30

She’d blown it.

Patti stared at the drink she’d taken from Joseph without a thought. Her heart raced and sweat pooled in her palms. If she’d fooled Joseph at all, he certainly knew something was off-kilter now.

It hadn’t occurred to her Jamie wouldn’t drink, but it made sense.

Jamie needed to keep her mind focused when she was around these people. Or maybe her sister had developed an alcohol problem.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was Patti had made a major blunder. It was imperative to get off the yacht.

Joseph had been scary, but compared to his brother, he was a pussycat. Looking into Raymond’s black eyes, she’d felt evil in the man.

Suzanne was still mindlessly chattering away.

As Patti thought back to the whispered conference she’d seen take place between Joseph and Dennis, she couldn’t help but wonder if Suzanne was part of the plot.

Patti stood and Suzanne jumped up as well.

“I’m going to the restroom,” Patti explained.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Not necessary, Suzanne,” Patti said firmly. Then she smiled. “Really, I can handle being alone that long.”

Suzanne looked worried. “No, I have to go with you.”

“What do you mean you have to go with me?”

Suzanne flushed and stammered an explanation. “Be…because Dennis told me to stay with you.”

Patti’s heart almost jumped out of her chest. “Why?”

“I don’t know. He told me to stay with you and not to let you leave.”

“That’s just ridiculous, Suzanne. I’m quite capable of going to the bathroom, or anywhere else I choose, without you watching me. Don’t worry so much. Go have fun. This is a party, isn’t it?”

Suzanne looked around as though searching for someone who could help her decide what to do. “You promise you’re coming right back?”

Without answering, Patti waved as she threaded her way through the throng.

Taking a final glance at Suzanne, Patti could see she was already hunting for Joseph or Dennis.

The woman might be Jamie’s friend, but she wasn’t willing to risk Dennis’s wrath.

The engines of the yacht started up. The floor vibrated beneath her feet.

Panic seized Patti.

If the yacht left before she could get off, she’d be in big trouble. If only Carter was here.

She broke into a slow jog, not bothering to say ‘excuse me’ to people as she bumped into them.

It was getting hard to breathe. The heat from the people pressing in threatened to strangle her.

Laughing and having a good time. No idea of the danger.

The music blared, but she could still hear her heart throbbing in spite of the noise.

It seemed like forever, but she slipped through a door and the warm salty breeze caressed her face. Taking a deep breath of the ocean air, tension oozed out.

Almost there. All I have to do is find the exit and I’ll be safe.

There were less people out on the deck than in the ballroom and it was quieter. She could breathe again.

She played back the layout of the yacht and turned to the right. If she was correct, she’d be off the ship in a minute.

As she turned the corner, Raymond Hammond stood in front of her talking with a group of men. His back was turned.

Patti’s feet froze. If Raymond saw her, he wouldn’t let her leave. She turned her back to Raymond and headed back the other way.

“Jamie, hold on a minute,” Raymond called to her.

She turned with a smile and gave a small wave. “I’m looking for Joseph.” She called back over her shoulder as she kept walking. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Without looking, she hiked off in the other direction as fast as her legs would let her.

Within moments, Raymond was beside her and grabbed hold of her elbow. He smirked. His eyes were cold and hard.

Her pulse raced.

“No reason to do that, Jamie.” Patti didn’t like the way he said Jamie’s name. “I know exactly where Joseph is. After all, he is my brother, as you well know. I’ll be glad to take you to him.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’m sure I can find him on my own, and you probably have important business to take care of.” She twisted away, but his hand remained on her arm. She tried again to slip from his grasp, but failed.

He pressed his thumb and forefinger into her arm until it became painful.

Tears sprang to her eyes.

“It’s no bother at all. I was going that way, anyway.”

Patti abandoned all sense of politeness. “Let go of me, Raymond.” Her voice was rising. “Or I’ll start screaming and ruin all your little plans.”

Heads turned.

“I don’t think so, Patti. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean Jamie.” His eyes grew dark and rage shone in them. “No, I think I was right the first time, Patti. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I suggest you come along quietly unless you want me to kill Jamie.”

Hope leapt up in Patti.

Jamie was alive.

“Where is she? Is she here?”

Fanatical rage shone in his eyes. “All in good time. If you would like to see her, come with me. If you don’t, you are free to go, but then I kill her. Your choice, Patti.” His whispered words sounded like a snake hissing just before striking its prey.

She didn’t dare make a scene.

Raymond would do as he’d threatened.

Nodding, she continued to walk with him.

The first glimmer of hope she’d had in days sparked in her heart.

Jamie was alive.

Raymond led her to a door. As he closed it the noise from the crowd and the sunlight dimmed.

A chill went down her spine. She was alone with this terrorist. Her feet slowed as he forced her down the steps.

At the bottom of the steps was a hallway with several doors.

He stopped at the second door and turned to Patti. “Inside.” He opened the door.

Don’t do it. Patti could almost hear Jamie yelling the words.

Patti took a step as if to enter the room, but instead she turned and pushed Raymond as hard as she could.

He fell back and without a moment’s hesitation, she ran. Had to get back up on deck with people.

Patti pushed down the panic bubbling up and sprinted towards the exit. Almost there. The steps were in front of her. Just a few more feet.

A pair of hands grabbed her by the hair and dragged her backwards away from the steps.

She turned to fight, but Raymond pinned her arms and spun her around. He held her neck with one arm and her arms with the other as he dragged her backwards.

She screamed as loud as she could, but the hall was empty. Refusing to give up, she continued to struggle, turning in his clutches as she tried to lash out.

Raymond slapped her.

She sagged and saw stars. Blood trickled from her lip.

“Shut up.”

As he pushed her into the room, she toppled to the floor.

The lurch of the ship announced the beginning of its journey to the open ocean.

****

With Marcus driving like a maniac, they made it to the marina.

Carter couldn’t believe the madhouse in front of them.

Limos lined both sides of the streets. Throngs of people were walking on the sidewalks and overflowed into the streets, making it almost impossible to drive. The media trucks and cameras only added to the confusion.

They’d never find Patti in this mess.

Marcus parked illegally, and they jumped out of the car. Searching the crowd, Carter spied a man with a Port Authority uniform. He nudged Marcus.

They walked up to him.

“FBI.” Marcus announced and held out his badge.

The man examined it and looked back up at Marcus. “What can I do for you?”

“We’re looking for the Children's Fund benefit. It’s on some yacht around here.”

The man nodded. “It was.” He pointed at a speck far out in the harbor. “That’s probably it. If you were supposed to help out with security, you missed the boat.” The man laughed at his own joke.

Carter wanted to put his fist through something. This was bad news.

Patti was out on the ocean with terrorists who wanted her dead.

His stomach churned. Please, God, don’t let this happen.

“Where’s the harbormaster? We need to see him now,” Marcus barked.

The man came to attention and stood straighter. “Sure, sure. No problem. Come with me.”

The harbormaster’s office was a brick building located near the water.

The three men walked in, but were stopped by his assistant. A placard sitting on her desk identified her as Evelyn. She informed them her boss would be back soon and they could sit over there to wait for him to return.

“That’s not acceptable. We’ve got a life and death situation on the yacht with the Children's Fund benefit party on it. We’ve got to get that boat back to the dock,” Carter told the woman. “You find your boss now.”

She arched a well-groomed eyebrow at him. “I’m sure that’s an exaggeration and even if it’s not, there isn’t anything he can do. That’s a private yacht. We can’t make them come back in.”

“Are you telling me, Evelyn, if you received information there was a bomb on that boat, you couldn’t make them come back in?” Carter fired back.

She glared at Carter. “That’s what I’m telling you.”

“What if I told you there was terrorist activity going on?”

Evelyn looked at Carter as if he might be nuts. “I suppose we could suggest they come back in, but...” She gave an exaggerated shrug.

A short red-headed man walked in the room.

The secretary stood and looked at her boss. “These men want to talk with you. Apparently, they think—”

“That’s OK.” Carter interrupted, “We’ll tell him what we think.”

Marcus identified himself as FBI.

“We’ve got a serious situation on the Children's Fund benefit yacht out there. We need to get the yacht back to port. Do you have the authority? If not, you need to call—” Carter asked before Marcus could talk.

“I have the authority.” The man nodded. “As long as they haven’t made it out to international waters yet, I can.”

“And what if they’re in international waters?” Carter asked.

“Then, we’ve got a problem.”