The ship security officer hadn’t called me ‘Miss De Luca.’ They already knew I’d stolen the woman’s badge and snuck aboard. I’d miscalculated how long it would take them to learn that.
My eyes darted around the balcony. I leaned over the edge of the guard rail. The balcony extended only an inch further than the glass half-wall. Not much but probably enough for me to stand on.
The argument in my head lasted for less than a second. If they caught me, I’d end up under arrest in Malta. Nothing my father couldn’t fix but I’d want to avoid it as much as his simmering anger when I got home for what I’d cost him.
I’d survive a fall into the water from this height if the worst happened. With security after me, they’d send help. Then I’d end up in their custody while cold and wet, but I wasn’t planning on falling.
“Miss, we’re going to open the door if you do not respond,” the voice boomed into the silence.
It was now or never.
With hands grasped around the guard rail as hard as possible, I kicked my leg over it. My shoe brushed the small lip twice before catching it. I brought my other leg over and gripped even harder.
Lights illuminated the balcony to my left. I flinched but kept my hold. The wind on the wrong side of the balcony whipped my dress around my legs. Hair covered my face but my hands stayed on the railing.
“Last warning, Miss,” said the security officer. “If you don’t open the door in fifteen seconds, we are coming in.”
Had they been less generous, they would have caught me. I used every millisecond of that inching to the barrier at the right. A deep breath steeled my resolve before I moved my hand to the other side. Another deep breath and I skittered the whole way. The moment I was able, I rolled over to the balcony next to my cabin.
Two lumps laid on the bunk inside the darkened room but I couldn’t make them out. They didn’t move so they hadn’t noticed me or the security officers. I needed a little luck coming my way, especially since a single cabin over wasn’t anywhere near far enough away.
The second time I swung my legs over the balcony and shuffled to the next one came easier than the first. A television screen lit the next cabin. A couple reclined on their bunk, asleep against each other’s shoulders. Instead of jumping back over, I kept shuffling to the next balcony.
By now, the lights in my stolen cabin had been turned on. I leaped over the balcony edge. They might look past the barriers, see my Spiderwoman routine. Until those lights went off, I remained pressed against the barrier two balconies away from Ms. De Luca’s cabin.
The five minutes it took before the cabin went dark seemed like an hour. Just in case the security team posted someone there, I moved back to the balcony’s edge and shuffled to the next cabin. After the third or fourth one, I had the routine down.
As I continued on my way, passing my ninth cabin and almost to the tenth, my fingers brushed against something before the next barrier. My fingers squeezed over the rail when it had me flinching.
I blinked and leaned closer to see what I’d hit. A three-pronged grappling hook hung from the railing. The rope tied to it dropped at an angle toward the rear of the ship. Dark as it was, I couldn’t see what it was connected to below. Not that I had the time to.
A hand grabbed me under my arm. The world spun. I froze, expecting a splash but the fall only took a moment and I landed on the next balcony. A man loomed over me, a black ski mask covered his face. He slapped his hand over my lips.
I really should have stayed with Alexei.
Two more men stepped out from inside the cabin, each wearing the same ski mask with dark tactical gear below. They all had handguns and knives on their belts. Only one had his out, pointed my way.
“Were we in the right cabin all along?” one of them asked another in Italian. “We couldn’t have missed her out here.”
“No, she came over the balcony,” the other replied.
“Looks to be our lucky night, boys,” the first said.
His eyes, all I could see under the ski mask he wore, examined me. They lingered where I expected, given the dress I wore. When I’d got to my stolen cabin, I’d considered changing into something of Nicola’s, but the envelope already had enough money in it and it wasn’t like she’d packed anything modest.
“Bring her inside, we don’t need to leave just yet,” the leader said.
“The boss wants her bad, man,” the guy holding his hand over my face said. “Shouldn’t we get back to the boat?”
“Maybe she jumped?” the leader replied, eyes still on me. “Maybe we couldn’t get to her in time. What the boss doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Look at the trouble she caused already. It’s going to be a pain to get her to the boat anyway.”
“She’s the boss’s niece, man,” said the third thug, shaking his head.
Even with the sudden danger and everything at stake, I wouldn’t miss a nugget of info that big. My uncle was the boss. Given one of his men had referred to me by my mother’s maiden name, he must be her brother. I knew next to nothing about her – why would I care about a woman who loved the needle more than me? Still, it gave me options.
“My uncle?” I asked after I shook free of the hand muffling me. “You should have said something earlier. I’m sure he will reward you greatly if you bring me to him unharmed.”
“Shut up, Marciano,” hissed the leader. His sneer exposed his upper gums. “You’re your father’s daughter. Your uncle doesn’t want a tearful family reunion but I guess he can use you against your father.”
