Piers glared at him. “I’d be happier if you’d untie us.”
“Now, why would I want to do that?” Barnes replied. “I finally have both of you where I need you.”
“Tied up on a boat?” Piers asked.
I glanced out the window. How had I not noticed before that we were on a boat? Now the smell I’d noticed made sense. I could feel the slight rocking as well. I’d attributed the motion earlier to my fatigued body.
“The simple truth is,” Barnes said, “I don’t have a use for either of you anymore. Bri became expendable the second she fucked you, and I don’t need you in order to claim your inheritance.”
“What inheritance?”
I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until Barnes answered. “That’s right. I forgot you weren’t part of the little chat Mr. Worthington and I just had.”
That was a lie if I ever heard one. Barnes forgot nothing. I kept silent though. Something told me it would be in my best interest to remain quiet at the moment.
“Unfortunately,” he continued, “I don’t have time to go over the entire story again, but the short of it is that Mr. Worthington here has quite the inheritance. It should be mine, and I’m going to take it.”
“How?” Piers said through clenched teeth.
Nothing they were saying made any sense to me. What inheritance? He’d never answered the question.
“I believe I mentioned before about the dirty judges in my pocket?” He didn’t wait but continued. “You didn’t know about the inheritance before I told you about it anyway. It really shouldn’t worry you at all. Just know that with the judges’ help, it’ll be in excellent hands.”
“I know it’ll be in excellent hands because it’ll be in mine,” Piers said.
Barnes laughed. “You really think that?” He laughed again. “I’m afraid you’re wrong because you’re going to be dead.”
Piers struggled to untie his hands. “Bastard. You’ll never get away with this.”
“But I will,” Barnes insisted. “It’s so easy. You and Bri are going on a boat ride. Unfortunately, you’re going to run into mechanical problems, and the boat you rented will blow up with you on it. I doubt they’ll ever even find enough pieces to bury. We have everything already programmed, so there’s no way to stop it even if I wanted to. But cheer up. The good news is I’ve decided to keep your friends at Bachelor International out of this altogether. Well, except for mourning the two of you.”
Chapter 24
Bri
I watched in shock as Barnes gave somewhat of a half snort, half laugh as he turned and left the room. Only three feet away from me, Piers cursed under his breath and continued his ongoing battle to untie himself.
I remembered when we were young and got ourselves into trouble, how Piers always impressed me with his calm, no-need-to-worry attitude. Regardless of the type of hot water we found ourselves in, he never appeared spooked or worried. That he looked both at the moment scared me more than anything else.
“We’re really going to die.” The words sounded strange when I spoke them.
I didn’t see any other way our current situation could turn out. We were both tied to the boat, and apparently there was an explosive device somewhere on board that would detonate at some unknown time in the future.
“We haven’t left the dock yet.” Piers twisted his body as if doing so would increase his chance at untying himself. “Nothing’s going to happen to us while we’re still here. Barnes might be a fucking SOB, but he’s not stupid enough to blow up a boat here.”
“We could start moving at any minute,” I said. “That really doesn’t make me feel any better.” Piers didn’t answer but kept working his roped hands. Since they tied his hands behind him like mine, I couldn’t tell if he was making progress or not. “Any way you can swing your chair over here and let me see your hands?”
He tried to lift himself and the chair at the same time but failed. On his second try, I saw why.
“Bastard bolted the chair to the floor,” I informed Piers.
“Fuck!” He sat still for a second, panting. Sweat dripped from his forehead. “Damn, I never saw this coming. I always thought I’d go out on my feet, fighting back as hard as I could. I never imagined I’d be tied down. Especially to a boat.”
“Are you still claustrophobic?” I asked.
“ How do you know about that?” He tilted his head. “I don’t recall ever telling you.”
“You didn’t,” I said. “I figured it out that time they threw you in the cellar for twenty-four hours.”
“I’d forgotten about that,” he said softly.
“More like blocked it out of your mind.”
He chuckled. “Probably. You came down there and stayed with me. I’d forgotten that too.”
“I didn’t want you to be by yourself.”
“We were a pretty good team back then, weren’t we?” he asked.
“I thought we were a pretty good team now,” I said. “I’m just sorry I let it go so far.”
“They brainwashed you as a child. It’s not your fault.” He kept his eyes focused on mine, and I found it impossible to look away. “I don’t blame you.”
I didn’t deserve his forgiveness. “Thank you.”
We were both silent as the boat’s engine started up and the boat inched its way out of the marina. Or I assumed that’s what it was doing. The room we were in was belowdecks and had no windows.
I wanted to ask Piers how far out he thought we’d go. Or find out if he knew how the boat was being steered. But I couldn’t get the words to form. Instead I kept my gaze on him.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to rescue you,” he said.
“No more apologizing,” I said, blinking back tears. No one would miss me. I had contributed little to this world. Unlike Piers. He would be missed by so many. I thought of the foster children he talked to, the pro bono work he did.
And of course I couldn’t help but think of those handfuls of perfect nights we’d spent together. There were so few. “I wasted too many years on hate,” I said. “I don’t know why I never saw that love is what matters.”
“I wish we had one more night,” he said. “I want one more chance to hold you with no secrets between us.”
Silence fell back across the room again, at least between us. The noise of the boat’s engine filled the would-be-quiet spaces.
I stared at the closed door. How far out were we now? Was it better not having a window?
More questions I kept to myself.
I thought it was my imagination when the door knob turned. But no. A second later, the door opened and Newsome walked in.
“Looks like I arrived just in time,” he said. “You have six minutes and twenty-some-odd seconds to get off this boat, into the lifeboat, and get away from here before this baby blows sky-high.”
“Newsome?” I asked.
I hadn’t seen him in years, but I’d recognize him anywhere. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why he was on the boat or even in the States for that matter. But he was untying Piers, and then they both came to help me.