He led us down narrow stairs and opened the door to a tiny room that had two single beds stacked. “Here’s where you can sleep if you’re not sleeping on the deck.”
I didn’t step in, and shuddered at how small the room was. I would be avoiding this room at all costs.
Directly across the hall, he opened a closet door to a small toilet. “Here’s the loo. Galley is at the end. I have a coffeemaker. Say the word, and I can bring you a cup.”
Viktor seemed unimpressed. “When do we leave?”
“We can leave now.”
“Do it.” Viktor’s voice was cold. He turned and motioned for me to head back up the stairs. I walked to the back of the boat, where the hammock and table beckoned. This reminded me of the cruise I had taken through the south of Germany for my grandmother’s last birthday. We had hired our own chef and crew and spent a week getting drunk on expensive champagne while floating down the Danube. I had found that trip extraordinarily soothing.
“You want to tell me what that was about?” Viktor’s voice cut like a knife from behind me.
His dark tone sent a sharp thrill down my back. I ran my fingers over the edge of the table, avoiding his gaze. “What are you talking about?”
“That little show you were putting on back there.”
I spun on my heels and openly challenged him with my glare. “Excuse me?”
“You don’t think I know what you were doing?”
“I wasn’t doing anything.”
He stepped up close to me, so close I had to tilt my head back to see his face.
“No more bullshit. He’s not your skipper, and you’re not his mate.”
“I was being friendly.”
“Stop it.”
I scoffed a laugh at him. “You’re telling me to not be friendly?”
He gave me a slow blink. “Rule number three: you talk to no one.”
“You can’t add rules all willy-nilly.”
“I just did.”
I made a noise of frustration. “Wow. When you’re not a monster, you morph into the Grinch.”
He put his hands on his hips and stood there looking at me. I flounced away from him and made a big production of hanging up my bag and finding a bottle of water from the fridge. I wasn’t even thirsty, but I carried it to the table and opened it.
He looked pissed as he asked the question. “I know I’ll regret asking this, but what is a Grinch?”
It took everything in me to not laugh. I was finally getting some leverage on this man. “The Grinch stole Christmas.”
“I didn’t steal Christmas.”
“No. You stole me.”
His jaw tightened. “Don’t move from this spot. Don’t talk to him. Don’t leave the netting. And stay out of sight of other boats.”
He turned to leave, ruining the game.
I called after him. “I’m surprised you’re not handcuffing me in some dark closet.”
He sounded tired. “Do what I tell you, Blaire. No more fucking around.”
And then he disappeared from sight.
The entire boat shuddered when Skipper fired up the engine. I chose a seat which gave me the maximum amount of shade and the best view. Above me, Skipper was in the boathouse, concentrating as he navigated his craft through the water.
The river was so wide that in places it felt more like a lake. The landscape felt very safari, with distant mountainous hills that sometimes flattened into vast green plains. It was hard to gauge the depth of the water because of all the riverbed silt that was being stirred up.
At least an hour passed before I heard a noise behind me. I turned, surprised to see Viktor already sitting at the table. He was the largest man I had ever seen who moved with the stealth of a soldier. I watched as he started to methodically clean one of his weapons.
“Do you know how deep the water is here?”
He looked up and squinted. “Average depth of the Mekong is seven feet and average width is around a mile.” He pointed across the river to the other side. “See those raised homes?”
In the distance, there was a row of shacks precariously perched on rickety stilts. “I see them.”
“This whole area is a floodplain. During the rainy season, the water rises so high it covers the stilts, and they are able to boat right up to their homes.”
I turned back to look. “That’s a lot of rain, so this must be their dry season.”
He looked around as he polished. “Water’s pretty low.”
“How do you know all this?” Was it from being in the military?
“The nature channel.”
Laughter punched out of me. “You’re kidding.”
“Lots of people watch nature shows.” He sounded defensive.
“Who knew that kidnappers have this whole secret life where they go on dates and watch television?”
He gave me a mild look, but he didn’t respond.
“What would be on my profile?”
“What profile?”
“You said my dating profile wouldn’t be much better than yours. I already know that’s not true.”
He stood up and peeled off his T-shirt before tossing it on his pack. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. He was just so wonderfully muscular and male. There was a long, faint scar on his right shoulder. Another one under his left ribs. And another one, lower down, almost hidden by his pants. Were these scars from bullets or knives? How did someone get so many scars? My fingers itched to trace along the faint white lines.
His voice cut through my thoughts. “Now I know how the gardener felt.”
“If you must know, it was the gardener’s grandson. And if you don’t want people to look at your body, you should stop flaunting it.”
To my surprise, a deep laugh rumbled out of him. “Slow-walking heiress with a dirty thing for the gardener. She’s never at a loss for words. Requires complete protection from everything bigger than a gecko, but she can shop like a boss.”
I burst out laughing at the truth of his statement. I couldn’t argue a single point.
In response, he gave me a self-satisfied smile. It felt like we had struck a truce—for the time being.
“How long until we reach Vietnam?”
“We should be there before nightfall.”
“And then we meet up with your friend?”
“He’s not my friend, he’s a contact.”
“You know what I mean.”
“That’s the plan.”
The boat jerked hard, and then the engine cut out. I watched as we continued to float in the slow current. Ahead of us was a grove of floating trees, or maybe it was a flooded island bank—it was hard to tell.
Viktor and I made eye contact as we listened to Skipper’s thongs flapping against the boards. He came flying down the stairs and around the side of the boathouse.
Viktor stood up. “Don’t move.”
CHAPTER NINE
VIKTOR
Annoyance filled me as I stood up. We couldn’t afford any delays.
Blaire hastened to shove her feet into her runners.
I double-checked that both my weapons were loaded. “Where do you think you’re going?”