I bit back my reply. I wanted to throw up. Seriously, did Baker clone himself?
When Captain Baker finally did arrive, he strode in with a nauseating self-importance. Brock told him we’d both been “searched”—using air quotes for clarity—and the captain asked him if he wanted to do it again to be sure. They both shared a good laugh, and Brock looked at me. “You know—” He looked like he was actually considering it.
I spread my legs and lifted up my shirt. “Go ahead, pervert.”
“What did you say, whore?” Brock approached my cell, pulling his pistol out.
I lowered my shirt but otherwise stood my ground. “You like molesting girls, do you?” I taunted him, eye to eye through the bars.
He reached his hand into my cell and clamped it around my throat. “You better shut the—”
“Down boy.” Captain Baker laughed, grabbing Brock’s arm. “Let her go.” When Brock didn’t immediately release me, Captain Baker added, “Now!” This time Brock listened, letting go and stepping back, his seething fat face a crimson red. “You can play with her more later.”
“Oh, I will…” Brock glared at me.
I glared back, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing the fear I felt.
Captain Baker then approached me himself. “You two almost got away with it, you know. We probably never would have checked that part of the ship if we hadn’t received a message from the governor that two people snuck onto the boat the night we left. Guess the old fart isn’t completely useless. Then my stupid daughter expected me to believe she ‘dropped’ her gun overboard.”
He emphasized his point with air quotes as well. Seriously…clones.
“The girl has been handling guns since she was five. She isn’t capable of being that clumsy. So I had her tailed. She scammed that search last night, turned the cameras at some point, and brought you breakfast this morning. And she thought I wouldn’t know. So, so sweet. Sweet, but stupid.”
Man, is there a bigger tool in the world?
“Really stupid,” Brock muttered, drawing an angry look from Baker. “Sorry.”
Guess that answers the “tool” question.
Baker looked back at me. “Anyway, we needed a distraction. We couldn’t just walk up on you two. I couldn’t have any of my guys getting shot taking you in. You, my dear…” He pointed at me. “… gave us everything we needed, berating your friend over there. So thank you. Seriously. Thank you!”
He smiled at me as Brock laughed a little too hard. I saw Baker wince, and I bit back a smile. Don’t like kiss-asses, eh? I wished I had those throwing knives with me now. Far as I knew they were still wedged under Lazzo’s bed back in the bunkroom. “Oh, and by the way…” Baker stepped up, inches from my face. “I sent a message of thanks to the governor. I told him we caught the stowaways.” He paused for effect. “And I told him we killed them.”
Wait. If they knew I was Danny’s sister and Danny knew I was out here, the governor had to know I was here too. So Baker would be admitting to killing an American. That didn’t make sense. Unless they didn’t know who I was or no one knew I was out here.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lazzo’s knees buckle. He too seemed to be considering the worst-case scenarios. He sank slowly to the ground, but the captain and his mule hadn’t noticed. They hadn’t taken their eyes off me, and I didn’t want them to now. Baker drew his sidearm, raising it to my forehead. I didn’t flinch.
“I don’t think you want to do that,” I stated, about to tell him who I was.
“Oh yeah?” He smirked. “And why’s—”
He was interrupted by the door swinging open behind him and his daughter running in screaming, “No, Daddy, no.”
“Cassandra, what the hell?” Baker lowered his gun.
Cassandra? Flynn isn’t her real name? And yeah…what the hell?
“Daddy, this is all my fault.” She grabbed him and turned him around to face her. “I told her to do it. I had to have her with me.”
“Cassandra, what the hell are you talking about? Brock, get her out of here.” Brock grabbed her arm, but she shook free.
“No, Daddy, please, this is Jessie.” Flynn reached out and grabbed one of my hands through the bars. “The Jessie!”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Baker clearly didn’t know what to think, but he recognized the name. “I thought Jessie was a b—”
“No, Daddy. She’s not.”
“Cassandra, how could—how could you be so stupid? You’re a—” He stopped short of describing her further.
I didn’t know if he was criticizing her for helping us or for the amorous connection she was insinuating she had with Jessie—with me. Flynn pulled on the bars. She turned and gave her dad the most pleading of looks, then looked back at me. “Jessie, I’m so sorry…”
“Cassandra, you told them to sneak onto the boat?” Captain Baker sounded skeptical, but she nodded. “Both of them?” Flynn nodded again.
I had to admit it was kind of funny to see the captain squirming and speechless as Flynn massaged my hands through the bars. He looked bewildered, and Brock also had a stupid look on his face. Or maybe that’s his normal look. Baker was clearly weighing his options. He was staring at his daughter in sheer disgust.
“Cassandra, we’ll talk about this later. You need to leave now.”
“Daddy, please.”
She tried grabbing his hand, but he pushed her away and shook his head. “No.” He grabbed her arm. “No. I’m not okay with—” He stopped short. “I need to think about this…but not with you here. You need to go.” He pulled her toward the door.
By the look in his eyes, I knew Flynn hadn’t changed her dad’s stance. In fact, if anything, she’d probably made him want to hurt me more. This was not the kind of father who accepted a lesbian daughter. If indeed she actually is.
But as Flynn cried and pulled against him, begging him to let her stay, he gave in a little. “You know what? I’ll give you one minute with her. One. Minute.” He turned to Brock. “Brock, let her in.” He pointed at my cell. “Let her say her goodbye.”
“Daddy? Goodbye?” She looked at him with convincingly frightened eyes. “What—what do you mean?”
“Your girlfriend is a terrorist. She was sent to stop this mission with—”
“A terrorist?” I couldn’t help myself. “Seriously?”
“Shut up.” Baker pointed at me. “You shut up!” He held up a piece of paper. “Governor’s orders. I’m supposed to shoot her. I should shoot you both, in fact. All three of you.” Baker pointed at Lazzo.
“Nooooo. No, Daddy, you can’t.”
“It’s not my call. Do you want that minute or not? Last chance.”
Tears were still running down her face, and she nodded. Brock opened the door, and Flynn threw herself into my arms. She passionately hugged me—rubbing her chest back and forth against my own—sliding her hands down my back and squeezing me, thrusting her pelvis into mine. Whoa. Easy girl. She glued her lips against mine, and I could feel her hands moving around to the front of my pants. Um…okay? What the hell are you doing, Flynn? I saw her dad look sideways in disgust as she slid her fingertips inside my jeans and pulled me even tighter against her.