Page 64 of Palace of Betrayal

Roz patted his shoulder. “Now you’re talking.”

Twenty-Three

Bebe jumped as the sound of shouting came from outside her cabin door. It was pitch dark outside, the afternoon light having faded hours ago. The gentle bobbing of the boat had her body lulled into an almost dream state until the sounds of gunfire followed the shouting.

Sitting up, she abandoned the façade of still being bound and readied herself to strike whoever came into the room next. Whoever was firing on the yacht would give her an advantage, whether they were here for her or not.

Opening the door a pinch, she peeked out and saw a man from earlier racing away from her. Stepping out of the room, she ran on bare feet toward the bow where she knew the bridge was located. If she was Atticus, that was where she’d be with the yacht under attack.

Rounding the corner, she came face to face with Denis. He sneered, lifting his gun. Bebe didn’t think, just reacted. Dropping low, she struck out with a blow to the groin. He screamed, losing his grip on the gun. It fell just out of her reach but she didn’t need it.

Denis grabbed her, using his strength to try and hold her arms at her sides and get control of her. In such a small space it was a mistake he’d regret. Using her feet, she placed them on the railing and pushed off, sending them both flying backwards.

Denis fell and she jumped up, delivering a kick to the head with the heel of her foot, which knocked him out. Dragging his prone body into the nearest cabin, she thanked her lucky stars that it was empty. Quickly securing him, she lifted her head, the smell of burning tickling her senses.

The yacht was on fire.

Heading out, she grabbed the gun from the floor, checked the clip, and kept moving. Coming to the bottom of the stairs that led to the bridge, she listened, hearing gunfire coming from the aft of the yacht, the engines a low hum beneath the fight going on.

The smell of smoke was thicker here, the air a fuzzy film over her eyes making her cough. Lifting an arm over her mouth, she tried to control her breaths as she coughed again. A sound from behind her had her spinning and levelling the weapon at a large dark figure hurrying her way.

“Bebe.”

She almost sagged with relief at hearing his voice. “Leo.”

He moved to her, grasping her face, and pulling her close for a short, heated kiss before letting her go. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“We need to go. The engine room is on fire.”

“Atticus is behind this. We need to find him.”

“Roz and Kanan have him on the top deck. We’re waiting for the helo to extract us.”

A thousand questions were going through her mind, but she hushed them all, knowing now wasn’t the time. “Let’s go.”

Leo took her hand and they ran back onto the deck, following the curve of the boat. A man stepped out, firing a gun, and Leo took him down before she could. He fell and she jumped over his body, recognising him as the man from Proenia.

An explosion rocked the boat beneath her feet, and she reached for Leo as they were both thrown into the cold darkness of the ocean. Their hands lost contact as the water swallowed them up.

Bebe felt the shock of the cold water tighten her chest and fought the urge to try and take a breath. The silence of the inky blackness made it disorientating as she swam for the surface. Her head broke free, and she dragged in deep lungsful of air, her head swivelling as she looked for Leo. Treading water, she spun in a full circle looking for him and spotted him not ten feet away, floating and lifeless.

“Leo.” Her scream felt muted under the sounds of the yacht burning. The blaze took hold as a helo came into view above her, the light casting around her and allowing her to swim to Leo with ease.

Blood covered his head and face, and she placed an ear to his chest to hear the beautiful sound of his heart beating steadily. Relief flooded her that he was breathing but they needed to get out of this water before the yacht blew.

A rope fell to the side of her, and she looked up to see a man descending the line. As he landed in the water beside her, she recognised Mitch and could’ve cried with relief.

“Here, help me get this on him so I can get you both winched up.”

The wind blew her hair across her face as she used numb fingers to wrap the loops of the rope around Leo before clipping herself to him and then Mitch. Her friend gave the thumbs up, and they began to lift from the water, the view of the burning boat that much more terrifying seeing it from above.

As Waggs leaned out to haul them into the helo, she fell to her knees beside Leo as he coughed and looked like he was coming around. “Leo.”

“Bebe.”

“I’m here.”