“What? Trying to get me to spill the beans?” Daniel sneered, shrugging his shoulders. “Let’s just say I have some powerful friends looking out for me”
The truth was, Daniel didn’t know much about Joker–not even what he looked like. All he knew was that Joker worked for Marina, and as long as Dániel followed their instructions, he’d get his payout and his girl.
“We’re here.”
Daniel’s accomplice suddenly shouted.
Daniel leapt to his feet, his face alight with the wild joy of a man who’s cheated
death.
For Daniel, this was freedom. For Niamh, it was ruin.
Her hands–fingers and palms–were slick with blood.
But fear had numbed her to the pain.
She had to keep sawing, harder and harder, if she wanted any chance of cutting through the rope. Only if she got free could she hope to escape.
The rope had loosened a little, but the time wasn’t right yet.
Niamh noticed Daniel wasn’t carrying a gun, but his foreign accomplice had a pistol tucked into his waistband.
She’d only get one shot at this. She had to make it count.
The boat smuggling them into Marisola drew closer–a battered freighter crammed with desperate souls running from one thing or another.
In the darkness, the ship and its ragtag passengers looked like some malignant growth festering on the ocean.
“Move it! Hurry up!”
The crew shouted in a foreign tongue as the freighter eased alongside the pier.
Daniel personally marched Niamh up the gangway, his accomplice following at their heels.
The night was bitterly cold, the wind biting through Niamh’s thin evening ess–she hadn’t had time to change since the gala. The chill instantly froze her to me
marrow.
1/3
She was shoved aboard, hands tied tightly behind her back, fingers digging into the rough rope.
With a shudder and a groan, the freighter rumbled away from the dock.
“I’m free! I’m finally free!” Daniel crowed.
But before he could finish celebrating, Niamh broke loose from the rope and lashed out, kicking him square in the groin.
Daniel let out a strangled yelp, doubling over in agony.
His accomplice’s instincts kicked in–he reached for his gun.
But before he could fire, Niamh hurled herself over the side. With a splash, she vanished into the sea.
The freighter kept chugging along–no one was stopping for a stowaway.
“Quick! Get her back!” Daniel screamed, grabbing his accomplice’s collar.
The water was freezing, stealing every scrap of warmth from Niamh’s body the instant she hit the waves.
Still, she had to take the risk.
Daniel’s main goal was escape, and the smuggler’s schedule was tight–they wouldn’t circle back just to fish her out.
If she jumped right as the ship was leaving, her odds were best.
The black, icy sea closed over her head. She thought she heard gunshots. Someone else plunging into the water.
Were they shooting at her? Or coming after her?
Niamh didn’t care.
All she could do was swim–swim for her life, until her strength and warmth bled
away.
The moonlight cast a cold, silver sheen over the distant shore.
Eventually, the freighter turned back.
The captain was staring down the barrel of Tim’s gun.
Tim was on the phone.
“The woman jumped ship. Daniel’s been taken care of. Want me to finish her off
Chapter 326
once she makes it to shore?”
Inside The Grand Celestia, Jarrett was scrolling through the CelestiMed database
on his iPad, a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear.
“Yeah, get rid of her,” he replied.
“Understood.”
Tim was about to hang up when Jarrett’s voice came again.
“Wait-”
In a shabby apartment across town, Marina was finally safe.
“Jonathan!”
She burst into tears the moment Jonathan came charging in to rescue her.
