“Shit,” I mutter, trying to wipe the sweat away, but my hands are also drenched, so it doesn’t do anything to help.

  “You can admit that you’re weak. It’s fine,” Yuri says.

  More of these games. God, he loves to play them, but I love to win them. I can’t back down now.

  I blink the sweat out of my eyes and turn my head back up to the ceiling. “We’ll see who’s weak.”

  “Whoever leaves the room first has to pay for drinks.”

  I sigh. “I’m not going for drinks with you, especially not after you exposed yourself to me.”

  “If it bothered you, you’d already have left.”

  “Nice try,” I reply, “but I’m not leaving until after you.”

  “Then you’ll die here,” he replies so calmly and casually that I’m afraid he isn’t joking.

  I swallow hard, steering my mind back to the nothingness that was so therapeutic before. I’m starting to feel weak, and my heart is beating harder, but I can’t let him win.

  “I could go all day,” Yuri says, breaking me out of my pseudo-meditative state.

  “Just shut up,” I reply.

  “You sound like you’re having a tough time.”

  “No, just… ugh.” I can’t take the heat anymore. I get up, my head spinning as I stumble toward the door. I barely make it before my vision starts to go black, and then I’m falling. I don’t want to hurt myself, but I can’t control my muscles anymore.

  I can’t see. I can’t hear.

  I’m about to hit the floor when I feel a hand catch me. Cool air washes over my body, and then I feel the tiles beneath my skin. There’s a hand under my head, keeping it off the floor as I regain consciousness.

  “Drink some water,” Yuri says, his voice tight with concern. “Here.” He presses a paper cup to my lips, and I taste the most delicious liquid I’ve ever had. Water. It’s funny how good it tastes when you don’t have any left in your body.

  “There you go, just relax,” he says, hovering over me, his eyes studying my face closely. “You’re fine.”

  I inhale deeply, his scent mixed with the smell of sweat tempting me to pretend like I’m worse than I really am. I don’t want him to call a doctor, but I also don’t want to get up just yet. His careful attention is like a drug.

  “You’re going to be fine, darling,” he coos. “Just breathe.”

  I close my eyes, trying to hide a smile as I take a deep breath. My heart is steady now, but I’m not ready to get up. Just a few more seconds in paradise. I need this more than he could ever understand.

  “Looks like you lost, though,” he says as I open my eyes.

  So much for paradise.

  I sit up, pushing his hand away as he tries to steady me. “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “You might need some more water,” he says, his voice hinting at concern again, but I’m not buying it this time.

  “No, I’m good. I think I’m going to go back to my room.”

  “No drinks?”

  I roll my eyes. “Honestly, Yuri, it was funny at first, but now it’s getting old. I’m not the type of person you want to get involved with, anyway. Too much baggage.”

  His eyes meet mine, glowing a brilliant icy blue. “I could match your baggage and raise it by a million, darling. You have no idea.”

  “Sounds like you’re toxic, then,” I say, my voice failing in the middle of my sentence.

  “Maybe so, but that’s the fun part.”

  I push him away, standing up on my own. I’m determined not to show anymore weakness, no matter how badly my legs wobble as I walk away from him. He tries to help me, but I push him away again.

  “Please, just leave me alone,” I say as I leave.

  I can hear the annoyance in his voice as he calls after me. “You can’t run away forever, Stella. I’m right next door.”

  12

  Yuri

  I have a tendency to spoil things by getting too involved. It’s a helpful trait when it comes to business and drug trafficking, but when it comes to Stella, it’s downright destructive. I probably should just take Chekhov’s advice and bone some clueless bitch by the pool, but that wouldn’t satisfy me.

  A man who already has everything craves only the possibility of failure.

  But not the guarantee of losing, and that feels like what I’m up against with Stella. I need to know more about her before I make any other moves. She has a past, and it’s affecting her ability to enjoy a future with me.

  I need to move in and dig for information without scaring her off. Perhaps I was too quick. She’s going to take much longer to crack, but the reward is worth it.

  I laugh to myself as I get dressed outside the sauna alone. Here I am, laying out plans like I’m going to war. Chekhov would be laughing his ass off if he knew what was going on inside my head.

  I get another little paper cup and fill it with water, drinking it in a single gulp and crushing the cup in my hand. That’s the last I see of Stella today. I have to pace myself. No more stalking, and no more obvious meetings. I need her to start missing me before I show my face again.

  But that also means I need a distraction. I guess it’s time to call my contact in Jamaica and talk business. We’ll be stopping there in a few days, and I need to warn him about the increased need for security while I’m on the island. I can’t forget there’s a bounty on my head.

  I pass two of my men disguised as swimmers as I leave the sauna. Normally, it’s comforting to have so many people on my side when the danger level has risen so high, but today it feels invasive. It’s like the paparazzi rushing up to me with cameras in my face, asking me how it went with Stella.

  Not good. That’s all I can say.

  I pass up the opportunity to get food or drinks like I had planned, and head straight for the lower deck that’s blocked off to regular passengers. A couple of cones is all it takes to get privacy on a boat. Signs don’t work as well because people are too busy looking at their phones to notice them.

  I can’t imagine paying thousands of dollars for a cruise, only to waste it by being glued to your phone all day. Why pay extra for the shitty Wi-Fi when you could be enjoying everything the boat has to offer?

  Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I prefer it that way to today’s total lack of self-control. I don’t feel like Stella behaves that way, and I’m thankful for it, but most other people do.

  Especially Americans. Just something I’ve observed. I think it has to do with the individualism and self-indulgence rooted in their culture, but they can’t be judged too harshly for it. It’s what made them so successful in the first place.

  But my focus today has shifted from one particular pretty American woman to a clever Jamaican businessman who knows how to move cocaine like it’s legal. Javell supplies almost the entire island, and as a result, he lives a life of luxury most people would envy.

  It’s never about the money, though. Once you reach a certain level, you start chasing power, and money is simply the bricks you use to build your fortress. It takes influence, charisma, loyalty, and bravery to remain on the throne, so I have the utmost respect for people like Javell, who seem to climb higher and higher every year.

  He’ll understand my need for increased security.

  I call him when I’m out of earshot and view of the general public, extending the long antenna on my phone that connects to the signal amplifier hidden in the cargo area. It’s not easy to get a good signal out here, but it’s possible with the right equipment.

  “Good times and good news, I hope,” Javell says cheerfully as he answers the call.

  “Mostly, yes,” I reply, looking out toward the water. “Just a few last-minute updates for you. The ship was stopped for a few hours last night, just after leaving port. We should be making up the time with extra speed, but there’s a possibility that we’ll be a little later than expected.”

  “Better late than never,” he says with a laugh.

  “I’ll be there. Just make sure there’s ample security on the island. Whatever you have there, double it.”

  “I got you covered, my friend. Always have, always will.”

  “Just keep an eye out for snakes. It’s not just the feds we’re worried about this time. I have a bounty on my head from some Brazilian fucks who think they police the entire globe,” I grumble.

  “Ay, that doesn’t sound good. Who’d you screw over this time?”

  “You know it’s only me who gets screwed over. I run a clean business.”

  “But you pissed somebody off. What’s the bounty?”

  I grip the railing a little harder, old paint flaking off the warm metal. “A million dollars.”

  “Shit, I might just capture you myself when you land here.” Javell laughs so hard that he starts coughing.

  He reminds me of my uncle. Never serious, but always somehow able to make himself a ton of money. Sometimes I wish I was that carefree, but I was born to be a grumpy bastard.

  “You try that and see how it goes,” I reply.

  Javell’s voice returns to a more serious tone. “Okay, man, sorry about all that. I’m sure those bastards will end up shooting each other before they even get to you. I bet the money isn’t even real, anyway.”

  “Probably not, but that won’t stop some idiot bounty hunters from making a mess of our little operation. The main issue is that things like this are going to draw more attention to what we’re doing.”

  “Ay, that’s true. You have to keep things on the low down. Don’t make waves, you hear me? Let the ocean do that for you.”

  I smile a bit at his attempt to be poetic. “We’re keeping it as covert as possible, but last night, someone tried to kill me. Ended up dumping an entire magazine into someone who had the same first name as me. That’s why I’m saying you need to keep security high. Make it visible, and nobody will be dumb enough to attempt a hit.”

  “You overestimate the intelligence of some of these guys, but you know, I’m going to make it good for you. High security, clean transfer of goods, and a quick transfer of money. You know the drill.”

  “Certainly,” I reply with another smile. “And if you have some of that jerk sauce your cousin makes. I’ll take a case of that too. Chekhov wouldn’t stop talking about it last time.”

  “My pleasure. We’re all cousins here. Take it easy and I’ll see you soon.”

  “Alright, bye.” I hang up the phone and tuck it into my pocket, feeling a bit better about our first port. I like Javell. He’s much easier to work with than some of the other people we’re working with on this trip.

  The final port is where things get the most dangerous, but we’ll get around to it later. Operations this big call for patience and focus. We go from one port to the other, making sure everything is right before shifting our aim.

  We made a plan, and I’ll be damned if I allow a bounty to ruin it.

  13

  Stella

  I haven’t seen or heard from Yuri at all in the past forty-eight hours, and I don’t know whether to be relieved or concerned. I suppose it’s a little of both.

  Relieved because I can sit by the pool in a bikini and not have to deal with him walking over wearing tiny shorts and a big grin.

  Concerned because someone was shot with the same name as him, and I can’t shake the feeling that it isn’t a coincidence.

  I still don’t know what he does for a living. I feel like I should ask, but after finding out what Molly does, part of me feels like that’d be a mistake. With how attractive and comfortable he is being naked, who says he’s not also taking his clothes off on camera?

  I’d probably watch one of his shows… but only from morbid curiosity.

  I take a sip of my Bloody Mary, stirring it with the stick of celery in the tall glass before setting it down on the table beside me. It’s a dream being out here in the sun all day. I’ve been locked inside an office for so long that I can literally feel the sun unlocking dopamine trapped in my deprived body.

  After an hour, I don’t care much about anything. I feel like a lizard out here, soaking up the golden rays of energy before crawling under a rock and sleeping through the cold night. It’d be nice if someone was there to keep me warm, but I’m rocking this cruise solo.

  Who says I need a man?

  Just as I begin to imagine what life would be like without anyone at all, I hear a voice from behind me. “Thought I’d find you here.”

  Fuck, it’s him again.

  I sit up in my chair, grabbing my drink off the table defensively as he sits down beside me. I take a big gulp of it. I’m going to need the buzz if I have to deal with him again.

  “Been a while,” he says, adjusting his impossibly small shorts. They’re all he’s wearing, aside from a watch that probably costs more than the car I left parked in my mom’s driveway back home. I didn’t want Tyler getting into it, and he doesn’t know where my mom lives. I figured it was safe there.

  “It hasn’t been that long. I just saw you,” I say, shaking my head at him and wondering if he can see my eyes wandering down to his crotch from behind the dark tint of my sunglasses.

  “You just saw me?” he asks, squinting through the sunlight. “Have you been stalking me or something?”

  I laugh. “As in the other day, dummy. I wouldn’t stalk you. If anything, I’d avoid you.”

  “Why?” he asks, sounding genuinely curious.

  I shrug, pulling the celery out of my drink and taking a bite. The crunch is phenomenal. “I don’t trust you. That’s all.”

  “Why not?”

  “Why all the questions?” I snap. “Why follow me out to the pool instead of minding your own business?”

  He grins. “I like it when you’re feisty.”

  I roll my eyes, setting down my drink and reclining back in my seat. “Whatever.”

  “But serious, why don’t you trust me?” he asks.

  I close my eyes. “Because I don’t know you.”

  “Would you like to?”

  I grit my teeth. “No.”

  “How about lunch? It’s on me.”

  I pretend like I’m ignoring him, but I’m really thinking about what the consequences would be if I say yes. I was interested in getting to know him better, so it’s not like this is way out of line. It’s not another naked session in the sauna.

  It’s just lunch.

  Fully clothed.

  In public.

  “Don’t you think it would be nice to⁠—”

  “Yes!” I blurt, sitting up again. “Yes, fine, let’s do lunch.”

  I try not to look at him, but I can still see the glint of his pearly teeth as he grins beside me.

  “But let me finish my tan first, okay?” I lie down, my heart beating much harder than it should. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but I suspect it’s the excitement of going to lunch with Yuri. He’s hard to predict, but that’s what makes him so enchanting. He gives me the impression that anything could happen.

  My heart doesn’t stop racing until a good ten minutes after our conversation. Yuri is still lying in the chair beside me, his eyes closed and a little smirk on his lips as he soaks up the sun.

  He thinks he won, but he doesn’t know how much trauma I’m about to dump on him. I’m going to scare him so bad with stories of my past that he’s never going to want to look at me again.

  And then I’ll finally be left alone.

  It’s hurts a little to think about how easy it’s going to be to get rid of him once I start unloading all the negativity, but that’s how it always is. Either you keep your mouth shut and pretend like the world has been chocolate and butterflies to you since you were born, or you tell the truth and get turned away like you’re damaged goods.

  My life hasn’t even been that bad, but Tyler would constantly put me down if I even said one thing about my past. I couldn’t talk about anything to him without him getting upset and saying I was bringing him down.

  More of the same from Yuri, I expect. How can a man who only sees me as a tool for his sexual gratification not be turned off by me turning out to be a human being with struggles, pain, and emotions?

  Of course, I’d like to think he’d see past all that, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

  Another half hour goes by before I finally work up the courage to get up from my chair. Yuri is pretending to be asleep beside me, but I see him flinch when my shadow falls across his face. “Hey, I’m going for lunch. It’d be a shame if you missed it.”

  His eyes open immediately, and he jumps out of his chair. “Let’s go.”

  I want to laugh at the way he’s behaving, not because it’s childish and over the top, but because it’s genuinely sweet. Why is he so excited about having lunch with me?

  I try not to think too much of it as I follow him back to the cool interior of the cruise ship, throwing on a rainbow polka dot cover-up that matches my suitcase.

  I love polka dots. Even better if they’re an assortment of colors. It all started when my dad bought me some rain boots that were white with colored polka dots on them so I could jump in the puddles after the storm. I was always scared of thunderstorms until then. Now I look forward to them and smile when I think about how my dad was able to change everything with rainbow polka dots.

  See, that’s a good man right there. Not like Yuri, who thinks with his dick and believes that wearing a fancy watch and buying me lunch is going to impress me. It takes a whole lot more than that, and he wouldn’t even begin to understand why.

  “Lobster,” Yuri grunts as we enter one of the dozens of seafood restaurants on the cruise ship. He’s still wearing just a tiny pair of shorts, and I’m convinced his caveman attitude and lack of clothing are going to get us thrown out immediately.

  To my surprise, however, the host looks at him and nods. “For two, I assume.”

  He nods, slipping a hand around my waist and pulling me close to him. “A private table, if you can.”

  “We have one upstairs for you,” the host says, smiling with his eyes as he nods for us to follow him.

  I look up at Yuri as he leads me forward. I’m a bit confused. Does he know the host? Perhaps even the owner of the restaurant?