Page 96 of The Meaning Of You

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I wriggled the tie back into place and stretched out on the bunk, dragging my face across the sheet to clean the sweat, while doing my best to hide the tangled mess of covers under my body.

Breathe. Breathe.

I tried to calm the panic in my chest.

I had no way to fight.

There was nothing I could do.

If this was it, then so be it.

An image of Nick’s gruff face appeared in my head. He smiled, revealing that one crooked tooth in a sea of white, and why the hell I found that so sexy, I had no idea? I almost laughed.Got any words of advice, hotshot?

Be ready.It sounded so real; I jerked back in surprise and checked the room. Nope. Just me.

The first man reached the bottom of the stairs and I steeled myself. If I was going to die, then I’d damn well make sure someone hurt like a motherfucker before I did. Expecting my door to open, I was surprised when the footsteps passed by me to the next. Tweedledum and Tweedledee for sure, but there was someone else with them.

A softer voice. Faint words. Pleading.

Oh, Christ.

I thought of the three men on that list and my heart sank.

My fault. My fault. My fault.

The door on the room next door crashed back against our shared wall and something or someone hit the floor. Murmurings continued for a few minutes, then the door slammed shut again, and a few seconds later, mine flew open.

I jumped, my pulse shooting through the roof.

The larger of the two men looked me over, then grunted and started to close the door. I kicked at the wall to get his attention, then pointed with my foot to the water and made begging sounds through the tape.

The fucker shot me a syrupy smile and then shut the door.

“Arsehole,” I mumbled under the tape and waited for the footsteps to head upstairs. When I was sure they were gone, I tapped my foot softly on the wall between the two cabins—three short, three long, three short. It was a risk, but what the hell?

A reply came seconds later, repeating the SOS.

Oh god.An errant tear slid down my cheek, and I didn’t know whether to be relieved he was still alive or devastated that wewere now both prisoners. Because I was pretty sure this was the man they’d been looking for, the man on the list. The name I’d given them.

Which meant time had run out and we were both in trouble.

I wriggled the cable ties back up and put everything I had into breaking that fucking frame.

I was getting off this damn boat and taking my new neighbour with me.

How they didn’t hear me upstairs was a bloody miracle, because I gave it everything I had for the next ten minutes until the vinyl finally gave way. Another kick and one of the screws popped free. I worked at the break until blood ran from the abrasions on my wrists and the wooden upright finally fell away.

I slid the cable tie free, pulled the blindfold over my head and yanked the tape from my mouth. The first lungful of air tasted so sweet I almost fucking bawled. I gulped a couple more, then raced for the water and emptied its contents straight down my throat.

There was no time to piss around trying to remove the cable tie cuffs; I’d just have to deal with them. My thoughts slid again to Nick, but this time I locked them down. No distractions. Focus. But by God, if he gave me any shit about us trying something together after this, I was gonna kill him myself.

I quickly crossed to the cabin door and paused to take a couple of deep breaths. Every muscle in my body burned, every joint screamed in protest. Fifty-five sucked, and I made a mental note to buy some gym equipment if I got out of this alive. I shook my arms to get some circulation going and prayed my legs wouldn’t cramp halfway up the stairs. You never saw that shit on action movies.

The door’s handle resisted at first, then finally clicked down. Relief coursed through my body. I had no plan to fall back on if it had been locked.

I eased it open just enough to peek into the hallway. It was empty. I slipped out and softly shut the door.

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