Burn (Page 107)

Jenner looked at Cael. She didn’t like it, she didn’t like it at all, but he had something to do that she couldn’t help him with. She had to accept that, if she stayed, she was going to be in his way, she was going to distract him when he didn’t need distraction. She wanted to be useful, to make a difference in this crisis, and she couldn’t do that by hanging on to Cael’s coattails.

What she could do was get Nyna off the boat before more bombs started going off. Less than twenty minutes! Maybe she could find Linda, and make sure Penny and Buttons got onto a lifeboat.

Their eyes met. Cael realized what she was thinking, he knew she was about to take charge of Nyna and leave him to do what he had to do. She didn’t have to explain, but she went up on her toes, kissed him, and then whispered, "Muster Station Three, fifteen minutes. Get yourself hurt and I’ll kick your ass."

*  *  *

IT WASN’T LIKE she had any place to hide a gun.

With Sanchez directly behind her, Tiffany followed Cael’s directions and took the stairs up to the sports deck. Unlike the stairs coming up from the staterooms and the theater level below, these were deserted. There had been plenty of time for anyone who’d been up here when the alarm sounded to get to their Muster Station.

Larkin was likely either on the Lido deck or the sports deck. He wouldn’t have taken the risk of taking the stairways down when so many people were surging up and the crew was doing their best to make sure everyone moved upward.

She wasn’t afraid of doing what had to be done, but honestly, this was not what she’d signed on for. "It’s a cruise," she said in a soft, high voice, mimicking Cael even though he’d never spoken in such a squeaky voice. "It’ll be fun."

Tiffany stepped into the open, eyes peeled for movement where there should be none. Sanchez was directly behind her; they instinctively separated. She headed for the fitness center; he walked toward the putting greens.

Since there was so much open space on this deck, and no one was jockeying for position, it should be easier to search than the Lido deck. Not that there weren’t plenty of places for a man to hide. She was determined to get her hands on Larkin, but she wouldn’t mind grabbing Asker and Zadian, too. According to Cael, they were in on the planning, had probably been in on planting the bombs.

How many more, and when were they set to blow?

Though the deck was not well lit, she was alert, on edge, and when she saw a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye, she spun around. Her gun hand popped up, and the other came with it, a steadying hand. Two figures were in shadow, so she didn’t fire. Could be lost passengers, confused folks who were so panicked they’d decided to hide up here instead of evacuating. Unlikely, but before she pulled the trigger she had to be sure.

A man, not Larkin, yelled, "She has a gun!" And fired.

Tiffany returned fire as she quickly moved to cover behind the decorative pressed concrete of the elevator bank. The two men moved into the dim light as she scooted out of their line of sight. Asker and Zadian, looking very much like the pictures Faith had pulled up online, after Sanchez had given them the names of those he thought were involved with Mills.

The gunfire brought Sanchez running, his own weapon drawn. He drew fire, and Tiffany took the opportunity to take aim at the dark-haired man who was shooting at Sanchez. Her shot took Asker down. Sanchez got Zadian.

With both men down, Tiffany left her cover and joined Sanchez. Asker was dead, a bullet between his eyes, but Zadian had a bit of life left in him. Sanchez collected their weapons while Tiffany stood over Zadian and glared. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

As if he didn’t know. "Larkin."

The man turned his head and spit. "Larkin lied to us. He never intended for us to get away before he set off the bombs. Why would he …" He stopped, breathing heavily. If there were a hospital nearby, he might survive the shot to the gut. Unfortunately for him, there wasn’t.

Tiffany asked. "Were you looking for Larkin up here?" She had them pegged as men who’d push old ladies out of the way in order to get off a sinking ship, unless something very important delayed them.

"Yes." Zadian laid a hand over his wound, but didn’t look at it. "He’s not here. Maybe he escaped, leaving us …"

"Larkin didn’t go anywhere." Too many people were looking for him. Cael and the captain had taken care of that. Besides, according to the e-mails, Larkin intended to die here tonight, and take as many people as possible with him. He wasn’t thinking of escape.

"Where are the bombs?"

Zadian panted, then shook his head. "I planted one in the control room below, and another in the storeroom. I don’t know where the above-deck bombs were placed."

"Who placed them?"

"Mills and Johnson."

Two dead guys. Great. Larkin was their only chance to get to the bombs before it was too late.

"Larkin must be on the Lido," Tiffany said as he turned back toward the stairway. "We need to get one of those weapons to Ryan and …"

"Kill me," Zadian said, drawing her attention. "Please, kill me."

She glanced back at him, then snorted. Like she’d do any favors for a fucker like that.

CAEL GOT MORE and more pissed as he searched the bars and cafes on the Lido deck.

The evacuation procedure had reached a calmer level, but the crew members who were loading the boats and lowering them didn’t realize there were more explosions coming. Since they were working at maximum capacity, it wouldn’t do any good to tell them. In fact, they’d panic and the procedure would probably suffer.

He heard the distant ring of gunfire. Larkin, or the security guards who were on the loose? His gut told him Larkin was close.