50. Caro

"Thanks, buddy."

I carefully placed the turtle on the floor. If it had been a living, breathing creature, I wouldn't have been able to pick it up, but dried, desiccated, whatever they'd done to preserve it, the beautiful animal was lighter than it would have been in life. Not so carefully, I stepped over Barry's lifeless body, pausing to kick him in the balls as I went.

"That's for the fish stew," I muttered.

There was a glimmer of light to my left, and adrenaline fuelled me as I ran toward it, desperate to get out of this hellhole. For a moment, I wondered if I should search the other rooms for Knox, but head overruled heart. I'd be better off finding help. If I stuck around longer than I had to, I'd only get caught again.

Plus I knew Aiden. If he'd caught Knox, the chances of him being alive were slim. I fought back tears as I crept forward.

The door led from the crew quarters to the guest accommodation, a portal between utilitarian practicality and opulence. My bare feet sank into the expensive carpet as I paused to listen. Music played softly, but the loudest sound was my own rough breathing.

Quiet, Caro. Do you want to die?

No, I wanted to get up to the main deck and scream for help. Surely there had to be one cop on this godforsaken island who wasn't corrupt? I took a step forward, then froze as a voice came from my right.

"What was that?—"

I had no time to run, no time to hide. The stranger did a double take as he saw me sneaking forward, naked and bloody, and we both moved at the same time. I barrelled forward, hoping to barge past him and reach the stairs, but he lunged for me, his fingers digging into my bruised flesh as he grabbed my arms. I began yelling, hoping someone might hear me, even though I knew there was a better chance of alerting a friend of my new captor than a rescuer. Whoever this brute was, he was stronger than he looked. Or perhaps more determined. He dressed like a frat boy, but he fought like the Hydra.

And I was losing. He forced me back a step, back toward my prison, back toward death.

Then…maybe I was dead already. Or hallucinating. Because Luna was there. Standing behind the Hydra, her eyes wide, her face pale. She raised her arms and whacked the monster with a magnum of champagne, glass against bone, and when the bottle didn't break, she hit him again. The crack would later haunt my nightmares. He crumpled to my feet, eyes vacant.

"Run!" I told her. "How do we get out of here?"

"Uh…"

I grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, but my legs hurt so badly that I cried out in pain. She overtook me, and then I saw stairs. Saw hope. The music grew louder, and I recognised "Winter" from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." One of Aiden's favourite pieces. He'd taken me to hear it in New York.

"Who else is here?" I asked as we burst into a good-sized saloon. This was a bigger yacht than I'd thought. "Where are the others?"

"It's just me. And Kory, and I asked him to call Knox, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure he even has Knox's number. Anyhow, we should get out of?—"

More music, but this time it came from Luna's pocket. She cursed—far too mildly for our current situation—and fished out her phone.

"Kory, I can't talk right?—"

She never got to finish the sentence. I tried to scream as Aiden grabbed her, but no sound came out. Luna, on the other hand, began shrieking like a banshee. I looked at the open deck beyond the saloon, and I almost ran to it. But I couldn't leave Luna behind. I owed her. I'd been a bitch, and she'd still come into the monster's den to rescue me.

Finding my voice, I roared and charged Aiden, but what I thought was a wall turned out to be a door, and when he stumbled back, it popped open. Then he was on the gunwale, still with Luna in his arms, and momentum carried them both over the railing. There was an almighty splash as they tumbled into the water of the vacant berth beside us.

Shit!

Could Luna even swim? When she came to the sanctuary, she hadn't been able to, but Knox said Ryder had been teaching her. How far had they gotten with the lessons? Fuck it. I dove in after her. Aiden could swim well; I knew that for certain. He'd been captain of the swim team in college. He was still fighting with Luna when I popped up beside them, and I grabbed his wrist, trying to unpeel his fingers from around her arm. Maybe I'd break one or two in the process? I hoped I did.

"Hey!" a guy yelled from the promenade. "Hey! Luna Maara's in the water!"

Suddenly, there were men everywhere, diving off the promenade fully clothed, yelling about various lifesaving qualifications. Luna's bikini top had disappeared somewhere, and she was still screaming blue murder. Aiden knew he was beaten, at least for now. He released his grip and treaded water while he got his bearings, surveyed the chaos before he began swimming smoothly in the opposite direction.

That bastard! For a moment, I considered going after him. Considered trying to drown him, to hold him under until he breathed his last. But he was bigger, stronger… And he was getting away. If I didn't act now, he'd come for me again, he'd?—

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I nearly punched its owner. "Get off me!"

"Ma'am, I'm here to help. I worked a summer as a lifeguard."

"I'm fine. Leave me alone."

"Your face is bruised."

And my strength was ebbing. The panic that had driven me was gone, and I couldn't catch Aiden. Only a miracle would help.

This wasn't over.