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“Wait for me!” I hear a voice call out near the rear. Near the speedboat. “Are you heading back to shore? Can I come with? My friends are probably so worried.” Scarlett’s running toward Bijoux, pulling Hawk with her.

“Play along,” she murmurs to Hawk, her voice barely reaching her mic’d necklace.

“With the boss? Have you lost it?” Hawk whispers back in a panic. “I promise you she’s scarier than she looks. Don’t let that little dog fool you, either.”

Scarlett gets to the speedboat just as they’re about to take off. Then she jumps on.

I grip the throttle harder. “Payne, no—”

“This isn’t a taxi,” I hear Bijoux say to Scarlett. “Norman, get off.”

Hawk turns back to the boat, obeying his orders, but Scarlett tugs him. “Oh no you don’t!” she says. “Poor guy was getting a little seasick, so I thought, why not help him back to shore and I find my friends—win win!”

Hawk squeezes in next to Scarlett, which Bijoux isn’t going to like. He’s actively disobeyed her. Bijoux waves her hand, like she’s decided something. The speedboat pulls away from the Silver Belle.

An unsettling feeling blasts down my spine. I advance the throttle. The boat lurches forward, glasses from the bar tipping over the edge.

“Hang on,” I tell the captain, who looks at me with both fear and disdain.

“Please, my boat, she doesn’t like to go too fast,” the captain pleads.

I increase the speed. The boat purrs as it adjusts. “She does today.” I push the handheld microphone into the captain’s hands and give him instructions on what to say.

“Hang on, folks! We’re going to catch the sunset from a different angle,” the captain says, his voice booming from the boat’s speakers. This isn’t exactly a high-speed boat chase since we can’t burn our cover. It’s more of a boat crawl while keeping a safe distance.

“Who are you?” I hear Bijoux ask.

“I got lost at sea,” Scarlett says. “And then lost my snorkel and fins. Think I’ll have to pay the replacement fee?” When Bijoux doesn’t answer, she asks, “This seemed like a nice party. Aren’t you the birthday girl? You’re not sad you’re missing cake? I know a great place for haupia cake, if you have time to grab some back on shore. Have you ever had it before?”

Being so high up above the speedboat is like watching a show play out from the mezzanine level. Everyone’s smaller, but I can still make out some of the features. The look Bijoux gives Scarlett right now seems terrifying. Scarlett’s probably having the time of her life.

“Norman, take care of this,” Bijoux says.

“If you haven’t, you must!” Scarlett rambles on. “Let’s all go together. The coconut’s not overpowering, and it’s not too sweet. You’ll love—”

“Enough!” Bijoux yells, her voice piercing my eardrum. “Off this boat. NOW! Norman, I’m not saying it again.”

Scarlett was right. It didn’t end well for Keanu. It can’t end well now. It should be me down there in that speedboat with Bijoux.

“Where are we supposed to go?” Scarlett asks, sounding scared and confused. I’ll give it to her, the woman’s got range.

“I don’t care where you go, but it’s not where we’re going,” Bijoux says.

“Okaaaay, well, can you slow down so we can get back on the other boat, then?” Scarlett asks loudly enough for me to hear in my earpiece but just below the roar of the speedboat’s engine.

Okay, yes. Good. This could buy us enough time. As long as Scarlett’s got tabs on them, this might be okay. This might not be the worst plan she’s ever had.

But Bijoux doesn’t fall for it. And why would she? Crime bosses don’t get ahead by easily falling for things.

Bijoux shakes her head. “Either you swim back to land or the boat or wherever else, I don’t give a shit, or I’ll remove you myself.”

I push the throttle forward another half inch. It’s pointless. We’re too far behind the speedboat. Soon they’ll be wherever it is they’re going—another boat, farther out to sea. Somewhere we can’t get them. Gone on the Hawaiian breeze.

I grab the pair of binoculars from the rack in time to see Bijoux take out a handgun from her purse. Miss Starlite lets out a high-pitched, aggressive bark. Suddenly, it feels like it just might be the worst plan Scarlett’s ever had.

The air from my lungs disappears. Panic whitens my vision as the worst realization hits me. I can’t help her. Scarlett has to save herself.

It should’ve been me.