Page 102 of Viper

He made a face and let go. “Hurry up.”

She bustled into the kitchen and found cleaning supplies beneath the sink. Taking her time, she filled a bucket with soapy water. She dropped to her knees and began cleaning, deliberately avoiding the table where the casserole dish and their plates still sat. Craig’s boat was very clean otherwise, so she suspected he didn’t like messes. Which worked in her favor.

He stood over her with his arms crossed, glaring. She kept her expression neutral and tried not to move so slowly that he’d realize she was stalling.

As she dumped the dirty water, he jerked his head toward the hall. “All right. That’s good.”

“Oh, hang on. I should probably use some disinfectant. I can still smell it.” She found a spray and paper towels beneath the sink and cleaned the floor again. Before she’d wiped all the cleaner off the tile, he snagged a handful of her hair.

She gasped and clutched at her scalp, but he’d already pulled her to her feet. “Enough screwing around. It’s time to finish what we started before your boyfriend interrupted us the other night.”

He shoved her toward the bedroom.

No, no, no.

A fire lit beneath her feet.

She bolted for the slider.

The speedboat bounced on the waves. Water splashed up the sides, spraying Troy’s face and clothes. He didn’t care. The saltiness on his lips was a good distraction from the worry churning in his gut.

Dusk turned the sky hues of indigo and pink. If he weren’t so hyped up on adrenaline, he could have acknowledged how pretty the evening was.

Something he wanted to do with Paige.

He glanced at the GPS device in his hand. They were twelve minutes from the yacht. Which meant that soon, they’d have to cut the engine and paddle the rest of the way.

Striker steered the boat next to him and Havoc, Wraith, and Reaper sat on the bench seat. The loud roar of the motor saved him from talking.

Every bump and splash drew them closer to Paige. His chest tightened. He couldn’t ignore the possibility that they’d moved. If Craig had found her phone or just wanted to take her farther, they’d be fucked.

He took a deep inhale. The restriction of his chest kept him from getting a satisfying breath. He put his elbow on his knee and lowered his head to his hand. The sweat on his palm mixed with the seawater on his face.

Staying like that for several moments, he tried to lower his heart rate. He just needed Paige to hang on. If she was still there, he’d have her safe in minutes. If⁠—

“Grab the binoculars,” Striker called over the noise.

Wraith lifted the binoculars to his eyes and shouted something to Striker.

Troy squinted and sure enough, a white yacht sat on the horizon.

He surged to his feet as Striker stopped the engine.

The boat swayed from side to side. Striker stood as well and propped his hands on his hips. “Grab the inflatable. I’ll drop the anchor.”

Troy quickly found the life raft in the storage compartment. He pulled the cord over the edge of the speedboat and the raft flung open into a giant hexagon.

Wraith held the cord and Troy leaped overboard first. Havoc, Striker, and Reaper came next, then Wraith. Striker took out several oars and passed them around.

They all began paddling west. After a few minutes, they gained momentum despite the waves tossing against them.

“Come on, brother,” Wraith said with a chuckle. “Get your arm workout in.”

“How ’bout we throw your heavy ass overboard?” Reaper quipped. “It’ll be a helluva lot easier.”

“Aye, but then you won’t have my muscles. Yours won’t get us very far.”

Havoc laughed. Striker kept his head down and continued to paddle. Troy didn’t take his eyes off their target. The western sky was dark now. Only tiny streaks of light illuminated the line of water in the distance.