Page 81 of Austen

Only, eventhatreaction hadn’t surfaced.

He’d lunged for her.Then somehow she’d come to life and kicked him, but by that time it was too late.He’d shoved the gun up against her neck and said, “Welcome back.”

The same words he’d said to Declan and Steinbeck when he’d used her as hostage fodder to keep them from jumping him, and then as he’d marched them down to a stateroom on the spa deck to lock them inside.

That had been their last chance before the rest of his crew woke.Because apparently, the boatwasn’tunoccupied.And they’d added a few crew members since their last excursion.So it was a Russian party on a hijacked boat, and she, Declan, and Steinbeck were the unwelcome guests.

Thankfully nobody had gotten hurt, unless she looked at Steinbeck and Declan.She wouldn’t call their dark expressionshurt.Fierce, angry, frustrated, maybe helpless.Although, she knew both of them enough to know that they weren’t actuallyhelpless.Regardless of what he’d said in the plaza, Declan might be the least helpless man she’d ever met.He always had a plan, something up his sleeve, and even now as she looked at him, the dawn cresting into the locked stateroom, he seemed to be thinking.

He’d spent most of the last hour pacing the room, occasionally glancing out the massive windows that overlooked the dark sea.She could practically see the steam churning inside his brain as he tried to figure out how to get them out of this.

And note to self.Next time she was taken hostage, she’d prefernotto wear her pajamas.That thought conjured up Phoenix pulling her out of bed to drag her up to the airport.Which led to Phoenix setting up a fiery blockade so they could make their escape.

Steinbeck’s entire body resembled a coiled rattler, his tail practically buzzing as he sat on the other sofa.She’d never seen him quite so miserable.Okay, maybe when he’d returned from Germany, both of his legs wrapped after having both knees replaced.

This felt different, though.

She knew better than to suggest that maybe it was a good thing that Phoenix hadn’t joined them.But then again, whyhadn’tshe shown up?That horror sat like a burr deep in her heart.

That and the fact that, well...“I’m really, really, really sorry that I didn’t shoot him,” she said into the quiet.

Both men turned and looked at her, frowned.“Seriously?”Declan said.“First, I’m just glad Sergei didn’t kill you.And second, ofcourseyou shouldn’t have shot him.Because if you had, who knows what they would have done with us?You might have saved our lives.”

“I completely froze,” Austen said.

“You did fine,” Steinbeck said quietly.

She didnotdo fine, and she didn’t want to admit it but, “I was just in the way.I’ve been in the way this entire time.If you hadn’t had to find me, you would have been safe in port and?—”

“Stop,” Declan said and walked over to her.Sat on the bed.“Austen.You are not in the way.You’re the reason.The light in the middle of the dark ocean.”

“Oh brother,” Steinbeck said.Then he looked at her.“But yes, you are...Well, there’s no one like you, sis.”

Her eyes filled, and she pulled up a pillow from the bed to hold on to.“What’s going to happen now?”

Declan hung a hand behind his neck.“Well, they’re tracking my last ship, theSanta Maria, so I guess when they find it, they’ll take it.”He looked at Steinbeck and lifted his shoulders.

Her eyes widened.“And then what?Are they going to kill us?”

“They might not kill Declan right away.After all, he has what they want,” Stein said.

“Which is what?His money?”

Declan sighed.“No.It’s not about that,” he said softly.He looked at both of them.“It’s one thing to have a program.Another thing to have the obsidite that can fuel it.But you have to synthesize it, right?You have to know how to turn it into the fuel that will make this resource valuable.”He stuck his hands into his pockets.“And I have that.”

Silence from Steinbeck as his expression changed.Horror?No,fury.

Her voice emerged low.“What do you mean?”

“He means that he was always planning to use it for his own purposes,” Steinbeck said, looking at her.“He was never planning to dump it into the ocean and scuttle it.”He looked back at Declan.“Were you?”

“No.”

Her mouth opened.“So youwereplanning to use it?”

“Not just me,” Declan said quietly.“There’s a bigger plan in play here.And I can’t...”He sighed, shook his head.“I’m sorry I got you guys involved in this.This was never my intention.I thought I could outsmart the Petrovs.Clearly I can’t.Now I’m in over my head and your lives are at risk.”He turned to Austen.“You have to believe me that I am not a terrorist.I am not planning to use this for evil.”He reached out to touch her hand, but she pulled away.

“Then what will you use it for?”

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