when the lights flashed brightly, just before the room was plunged into darkness, and this time Cole was pretty sure it wasn’t part of the performance.
A woman screamed, then went silent.
Next to Emma, their host pushed back his chair.
“What the hell is going on?” he asked in a hard voice.
CHAPTER NINE
Cole’s sharp ears picked up scuffling sounds. He knew there were two or three were more people in the room than there had been, but he couldn’t tell how many.
The darkness put him and Emma in danger, but it also provided them with an opportunity, if they didn’t get killed in the process.
He reached for Emma’s hand. Together they stood.
“What’s happening?” Henry called out.
“Stay in your seats and stay calm,” Del Conte answered.
Ignoring him, Cole led Emma around the side of the room toward the hidden door where their host had entered. She instantly understood what he was doing, helping him feel along the wall until they reached a seam.
“Here,” she whispered.
He pushed at several locations, frustrated when the door wouldn’t open.
Behind them in the dark, a shot rang out.
“Jesus!” Cole whispered. He’d thought that using the riot or whatever you called it was a good excuse to do some exploring, but if they didn’t get out of here soon, they might not get out alive.
He felt Emma stumble sideways and knew she’d found the secret to opening the door from this side. They tumbled through into a dimly lit corridor, and Cole quickly closed the door behind them.
“What happened?” Emma asked.
“Don’t know. But I’m hoping we’re in a private part of the ship. And if anybody asks what we’re doing here, we’re escaping from the captain’s ill-fated party.”
“Right.”
Running feet made them both stop short. Emma pulled Cole into a side passage just before armed guards came pounding down the hall.
As soon as they were alone again, they kept going. Cole was in the lead, and he gasped as water he hadn’t seen hit him in the face.
“What the hell?”
Emma dodged to the side, avoiding the deluge. As he raised his head and blinked into the subdued light, he realized they had come out into a room with an artificial waterfall and a pool. The entrance to the tunnel was behind the cascading water, but he’d charged right through.
Cursing, he backed up, following Emma along a dry walkway.
He was soaking wet now, and mad as hell at himself for blundering into this space without looking where he was going. What if the tunnel had led to an animal cage?
All right, unlikely.
He and Emma moved to the side of the room, which was illuminated by emergency lighting. Screened by tropical greenery, they looked around.
Away from the cascading water, he could hear parrots cawing and people talking. Did he see the glint of metal bars on the other side of the open space? It was hard to tell. But he was sure he caught Karen Hopewell’s scent.
Was she here?
They stopped to listen to the conversation at the bar.
“The lights went out for a minute. What happened?”
“Some kind of malfunction, I guess.”
“We paid enough for this trip. They better get everything working again.”
“Go over and intimidate the girl in the cage, if you want to have some fun. Just remember—no touching.”
Cole strained to see who was talking and made out casually dressed men and women gathered around an open-sided thatched hut with a bar and stools on four sides. The men were wearing tropical shirts and shorts or slacks. The woman were in shorts and halter tops or shirts.
“Where’s Del Conte?” somebody called out.
“Or Big Ben.”
“Is this a hinky fantasy scenario?” someone asked.
Running footsteps came tramping through the underbrush, moving fast.
A woman screamed as a man dressed like a black-clad ninja launched himself at one of the guests, knocking him off the stool.
Chaos erupted, with people shouting and running in all directions.
“Stay here,” Cole ordered Emma as he
A woman screamed, then went silent.
Next to Emma, their host pushed back his chair.
“What the hell is going on?” he asked in a hard voice.
CHAPTER NINE
Cole’s sharp ears picked up scuffling sounds. He knew there were two or three were more people in the room than there had been, but he couldn’t tell how many.
The darkness put him and Emma in danger, but it also provided them with an opportunity, if they didn’t get killed in the process.
He reached for Emma’s hand. Together they stood.
“What’s happening?” Henry called out.
“Stay in your seats and stay calm,” Del Conte answered.
Ignoring him, Cole led Emma around the side of the room toward the hidden door where their host had entered. She instantly understood what he was doing, helping him feel along the wall until they reached a seam.
“Here,” she whispered.
He pushed at several locations, frustrated when the door wouldn’t open.
Behind them in the dark, a shot rang out.
“Jesus!” Cole whispered. He’d thought that using the riot or whatever you called it was a good excuse to do some exploring, but if they didn’t get out of here soon, they might not get out alive.
He felt Emma stumble sideways and knew she’d found the secret to opening the door from this side. They tumbled through into a dimly lit corridor, and Cole quickly closed the door behind them.
“What happened?” Emma asked.
“Don’t know. But I’m hoping we’re in a private part of the ship. And if anybody asks what we’re doing here, we’re escaping from the captain’s ill-fated party.”
“Right.”
Running feet made them both stop short. Emma pulled Cole into a side passage just before armed guards came pounding down the hall.
As soon as they were alone again, they kept going. Cole was in the lead, and he gasped as water he hadn’t seen hit him in the face.
“What the hell?”
Emma dodged to the side, avoiding the deluge. As he raised his head and blinked into the subdued light, he realized they had come out into a room with an artificial waterfall and a pool. The entrance to the tunnel was behind the cascading water, but he’d charged right through.
Cursing, he backed up, following Emma along a dry walkway.
He was soaking wet now, and mad as hell at himself for blundering into this space without looking where he was going. What if the tunnel had led to an animal cage?
All right, unlikely.
He and Emma moved to the side of the room, which was illuminated by emergency lighting. Screened by tropical greenery, they looked around.
Away from the cascading water, he could hear parrots cawing and people talking. Did he see the glint of metal bars on the other side of the open space? It was hard to tell. But he was sure he caught Karen Hopewell’s scent.
Was she here?
They stopped to listen to the conversation at the bar.
“The lights went out for a minute. What happened?”
“Some kind of malfunction, I guess.”
“We paid enough for this trip. They better get everything working again.”
“Go over and intimidate the girl in the cage, if you want to have some fun. Just remember—no touching.”
Cole strained to see who was talking and made out casually dressed men and women gathered around an open-sided thatched hut with a bar and stools on four sides. The men were wearing tropical shirts and shorts or slacks. The woman were in shorts and halter tops or shirts.
“Where’s Del Conte?” somebody called out.
“Or Big Ben.”
“Is this a hinky fantasy scenario?” someone asked.
Running footsteps came tramping through the underbrush, moving fast.
A woman screamed as a man dressed like a black-clad ninja launched himself at one of the guests, knocking him off the stool.
Chaos erupted, with people shouting and running in all directions.
“Stay here,” Cole ordered Emma as he
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