Page 12 of Shark Bait

I nod. My heartbeat thuds in my ears, and I lean over and place the teacup on the table next to his thigh, only then noticing a leather pouch with something inside it beside his leg.

“Usually, I hide in the closet.” I can’t tell him about the hole in the engine room. I need that place all to myself. It’s the only safe space I’ve had since I woke up on this damn boat. Yacht. Whatever.

“Don’t lie to me. I found the crawl space, and it explains why I didn’t account for you. The heat and radiation in the engine room blocked my scans.”

“Radiation? What radiation?” Tears rush into my eyes. I’ve spent a lot of time there, sometimes days at a time.

He pats my hand. “Don’t worry. It’s a recent leak from a warhead they’re carrying, and I can’t repair it. I’ve isolated theweapon and the space itself, but we must leave the yacht as soon as you can get ready.”

“Are you saying my baby is going to be okay even though I spent time in the engine room?”

“Yes.”

“Thank God.” I swallow. I’m not a stupid girl. I know this man can’t promise that my baby will be okay after telling me I might’ve been exposed to radiation, but I accept his reassurance anyway, mostly because I want to live. Or rather, I don’t need another reason not to want to live. “I don’t own anything, so I’m ready whenever you are.” The clothes I wear aren’t mine, and I don’t want them.

“What about Fis’s safe?” he asks.

“What about it?”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Mmhm. It’s in the tub.”

Shark gives me a side-eye. “He showed you where the safe was?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. He took wads of cash to pay the fishing boats like yours that brought us food. We haven’t docked in months.”

“Huh. Show me?”

“Sure.” I rise, then grab his biceps while my head clears. “I get dizzy when I abruptly change positions.”

“You might have low sugar levels or low blood pressure. Ever measure those?”

I shake my head.

“You will when I get you to Tatiana.”

“Tatiana?” I press a hand to my lower back and massage the ache there. Pregnancy is nice, but also a little hard on my body.

Shark looks concerned. “She’s an obstetrician.”

“A doctor?”

“Yes, for mothers and babies.”

I chew on the inside of my cheek. “Her name sounds Russian.”

“That’s because she is Russian.”

“Are you?” I’m curious about his accent. It’s faint, but the way he pronounces Ws as Vs makes me think English is not his native tongue.

“No. Can you show me to the safe now?”

“Sure.” We enter the bathroom, and I touch the bottom of the tub with my toe. “That’s the door.”

Shark kneels and starts to bang around the tub. We can hear the spot where it’s hollow, indicating the hidden door. He depresses it, and a plastic hatch pops out, revealing a hole with a gunmetal-gray safe with a black dial screen.

Shark sits back on his heels. Hands on his hips, he takes a moment while I hop up to sit on the counter.

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