“What was in that safe that they wanted so badly?”
“Cash. I had a pretty good amount of it in there, just in case. Wayland thinks they might have been trying to steal my identity, too, or at least utilize it long enough to open up a few cards. I had all my travel documents in the safe — passport, business visa, even my Social Security card. I also had a few credit cards in there, so they could have been trying to rack those up before they were found out. Or open new ones. It’s hard to really say.”
I shook my head. “How did they think they’d get away with any of this?”
“Well, if there wouldn’t have been a fire, and if Joel wouldn’t have gotten caught up in… in…” Theo couldn’t even say the words. “If things would have just been a little different, they might have gotten away with a large amount of cash and enough cards to do some damage to my credit line.”
My heart lurched into my throat with another thought. “Oh, God. Captain Chuck? Is he okay?”
“Ace knocked him out with a blow to the head. He lost quite a bit of blood, too, but yes, he’s okay.”
“I heard him,” I said. “I heard this loud thump, and then voices, and then…” Tears flooded my eyes again as I recalled the memory. “And then Joel was there, and it all happened so quickly. He… I think he was on something. He looked… evil.”
“Cocaine,” Theo explained with a heavy sigh. “Among other things, we think, but they found a baggie of cocaine in his pocket. If he was mixing it with anything else, or taking a lot of it, well… it doesn’t surprise me he didn’t seem himself.”
I swallowed, remembering how cold and lifeless his eyes were. “He… he hit me,” I whispered, touching the back of my head. My eyes widened when I felt thick stitches, and I winced at the feeling of my fingertips against the raw skin there. “I was trying to get to the knife, but I couldn’t reach it. I fell and hit my head again,” I remembered, touching the crown of my head next. Another batch of stitches was there. My eyes caught Theo’s. “He had the gun pointed at me,” I whispered. “He was going to kill me.”
Theo’s nose flared, and he shook his head, pulling me into his arms. It was awkward, the way I was hooked up to the various machines and bags of fluid, but Theo held me, anyway, pressing a kiss to my hair, my forehead, and finally, my lips.
He kissed me long and slow, both of us inhaling and exhaling together like we hadn’t taken a real full breath until that very moment.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there,” Theo whispered against my lips. “I’m so sorry he hurt you, that I didn’t stop him in time.”
I shook my head, emotion strangling my throat. “I thought… I thought I saw you.”
“I must have gotten there moments after you passed out,” he explained. “Wayland and I knew something was off as soon as we pulled up. There was smoke billowing out from the lower deck, from the galley, where you two were. But we ran into Captain Chuck first, and he was badly injured. Wayland helped him into the tender and then we went looking for you.” He paused. “We found Ace first.”
“Oh, God. What happened?”
Theo shook his head. “Hard to really say. It was all so fast. He fired a few shots, but Wayland wrangled the gun free.” Theo covered his bandaged arm. “I got a little graze, but nothing serious. Wayland knocked Ace over the head with one of the vases on deck, and when Ivy saw us, she fled — along with a duffle bag full of cash. We think she took the jet ski, but we couldn’t be sure because we knew we had to find you and get you off the boat.”
“So she’s gone? She never got caught?”
“She did, by the Greek police. Wayland called them as soon as we saw the smoke coming from the boat. By the time we were down getting you, they had already pulled up, along with the firefighters.”
I shook my head, trying to take it all in. “And Joel?”
Theo’s jaw ticked. “I walked in on him standing over you with the gun pointed at your head, and I swear, Aspen, I just… I blacked out. All I could think about was getting you to safety.” He swallowed. “I’m ashamed to say I beat him to a bloody pulp first, though.”
Theo really did look ashamed of himself, and I squeezed his hand to encourage him to continue.
“I lunged so fast he didn’t see me coming, he was too focused on you. The gun went flying out of his hand and I had him pinned and I just… lost it. Wayland had to tear me off him, and then he threw Joel on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes while I carried you up the stairs.” He scoffed then. “Part of me wanted to tell Wayland to just leave Joel to burn.”
I shook my head. “You did the right thing.”
Theo shrugged. “I don’t know. Regardless, by that time, the police were already on board. They took Ace and Joel to shore while another boat searched for Ivy, and Wayland and I took you and Chuck in the tender.” He smiled a little then. “There was an ambulance waiting for us at the dock. And then…” He gestured to our surroundings. “I’m sure you can infer the rest.”
I leaned back into the pillows. “Jesus… what a nightmare.”
Theo nodded, sighing again as he leaned in to kiss me. “The
