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Her Botox-filled lips froze as fast as her face. I didn’t care for petty arguments to bullshit accusations. I simply would never care enough about anything or anyone to dabble with such bullshit. But working Shania up was too easy. And I was bored.
“Fine, good point.”
And I liked that she knew when to back down. It wasn’t usually when we had an audience, though. As much as I wanted to…
I lost my train of thought as the chatter around the boardroom continued, and I reached into my pocket to check the text messages that kept blowing up my phone.
Swiping my phone unlocked, I saw the unsaved number.
It’s time.
I ground my teeth, annoyed for the first time in years. I’d worked hard on blanking out my emotions to get to where I was today, and all it took was one simple text to fuck with me. Shooting up from my chair, I excused myself from the table and headed for the exit. I knew Shania wouldn’t chase me, because if there was one thing she was good at, it was keeping business and our fucked-up sex life away from the office. We also were both connected through two major businesses, so that helped keep us in check.
I tapped on Malyk’s number as I pushed the button down to the ground level. I needed to get the fuck into my car and get on a call to the two of them ASAP. It was starting, and as much as we all knew this day was coming, it wouldn’t make it easier to swallow. For some more than others.
The elevator doors opened to the underground parking, and I made my way to my parked Ferrari. It sensed me close and unlocked the doors, just as Malyk answered the phone. I shut the door behind me, finally enclosed in a space where I knew no one could hear.
“It’s time. We have to go.”
“Right fucking now? I’m a little busy.”
“No. We get twenty-three days until we have to be back. Tie up what you need and get your—ticks—in check for a bit.”
Malyk moaned but didn’t fight back. “Fine.”
“And for the love of fucking God, don’t fucking get caught.” I shifted my rearview mirror and paused when I saw a figure in the reflection looking back at me. The corner of my mouth lifted. “Perfect.”
The music was soft, delicate, almost as though it wasn’t there to drown out any noise, only to comfort those who needed it. There was a bar in the right corner, more lanterns guiding the way around the space. The ship was as old as time, that was obvious. I wasn’t even sure whether they still made them. Did they know? Did she know?
That didn’t matter.
I sat back on the barstool, watching the performance above my glass. Three naked girls and one man. They were all styled to perfection. Not their clothes, but their makeup. Their hair. They had to be, right? It was part of it. The ship rocked sideways, and I placed my high heeled foot down to stop myself from falling over.
“What do you think?” His voice made my palms itch.
Just his presence set my body into fight-or-flight. It wasn’t like I could escape now; I was out in the middle of the ocean, and if anything, I was sure they would have no regrets shoving me across the plank. Just to be poetic.
“I think it will work.” I turned to face him, his shadow dark in the corner of the bar. A single amber bud lit through the shadow, but that was all I could see. I didn’t need to see the rest of him. I knew who he was. Everyone here knew who he was.
“You didn’t get an invite here to tell me you think it will work.” He stepped through the shadows and the lantern hanging above the bar cast the perfect light over his jaw. “You’re here for the very reason why we don’t want you here.”
I turned back around to the show. I watched as one girl started dancing to the music as the other made her way into the audience. It was a small crowd. Maybe around fifteen people. There was a group of men in one corner dressed in suits, in the other a pair of women who looked like they were ready to head out for a girls’ night. The crowd was an interesting bunch. That surprised me more than the show. “What would you like me to say?”
I felt his arm come around my waist and I looked down to the ring on his thumb. He grazed his teeth over my shoulder. “Right answer.”
Shiloh
There are three stages you go through when you’ve been taken against your will. The first stage is fear. It’s when you’ve finally realized that shit…okay…that stirring feeling in your gut that you’ve been feeling all along is actually valid.
The second is adrenaline. It’s this false sense of hope that washes over you so fast your legs leave your brain behind and try to get you out of the situation. This is usually where people get whacked off.
The final is logic. It’s balancing on the line of I’m going to die anyway, and let’s have one last try—but smarter.
That’s where I am. I stare up at the ceiling, my hair splayed out beneath me and my thoughts running wild. I don’t know how long I have been here anymore, or how many days have passed, but I remember what happened last night—at least I’m sure I do. Did Malyk have a dead body? Was it even alive? One side of my brain is fighting with the other. There’s no way that was a real human. It was most likely a mannequin.
Pushing off the bed, I drag the sheet up with me, wrapping it around my body. I stop in front of an old Victorian-style mirror, the kind that curves around the edges into an oval. I still hate Dion. My hand touches my cheek, feeling the emptiness he left behind before dropping it back to my side. It would appear that even though I may very much hate him, my body still very much remembers him.
I make my way to where the window is covered by blinds and pull the string at the side, expecting to see sunlight. Darkness meets me on the other side as the trees wail side by side with loud winds. There must be a damn storm outside, which only means that no matter how much I want to get off this island, I won’t tonight.
