Page 92 of Frenemies

“I counted twenty-two on the docks,” Preston twisted the handle of his rifle, aiming the barrel down at the water. “And at least seventeen in the boat.”

“Armed?”

“Pistols, a few rifles, and a couple shotguns.”

My eyes went from one to the other as they continued to list off things like body armor, footwear, and even fucking hair color. Every question one asked, the other answered in the same eerily calm monotone. I was tempted to ask Preston if he’d seen Tanner or Jaz, but I was a little afraid to interrupt them.

Logan seemed fine with their conversation. He was sitting back on the corner of the roof, staring at the sky like he was fucking bored. Snake, on the other hand, stood there with an unsure look mirroring mine.

At one point, he leaned in and whispered, “I’m not sure if we’re the predators or prey here.”

I tipped my head at the psycho and sociopath discussing death as if they were taking a trip to the store. Yeah, I’d say it was a pretty safe bet that we were the prey.

“Oh my God,” Logan whined. “Give me a fucking grenade, and I’ll go take care of this shit right now.”

That boy was the last person on the face of the earth that should ever be given explosives. If Preston or Wilder agreed with me, they didn’t say anything. In fact, they didn’t acknowledge Logan’s statement at all.

Preston simply looked at Wilder and said, “He’s a varsity swimmer.”

To which Wilder responded with, “He’ll come with me then.”

I may not know what they had planned, but I did know that when they shuffled back from the edge of the roof, it was go time.

The Aurora was a mid-size Catamaran boat that, from outward appearances, looked like nothing more than a fishing boat. But once we got closer, I could see subtle signs. The deck was made up of crisp, clean oak with high masts and fresh sails.

However, the men wandering around were anything but fishermen. They smelled like corruption and wore the same callous expression I’d seen on Nikolai’s men. Then, of course, there were the gun handles, poking out of a few of their coveralls.

Bailey had gone from complete and utter despair to pissed the hell off.

While Mother clung to my side, she stared down each and every man that dared to glance our way, which, since she was without a shirt, were quite a few. Good, she’d need that rage. Once we set sail, there was no doubt in my mind that Bailey would be taken for a test drive by a few of them. If they even waited that long.

We’d been locked in one of the lower cabins for what seemed like hours before the door opened, and Tanner was tossed in. Let me just say he looked better when I left him pale and half dead.

The left side of his face was one giant bruise, and it looked like a few of his fingers were broken. They were twisted back, unnaturally pointing at himself. But that didn’t dampen his cocky attitude.

When Bailey shrieked and rushed over and threw her arms around him, his response was to say, “Easy now, Tits, you’re going to smother me with those things.”

Mother gasped, and I rolled my eyes. Bailey shook her head. “Is that all you think about?”

“Well, if I’m gonna get offed by a bunch of sex traffickers, I may as well have some fun.” He flashed Bailey a smile which was a little creepy with the blood staining his teeth. “What do you say, Tits? Wanna help me pop one off before I ride off into the sunset?”

“Oh, for the love of,” I groaned. “I see you got your strength back.”

“Nothing like a good old-fashioned beat down to really get the heart pumping.” Tanner winced and pushed himself up to sit back against the wall.

“You’re amazingly upbeat for someone who’s completely screwed.”

Tanner’s brow lifted. “Who says we’re screwed?”

“Uh,” I looked around the bare, windowless room we were locked in. “Fate?”

He waved his hand through the air. “Pfft, fate can kiss my ass.”

At least one of us had optimism because I sure as hell didn’t. Even if we did somehow make it out of this room, then what? There were, I don’t know how many armed men patrolling the boat, and last I checked, none of us had attended super-secret spy school.

We’d be caught within seconds. We were trapped in a shitty situation, literally looking at the gates of hell and the only thought running through my mind was,I never told him I loved him.

That might not be a bad thing. Chase had already lost so much. Maybe it would make things easier on him if he thought I didn’t love him back?

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