voices. Obviously, my attacker and the captain of the boat were in on this together. So even if I'd gotten Red Beard's attention, he wouldn't have been any help to me. As I thought back to what little I'd seen of their faces, I started to realize that the beards were obviously fake. The glasses clearly a misdirect. So who the hell were these people? Was Daniel one of them? It made sense. Daniel hated Upton, and Paige hated me. Maybe the two of them had decided to kill two birds with one stone. Devastate Upton by getting rid of me. Maybe even send him crying into Paige's arms. Was that why they had been hovering out there in their boat, watching the party? Were they waiting for Upton to leave so that they could put their plan into action?
My heart seized with a sudden realization. The guy who had been arrested for shoving me off the boat had been on the Ryan family's payroll. Had Daniel and Paige orchestrated that too? Had they paid him off? Promised to take care of his family if he didn't say anything to the police about them? It all made sense. The twins could have been behind every one of my near misses. I had been on their estate when the horse took off and almost rode me off a cliff. One of them could have hidden in the bushes and spooked her. I had been on Daniel's Jet Ski when it malfunctioned and almost killed me. He definitely could have rigged that. And I had been on their family's boat when someone in their family's employ had shoved me over the rail and left me for dead. Plus both Sawyer and Taylor had noticed the two of them taking off right around the time I'd gone over. It all made sense.
But knowing this didn't make me feel any better. If anything, I was even more terrified. They had been trying to kill me for days. And now they had me out in the middle of nowhere with no one looking for me. If I was late to meet Upton, he'd probably think I wasn't done partying yet. And no one on the private island would realize I was missing until tomorrow morning.
I felt my eyes start to well up again and forced the tears down. If I was going to survive this, I was going to have to be strong. Maybe they weren't out to kill me. Maybe they were just messing with me. Playing a prank. Teaching me a lesson. God, I hoped that was true. The boat took another sharp turn and I skidded across the floor again, falling onto my side as my leg slammed into the opposite wall. I shouted out in pain, but it came out as a pathetic gargle thanks to my gag. A few seconds later, the boat jolted and the bottom scraped across rocks or sand. Whatever it was, wherever we were, we'd run ashore. There was more shouting. I sat up straight and tilted my ear toward the ceiling, trying to make it out. The two voices were definitely male, but I couldn't tell if one belonged to Daniel. Maybe Paige and the other girls were in on the planning of this insanity but just didn't want to mess up their manicures by doing any of the dirty work. Whoever the men were, I couldn't make out their words. Footsteps pounded across the deck and I heard something bang against the side wall of the cabin. They were still talking as the hatch overhead opened, letting cool night air pour over my semi-clothed body. The only words I heard were the tail end of a sentence. Words that stopped me cold. "... then find somewhere to dump the body." This was no prank. These men were going to kill me.
PRETTY BOY BILLIONARE
"Please. Please, please, please, please, please."
I tried to beg, but the gag in my mouth distorted the words. I tripped forward across the deck as they dragged me by one arm. My head throbbed in several places and my knees and thighs were sore with the beginnings of nasty bruises. I heard a splash. Someone shoved me from behind and my feet hit the water. I started to fall forward, but the second guy yanked me to my feet and pushed his hand into the small of my back. I fumbled ahead, my feet unsteady as I navigated the shallow incline toward the shore. Soon, my
My heart seized with a sudden realization. The guy who had been arrested for shoving me off the boat had been on the Ryan family's payroll. Had Daniel and Paige orchestrated that too? Had they paid him off? Promised to take care of his family if he didn't say anything to the police about them? It all made sense. The twins could have been behind every one of my near misses. I had been on their estate when the horse took off and almost rode me off a cliff. One of them could have hidden in the bushes and spooked her. I had been on Daniel's Jet Ski when it malfunctioned and almost killed me. He definitely could have rigged that. And I had been on their family's boat when someone in their family's employ had shoved me over the rail and left me for dead. Plus both Sawyer and Taylor had noticed the two of them taking off right around the time I'd gone over. It all made sense.
But knowing this didn't make me feel any better. If anything, I was even more terrified. They had been trying to kill me for days. And now they had me out in the middle of nowhere with no one looking for me. If I was late to meet Upton, he'd probably think I wasn't done partying yet. And no one on the private island would realize I was missing until tomorrow morning.
I felt my eyes start to well up again and forced the tears down. If I was going to survive this, I was going to have to be strong. Maybe they weren't out to kill me. Maybe they were just messing with me. Playing a prank. Teaching me a lesson. God, I hoped that was true. The boat took another sharp turn and I skidded across the floor again, falling onto my side as my leg slammed into the opposite wall. I shouted out in pain, but it came out as a pathetic gargle thanks to my gag. A few seconds later, the boat jolted and the bottom scraped across rocks or sand. Whatever it was, wherever we were, we'd run ashore. There was more shouting. I sat up straight and tilted my ear toward the ceiling, trying to make it out. The two voices were definitely male, but I couldn't tell if one belonged to Daniel. Maybe Paige and the other girls were in on the planning of this insanity but just didn't want to mess up their manicures by doing any of the dirty work. Whoever the men were, I couldn't make out their words. Footsteps pounded across the deck and I heard something bang against the side wall of the cabin. They were still talking as the hatch overhead opened, letting cool night air pour over my semi-clothed body. The only words I heard were the tail end of a sentence. Words that stopped me cold. "... then find somewhere to dump the body." This was no prank. These men were going to kill me.
PRETTY BOY BILLIONARE
"Please. Please, please, please, please, please."
I tried to beg, but the gag in my mouth distorted the words. I tripped forward across the deck as they dragged me by one arm. My head throbbed in several places and my knees and thighs were sore with the beginnings of nasty bruises. I heard a splash. Someone shoved me from behind and my feet hit the water. I started to fall forward, but the second guy yanked me to my feet and pushed his hand into the small of my back. I fumbled ahead, my feet unsteady as I navigated the shallow incline toward the shore. Soon, my
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