Before he could guess what might have happened, his eyes shot open as the bed lurched, sending him tumbling to the floor.
“What the hell?” he said.
Gravity was trying to roll him toward the wall opposite his bed.
His eyes whipped around the room in confusion.
This wasn’t his bedroom in Turtle Bay, nor was it one in any of his other homes.
It looked more like a room on—
A boat.
That’s right. He was on theAmanda Jae. But theAmanda Jaewas not a sailboat, which would have explained the tilt.
Stone struggled to his feet, then staggered to the door andout into the corridor. Water sloshed across the floor as more poured in from somewhere unseen.
He stumbled to the stairs, then hurried up them and out onto the deck.
TheAmanda Jaewas already listing so far to starboard that the edge of the deck was only a few hand lengths from the ocean’s surface.
Stone looked around for Trenton and the crew, but the deck was deserted.
His eyes alighted on a bench seat, below which was a sign that read:Life Vests.
He wrenched the seat upward, grabbed one of the vests, and pulled it over his head. Once it was secured, he headed back to the stairwell, intending to alert anyone he could find.
He was but a few steps away when the yacht lurched again. His hand ripped free from the railing, and he somersaulted through the air and into the ocean.
For several seconds, he had no idea which way was up. When his head finally broke the surface, the yacht was at least a dozen yards away and drifting farther from him.
His immediate instinct was to try to get back to it, but he stopped himself. The starboard edge of the main deck was now below water, and it wouldn’t be long before the entire boat was consumed. If he was anywhere near it when that happened, he might get pulled under with it.
So instead of returning to the yacht, he swam in the other direction, until he felt he was far enough away.
From there, a short time later, he watched theAmanda Jaedisappear into the deep, dark sea.
Chapter 2
Not long after four a.m.,Andre Parker guided the small Zodiac boat down the Long Island coast, checking his phone every few minutes. On its screen was a map, upon which a red dot flashed, marking his destination.
He moved closer to shore and grinned when the private pier came into view.
The summer house to which the pier belonged was owned by a wealthy, elderly couple who hadn’t used the place in several years, making it perfect for Andre’s needs.
The couple also owned an Ocean Sport 30 motorboat that they had used in their more active days.
Normally, it was kept in an onshore boathouse, next to the dock. But a week prior, the company that provided a caretaking service for the property had been notified that a guest of the owners would be staying at the house for a few weeks. The company had been instructed to put the vessel into the water, so that the guest could use it whenever they wanted.
Which was why the Ocean Sport was currently floating beside the dock.
Andre guided the smaller Zodiac to the pier and tied it to the larger boat. After he moved onto the Ocean Sport, he released its mooring lines and motored back to sea with the Zodiac in tow.
Once he determined he was far enough from shore, and the radar showed no other vessels nearby, he released the ropes connecting the two boats, pressed the remote in his pocket, and watched the Zodiac sink into the Atlantic Ocean.
He returned to the dock and resecured the Ocean Sport in the exact spot it had been in when he’d arrived. Then, even though he’d been wearing gloves, he wiped down every surface he had touched.
People in his profession could never be too careful.
