“I offered to make some of it available to the Moldovans. As repayment, and then some extra on the side. We settled on a figure—it’s a fucking big sum. When this comes together, we’ll be rich, Roshaan. You and me. The stuff I saw—fuck, those rich folks will pay through their noses several times over to keep it quiet.”
Her blood turns to ice.
“Extortion,” she whispers. “You are going to extort them.”
“Not me. The Moldovans. I’m just giving them the material.”
She swears.
“It’s a one-off. These elites of yours have the money. It’ll mean nothing to them. They can afford it so easily.”
She’s going to be sick. “You need to stop. There’s still time to stop.”
“Don’t you see? Wecan’tstop.”
We.
“We’ll finish this trip, and it’ll all be over. But, Rosh—you need to understand. If you do turn on me, they’ll kill me. And maybe you. You can’t back down.”
She feels dizzy. She’s going to throw up.
This is worse than her worst nightmare. If she tells the authorities, she goes down. If she stays the course, she’s a Moldovan target, too. They could even threaten her family.
She’s trapped. Doomed.
She hears Dr. Marsh’s warning in her mind.
Either way, there are consequences. It’s easier said than done, but you must choose your hard. Give him up. Or go down with him.
Her watch alarm buzzes. She jumps. It’s time to get back to theOrchid.
She pushes her plate away. “I’ve got to go.”
“You haven’t touched your food.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“We’ll talk more later?”
“Whatever.”
She comes to her feet as he calls for the bill. When it comes, he pats his pockets and curses. “Shit. Must’ve left my wallet on the ship.”
She says nothing, gets out her credit card, and pays. For the very expensive dateheinvited her on.
Poppy
“This place looks nice—shall we rest here?” Lillith asks Poppy as they stop outside the trellised courtyard of a stone taverna. Lillith’s face is flushed. She’s breathing hard, leaning heavily on her cane. The walking tour of Chania was too much for her in the heat. Too many stairs. She wants to wait somewhere until they can catch the bus back to the ship.
Vines grow thick above tables with checkered cloths. Stone masks spit water into a pond. It’s a shaded grove of cool and the quiet heart of the ancient, labyrinthine city. Almost too quiet. It should feel romantic, but to Poppy it’s eerie. Off the beaten path. No tourists. But there’s no Tan Man, either, which is a relief, because he’s been lurking in the shadows near them since they left the ship and boarded the bus.
“Okay,” she says. But her nerves remain razor tight, and her brain is still racing as Lillith’s Death List burns in her mind.
She’s still struggling to process it—that Lillith sought her out in Brighton, befriended her, offered her a job, flew her to Scotland, ensconced her in the castle.Dealtwith Angus. And now has brought her to Greece for theBlack Orchid Plan? Why? It makes no sense.
And there’s Arrabella—also on the trip. Supposedly a surprise to Lillith. But is it? Her name is also on the Death List under theBlack Orchid Plan.
Get rid of Arra.
