The Power Trip

‘You heard me. Out! Now! Out of my life, you conniving cunt,’ Sergei shouted. ‘You’re probably in cohorts with your thieving brother. The two of you have been laughing at me behind my back. I should’ve known better than to trust either of you.’

‘I’ve done nothing,’ Ina whined. ‘Why’re you taking my brother’s bad deeds out on me?’

‘Bad deeds, huh?’ Sergei yelled, grabbing her hair and yanking her from the bed. ‘So you knew all along what the pizda had planned. You knew it!’

‘No,’ Ina objected. ‘I knew nothing. What’s happened? Why are you so mad?’

‘As if you don’t know,’ Sergei snarled. ‘I want you out of my house. NOW.’

‘It’s the middle of the night, Sergei,’ Ina said. ‘If you really mean it, I’ll leave tomorrow and go back to Acapulco until you calm down.’

‘You’ll go back nowhere,’ Sergei assured her. ‘It’s over. And consider yourself lucky that I’m letting you walk away.’

‘But Sergei—’

‘Five minutes, Ina,’ he threatened. ‘And if you’re not gone by then, I promise you — I’ll break every bone in your body.’

Chapter Ninety-Six

If Flynn knew anything at all, it was that he couldn’t let the bastard get away with kidnapping the young stewardess and Captain Dickson. God knows what he’d do to them. The pirate had gunned down his own man, which meant he was capable of anything.

‘You okay?’ he asked, briskly turning to Taye.

‘Not a scratch,’ Taye retorted.

‘Then we gotta go after them,’ Flynn said with an air of urgency. ‘We need to get control of their other boat, take it over.’

‘How’re we—’

Before Taye could even think of finishing his sentence, Flynn was on the move, crossing over to the far side of the yacht, motioning Taye to be quiet.

Galad, the pirate in charge of the second speedboat, was not as laid back as Jabrill. Over the last hour he’d heard sporadic gunshots and was on alert.

Flynn, not about to waste time, surprised the pirate with a crack shot to the man’s right arm, causing Galad to drop his gun and yelp with pain. Moving swiftly, Flynn swooped down to the boat, rendering Galad unconscious with a fast and accurate blow to the head, then quickly tipping him into the back of the boat.

Climbing down the ladder after him, Taye was shocked. It seemed Flynn had moves nobody suspected. Bloody hell! Could it be that he was a Navy SEAL in another life? Taye wouldn’t be surprised.

‘You coming?’ Flynn shouted.

‘Yeah,’ Taye said, still somewhat shell-shocked. ‘Wouldn’t miss it.’

Flynn tossed him the pirate’s gun, and started the engine as Taye leaped in.

The chase was on.

* * *

Cashoo’s mind was running riot. Hogtied, he was angry and frustrated. How had he allowed this to happen? Hani and Daleel too. What were they all thinking?

For one second he’d lost focus, staring at a naked girl as if he’d never seen breasts before. Then a civilian had jumped him, several of the crew had rushed the others, and now the situation was reversed. Hani, Daleel and he were prisoners.

Cruz wouldn’t be happy, nor would Amiin. Any moment Cashoo expected them to come in, guns blazing, all set to free them.

He was confident this would happen, and soon. Cruz wasn’t one to put up with any delays.

* * *

Crouching down next to Renee, Guy was pretty certain that she’d been raped by a pirate, perhaps more than one. Poor girl, she was certainly in a sorry state.

‘Tell me what happened to you, dear,’ he asked sympathetically, as one of the Polish maids brought her over a mug of hot tea and squatted down beside her.

‘She’s been carrying on about a man with a gun,’ Jeromy said, clutching his shoulder, making sure everyone realized he was badly injured. ‘Apparently this man shot Senator Patterson.’

Beginning to feel more lucid, Renee felt her head clearing and knew that she’d better get her story across before the repugnant man who’d murdered Hammond came looking for her.

‘The Senator and me — we were in my cabin,’ she said, taking small sips of tea, her hands shaking and the hot liquid spilling over the rim of the mug.

Guy frowned. ‘What was Senator Patterson doing in your cabin?’ he asked.

Renee lowered her head, too ashamed to tell the truth.

‘I… I don’t remember,’ she stammered. ‘He… he might’ve been running from the monster with the gun.’

‘Oh, you must mean the monster who raped you and shot the Senator?’ Jeromy said with a sarcastic edge, beginning to think that her story sounded somewhat far-fetched, and wishing that Guy would pay more attention to him. After all, he was the one who’d been shot and almost killed; he should be the centre of attention.

‘That’s right,’ Renee mumbled.

‘You should know that the yacht’s been taken over by pirates,’ Guy told her matter-of-factly. ‘The man who attacked you must be one of them. It’s important that you tell us where you last saw him.’

‘I told you,’ Renee said, shivering uncontrollably. ‘He’s sleeping in my cabin. And the Senator is dead — he’s lying on the floor.’

Then before they could get any more out of her, she burst into hysterical sobs.

* * *

Flynn drove the fast speedboat as if he’d been doing it all his life.

And he probably has, Taye thought. Here is a dude who can apparently do anything he sets his mind to.

They were not that far behind the other boat, and gaining fast.

‘Tie up the asshole,’ Flynn ordered, using one hand to toss Taye a section of sturdy rope.

Taye presumed by asshole he meant the still-unconscious pirate. He did as Flynn requested, using his best slipknot technique, although he bet that Flynn had a better method.

At least Flynn hadn’t killed the man, that was a relief.

‘How we gonna stop ’em?’ Taye yelled over the sound of the engine.

‘We’ll worry about that when we get closer,’ Flynn responded.

‘Do you have a plan?’

‘People who make plans end up getting fucked,’ Flynn shouted. ‘You gotta play it by instinct.’

Taye could hardly believe that this was the same laid-back guy he’d spent days with on the yacht. Who knew that Flynn Hudson was some kind of super-hero?

Dawn was breaking, and they could clearly make out the boat in front of them. The sea was calm, although the other boat was causing a swell, so their boat was bouncing over the waves, spray hitting them in the face.

Flynn began covering the gap fast.

Taye was mindful of the fact that the wild man in the boat ahead of them was carrying an Uzi.

Would the pirate use it?

Bloody right he would.

Jeez! If Taye got himself shot, Ashley would never forgive him.

* * *

‘It’s too quiet,’ Lori ventured, like Ashley beginning to feel trapped in the confined space. ‘How long before