Chapter 287

The floor tilted beneath them.

For one suspended second, neither of them moved.

Kylie’s hands tightened around Christian’s shirt. Somewhere beneath their feet, metal groaned against metal, followed by a deep, ugly vibration that travelled through the walls and into her bones.

Christian looked down at her. "It’s okay, Blue."

He drew her closer, one hand cradling the back of her head while the other settled firmly around her waist.

"We’re turning the ship."

She stared at him as if she couldn’t decide whether to believe him or hit him for saying something so absurdly calm while the entire room seemed to be shifting sideways.

"Turning the ship?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"Christian, the floor is moving."

"I noticed."

"That’s not funny."

"I’m not laughing, Belle." Christian pressed his lips to her hair. "I’ve got you."

She closed her eyes. "You better."

A faint smile touched his mouth. "Threatening me already?"

"Don’t tempt me. I’m having a terrible day."

"I’ll arrange for a complaint form when we’re home."

She let out a tiny, disbelieving laugh against his chest. It barely lasted a second.

The ship lurched again.

Christian’s arms tightened around her as something heavy crashed somewhere outside the room. Voices rose in the corridor, followed by the unmistakable sound of running feet.

His smile disappeared.

Kylie lifted her head. "What was that?"

"Stay here."

He moved towards the door.

Her fingers caught his wrist. "No."

He turned.

The word had come out too quickly, too desperately. She hated how frightened it sounded, but she couldn’t help it. She had spent hours on this ship trying to convince herself that she could survive whatever Noah’s uncle intended to do to her. She had made plans, searched for weaknesses, counted the minutes and forced herself to eat.

She had imagined escaping. She had not imagined Christian coming for her.

Now that he was here, she couldn’t bear the thought of watching him walk back into danger.

"Don’t leave me alone again," she whispered.

Something shifted in his face.

He returned to her without hesitation.

"I’m not leaving you." He brushed his thumb over her cheek. "But I need to know what’s happening outside before we move. All right?"

She nodded reluctantly. "Promise?"

"Blue."

"Promise me."

He took her face between his hands.

"I promise you that I’m getting you off this ship. I’m not making promises about what happens between now and then, because I’m not going to lie to you. But you are not getting left behind."

Her eyes burned. She swallowed. "Fine."

"Good girl."

He kissed her forehead and reached for the door. Before he could open it, a burst of gunfire erupted somewhere on the deck.

Kylie flinched so violently that her shoulder struck the wall.

Christian immediately turned back. "Look at me."

She tried.

"Blue, look at me."

Her eyes found his.

"Breathe."

"People are shooting."

"I know."

"Christian!"

"I’m sorry." His expression softened despite the tension. "I know you’re scared. I need you to stay with me, Blue. Can you do that?"

She nodded, though her breath remained shallow.

"Good. Stay behind me. Whatever happens, you stay behind me."

"And if something happens to you?"

He raised a brow at her, with am expression as if her words amused him. "Nothing is happening to me."

"You cannot know that!"

"No." He held her gaze. "But I can know that I’m going to do everything in my power to get you home."

That answer frightened her more than the first.

He opened the door.

The corridor beyond was empty.

He stepped out first, checked both directions, then held out his hand.

Kylie took it.

They had barely made it past the first turn when a man stumbled into view at the far end of the corridor.

He wore a dark shirt, a gun strapped to his hip and an expression that changed from confusion to recognition in the space of a heartbeat.

His eyes moved from Christian’s face to the hand holding Kylie’s. Then to the unfamiliar clothes Christian wore.

"You."

Christian stopped.

The man reached for his gun. "You’re not one of—"

Christian moved before he finished the sentence.

He shoved Kylie behind him and drove his shoulder into the man’s chest. They crashed against the opposite wall. The gun came free of its holster, clattered across the floor and disappeared beneath a metal cabinet.

The man swung at Christian’s face.

Christian ducked, caught him by the collar and slammed him against the wall hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs.

"Excuse me," Christian muttered.

The man reached for him again.

Christian struck him once.

He went down.

Kylie swallowed.

Christian caught her hand. "Move."

She moved, and they ran.

The ship seemed to have transformed around them. The quiet corridors she’d seen when she first emerged from her room had become a maze of shouting men, pounding boots and doors thrown open in panic.

Somewhere above them, another crash shook the structure.

The floor shuddered beneath their feet.

Kylie stumbled.

Christian caught her around the waist before she could fall. "Easy."

"I hate this ship."

"That’s fair."

"I hate the sea."

"Also fair."

She would have laughed if her lungs hadn’t been burning.

They reached the stairwell.

Christian glanced upwards, then down.

A shout rang out from the level above.

"Check the lower deck! They came in through the east side!"

Christian’s jaw tightened.

The disguise was gone. They knew intruders were aboard.

And once the ship’s crew began checking every room, it wouldn’t take long to discover that the men who had arrived in the expected boat weren’t the men Noah’s uncle had ordered.

Christian pulled Kylie towards the stairs leading down.

They had taken barely four steps when a man’s voice boomed through the corridor above them.

"Lock the exits!"

Christian stopped.

Kylie nearly collided with his back.

He raised one hand, signalling for silence.

Another voice followed. "Captain! We have a problem!"

"Then tell me what the problem is!"

Kylie recognised that voice.

She went cold.

Noah’s uncle.

Christian looked at her.

She didn’t need to speak. The fear in her eyes was enough.

He turned towards the stairs again. "Come on."

They descended quickly, taking the steps two at a time. The ship tilted slightly beneath them, forcing Kylie to grab the railing.

"What is happening?" she whispered.

"Someone’s changed the ship’s course."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Depends on where we’re going."

"Christian, I swear to God—"

"I know, baby." He squeezed her hand.

"We’ll discuss my many failures as your boyfriend when we’re somewhere that doesn’t have armed men."

The word boyfriend caught her off guard.

She glared at him.

He was focused on the steps ahead, his mouth set in a hard line, his grip around her hand unwavering.

Boyfriend. Not a man he occasionally slept with.

Her throat tightened. "Christian?"

"Hmm?"

"I really—"

A door slammed open above them. "There!"

Christian turned.

Three men appeared at the top of the stairs.

One pointed at them. "That’s them!"

Christian shoved Kylie down behind him. "Keep moving!"

He reached beneath his jacket.

The first gunshot struck the metal railing beside his shoulder.

Kylie screamed.

Christian fired once.

The man at the front dropped behind the stairwell wall, and the other two immediately ducked for cover.

Christian seized Kylie’s hand again. "Run!"

They bolted down the remaining steps.

A bullet struck the wall behind them.

Kylie felt the impact through the railing beneath her palm. The sharp report seemed to split her skull open, and suddenly she was a child again, trapped in a moment she couldn’t control, unable to make the danger stop no matter how hard she tried.

She forced herself to keep running.

Christian was here. She would not let fear take her away from him while she was still standing.

They burst into a lower corridor.

A group of men appeared from the opposite direction, with weapons raised.

For a fraction of a second, everyone stopped.

Christian recognised two of them as his own. "Down!" he shouted.

His men dropped.

Christian dragged Kylie to the floor as gunfire tore through the corridor.

The sound was deafening.

Men shouted over one another. Bullets struck metal. Someone cursed. The lights overhead flickered, casting the corridor into brief, disorienting patches of darkness.

Christian covered Kylie’s body with his own.

She clutched the back of his shirt, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"Don’t move," he said against her ear.

She could barely hear him. "Christian—"

"Stay down."

A man screamed.

Footsteps thundered past. Then, slowly, the gunfire moved farther away.

Christian lifted his head.

One of his men crouched beside them. "Sir."

Christian looked at him.

"We’ve got control of the lower corridor. Two men down, three restrained. The rest are fighting on the upper deck."

"Where’s the captain?"

"Moving towards the stern. He’s been told there are intruders aboard."

Christian’s expression hardened.

The man glanced at Kylie, then back at Christian. "We need to get you both off this vessel."

"Yes."

"There’s a boat waiting on the port side. The ship’s turning towards the outer channel, but we’re losing time."

Christian looked towards the end of the corridor. He turned to Kylie.

She was staring at the blood on his sleeve. She visibly thought he had been shot.

"Christian."

He followed her gaze.

The blood wasn’t his. It belonged to the man he’d dragged away from the gunfire.

"Not mine," he said.

She searched his face. "Are you sure?"

He held out both arms. "Come here."

She went straight into them.

He hugged her tightly, letting her press her face against his chest for a few seconds before he pulled back enough to see her.

"I’m fine, Blue."

She glared at him through the tears gathering in her eyes. She realised she was still holding him around the waist.

She loosened her grip, embarrassed.

Christian caught her hand before she could step away. "Don’t do that."

Her gaze lifted to his. "Don’t do what?"

"Don’t feel embarrassed for wanting to hold on to me."

Something inside her seemed to give way.

She looked down. "I thought I was going to die here."

His expression changed. The teasing disappeared.

"I didn’t know if you’d find me."

"I know, baby."

"I kept thinking about you." Her voice trembled. "And Emilia. And how angry she’d be if I died without telling her she was right about you."

A breath escaped him that was almost a laugh.

"Emilia would be insufferable."

"She already is."

"Then we absolutely cannot give her another reason."

Kylie tried to smile. It wavered.

Christian raised her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. "I’m taking you home."

She nodded. "Okay."

"Can you run?"

"Yes."

"Can you follow my instructions?"

She considered it. "No promises."

He gave her a look.

She managed a small, shaky smile. "I’m kidding."

"That’s my girl."

He turned to his men. "Move."

They began running again.