“Let’s try the next one.” He nodded to the pilot, who gave him a thumbs-up. “Come on, Ava, where are you?”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Ava knelt behind the bar on the third-floor deck, heart racing, her panic barely under control. A fully stocked wine rack hid her from view at the moment, giving her a second to catch her breath—and plan. The pool pump ran with a quiet hum in the background. The cool night air blew across the water and dried the tears she didn’t remember shedding.
As soon as she’d been free of Nicolai, she’d found the stairs and headed up, blind panic guiding her, leading her to search for the bridge that would have a radio. Nicolai had guessed her intentions and followed.
But now, she needed to think.
A helicopter passed by overhead and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. There was no way they’d hear her, and she’d just draw Nicolai’s attention. Think! Get a grip on the terror and think! What do I do, God? What do I do? I need a plan.
She also needed her aching wrists free of the zip tie. While her father had managed to cut halfway through the plastic, she needed it off in order to defend herself and figure out how to deal with Nicolai. The thought of having to kill him made her want to retch, but if it came down to her or him, she’d do what she had to do.
For now, since she couldn’t get to the radio, she needed to get to the galley. Galleys had sharp knives, right? Right. But she didn’t know the layout of the boat and she couldn’t go room to room without risking running into Nicolai. She rested her head on her hands. But galleys were usually positioned aft on the newer crafts. She’d find it, as long as she could avoid Nicolai.
Her punch had taken him by surprise, but once he recovered, she could hear him clearly, stomping after her, threatening to do his worst and make sure she suffered even more than he’d originally planned.
She could not let him get his hands on her.
“I’m going to kill him, Ava! Either you show yourself or I’m going to kill him!”
She took a deep breath and pulled at the zip tie by straining her wrists apart. And still it wouldn’t give. With a stifled sob, she peered around the edge of the bar.
“Ava!” He was still out of sight but coming up the stairs. “I know you’re up here. Come on. Where do you think you’re going to go? You’re just dragging this out and making me angrier by the second.”
The upper deck wrapped around the large boat, and she just needed him off the stairs so she could get down and to the kitchen. He reached the top and looked both ways like he was going to cross a street. Then stalked toward her, although she knew he hadn’t spotted her. “I’ll kill him! I’ll make him suffer! Get out here!”
Ava closed her eyes for a split second and stayed put. He cursed and spun, then walked toward the stern, moving away from her hiding place. Go, keep going.
As soon as he was out of sight, she darted around the bar and to the stairs. She pulled the door shut behind her and twisted the deadbolt. It wouldn’t keep him out for long, but maybe long enough.
Ava hurried to the middle deck and slipped inside.
A large seating area greeted her, and she kept going until finally she found the galley.
She stepped inside, wishing she could appreciate the grandness. Gorgeous stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and . . . locking drawers. She released the latch on the first one, then the second.
A harsh cry came from the end of the yacht. A scream of rage and frustration so chilling, she froze for a split second before a shudder rippled through her and she turned back to the drawers. Knives were kept locked up for safety in the event of rough waters. As long as she had time to look, she’d find one eventually.
“Ava!”
And as long as he kept calling out, she’d know where he was.
The top drawer to her left revealed what she’d been looking for. She grabbed the sharpest one in her right hand, worked to flip it so the blade rested against the tie, and pressed upward. The tie fell to the floor and she stooped to pick it up just as he turned the corner into the galley.
In the mirror above the oven, she could see him striding toward her. She positioned herself so that she was out of sight, unable to be seen in the mirror. Crouched in a squat, she watched, her fingers clutching the handle of the knife. He walked toward the counter, and she scuttled backward, doing her best to be silent, but thankful his harsh breathing and mutterings drowned out any slight sounds she might make. If he’d been quiet, he might have heard her. He rounded the corner just as she slipped next to the endcap.
Using the mirror, she let his pace guide hers. He stopped and slammed a fist onto the counter. She flinched and held her breath. For someone who’d been so cool and calm—even methodical—about killing innocent people, he was starting to unravel.
Which was working in her favor at the moment. She whispered silent prayers, keeping her eyes on the man in the mirror. He’d stopped moving, head bent, staring at the counter, his chest heaving with each agitated breath. While he gave the appearance of thinking, Ava held still, hardly daring to breathe. Finally, he walked away from her and out of the galley’s second entrance that would take him deeper into the center of the ship.
Heart in her throat, she darted in the opposite direction. Back out the door she’d entered, around the corner to the stairs, and down to the first deck where her father was being held. If she had time, she might be able to figure out the code to get the door open, but then what? She needed something to deal with the chains—and a way to communicate with the outside world.
Ava had lost track of Nicolai’s location, but she couldn’t stop trying. She wasn’t leaving without her father. She noted the speedboat in the dock but had no clue how to release it and get it out of the garage. So for now, she’d concentrate on rescuing her father.
She opened each door she passed until she finally came to the engine room. She shoved inside and shut the door behind her. For a moment, she leaned against it, clutching the knife in one hand, pressing the other to her chest, feeling her heart pound against her palm.
She needed something to get her father’s chains off. Something. Anything. The large room was hot, and sweat broke out on her forehead. She drew in a steadying breath and started looking for a tool kit. Surely he kept one somewhere. The engine room made the most sense.
Or maybe it was under the sink in the galley or the hall bath closet. Or a guest stateroom.
Or in the torture room.
No, please, God, don’t send me there.
But it would most likely have what she needed, and it would probably be the last place Nicolai would look for her.
She turned and headed for the door.
“We’ve been over this lake twice,” Travis said, “and nothing. You want to keep going or look elsewhere?”
Caden didn’t know. He wiped a hand across his brow and sent up a prayer for help. For the first time in his career, he didn’t know what to do. What choice to make.
“She’s out here, Travis. I feel it in my gut. I just don’t know how to find her.”
“I’ll do whatever you guys want me to do,” the pilot said. “The weather’s good, but it’s dark. I can use the spotlight if you don’t think that would send him running.”