Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson Page A

I’ve heard your name whispered a few times, too.”
    A pool of panic was filling in my chest. I wondered what the change fee would be for my ticket home if I just hopped into a taxi and hightailed it to the airport.
    The fishing boat’s engines revved as the boat accelerated into the open ocean beyond the mouth of the fjord. “I need to go,” he said, squeezing my arm. “Be careful, Ellie, but don’t worry. I’ll be watching you too.”
    Somehow that didn’t make me feel any better.
    I was nauseous, and not from the waves, as I walked around to the front of the boat, staggering to keep my balance on the rocking deck. There had to be a place on that stupid trawler where I could be alone. Where I could put my head between my knees and try to stifle the mayhem in my mind.
    A burly sailor rounded the corner in front of me. There was resentment in the eyes that met mine. He sped up, gaining momentum before ramming his shoulder into mine. Throwing me into the fire extinguisher lashed to the railing. It would definitely leave a bruise.
    “Go back to America.” The words were thick and awkward, like he didn’t speak English but had memorized that phrase just for me. How touching.
    As he straightened, moving away, an image flashed across my mind—of how easy it would be to grab the sailor by the arm and flip him over my back. One quick step to the left would be enough to clear the railing, hurling him into the churning water of the sea, where he’d disappear forever.
    A wave of anger and aggression washed over me, frightening in its intensity. I did the only thing I could: I turned and walked away, wrapping my arms around myself, like that would stop them from bringing my daydream to life.
    My legs were shaking like a colt’s as I made my way toward the bow, hoping I could avoid everyone for the rest of the morning and seriously contemplating heading back to shore in one of the lifeboats.
    The boat turned sharply as we passed through the mouth of the fjord and headed south, hugging the coast. Jagged gray cliffs stretched above us, softening into green pastures that lined the bases of the mountains beyond. I grabbed the thick railing along the side of the bridge and used it to pull myself around the corner. And came face-to-face with Tuck.
    I could have told him right then. Everything that had happened was on the tip of my tongue and fighting to get out. In my fear and shock, I almost let the words come tumbling out—last night it had seemed like something between us had changed. Maybe he would take me and my crazy-sounding problems seriously.
    Until he reminded me exactly how overly protective he and Graham could be.
    “You’re getting pretty cozy with Captain Ahab,” Tuck said, proving once and for all he could irritate me on command. Although Kjell had passed him the baton with a hefty head start. “Who needs prom when you can clean fish?”
    “For your information, Kjell is in medical school.”
    Tucker frowned. He didn’t like that answer one bit.
    “For your information, Graham will rip his head off if he tries to play doctor with you.” His face softened just before I would have smacked him for that last comment. “What were you two whispering about, anyway?” he asked. “You looked upset.”
    If he was this pushy about someone talking to me, I couldn’t imagine what he’d do if he knew people were blaming me for bizarre crimes I didn’t commit. And that realization was all it took to get my emotions back under control.
    I threw a decoy in his path. “Apparently he can’t stop thinking about me.” I kept my tone neutral, not letting Tuck know how disturbed I was by that and everything else Kjell had told me.
    “Really?” One eyebrow arched, but the rest of his face was bland, flawlessly indifferent. “After one date? That’s a pretty heavy line, even for a fisherman. But maybe he thinks you’re stupid enough to bite.”
    “Not everyone runs around throwing out insincere compliments like you