Chapter 278.

She stiffened slightly. "For what?"

"For not getting here sooner."

Kylie pulled back. "No."

He looked at her. "No?"

"You don’t get to apologise for that."

"Blue—"

"You didn’t put me here."

"I should have known something was wrong."

"How?"

He didn’t answer.

She shook her head.

"I went to buy gummies. You didn’t lock me in the house. You didn’t follow me down the street like some creepy bodyguard. I left because I wanted to leave, and somebody took me."

Her voice trembled, but she continued.

"That isn’t your fault."

Christian stared at her.

He had imagined every alternative. Every decision he might have made differently.

But Kylie was standing in front of him, frightened and exhausted, and she was telling him that he hadn’t caused this.

He wanted to believe her. He wanted to stop carrying the guilt long enough to think clearly.

He nodded. "Alright."

She searched his face. "Alright?"

"I hear you."

She looked down at his jacket and smoothed a wrinkle with her fingertips. Then she seemed to remember where they were.

Her head snapped toward the door. "We need to go."

Christian’s expression changed. "Did he mention Noah?"

Kylie shook her head.

"Not directly. But I assumed it had something to do with him. Noah’s uncle has no reason to kidnap me unless he wants to get to someone connected to Noah."

Christian’s eyes narrowed. "Or to me."

She looked at him. "What did you do to Noah?"

He glanced at the door. "I took away his walking ability after he tried to drown you."

Before he could move, Kylie caught his wrist. "Christian."

He turned back.

Her expression had changed again. She looked frightened, but there was something else beneath it.

Something urgent.

"I need you to listen to me."

"I’m listening."

"If he finds you here, he won’t just let you leave."

"I know."

"No, you don’t." She stepped closer. "He was expecting someone tonight. He was waiting for people to arrive. He questioned me when I woke up, and I could tell he was waiting for something to happen."

Christian looked at her carefully. "What kind of people?"

"I don’t know."

"How many?"

"I don’t know that either."

She shook her head in frustration.

Christian brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

Kylie let out a breath.

For one fleeting moment, they simply looked at each other.

The teasing faded.

Christian’s hand settled against her cheek, and Kylie leaned into it before she could stop herself.

He bent his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Let’s get you home."

Kylie closed her eyes.

For a second, she let herself believe him. Then a faint sound came from outside the door.

Footsteps.

Both of them went still.

Christian moved immediately, placing himself between Kylie and the entrance.

She caught his sleeve and pulled him toward the wall beside the door.

They stood in silence.

The footsteps approached, and stopped.

Someone spoke in the corridor.

"Did you check this side?"

Another voice answered, too low for either of them to understand.

Christian’s gaze met Kylie’s.

He raised one finger to his lips.

She nodded.

The footsteps moved on.

They waited for five seconds. And ten more seconds.

Christian could hear Kylie’s breathing. He could feel the tension in her hand where it gripped his sleeve.

When the corridor finally fell silent, he leaned closer.

"We need to move."

She nodded again.

He reached for the door.

Before his fingers touched the handle, Kylie caught his hand. "Wait."

He turned.

She looked at the door, then at the narrow room around them.

"There’s something I need to show you."

Christian’s attention sharpened. "What?"

She moved away from him and crouched beside the wall near the foot of the door.

He watched her reach toward the floor.

At first, he didn’t understand what she was doing. Then he saw the small metal pin lying near the threshold.

Christian looked at it, then at her. "You put that there?"

Kylie nodded.

"Someone came to get me. He said I needed to get ready to meet somebody. When he left, I took a pin from the hem of my clothes and put it on the floor, right where the door would catch it."

Christian stared at her.

She gave him a tired, almost defiant look. "I wanted to know if someone had opened it while I was gone."

He glanced at the door.

"How long were you out?"

"About ten minutes."

"And the pin?"

"Still there when I came back."

He looked at her again.

She shrugged.

Christian felt a strange mixture of pride and heartbreak.

She had been alone on a ship full of strangers, with no idea what they intended to do to her.

And she had found a way to keep track of the one thing she could control.

A pin.

A tiny piece of metal placed carefully beneath a door. It was such a Kylie thing to do that he nearly laughed.

Instead, he crouched beside her. "That’s clever."

She looked at him suspiciously.

He touched her cheek. "But next time, use something less likely to disappear under a door."

She rolled her eyes. "Next time, I’ll bring a whole toolkit."

His smile was brief, but genuine. "There would be no next time." He looked at the door again.

The pin was still lying where she had placed it.

Christian stood and offered her his hand. "Come on."

She took it.

He opened the door carefully and looked into the corridor. He stepped outside first, scanning both directions before motioning for her to follow.

Kylie emerged behind him, keeping close to the wall.

They moved quietly.

Christian had no intention of letting her out of his sight again, not until they were off the vessel. But he also knew that keeping her beside him might make it harder to move without attracting attention.

He needed to find his team.

He needed to communicate with the others.

He had almost reached the end of the corridor when he heard a sound behind them.

A metallic click.

Christian turned his head.

The floor shifted.

At first, the movement was so slight that he thought the ship had simply rolled with the waves.

Then the angle changed.

The floor beneath their feet tilted sharply to one side.

Kylie stumbled.

Christian caught her hand.

A heavy mechanical groan rose through the walls, followed by the sudden clatter of metal moving somewhere beneath them.

The corridor lurched.

Kylie grabbed his arm. "Christian—"

He turned toward her.

The floor tilted again. And this time, it didn’t stop. The world shifted beneath their feet.