Page 47 of Abigail's King
I was shocked when I heard her introduce me as her boyfriend. Up until now, it had always been her personal guard or friend. I knew things had changed in the past twenty-four hours, but I wasn’t ready for that. Taking his hand, I gave it a firm shake.
“Olá Joel, é um prazer conhecê-lo.”
I wanted him to realise that I could speak Portuguese so he wouldn’t get away with anything while I was here. Although, the vibes I was getting from him didn’t suggest he would be anything other than respectful to Abigail.
“You speak Portuguese, and from the accent, I would suggest you are Madeiran. Am I correct?”
“You are, Joel. But it is a while since I was last here. Shall we go down and get started? We don’t want to keep you too long.”
I gestured to Joel to enter the caves. I knew we would be the only people there today, as they were not usually open on Monday, and the agency had paid for us to be here for as long as we needed. Walking into the caves, we were greeted by one of the tour guides, who directed Abigail to the area where she could get changed and where some refreshments had been set up for us. I had to admit I was slightly surprised at this. Previously, we had never had any refreshments at a photoshoot. Well, water had been provided, but never food.
“That’s unusual. We’ve never had food before.”
I hated to admit that I agreed with Abigail on this one. It started alarm bells ringing in my head. I walked over to her and whispered in her ear.
“Don’t eat anything, and only drink unopened bottles of water. Something isn’t right here, and I’m starting to get worried.”
Abigail didn’t say a word, just gave me a nod of acknowledgment and then went into the room designated as her changing room for the day. I was grateful that Mateus had brought the trackers with him, because I was starting to worry that we might need them. Turning to the tour guide, I asked her who had arranged the refreshments.
“Quem arranjou para que os refrescos fossem servidos?”
Her reply immediately caught my attention.
“Menina Emerson trouxe-os aqui mais cedo.”
Bianca had brought them here? That meant that she was in Madeira. Abigail hadn’t mentioned that Bianca would be here. Picking up a bottle of water, I checked to see if it was still sealed and I decided it was safe enough to drink. Taking a sip, I didn’t taste anything strange, so I continued to drink. I picked one up for Abigail as well and passed it to her when she walked out of the room. She looked amazing in her gold swimsuit. I could see why Angelica had chosen Abigail to model it for her. It truly looked as though it was made only for her.
Joel explained to Abigail exactly where he wanted her to lie and how he wanted her positioned without once placing a hand on her. I was pleased about that, as I didn’t want an argument today. Joel suggested that we take a break before moving to the next location in the caves. I was starting to feel a little drowsy, like I had just woken up and was struggling to shake the fatigue from my head. I saw Abigail looking over at me with a concerned look on her face.
“Kye, are you okay? You look tired. Is something wrong?”
I didn’t want to worry her, even though I was starting to get slightly nervous. My heartbeat was irregular, and I was starting to feel as though I was having an out-of-body experience. It was like I was watching everything that was happening in front of me, but looking at myself.
“I’m fine, Bonita. I’ll just have some more water, and I’ll be right as rain. Make sure you stay hydrated, though. I wouldn’t want you dehydrating down here.”
I saw her drink some of the water I had given her as she took a break and chatted to Joel about what they were going to do next. Just as we were about to move further into the caves, I heard someone walking into the area. Turning, I was surprised to see Bianca walking in.
“Bianca, why didn’t you tell me you were going to be here today?”
I could hear the surprise in Abigail’s voice. Her arrival should have continued the alarm bells ringing in my head, but I was struggling to think straight. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me, but I was starting to feel tired and dizzy. I was struggling to focus on anything around me.
“I thought I would surprise you, Lila. I have always wanted to come to Madeira and heard how gorgeous these caves were. I just had to see it for myself.”
I looked over at Joel and noticed that he too seemed to be struggling. Feeling wobbly on my legs, I found a rock to sit down on. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I suddenly felt extremely weak and disorientated.
“That’s so nice of you, Bianca. Wasn’t that nice, Kye?”
I looked over at Abigail as she was talking to me. I couldn’t focus on her properly. I could feel my heart starting to speed up and pound in my chest. I was shaking and could only just about lift my phone up as it started to ring. I had a terrible feeling that somehow the stalker had managed to drug the water we were drinking, and even more worrying was the fact that I thought it might actually be Bianca. Looking down at my phone, I managed to make out the name Mateus and answer it.
“Mat—”
“Kye, it’s Bianca. She’s the stalker.”
I was struggling to stay awake. My eyes were heavy, and my head was becoming increasingly fuzzy. I needed to make Mateus realise that she was already here and it was too late before I passed out.
“Too late…already here…drugged…need help—”
“Kye.”
That was the last word I heard from both Mateus and a screaming Abigail as my phone dropped to the floor. I looked over and saw Joel falling to the ground as the darkness descended on me and I passed out on the ground.
