Daisy lifts her head. “Tell her what?”
“Refreshments are here!” Cecily emerges from the cabin in a bikini and sarong, holding a plate of prosciutto and melon, and a bottle of champagne.
I turn to Kai, remembering where we are. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about this right now. I’ll tell her when we get back.”
Kai nods. “I know you want answers. But you may not get the answer you’re looking for.”
“There he is!” Cecily says as one of the crew members emerges holding a tray of canapés. He’s attractive with deeply tanned skin and hazel eyes like Nate’s.
“Can I interest any of you in some canapés?” And he’s Australian. I glance at his name tag—Jax.He looks like a Jax.
I watch as Cecily flirts with him. This morning before they knew I was awake, I’d overheard Cecily telling Kai how Theo’s been away on business in London for weeks and wondered if their marriage had been suffering.
Kai stands up on the deck, holding on to the thin railing. “I know what we need.” Her face is flushed from the champagne. “Who wants to bring out the Jet Skis?”
—
There are onlyfour jet skis, and there are five of us, including Jax, whom they’ve invited, so naturally, Cecily and Jax share one.
“All right, there’s another boat out that way, so keep clear, but besides that the waves are perfect right now,” Jax says. “Brake’s on the left. But remember, it’s not a motorcycle, give it a good ten meters. And when the waves are big like this, go straight into the crest.”
Cecily rides behind him in her nearly sheer bikini, hands wrapped around his waist. A motor revs behind me and Kai howls and takes off. The others go after her. I press the lever for the gas and the Jet Ski lurches forward. My friends are tiny dots in the distance.How did they get so far ahead?I press down harder, watching the speed dial go from 20 mph to 25 to 30. How fast does this thing go? Knowing Theodore’s love of sports cars, it’s probably custom-designed to go faster than most. I thud over the waves, salt water spraying my face. It’s exhilarating. A rush of adrenaline every time I hit a crest that makes me forget everything else for a moment. At top speed, the bottom of the Jet Ski skids over the water, wind whipping against my bare skin. I scream and hold on tight.
Minutes later, I catch up to them. Kai and Daisy are riding the wake of a speedboat, swerving back and forth in front of me while Jax guns his Jet Ski next to the boat, racing it. He’s standing as Cecily holds on tight. They must be going at least thirty-five miles per hour, drifting precariously closer to it.
I brace myself as my Jet Ski tilts sideways, dropping into the wake of the boat, and glance down at the speedometer—48…49…50, my pulse rising with it. All of a sudden, a scream rips through the air. I look up. Cecily is pointing at something up ahead. A massive blackyacht had appeared out of nowhere. And it’s moving fast. They’re going to crash right into it.
“Watch out!” I scream.
The speedboat up ahead must have let off the gas to avoid the yacht because the stern is growing larger. Its massive engine and propellers coming at me. Fast.
Panic rips through me as I yank the handlebars hard and lean into the turn. But I take it too hard. The wake slams up against the bottom of the Jet Ski, throwing me off the saddle. Everything happens fast: the Jet Ski jerks sideways, slipping from under me. I fly into the air, suspended, weightless.
And suddenly I’m plunged into the sea. A low-key roar. Water burns my nose, fills my throat, my ears, tiny bubbles everywhere. I’m disoriented by the water rushing in every direction, but I force my eyes open and find a ray of light flickering overhead. With a surge of adrenaline, I crawl toward it until my head breaches the surface. I gasp.
Everything is quiet for a moment and I hear the deep thud of my heart. But then a loud ringing. Louder and louder.
Disoriented, I look around for Cecily. The yacht is speeding over the spot where she’d been.Oh god.I twist my body around and spot their Jet Ski on its side, being tossed around by the waves like a broken toy boat.
—
My heart isracing as I climb back onto my jet ski and surge in their direction. The first thing I see is a woman crying hysterically on the boat that hit them. Her hand is over her mouth and she’s pointing a shaky finger at her husband, yelling at him in French. “Mon dieu! Regardes ce qui s’est passé. You shouldn’t have been drinking!”
There’s no sign of Daisy, Cecily, or Kai.
I cut the engine, sick with adrenaline. “Where are they? Where are my friends?”
But the couple isn’t listening to me. Instead, the man stares at the damage with a look of horror, running his hands through his hair. “Putain. C’est ta faute.”This is your fault.
I take in the damaged Jet Ski and dread sweeps over me.
The couple stops arguing. They look at me. “Your friends,” thewoman says in English, out of breath. “There.” She points to the back of the boat.
Daisy emerges from behind them. “Maya. Everyone’s okay.” The tension flushes from my body. Thank god.
When I see Cecily seated in the cockpit, shivering as Daisy cleans a bloody cut above Jax’s eye, I can’t help but wonder if this really was an accident. There seem to be too many of those these days.
—
