Within moments, the boat was slowly pushing forward. I stood silent in the middle of the deck. The humidity hung thick in air that didn’t seem to move, magnifying all the smells of the river. The distant landscape seemed paused, giving the illusion we weren’t moving at all. I doubted we would make it to the border before nightfall.
It had been forty-eight hours since Drake had taken Andrusha and Olivia, which meant we had just over three days to get into Vietnam, find my old contact, get fake identification and make it to Singapore to meet the ship. No one could hear the ticking of the clock louder than I could, but without a backup team, and with dwindling funds, there was precious little I could do other than troubleshoot the situation at hand.
We couldn’t afford any more delays. I also needed to call Drake and check in with him. I wanted proof of life from Andrusha—and hopefully more insight about his cryptic warning about Beirut. Someone had tracked us to Cambodia, and it was only a matter of time before they caught up to us. I needed to know who they were and what they wanted. Andrusha had alluded that he knew, but I still hadn’t been able to work through his clue. I moved to the table, took out my rifle and started to clean it.
Blaire interrupted my thoughts. “How often do you have to clean your weapons?”
I shrugged. “It’s just habit. It helps me think.”
“Are you worried?”
I lifted my head and looked at her. “Why do you say that?”
“You have an intense look on your face. Just wondering what it means.”
“This boat trouble isn’t helping.”
“Do you think we’ll get there in time?”
“Hope so.”
“Can you teach me about guns?”
“Why?”
She climbed awkwardly out of the hammock. “Because they scare me. And I think I would feel better if I knew how to lock it and stuff.”
“You want to learn how to put the safety on?”
She moved forward and grabbed the back of her chair. “Under the circumstances, it seems like a good idea.”
“You want to learn how to shoot a gun?”
“No!”
I squinted up at her. The lines between us were getting blurred. My default was to treat her like a hostage, but that only worked in theory. In reality, I was hardwired to protect women, so in the end, I let her break all my rules. And then I responded unfairly by giving her more rules. Rules I knew she’d eventually break. Hell, half the time I wanted her to break them.
I didn’t know how to navigate this situation, but when I worked in the field, if someone indicated they wanted to learn something, I always bent over backwards to accommodate.
And she had brought up a valid point. It made sense to teach her gun safety. People who knew how to handle guns were less likely to shoot themselves or someone else. “I think teaching you gun safety is a good idea.”
Her eyes were glued to my face.
I couldn’t help but smile. “You thought I was going to say no, didn’t you?”
“Totally.”
“It’s about keeping yourself safe when you are in the vicinity of guns.” I put my rifle away. “Have a seat.”
I pulled out my Glock.
“Watch carefully,” I instructed her. I removed the magazine and then racked it back several times to ensure the chamber was empty.
“I’m doing this to make sure there aren’t any bullets in the gun.”
“Good idea.” Her eyes were glued to my hands.
“This is the slide.” I removed the slide.
“This is your spring, and you unclip it like this.” I unclipped the spring.
“And this is your barrel.” I took it off. “That’s it.”
She leaned over the gun to get a closer look.
“Watch again.” I repeated my actions in reverse, reassembling the gun without putting the magazine back in.
I laid the gun down on her side of the table. “Your turn.”
She lifted her hands but hesitated. “Can you do that one more time?”
Without speaking, I slowly demonstrated, pulling the gun apart and then reassembling it.
She took a deep breath. “Okay, I think I’ve got it.”
I set it down in front of her. “Give it your best shot.”
I watched as she awkwardly worked to disassemble the weapon and then put it back together.
Five minutes later, she proudly laid the gun back down on the table between us. “I did it.”
I picked up the gun and inspected it. “Did a good job too.”
She seemed quite pleased with herself. “What now?”
I took off my military watch and set it down beside the gun. “When you can do all of that in under a minute, we’ll add bullets.”
“Why do I need to get faster?”
“You don’t, but the practice will give you muscle memory.”
“Why do I need bullets?”
I shrugged. “Maybe you want to do some target practice?”
Her eyes went wide. “Seriously?”
Was I really considering giving my hostage a loaded gun? Apparently I was. “Only if you get under a minute.”
My arms were crossed, my chin on my chest, and my eyes were shut. I could hear the steady, slow chug of the engine, and I hovered in that space between being awake and being asleep. I could hear the birds in the distance and the splash of the water against the side of the boat.
What I couldn’t hear was Blaire.
I lifted my head and opened my eyes.
She remained sitting across the table, and the gun was in front of her. She was watching me sleep.
I ran a hand down my face. “What are you doing?”
“How old are you?”
“Old.”
“Tell me.”
I studied her, wondering why she was asking me this. “I just turned thirty-three. How old are you?”
She lifted her chin slightly. “Twenty-six. I’m ready for your test. Would you like your watch back so you can time me?”
I nodded, and she set my watch down in front of me. I blinked hard a few times, trying to bring my reality back into focus.
“How long was I asleep?”
“Maybe ten minutes.”
Which was why I felt like shit. I really needed to get some more sleep.
Her voice was filled with impatience. “Are you ready for me?”
I checked the watch. “Go.”
She totally owned my Glock. With the confidence of an expert marksman, she dismantled it and then reassembled. She set the gun on the table and lifted both hands up. “What was my time?”
I dragged my eyes away from her. “Forty-eight seconds.”
She gave a squeak of joy. “That’s my best time yet.”
“I’m impressed.”
She flushed slightly. “It took several attempts to learn that.”
“Anyone on my team who can dismantle a gun that fast deserves to learn how to shoot it.”
Blaire stood beneath a makeshift tarp that I had hung so she could stand in the shade, something I wouldn’t think of doing for a man. It’s too hot. I don’t need her to get heatstroke. I handed her an unloaded gun.
“Take your stance just like I showed you.”