The platter held a bowl of some kind of soup and a plate containing what might be a brownie. Or a slab of shit. I couldn’t tell.
“I’m fine.” My stomach again betrayed me.
“Eat, Ruby. I know you’re hungry.”
I sighed and pulled the tray toward me. I took a spoonful of the soup. Yup, ramen. Still, I hated to admit it, but it tasted good, and the warm broth was heaven on my dry throat.
“I don’t usually eat here.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I said, my mouth full of noodles. “But don’t change the subject. What do you think Brad Steel owes you?”
“I said I’m not going to talk about that.”
“Then maybe you’ll talk about this,” I said, swallowing. “Rodney Cates told me that Brad Steel was one of the only men you ever trusted.”
He said nothing, his features betraying nothing.
“When exactly did that change?”
“Believe it or not,” he said, “Brad Steel is actually one of the most trustworthy people on the planet.”
Though it went against every instinct I possessed, I truly felt he was telling me the truth. Everything that Ryan had told me about his father indicated that he was a good man with good ethics.
Then my father’s words from moments before rammed into my mind.
None of this was ever planned. We were forced into a lot of it.
I didn’t believe for a second that my father had been forced into any of this. But what about Brad Steel? Maybe he was the good man his children remembered. The circumstances surrounding Ryan’s birth contradicted that, but shouldn’t every man be allowed one mistake?
That was one big mistake, though.
Still, I couldn’t begrudge Brad Steel that error in judgment. If he hadn’t strayed, Ryan Steel wouldn’t exist.
The man I loved wouldn’t exist.
“Look,” I said. “Let me help you. If you want to get out, I’ll help you get out.” I was lying through my teeth, but I had to try.
“You were a cop. An officer of the law. You won’t help me. I’m in too deep to get out anyway.”
“No, you’re not. There are ways. Are we being monitored?” I looked around the room cautiously.
“No. I’m the boss here. No one monitors me.”
“Good. You can turn state’s evidence. I can get you out. I’ll do what I can.”
“It’s too late. And I don’t believe you anyway.”
I couldn’t fault his observation.
Time to change tactics. “Where’s Brad Steel?”
“He’s here.”
I widened my eyes. No song and dance? I’d expected a little side step. “Where?”
“He’s here. Close, anyway. On an adjacent island.”
“Is he being kept in captivity?”
“What would ever give you that idea?”
“Wendy Madigan.”
My father chuckled. Actually chuckled! “And you believed her?”
“Who am I supposed to believe, Theo? All of you have lied to me. Wendy, Larry Wade. Everyone. Now where’s Brad Steel?”
“I wasn’t lying. He’s here. And he’s not in captivity.”
“Why would Wendy say he was?”
“I don’t have the vaguest clue,” my father said. “But if she did, she had a reason. That woman has a reason for everything she does. She goes crazy when it’s convenient.”
“I’ve already figured that out. That doesn’t explain why she abducted Jonah Steel, though.”
“She’s obsessed with Brad. Jonah’s a dead ringer for him.”
“If she’s so obsessed with him, why take his son? Why not just come here and be with him?”
“Because,” my father said, “Brad doesn’t want her here. He’s gone to great effort to keep certain things from her.”
I jolted in my chair. “But Wendy said—”
“Ruby, it doesn’t matter what Wendy said. She’s been running Brad Steel’s life since we were kids. She’s been running all our lives, actually, but Brad’s most of all.”
“What does she have on you?” I asked.
“What doesn’t she have on me?”
Good point. “Hey, I know you’re no paragon of society—no one knows that better than I do—but you’ve eluded capture this far. You’ve never even been arrested. Surely Wendy can’t hurt you.”
He sighed and pushed his chair back from the desk and leaned backward, his head hitting the wall. “Wendy Madigan can hurt everyone. And I’m going to make sure she doesn’t hurt you.”
Chapter Eleven
Ryan
“Either of you guys done any scuba diving before?” Raj had joined us on the deck once the sun rose.
“No,” I said.
“Well, it’s time to learn a thing or two.”
“What?” Talon said. “That was never part of this deal.”
“You’re both in good shape. You’ll be fine. You can swim, can’t you?”
“Of course,” Talon and I said together.
“Good. Lesson number one—”
“Hold on right there,” I said. “Why do we need to learn scuba? We’re not stopping the boat for anything.”
“Well, when we get to those coordinates you gave me, you don’t really think it’s a good idea to just sail up and dock this floating luxury home, do you?”
I hadn’t thought of that. From the look on Talon’s face, neither had he. We had no idea who or what we would encounter once we got there. We couldn’t just waltz right in and announce our presence.
“I’ll take your silence as your agreement. We’ll anchor far enough away that anyone who sees the yacht won’t see a threat. The rich and famous cruise the Caribbean frequently.”
“Got it,” I said.
“Once I give you the basics, we’ll stop the boat for—”
“Wait,” Talon interjected. “Why can’t we use one of those underwater dive propulsion things, like in the movies?”
“Uh…because you’re not James Bond, mon. And this isn’t a movie.”
I couldn’t help a chuckle.
“The yacht has top-notch equipment, but they don’t stock dive scooters,” Raj said. He added a sarcastic, “Sorry.”
“Fine,” Talon said. “Sorry I asked.”
“As I was saying…we’ll stop and I’ll give you the quick open-water dive lesson. Then, when we reach the coordinates, we’ll anchor somewhere out of sight and swim underwater to the island. It’s daylight now, and we’ll reach the coordinates after dark. That gives us the day to learn the basics, and we’ll have Faucett stop for an hour for open-water practice. Follow me.”
He led us to the stern of the ship and opened a cabinet. He pulled out masks, tanks, fins, and a bunch of other stuff I didn’t recognize.
“First rule,” Raj said. “Breathing out of a tank feels different. You need to stay calm, or you’ll use up your oxygen. But you don’t need to worry too much about that. We won’t be underwater for very long.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, interrupting. “What is all this shit?”
He pulled out each item and named it—a regulator, an extra alternate regulator that Raj called an octopus, a snorkel, a buoyancy control device, a dive computer. I felt like I was back in school.
“Don’t we need wet suits?” I asked.
“The water is warm here. That’s just something else to hold you back. We’ll be wearing dive shorts.”
“What are dive shorts?” Talon asked.
Raj pulled out a garment made of black Lycra. A Speedo with legs.
No fucking way. “Uh-uh.” I shook my head.
“You guys are in good shape. I’m the one who should be embarrassed,” Raj said.
Actually, Raj looked like he was in fine shape.
“How about we just wear our regular trunks?” Talon said.
“Because regular trunks bunch up and impede your movement.”
“We can move just fine,” I said.
“Give me much more of this shit, and I’ll be making you shave your legs and head for ultimate movement. This is what you’ll be wearing, mon. Best get used to it.”
Talon and I both sighed. No way was I shaving my legs. Or my head. Ruby loved my hair.
Ruby.
Fuck. Where the hell was she?
If I had to wear tight Lycra shorts and haul my ass through water to find her, I’d do it.
I’d do anything.
* * *
“Land ho,” Raj said sarcastically. “You two knew there’d be an island here all along, didn’t you?”
“We had our suspicions,” I said. “Didn’t Faucett tell you there was land there? I assume he charted the course.”
“I haven’t talked to him. Where’d you get those coordinates, anyway?”