Page 42 of Terminal Voyage

Vanessa was the first to join him, followed by Sophia, then Sebastian and Hannah. Of course, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to toast myself. I think Luciano did it just to get under Declan’s skin. Though the deal would be mutually beneficial, he knew he had some leverage. I think Luciano liked stirring up trouble.

Declan finally caved and lifted his glass. We all clinked and sipped our beverages. I was sticking to bottled water. Some say it's bad luck to toast with water. Given what was soon to happen, I couldn’t disagree.

We chowed down and filled our bellies. For dessert, I went with the Key Lime pie.

As usual, the party moved to the sky lounge after dinner for another round of poker. I thought about trying my hand,then thought better of it. I took a seat at the bar with Vanessa and Hannah.

Jimmy gave me a cautious look.

"Don't worry, I'm not drinking tonight," I said.

"Well, I'm here if you change your mind, but it might be a smart move to abstain."

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you last night."

"Think nothing of it.”

Vanessa ordered a margarita, and Hannah went with a cosmopolitan.

We shot the breeze for a bit while the boys played poker. Sophia joined them and won the first few hands.

Peer pressure took over, and the girls talked me into having a drink. One drink. It was a rather large glass of wine, and it went straight to my head.

Still feeling pretty thin from last night's adventure, I went back to my stateroom at a reasonable hour. I stepped into the compartment, and the window was open again.

I knew I had shut it.

The bed was turned down, and I figured that one of the stews had done it. It was a nice evening, so I left it open.

I stepped into the en suite and went through my nightly routine, brushing my teeth and washing my face. When I looked from the basin to the mirror, Kate was standing behind me in the compartment.

I shrieked in horror.

When I spun around, the hatch to the en suite slammed shut.

My pulse rocketed, and my skin slicked with sweat. The hairs on the back of my neck stood tall.

20

Freaked out, I didn't want to open the hatch.

I inched toward it, twisted the handle, and pulled it open. My eyes panned across the room, looking for any sign of the redhead.

The room was empty.

There was no way someone could have gotten out of the room that fast.

I felt silly, but I called out, "Kate?”

I took a step into the compartment, rounded the bed, and looked on the other side.

There was nobody there.

With caution, I peered into the walk-in closet. Except for my clothes, it was empty as well.

My heart raced.

I moved back across the room to the hatch. The deadbolt was latched. There was no way someone could have locked it from the outside. Not without a key.