Archer made a low sound that might have been a scoff or a laugh. “You’re blaming me.”
“Well, look at the evidence,” I said, voice still low. “You’re alone, you’re headed to a tech conference, and I’m pretty sure I just saw you texting when no one was looking. Give me the phone, tablet, whatever you have. Or this is going to get ugly very quickly.” I nodded toward Shin and his children, only a few rows away. “Parents get very upset when someone threatens their kids. And I may not be big enough to make you do something, but he definitely is.”
I wasn’t bluffing; there was a palpable tension in the air. Fear was like gasoline—all it would take was one accusation to spark into violence. People were scared and they would be looking for an outlet to vent that fear.
Unless he was armed, in which case this would get very messy.
For a few long seconds, Archer did not answer. I tensed, readying myself. If he made a move, I would have to react fast. He’d disabled the driver, so hurtingsomeone else wasn’t an impossibility. I’d need to disarm him, get the phone, find a way to break the hack—
Archer pulled his hand out of his pocket. I flinched but it wasn’t a gun. Or even a phone.
It was a small, velvet box.
And then I realized what he’d been doing with his hand, his head tilted downward: opening and closing a jewelry box. He flicked it open with his thumb. A diamond glittered in the orange-tinted sunlight.
“You want this so bad, go ahead,” Archer said. He leaned in closer, voice conspiratorially quiet. “Take it.” He angled the engagement ring so I could take it.
Well. There went that theory. I slouched a little in my seat.
“Disappointed?” asked Archer.
“Well, you just made such a clear-cut villain,” I said. “I was imagining you going to this tech conference with tales of how you effortlessly hijack public transportation.”
“Sorry,” he said a little dryly. He reached up and pulled his sunglasses free. And I realized why he wore them—a scar ran beneath his left eye. He must have gotten tired of people staring. “Next time I’ll try to be more villainous.”
I gave him an even look. “You’re also way too calm for someone on a hijacked bus.”
He shook his head. “This isn’t even close to the worst situation I’ve ever been in.”
I considered him. He could have been ex-military, but I wouldn’t know until I ran his tattoo through a few databases. Which I couldn’t do at the moment; his tattooed hand was tucked into his pocket.
“Fine,” I said. “Who do you think the hijacker is?”
His gaze was a calculating one. “You.”
I tensed again. “What?”
“You accused me, threatened me,” he said. “And you don’t know if I’m armed or not. Only person who does that eitherknowsI’m not the hijacker and won’t hurt them or is stupidly confident.” His chin moved as he gave me a once-over. “So which is it? Guile or stupidity?”
I blinked in surprise. I was usually the person who got underestimated, not the person who did the underestimating.
“You forgot one other motive,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow in silent question.
Before I could answer, my phone rang. I picked up at once, rising to my feet in the same motion. “Yes?”
“We have a problem,” said Prefect in my ear.
“What is it?” I asked.
“You’re headed for the Rogue River,” he said.
It took a moment for his words to sink in.
We were headed for a river.
A river.
