Galilee Rising(107)

"Then why not just kill me? Blow up my car or shoot me in the head like the coward you are?"

"Haven't you been listening? Because you were no threat, bitch! As is illustrated by your current predicament. The only reason he went along with your absurd farce is out of some misplaced sense of loyalty for drawing attention to you. And I will admit, I was entertained by your little soap opera. Absolutely riveting. Four stars. And spending millions to have the press braying for Lord Nightingale's blood was masterful." He holds out his arms, gesturing to the entire ship. "But I still win. You overplayed your hand. So a bullet? A bomb? Dead is fucking dead."

"So you just spared me until now because I'm a good actress and you wanted to gloat? Show me you have the bigger dick?" I shake my head. "If that's what you need to believe, then knock yourself out. Please."

Jordan wryly chuckles, and I'm sure would say something pithy back but Danny Watkins, his lover/bomb expert hustling out from the corridor with something in his hands. "Jordan, it's all set up. The detonators are rigged to this controller."

"Wonderful. Thank you, love." He pecks Danny's lips.

"Oh, so you're allowed to have a significant other, but not your brother? That's fair." I catch Danny's eyes. "Just so you know, my boyfriend is gonna kick your boyfriend's ass. Run while you can."

"Ignore her," Jordan says as he examines the detonator.

"Actually, attention everyone on the boat," I shout. "The megalomanical maniac was just handed a detonator to blow up the entire boat! If you have any sense of self-preservation, you will abandon ship! Now!"

Jordan raises an eyebrow. "Done? Good. Trent, punch her in the face, please."

Uzi's fist makes contact with my right cheek hard enough I see spots. It hurts like a mother, instantly bringing tears to my eyes. Fucking hell.

"Looks good," Jordan says to Danny. "Oh, did you send the video about the bombs in the subway trains?"

"Went out just when she reached the dock," Danny says. "Every available officer is en route now."

Jordan's attention returns to me. "Don't worry, that one was a lie. It was just in case your police friends were enlisted as back-up. Best we keep this in the family, so to speak."

If I wasn't so focused on the throbbing pain in my head, I'd probably be concerned.

"And don't worry your vacant little head, Joanna. My brother should see through that ruse. I've used it once before." He stares up at the sky through the open ceiling. "Yes, I think we've covered everything. Now we just have to wait. Place a bag over her head, please."

Trent places tape over my mouth then a bag over my head. Wonderful.

"Positions, gentlemen!" Jordan shouts. "We don't want to make it too easy for him. Injure, but not fatally. He's mine. And close the deck."

Footsteps against metal recede as the men run off. The deck partition above my head must close as I hear machinery whirring and gears spinning, then what little light I can see through the burlap vanishes. Then I'm alone. Alone with a bomb. All I can do is wait. My jaw throbs in time to my racing heart. Well, I'm still alive. That's oddly surprising. I haven't been raped or tortured. Putting that in the win column. Handcuffed to a bomb? Not so much. I'm putting my odds at surviving 1,000 to 1. No, no bad thoughts. Faith. Trust.

How much time passes is hard to gage, but awhile as my arms go from pins and needles to numb. All that keeps me company are my hopes and plans. I'm going to take some time off from crime fighting, maybe a month or so. Jem too. We'll take the boat out. Sail for a week or two. Just us and the open water. Making love on deck, exploring exotic locales, talking for hours. And maybe I'll get an apartment in town. I don't want to live in that mausoleum anymore. It's just not me. If I get out of this, I'll make a lot of changes. I swear it. Please just let me survive this, and I will. Don't take us from each other. But if I'm meant to die here today so be it. Just give him the strength to find someone else to love and who loves him as much as I do. Let him find peace. And love. Above all, love. He deserves--

Automatic gunfire above my head jerks me out of prayer. It last two seconds, followed by a hollow thump as I assume a body hits metal. One bad guy down. Poor minions. I did warn them. It happens again, this time there are two bursts of gunfire and the clinking of bullet against steel aft. This time I faintly hear a man groan in pain. He's inside the ship. Running footsteps, four pistol shots, a thump, silence. Closer. Again. Shots, groans of pain, silence. I struggle against the handcuffs, but like the previous dozen times it fails to work. Fuck! Two loud thuds against the walls, then a man howls in pain. Silence.