Resolution

J.S. Cooper

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781476791005
• eBook ISBN: 9781476791050

New York Times bestselling author J.S. Cooper brings us the final novel in the Swept Away series, a trilogy of heart-pounding romances about a woman marooned on a desert island with a sexy stranger—but is he friend or foe?

When Bianca and Jakob first awoke on a sandy shore in the middle of nowhere, their thoughts were only concerned with survival. But as they explored their surroundings and tried to find out who left them stranded on the island, electricity surged between them. Soon after, Bianca uncovered clues to her abduction, but was left with even more unanswered questions, especially about Jakob’s true motives…

Now, Bianca just wants the truth. Nothing was as it seemed, especially with Jakob. As she discovers cross upon double cross, all she can trust is her instinct, her connection with him. So they decide to return to the island in hopes of finally learning the truth. Bianca and Jakob have been thrown together and torn apart by their secrets—but can she trust him enough to rescue her at last?

part 1

one

Nicholas London

Decades Ago

“Jeremiah, Larry, this is Oliver.” I nodded at my new friend to enter the room. Oliver looked uncomfortable as he walked into Jeremiah’s apartment. His thin frame looked particularly scrawny today, and the timid look on his face showed that he was out of his depth. Not that it mattered to me. I looked at Oliver as a kindred spirit. We were both outsiders at Harvard University, both of us having grown up in lower-class families and neighborhoods. Neither one of us was accustomed to the wealth of someone like Jeremiah Bradley. I’d been shocked when Jeremiah had approached me during freshman year and asked if I wanted to be a part of his English study group. Not that I’d known then what being a Bradley really meant, but I knew from his crisp white Oxford shirt, khaki pants, and Docksiders that he was a step up from my Bushwick roots. He’d had a self-assured grin on his face, his perfectly even, shining white teeth beaming at me as he waited for the answer he knew was coming. His golden-blond hair hung casually in his face, and his bright blue eyes glittered as he’d told me that he had his own apartment, so it would make studying easier. I hadn’t known how to respond. I’d been so impressed that he could afford to own a Boston apartment.

“Hello, Oliver.” Jeremiah looked Oliver up and down with an imperious stare. I noticed that he’d lost the open, engaging expression he had when we were freshmen. I could still remember the day he’d welcomed me with a huge grin. It saddened me to see how much he’d changed in such a short span of time—though a part of me wondered if he’d changed, or if he was simply revealing his true colors.

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” Oliver extended his right hand to shake Jeremiah’s, and Jeremiah laughed.

“This isn’t a business deal. We don’t need to shake hands.”

“Sorry.” Oliver looked down, and I frowned. Did he have to be so shy and submissive? “My sister always told me to shake hands when I met new people.”

“What’s your name?” Larry jumped up from the couch and walked over to Oliver. Peering into Oliver’s face, he looked at me and raised an eyebrow as if to say, Who is this? Larry Maxwell was Jeremiah’s best friend. They had gone to boarding school together, and while Larry was also from a more modest background, he gave off a similar air of ­privilege.

“Oliver.”

“Oliver what?” Larry rolled his eyes. All that mattered to Larry was status. Sometimes I wondered if he was friends with Jeremiah because he liked him or because of who his parents were.

“Oliver Case.” Oliver looked confused, and I felt slightly sorry for him. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought him over. Maybe Oliver wasn’t right for our group. Maybe I should have just left him sitting alone in the chemistry lab we shared and just pretended that I didn’t notice how lonely he looked. Though, I knew I couldn’t have just left him there week after week. Not when he reminded me so much of myself. Not when I knew what it was like to be the odd man out. Plus, I liked him. Not just because he was poor like me, but because he was smart. He was interested in science and being innovative. He was interested in creating, and that was my life. It was also something Larry and Jeremiah cared nothing about. Larry wanted to go to law school, and Jeremiah was going to take over his family business. They were just at Harvard because it was expected of them. They weren’t here for the academics. Not like me and Oliver. We were both here on scholarships, and we both enjoyed the rigorous academic standards to which we were held.

“Case, as in the Cases from the Midwest?” Larry looked impressed. “The tractor people?”

“No.” Oliver laughed out loud. “The Cases from Maryland, by way of several Eastern European countries.”

“Your last name isn’t Eastern European,” Larry said with a frown.

“My mother married an Englishman,” Oliver stated simply.

“So your dad is English, then?” Larry continued his questioning as if he were already a lawyer.

“No.” Oliver shook his head. “I don’t have a dad.”

“He died?” Larry looked surprised, and even Jeremiah looked curious.

“No,” Oliver said again, without explaining further. I could see from Larry’s face that he was getting frustrated, so I changed the subject.

“Oliver is in some of my science classes, and we’re in the same chemistry lab. He’s working on a self-painter.”

“Self-painter?” Larry scoffed. “As if.” He turned to Jeremiah and yawned. “Do you want to go and get milk shakes? We can see if Angelina and Brigitta are available.”

My heart thudded as he mentioned Angelina Walker. Angelina Walker was the prettiest girl at Harvard—at least I thought so. She was beautiful and intelligent and sweet . . . and she was also dating Jeremiah. That meant she was off-limits to me, which was one of the hardest parts of my life, because I believed myself to be in love with Angelina Walker. Unfortunately for me, she only seemed to have eyes for Jeremiah.

“Maybe later.” Jeremiah dismissed Larry, and looked at Oliver with more interest. “So what’s this self-painter you’re talking about, then?”

“It’s a machine that will be able to paint a room in minutes, without leaving splotches or white spots,” Oliver said simply. “It also contains a primer, so it will look as if a professional has painted several coats of paint.”

“Wow, a machine can do that?” Jeremiah said, impressed.

“Well, I’m still working on the prototype,” Oliver said excitedly. He completely changed when he talked about science and his inventions—he stood straighter, his voice no longer shook, and suddenly you couldn’t help but listen to him. “But yes, I think it will work.” He looked pleased with himself. “It will completely revolutionize the painting industry.”

“What size room will the machine be able to paint?” Jeremiah said casually, his eyes glued to Oliver.

“I’ll have different machines.” Oliver shrugged. “So basically, I should be able to paint any size room in minutes, with the right equipment.”

“That would be amazing for construction and contractors.” Jeremiah nodded.

“I guess.” Oliver shrugged. “I haven’t thought that far.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here.” Jeremiah smiled. “It helps to have friends with business minds.”

“I don’t have any friends with . . . ,” Oliver started, and then stopped as he looked at Jeremiah’s grinning face. “I guess not until now.”

“Not until now.” Jeremiah grinned and then put his left arm around my shoulder and his right arm around Oliver’s shoulder. “Now you have us.” He laughed. “Thanks to Nick for introducing us. Now we can be the Musketeers.”

“There are only three musketeers,” Larry said with a sour face.

“Well, there are four of us now,” Jeremiah said sharply, and gave Larry a look.

“Well, there should be only three.” Larry walked toward the kitchen. “I’m going to get a beer.”

“We’ll all have one,” Jeremiah stated, and followed Larry. “We need to celebrate our new friendship.” He nodded to himself as we walked, and I heard him mumbling something about “million-dollar ideas.” As I stared at Oliver, looking pleased and anxious at the same time, I wondered if I had made a mistake bringing him here. I studied how his eyes widened as we walked into the opulent kitchen, with the Carrera marble counters, stainless steel appliances, and hanging copper pots and pans. The kitchen belonged in a Better Homes magazine, not in the apartment of a college junior who never studied—or cooked.

“Bud Light okay?” Jeremiah handed a can of beer to Oliver.

“It’s great, thanks,” Oliver said, nodding enthusiastically, and it struck me that this might be the first beer he’d ever had. “Thanks.” He turned to me and gave me a small smile. “I’m glad we’re friends, Nicholas. Thank you for introducing me.”

“You’re welcome.” I smiled, though I still wasn’t sure I’d made the right decision.

“And if the offer still stands, I’d be happy for you to help with the self-painter,” he said magnanimously. “I want to test the cohesive bonds of some of the chemicals I’m using, so maybe we can go in the lab tomorrow and work on them.”

“Sounds good.” I nodded, and I saw Jeremiah staring at me with a determined look. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but the uneasy feeling that filled me was getting a little too familiar.

two

Bianca London

Present Day

“Wake up, Bianca.” His voice was rough as he shook my shoulder, and I opened my eyes slowly as I sat up.

“Ouch.” I rubbed my head where it had hit the floor and tried to stand.

“You fainted,” he said stiffly as he offered me a hand to help me up. I ignored his hand and glared at him.

“What are you doing here, Steve? Are you following me?” I snapped at him, anger overtaking any fear that I had at his presence.

“Really, Bianca? That’s what you’re asking me?” He looked annoyed, and I stared at his thin face in distaste. What was Steve doing here? And why was he texting me and following me around? I hadn’t seen him since I’d been on the deserted island with him and Jakob, and we hadn’t exactly ended our time there with kisses and hugs. “I’d have thought you’d be a bit more—”

“Enough, Steve.” Rosie’s voice appeared to come from out of thin air, but then I peered behind Steve and saw my best friend standing in the shadows. A best friend whom I didn’t know at all, apparently.

“Rosie,” I said stiffly as I stared at her face, so familiar and yet so distant. “I thought it was you I saw.”

“You fainted on us.” She didn’t smile as she walked closer, and my head started pounding. I moved toward her, and she held her hand up.

“Stop.” She shook her head. “Don’t move any closer.”

“Rosie.” My voice cracked as I gazed at her. “Why are you doing this?” As I stared at her, I couldn’t help but wish that Jakob were here with me, holding my hand, providing me comfort and poignant, loving glances to keep me strong.

She looked away from me then, her eyes leaving mine in a sort of shame.

“Rosie, please, let’s talk,” I called out to her, but she turned her back on me.

“So, Bianca, was your only question to me am I following you?” Steve asked with a wide smile. I could tell he was enjoying the tension in the air and the sense of powerlessness I was feeling.

“No, the question I want to ask you is if you were working for Jakob or David or Larry or someone else. And if you were working with Jakob, why did you disappear? And exactly what do you know about the kidnapping? And what exactly is your role in all of this?” I spoke to him, but Rosie was the one I really wanted answers from.

“That’s a lot of questions.” His thin lips attempted a smile. “Questions I don’t have to answer. What did your boyfriend, Jakob, have to say to all these questions?”

“Obviously, I don’t know Jakob as well as I thought I did,” I muttered, staring at the TV screen in front of me. The screen was now blank, but I remembered seeing Jakob and David on it just a few minutes ago. What had David been talking about? What had Jakob planned, and what was he still trying to do? Though I didn’t know what exactly was going on—and a part of me still struggled to trust Jakob fully—I knew instinctively there was more than met the eye.

My head was spinning; I needed to speak to Jakob. Not only to make sure he was okay, but also to get as many facts as I could that might help me understand what was going on. After all of our back-and-forth, I had finally started to trust Jakob. Yes, there were still doubts in my mind—I mean, what kind of fool would I have to be if I just blindly trusted the man who had staged our kidnapping to a deserted island and then pretended to be someone else? Well, he’d been himself, but he hadn’t told me that he was also the son of the man I believed responsible for my mother’s death. A man my mother might also have had an affair with. A man who had ruined so many lives.

“What are you thinking about?” Steve’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed my face. And I could see Rosie looking at me from out of the corner of her eye.

“I’m thinking about how confusing this all is, and I’m thinking about Jeremiah Bradley.” I sighed. “I want to know what Jeremiah Bradley was like and who he was and how he could have caused so much damage in so many people’s lives.”

“He was the devil.” Steve looked away from me then, his mind somewhere else. “He was the devil, and one day he will burn in hell.”

“I thought he was your mentor,” I said, surprised at the hatred and vehemence in his voice. “I thought you loved h...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Prologue
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Epilogue
• About J.S. Cooper
• Copyright