job to job, place to place. Takiwas tidying his facial hair when Markhad a 'Eureka moment' about his speech and it took him forty minutes to re-write it when he got back, then scribble the bullets onto cards.Jasminewanted to see what he was going to say, but Markfelt confident that he'd struck the right note with it and told her she had to trust in him to stand on his own for this one. As he'd caved on the insistence of her having the day off, he knew she had to give him that one, unhappy as she was.Francescaappeared with a pocket watch that Markwas to wear in his waistcoat that belonged to BenjaminMoore, frowned at him and ordered him into a new shirt, so he got changed and then he was off to greet the first of their guests.The clatter of a helicopter announced the arrival of the first of their guests, and Mark, Myraand Maddywere waiting as the twin-r
The Island CHAPTER 46
The staff were the first to drift away, with nearly all of them working, and many of the guests followed. Maddyand Myragot up, but Markremained in his seat, wanting to stay and witness the burial, but his sisters reminded him they had lots of guests and that he couldn't stay there all day.On the walk back up to the house Markgot many compliments on his speech, of the courage it took to get up there, and of how it reminded them of BenjaminMoorehimself in the way it was delivered. The last part came as a surprise to Mark.The next half hour of mingling back at the house was a repeat of the same conversation. Really great speech, emotional, reminded me of him, but it passed quickly and it was time to walk many of the guests back to the boat or the helicopters that were waiting to take them back to the world.By the time they bade them farewell and got back to the house, Markwas feeling pretty drained and excuse
The Island CHAPTER 47
He paused as he heard a whistle and Myrafrowned, looking over the balcony. "I think someone's trying to get your attention, Mark."He stood up and looked down at the pool area, where Heidi was trying to stop a drunken Jasminefrom going for a swim."She's totally wasted," Myramuttered, shaking her head."Fucking hell," Marksaid, laughing as his assistant nearly fell over.Heidi waved again for Markto come and give her a hand, and he nodded."Better go help her," He said, stubbing out his cigarette."Have fun."Marknipped down the stairs then out to the pool where Heidi now had a hold of one of Jasmine's arms and was trying to hold her back, telling her, "It's not a good idea to go swimming when you're drunk, and never when you're wearing Prada, Jasmine.""Hey, Jasmine," Marksaid, stepping in front of her to divert her attention."Wooo!" She said
The Island CHAPTER 48
He turned his alarm off quickly and flicked on the bedside light. Jasminehad rolled over at some point in the night and was sprawled across the bed, the sheet twisted down around her hips.He looked at her lying there for a second, then reminded himself he wasn't a fucking creep and got out of bed. A quick wash in the bathroom woke him up and he entered the dressing room quietly, removing his top, stained with saliva where Jasminehad drooled on it as she slept. He slipped another one on, then gathered up his phone, pulled the sheet up over her and headed for the gym.Markwas feeling pretty pleased with himself for not giving in to temptation last night. At one point he'd woken up, spooned in behind her and as he moved he felt her pushing her ass back into him. It would have been all too easy for instinct to take over, and it had tempted him at the time, but he'd remembered the state she was in, and he didn't want that. If he was goin
The Island CHAPTER 49
Markput the bath on, surprised at how fast the water level rose, and he opened the cabinet that had jars after jar of different salts, powders and other things that he wasn't sure of. Rather than put in something that might make her feel sick, he just checked the water level and when it was deep enough, he shut off the tap and walked back into the bedroom.Jasminewas sitting up in bed now, her knees drawn up and the sheet tucked under her arms as she drunk from the second water bottle."Bath's ready.""Oh good," She muttered.Mark's eyes widened as she threw the sheet to one side and slid naked across the bed, then walked past him and got slowly into the bath."Bit casual with the nudity this morning, are we?" He joked."I don't care," She stated. "I'm sure you saw me naked last night, and I'm too rough to give a shit today."She dunked her head under the water, then swept her hair clear of her
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True to her suggestions, Myraknocked, waited for a few seconds and then slowly opened the door to see a flushed Maddystraightening her clothing and looking a little flushed. Markand Myraexchanged a knowing look, and then suggested the three of them go back upstairs. Maddydidn't say much, but followed them up the stairs, with both Markand Myranoticing her obvious reluctance."I'm off to my room to get changed," Maddysaid as soon as they closed the hatch. Markand Myramanaged to keep a straight face until she was out of sight, but the second she was gone they broke into broad grins."Who knew both my sisters were raging perverts," Markmuttered, earning a punch on the arm from Myra."From the guy who's fucked both of us and is banging his secretary too."Markgrinned. "I like to keep busy."Their last afternoon on the Island passed very quickly, between the vario
The Island CHAPTER 94
"So what did she say?""She got a fright, so I told her to sit down and we talked for a bit. Then she told me that she'd made a bet with some friends that she would have sex with you, and she had to follow through with it. Well, I didn' t know if you'd hooked up with Jasmine, so I tell her that she can't and that she should just tell her friends that she did.""So Sarah turned up and you stopped her coming in?" Markasked."Yeah. Bear in mind that at this point, you're the only person I've ever met before, I know you're my brother, but I'm all horny and attracted to you, right? I'm tired and I'm not exactly thinking straight, plus this slut has just shown up and I'm feeling jealous. Pretty much an emotional mess, right?""Okay. So what happened with Sarah?""She wouldn't leave, even tried to get back into the suite, so I gave her two choices. She could be fired if she kept trying to get inside, or she could leave and I'd te
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"Fuck my life," Markmurmured."What?" Jasminemuttered."Nothing. Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you," He said softly, slipping in behind her.She pulled his arm around her, nestling her body into him. "It's okay. Can't you sleep?""No, went down to the bunker."Jasminerolled onto her back, propping her legs over his and turned to look at him, all sleepy and cute. "What did you find?""You don't want to know," Marksaid unhappily.She watched him carefully for a moment, then said softly, "Was it footage of me?"Markshook his head. "No, not exactly, just, em.... there was footage stored of me and you. All week long."She looked away and took a deep breath. "Did you delete it?""Not yet, but I will later.""You have to. Promise me, Mark, please?" She said, her expression intense."I will. I promise. There's just something I have to
The Island CHAPTER 92
It was eerie walking down the stairs completely on his own, and he felt a little trepidation as he punched in the code and held his hand against the palm-scanner. He stepped back as the door opened and entered the silent bunker, his eyes automatically going to the spot where Henryhad lay.He took a deep breath and headed for the control room, sliding into a seat before the console, seeing Jasminesleeping on one of the large screens in front of him. He smiled, seeing how natural and relaxed she seemed while asleep.Markturned to look at the wall to his left, a large map of the Island about eight feet across with numbered pins stuck in it showing the location of each camera. It took him a minute, but he counted one hundred and thirty eight."Holy fuck that's a lot of cameras."It took him another ten minutes to find the guide on how to use the system, and his eyes widened more than once at how it was set up. Each camera fed back to a serve
The Island CHAPTER 91
As the staff were all wandering out the door, chatting over the revelations they'd just been hit with, Marklooked at Mister Yousef. "You kept that brief.""I'm a big fan of letting people do the work they're employed to do," The old man smiled. "You nearly gave me a heart-attack when you stepped forward there. Nicely done."Markshrugged. "No biggie. So can we head back to the house now?""The boat got away?"Marknodded. "No problems.""Good. I'll see you at lunch," George replied, turning to leave. "Brian, let's go.""Work calls," The Security chief said, nodding at Markon his way past."Brian," Marksaid, grabbing his hand. "Thanks for this. All of it.""No problem, sir, and if you don't mind me saying, Henrywas a bastard. I'm glad he's... off the Island."It was two hours and forty minutes later when Connor finally appeared. A nervous Markgree
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"Let's do it," Connor said. "I'll take the feet, you take the upper body and I'll go in front. Take your time, alright."Marknodded and moved to the corpse, wrapped into a neat cylinder with the rugs and trash bags. On Connors signal they lifted the body and Markgrunted as they carried it up the steps and into the bar.It felt really bizarre to be carrying a wrapped up body in broad daylight through a place he'd come to love, but with short steps, Connor and Markmade their way through the main house, took the right onto the path past the kitchens, and then a few minutes later onto the beach.Captain Wales was waiting for them with the gangplank ready and engines running, his crew sent to the clubhouse like everyone else.They carried Henry'sbody along the pier, feeling exposed in the open, but Connor kept feeding Markadvice to keep him calm and all too soon they were placing the body out of sight in the lounge of the catamara
The Island CHAPTER 89
They lay there for another ten minutes until Myracalled through to let them know Mister Yousefhad returned with Brian Kane in tow, along with a yawning Captain Wales. Markand Jasminequickly dried and dressed, then went out to meet them in the lounge of Mark's suite, with the doors securely closed. To their surprise, Brian greeted them with warm handshakes, admitting a moment later that he suspected for a long time that there was something off about Henry, and that when Mister Youseftold him what had happened, he wasn't really that surprised.Mister Yousefthen briefed them on Brian's suggestion on how to deal with the situation. It seemed very simple, so much so that Markkept looking for holes in it.Over the next couple of hours, Henry's body was to be wrapped in the bloodstained rugs, taped up and secured in trash bags and brought to the top of the hidden staircase. At seven o'clock in the morning, Brian and his team would gat
The Island CHAPTER 88
"So does that mean I can get a shower now?" Markasked, knowing Myrahad washed him clean but still convincedhe had the old mans blood on him."As soon as you've sorted out the access protocols," George nodded."What about him?" Connor asked, jerking his thumb at the corpse on the far side of the room."We'll deal with that after we've spoken to Mister Kane." At that the old man nodded and stood up. "And no alcohol for the time being please.""Okay," Marksaid. "Connor?"The Scotsman nodded and led them to the Control room. Markwas still a little unsteady on his feet, but with Jasmineholding his hand, he was able to cross the room with little difficulty.The control room was astonishing to each of them, as they saw the images on the array of monitors, with one of the large screens showing a picture of Mark's room from above his bed, another showing footage from a camera in the corner o
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"Hello?" They heard Connor call, and by some unspoken signal, both Maddyand Myrarolled out the bed, leaving Markunder the covers. Maddysat down on the bed and Myrawalked towards the door."In here," She said.Connor appeared in the doorway with a bundle of clothes in his arms and handed them to Myra."Give us a minute. We've just cleaned him up, and we'll get him dressed."The Scotsman nodded and turned away, closing the door behind him."Right, you," Maddysaid firmly, hauling back the covers. Myratossed a pair of dark blue jeans to Maddyand dropped a hooded jersey and sneakers on the foot of the bed. She came around to the other side of it."Sorry about this," Marksaid softly, now feeling a little embarassed at his nudity."Shut up, Mark," Myrasaid briskly as she helped Maddymaneuvre the trousers round his feet. Markhad to roll onto hi
