Page 42 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

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ONE WEEK AGO

The waters werechoppy as Marko steered the yacht into the ever-increasing expanse of the sea.

He could smell the iron in the rain that had just started to fall. The air held the unnatural silence that always preceded a storm. Normally, he’d never dream of heading out on the water on a night such as this, but these were extenuating circumstances.

He hadn’t time to check the weather forecast before he’d left, and there was no service on his phone out here — it was one of the very reasons he had chosen this particular spot for his needs. He hadn’t even had time to change out of the tailored black suit he wore.

Tonight, his plans had gone very awry.

His eyes flicked down to the two still figures lying side by side on the deck. They glossed over the man with barely concealed contempt. A local restauranteur, Marko had protected Devito’s business for years only for the man to renege on their deal.

For the past twelve months, he’d been late with his monthly security payments, citing a dramatic downturn in business. Then it had been a sick kid and mounting hospital bills. On and on, the excuses had come, but when Marko had been smart enough to investigate the truth for himself, he’d discovered the man had developed a gambling addiction that had spiraled out of control.

Everything Devito had told him, all those tears he had cried… they had all been a lie.

Marko had no real choice in the matter, not when the man had shown how little he could be trusted. While he could — and often did — forgive a great many things, loyalty was something he took very seriously.

His eyes slid over the man’s still figure to his wife.

He took in the delicate tilt of her chin and that graceful neck he had kept adorned with jewels throughout their marriage.

Unconscious, she looked so beautiful and peaceful, like an angel living amongst this earth. He had thought that about her from the moment he had first laid eyes on her, almost seven years ago.

She had been twenty at the time.

They’d met on a cruise ship. She’d tended the onboard gift store. He’d noticed her extraordinary beauty first, but her verve for life was what had drawn him in. While the other staff had acted as if they didn’t want to be there, she was so happy to be working, he’d been drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

He’d visited her daily, buying tacky souvenirs he knew he’d dump the second they made it to shore, all to have those little interactions with her that were the highlight of his day.

When the ship had docked in Italy for the day, and she’d gone off to explore as wide-eyed as a child, he’d followed. He’d watched from a safe distance away as she had smiled and talked to everyone around her with such joy, he’d wondered how the world couldn’t see how special she was.

When she’d stopped to devour a gelato, Marko had engineered bumping into her. From there, it had been natural for the two to explore the city together. He encouraged talk of herself as she tentatively opened up about her childhood and the restrictions that had been put upon her early life.

He listened attentively, filing everything away.

Before they had even returned to the ship, he knew that she would be his.

In a world so tainted with ugliness, she was as untouched as a newly blossomed rose, and Marko was excited to be the one to expand her horizons.

He couldn’t wait to show her all the wonderful things she hadn’t yet experienced. He would take her to his favorite restaurants, where they would dine on Michelin-starred cuisine. He would dress her in the best designer gowns so she wouldn’t keep wearing those terrible clothes that weren’t fit for her.

He would get her hair styled properly until she looked like the princess he knew lay beneath. And he would teach her that chewing her nails was not something a lady should do.

She was a diamond in the rough that he would polish until it gleamed.

If only she hadn’t turned up as she had that night.

He wasn’t one for surprises and had thought that she had known this about him, though apparently, the fact had slipped through that pretty little head of hers.

His mouth twitched with irritation.

A flash of lightning streaked across the horizon, lighting the sea of black and the line of rocks that jutted out of the water.

He had arrived at the right spot.

He killed the engine and hauled Devito’s body across the deck.

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