Page 98 of She’ll Steal Your Heart
“No,” Nicole answered quickly, stepping closer.
Fiona met her gaze. “Good.”
The other boat had drawn closer, its engine obnoxiously loud. It seemed like their boat, theCyprus Star, had picked up speed, perhaps trying to put more space between itself and its new neighbor. Fiona wished for a table so she could set down her wine. Nicole was stuck carrying wine in one hand and her clutch in the other, no free hands for touching, and maybe Fiona hadn’t planned this little rendezvous as well as she’d thought.
“Do they seem too close to you?” Nicole asked, turning her attention to the approaching boat. It seemed to be heading straight for them.
“Mm,” Fiona agreed, annoyed at the interruption.
“Maybe it’s the Coast Guard?”
“Could be.” But the other boat had drawn close enough now that its outline was visible in the night, and it didn’t look like an official vessel. There were no identifying marks she could see, no maritime flag or police lights. Instinctively, she stepped into the shadows, drawing Nicole with her.
The approaching boat drew alongside theCyprus Star, and with a horrible screech, their hulls bumped and rubbed, sending a shudder through the deck beneath her feet.
“Oh my God,” Nicole whispered.
Almost immediately, men dressed in black tossed ropes to secure their vessel to theCyprus Star. The engine roared belowdecks, an apparent attempt by the captain to shake free, but it was too late. The marauders threw a ladder that hooked onto theCyprus Star’s railing and began scaling it one after another.
“Fuck,” Fiona mumbled. She tossed her wineglass into the seething depths of the Mediterranean, then grabbed Nicole’s and sent it after hers. She crouched, drawing Nicole down with her, and they pressed themselves into a darkened recess in the side of the ship.
“What’s going on?” Nicole whispered. Her hand, still clutched in Fiona’s, shook.
“Shh. I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s anything good.”
Men’s voices shouted in Greek, too jumbled for Fiona to pick out more than the fact that they’d just been boarded by some kind of maritime pirates, andfuck, this was bad. She wrapped her arms around Nicole, who promptly buried her face against Fiona’s chest, something she would have appreciated a lot more five minutes ago. Now, her heart was about to burst out of her chest, and she wasn’t the least bit aroused.
“Everyone listen to me!” a man shouted, followed by thepop pop popof gunfire, and Fiona recoiled. A shaft of moonlight passed overhead, illuminating her red dress like a beacon in the night.
