But this was partially his fault anyway. He was the one who’d made her paranoid with that “what the hell are you involved with?” look he’d given her as they boarded the ship. If he hadn’t looked at her that way, she wouldn’t have had second thoughts. And if she hadn’t been having second thoughts, she wouldn’t have gone looking for trouble after she’d overheard Julien and Jean Paul talking a little while ago.
She’d been going through the dive equipment on deck but had gone back into the galley to refill her water bottle, when she heard voices in the adjoining room that served as a multipurpose lounge and dining room.
“Give me a little more time to convince her,” Julien had said. “I know she’ll come around.”
“We don’t have any more time,” Jean Paul responded. “If you don’t convince her, I will.”
Annie realized they were talking about her, and then, as now, her blood had run cold. She’d confronted Julien with what she’d heard when he came out to help her later, but he’d claimed Jean Paul had just been worried that she’d back out. He’d been convincing at the moment, but the conversation had replayed over and over in her head so many times she couldn’t let it go.
She’d known they were talking about something else, sowhile they were eating lunch, she’d decided to look in a few of the cases the captain had been so curious about. But never in her life could she have imaginedthis.
Jean Paul, Julien, and Claude were ecoterrorists, and she’d been stupid enough to get mixed up in whatever it was that they had planned.
Explosives.Good God, people could be killed. Her stomach turned for the God-knew-how-many-eth time.
There was no question: she had to tell the captain. He could radio for help or turn around or help her figure out a way to stop whatever they had planned. It wasn’t that she trusted him—though oddly she kind of did—but she didn’t have anyone else to turn to and she couldn’t very well commandeer the boat herself.
As she stepped out of the sleeping quarters into the narrow hall, the boat swayed, making her painfully conscious of her situation. Every scary movie she’d ever seen that took place on a boat picked that moment to come back to her. She was alone with a horrible secret, miles away from shore, surrounded by a bunch of extremists with explosives. Julien wouldn’t hurt her, but she couldn’t be as sure of the other two.
Her plan to talk to the captain had one problem: he was in the wheelhouse—where he’d been since leaving her so abruptly after helping her with her bag—which was stacked atop the deck level galley and lounge, accessed by metal ladderlike stairs on the opposite side. Meaning she would have to go out on deck and try to slip around where the three men were eating without being seen.
She didn’t even make it all the way up the stairs before Jean Paul cornered her.
Her heart leaped to her throat, but she tried to play it cool. “Hey.”
He didn’t respond. He was looking down the hall behind her. She turned to see what had caught his attention.
Oh God. She’d left the light on in the storage room, and the telltale glow was visible beneath the door.
Her skin prickled, fear setting all her instincts on edge.Had he guessed that she’d been snooping, and what she’d discovered?
Mustering every ounce of courage that she could, she turned back around to face him.Don’t be stupid.She wasn’t going to bethatgirl in the movie who gave everything away with her terrified expression.
“Excuse me,” she said with an irritated flip of her chin, trying to go around him.
He stepped in front of her, blocking her and clearly trying to intimidate her. He wasn’t a big man, but size didn’t seem to be limiting his menace any.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “I thought you weren’t feeling well.”
She looked him straight in the eye, giving no hint to the frantic race of her pulse and beat of her heart. “I thought some fresh air might help.”
“I will go with you.”
“That isn’t necessary. I was going to find Julien.”
Jean Paul held her gaze as if he knew she was lying. “You should do that.”
He stepped aside. She thought it was to let her pass, but he reached out to grab her arm as she went by. She’d changed earlier into warmer clothes, but even through the down of her coat, his touch repulsed her. He had on the ridiculous leather jacket and smelled of wine and cigarettes and sweat.
“Let go of me,” she said in a low, steely voice, which was surprising for how scared she was.
He did as she said with a small smirk. “Do what you are supposed to do,mademoiselle, and we won’t have any problems.”
There was no mistaking the threat. He suspected what she’d seen.
Knowing that the best thing she could do right now was to pretend to be with them, Annie said, “I will do whatever it takes to stop the drilling. Whether you and I have ‘problems,’ I don’t really care.”
The fierceness of her reply seemed to surprise him. Shemust have been a better actor than she realized, because he let her go.
