I stood up to move past him, not bothering to cover myself up. I bent over my bag to find some clean clothes.
A noise squeaked out of me when he spun me around and pinned my arms behind me. I felt myself shudder in anticipation when his rough voice spoke into my ear. “Don’t try to distract me, Blaire. We don’t have time for your antics today.”
I could feel his hardness pressing up against my buttocks from beneath the towel. “I wasn’t trying to distract you.”
His mouth moved along the back of my neck. His hand grazed over the tips of my nipples. “This is a distraction.”
My body arched as his hand dropped between my legs. “So is this.”
I squirmed with anticipation and then let out a frustrated noise when he stepped away from me, taking with him his strength, his warmth and his tongue. “Go shower.”
I slowly soaped and washed my aching body, and then I blew my hair dry until it swung around my face in a curtain. I got dressed, but when I got out of the shower, the room was empty. There was a note on the foot of the bed.
Went to call Drake. Don’t leave the room.
When he got back to the room, he was silent and uncommunicative.
“What happened?”
“I booked us a flight home tonight.”
It seemed surreal that tonight we would fly back to Vancouver and return to our old lives. I studied him, wondering if, after this was over, he would want to see me as badly as I wanted to see him. “What did Drake say?”
“Not much. He just said that we should walk onto the boat and you would somehow know where to look for the USB drive.”
“I don’t know,” I burst out. “I don’t know anything about my grandfather’s company or this ship.”
“That’s why I’m going to meet the ship alone and take my chances.”
I sat there, incredulous. “No.”
“You can wait here, and I’ll get what we need, and then we can get you home.”
I stood up in protest. “But you don’t even know where to look.”
“Neither do you.”
“Drake said I’d know.”
He turned and faced me. “Today is probably a trap. Even if we get off that ship, someone is likely going to take us out. This is the end of the line, Blaire.”
I had a vision of Viktor’s lifeless body crumpling from a faraway gunshot. The thought horrified me. “No.”
“You can wait here for three hours. If I’m not back, get your ass to the Canadian embassy until someone can get you safely home.”
The thought of Viktor no longer being alive was impossible to process. I felt angry tears build up behind my eyes. “That’s not how this is supposed to work.”
He looked equally pissed. “That’s how it’s going to be.”
I was more than scared—I was borderline terrified of what awaited us at the ship. But I would never forgive myself if I let him do this alone. “The second you leave, I’m going to follow you in a cab.”
“You think I’m not going to make sure you don’t?”
“Will you tie me up and leave me vulnerable to anyone who comes along?” I argued back. “You told me on the cargo plane that you would never let that happen again. You promised.”
Frustration marred his expression. “We don’t both have to die.”
I stood, and picked up my bag. “I’m getting to that ship one way or another. I think I’d be safer with you at my side, but if you make me, I’ll figure out a way to get there alone. It’s up to you.”
He inhaled deeply before growling, “Let’s go.”
The massive ship was docked at the cargo port. The taxi slowly pulled up alongside it. Above us, multiple red cranes stood frozen and silent. There were no trucks lined up, no operations indicating that they were disembarking any of their goods.
While Viktor paid the driver, I looked out the back window of the cab. Further down the dock, I could see some cranes operating, and there was an odd truck that drove by, but for the most part, this side of the dock was deserted.
“Seems quiet.”
Viktor was looking over his shoulder. He didn’t look happy. “Ready?”
Now was the moment of truth. Would some sniper from over a mile away take me out the moment I showed my face? The blessing was that I probably wouldn’t even see the end coming. I would just be here, and then I would be gone.
Viktor patiently waited for me to find my courage to get out of the taxi.
“I feel like I should say something important to mark this moment.”
“Why?”
“In case it’s the end.”
“Really?”
“I’m serious. This is important.”
He let out a slow breath out of his nostrils. “Fine. Let’s hear it.”
The only words chanting in the back of my mind were I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, but saying that out loud felt like stating the obvious.
My gaze was glued to Viktor’s handsome features. His eyes looked bleak and his expression was flat, completely devoid of emotion. I wondered if he knew how profoundly he had changed my life. Did he know how much I appreciated how he had taken care of me and kept me safe? How many times, when I was afraid, had he lent me his courage to get through the worst of it? Not to mention last night—and, hands down, the best sex of my life.
I wished I could convey all of that to him, but Viktor didn’t look like he’d appreciate the sentiment. “I don’t want to say goodbye to you.”
He stared at me for a full three seconds before he leaned in and gave me a hard, lingering kiss that made my head spin. “Then don’t.”
That kiss made me so damn happy. “Okay, I’m ready now.”
“You can do this. Just stay close to me.”
We got out of the cab, and nothing happened.
The taxi pulled away, and, in silence, we walked over to the external cage elevator that would take us to the height of the ship’s deck.
I watched as Viktor lifted the grill elevator door and shut it behind us before hitting a button that carried us up four stories. We didn’t speak as the elevator clanked and chugged, slowly moving us to the top. It jerked to a stop. Viktor raised the gate, stepped out and looked back at me, holding out his hand.
With trembling fingers, I reached out and grabbed his.
I needed to say what I really felt. “Last night was the greatest night of my life.”
His tone was terse. “I want to go on that vacation with you.”
My heart sang with joy, so much so I could barely find my voice. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Before he could respond, we were interrupted by a voice calling from the deck of the ship. “Blaire? Is that you?”
We both turned.
A smiling, portly older man stood smiling. He motioned with his hand. “Well, come on now, I’ve been expecting you.”
Viktor grabbed my hand, and together we crossed over to the ship. I kept waiting for someone to pull the trigger on their rifle, but reality kept unfolding in front of me.
He wore a captain’s uniform, but I had never seen this man in my life. “Do I know you?”