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“Marko, is everyone in position?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Good.”
The man hung around instead of finding a secure place for himself.
“Marko?”
“Yer vampire guest is missing. I thought ye should know before we fully make our descent.”
He expected something bad, but this was worse. It sank in that Marko identified Nicola with no surprise and the man must have known all along but had treated her like a regular crew member. Then he met the man’s gaze as urgency sizzled in his bones.
“Keep this between us. Get to safety. Make sure Maddox doesn’t wander around and cause us problems. I will find her.”
Chapter 5
Nicola was halfway across the waters when she realized she wouldn't make it, not with the horrendous winds fighting against her and how rusty she was when it came to flying. She cursed inwardly and did an about-face, glad there was no one to witness her bat form struggling with her bad decision. She managed to glance back, too, scanning the hostile ship once more and ensuring its emptiness before she found the spot where she had left her clothes.
She had just managed to land on the hidden corner at the back of the ship, her bat form quickly transforming into her vampire form before a shadow blurred in front of her. A second later, a fluffy blanket was wrapped around her.
“For the love of all that is holy, darling, this isn’t the time to get naked and frolic out into the wilds.”
She went rigid, then comprehended that he was trying to put the wig on her and only looking at her face. She tried to help him with it, then made a sound when his hands wrapped around her waist to keep the blanket in place.
“They could have come here to check and would have seen your clothes. It would have caused a ruckus if they thought you drowned before you came back and proved them wrong.”
And blown the cover,were the unsaid words.
“I was planning to visit their ship and stop the attack…” The look on his face had her wincing. “I miscalculated, okay? You don’t have to worry. I can handle myself.”
But he was worried and moving fast, insistently tugging her shirt over her head before she brushed his hands away. Everywhere his fingers connected felt like electricity revving her up and shaking her already strained nerves.
“I can do it myself.”
“Hurry.”
There was enough tension in his tone to keep her from making a snappy comeback.
“I’m dressed.”
“Good.”
His hands didn’t stop, tugging hers until they were in a narrow space between two fat poles. She gasped when he positioned her against one and wrapped ropes around the poles until they surrounded her. Then he shimmied his way in until he was behind her, arms wrapped around her waist and holding on to the pole she was facing. The limited space had their bodies brushing slightly.
“What’s going on?”
“I will explain shortly—”
A whistling sound cut him off, the tension in his voice transferring to his coiled muscles. A sparkling object had her attention straying to his hand, where a beautiful gemstone lay. Before she could ask, he slapped his open palm against the pole until a cracking sound merged with the whistling. Coordinates flew from his mouth, her mind drawing a blank as she reviewed their library books’ written ones.
The air shifted, going cold in the blink of an eye. Her world tilted, and it wasn’t until she caught a view beyond the ship that she knew no exploding balls would be hitting them—not when their ship was turning, ready to be swallowed by the ocean.
“Oh, my heavens.”
“We will be underwater and in the territory of creatures who may wish us harm, depending on how we act. It’s temporary access. Don’t say a word until we are blanketed.”
He held on tighter to the pole, then inhaled deeply. She did the same, closing her eyes as fear spiked in her system. She didn’t get wet, wrapped up in dryness as the seconds passed. But the ship rocked hard, sending her flying forward before a hand yanked her back and steadied her.
