Lost in Paradise Page 4

  Nicole pressed one last kiss against Fiona’s thigh before pulling her dress back into place. “Did I miss anything?”

  “My head,” Fiona said softly, reaching up to touch a spot on the back of her head. “I hit it when I fell. It’s just a goose egg, nothing serious.”

  “There are painkillers in the kit if you want one.” Nicole held up a packet.

  Fiona crossed her arms over her chest and leveled a severe look at her. “What did I tell you?”

  Nicole raised her hands in surrender. “You’re fine. Got it.” She rose, picked up her purse, and sat beside Fiona, intensely relieved that she didn’t appear to be hiding any serious injuries, although the wound on her leg was worrisome. If it got infected, they might be in real trouble.

  Fiona watched quietly as Nicole powered on her cell phone to check for a signal. Nothing. And her battery was down to nine percent. She turned it off. Fighting past her disappointment, Nicole opened her purse. “I guess we should take inventory of our stuff?”

  Fiona nodded, reaching for her own purse. “Lip gloss, comb, credit card, passport. Not much, I’m afraid.”

  “I’ve got breath mints, tissues, cash, credit cards, more lip gloss, and, um, a tampon.”

  Fiona looked at her. “We might have to get creative if you only have one.”

  “Oh, I don’t… I had my period last week. I just like to be prepared.”

  “Well, hopefully we’ll be home before it’s a problem for either of us, then.” Fiona held up a sleeve of condoms with a wry smile. “Definitely won’t need these.”

  Nicole grinned. They both leaned forward to put their purses back into the storage box, foreheads bumping in the process. Fiona’s gaze dropped pointedly to Nicole’s mouth, the tip of her tongue darting out to wet her lips.

  Nicole straightened reluctantly. “We really need to get ourselves to dry land so we can think about…other things.”

  Fiona tossed her one of what Nicole was coming to think of as her signature amused little half grins. “Your turn to bail. I’m going to see if I can sort out this engine.”

  “Should I really trust an artist to get our engine going?” Nicole teased, seizing the bailing scoop.

  “I’d say I got your engine going just fine,” Fiona said with a meaningful look. “Besides, I’m the one who got us off the ship, aren’t I?”

  “Be careful with that leg,” Nicole said before she could stop herself, wincing as Fiona bent over the engine, bandages straining at the movement. Several drops of blood beaded around the edges of the wound.

  “I am,” Fiona said without glancing down at it, her concentration on the engine.

  Rather than argue with her—an argument she would surely lose—Nicole sat by the open hatch and began scooping water. She bailed until her right biceps burned before switching to her left arm. The good news was that between her effort and the work Fiona had done earlier, she could see a definite difference in the water level in the boat. What had been about a foot of standing water had been reduced now to maybe six inches.

  Behind her, the engine spluttered, stopped, and then roared to life.

  “Holy shit.” She turned toward Fiona, who wore a triumphant expression.

  The lifeboat lurched beneath them, beginning to move with purpose instead of rolling aimlessly in the waves. Nicole abandoned her task to walk over and stand beside Fiona, who was bent over the controls.

  “Which way should we go, do you think?”

  “North,” Fiona answered without hesitation, pointing at the compass beside the steering wheel. “We were just south of the Italian coastline last night, and the kidnappers must have taken us farther south to bring us out to sea. To keep going south would take us to Tunisia or perhaps Egypt. North should take us back to Italy or Greece, maybe Croatia or Albania, depending on where exactly we are.”

  Nicole pressed a palm against her forehead. “Wow, you, um, you know a lot more European geography than I do.”

  “I live here,” Fiona said with that look again, the signature look.

  “You do. Okay, let’s go north. Hopefully, we’ll be sleeping in a comfortable hotel bed by nightfall.”

  “The same hotel bed?” Fiona cocked an eyebrow at her.

  Nicole exhaled, meeting her gaze. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

  4

  The engine was still going strong as the sun settled on the horizon to their left. That was a comforting sign that the compass was indeed leading them north, because what the fuck did Fiona know about navigating a boat?

  “I think we should bust out the emergency rations,” Nicole said from behind her.

  “Go for it. Let me know how they taste, because they look disgusting.” But she was hungry enough to eat just about anything at this point. At just the thought of food, her stomach growled obnoxiously. Her head hurt, as did her right shin, her thigh, pretty much every part of her that had been pummeled by the boat last night, and she was trying very hard not to take her misery out on Nicole.

  Nicole, to her credit, hadn’t rubbed her nose in it, other than her little strip search that had left Fiona wet in ways that had nothing to do with the still-soggy dress clinging to her skin.

  “It looks like…tofu or something,” Nicole said.

  “I bet it’s not.”

  “I don’t think we want to know what it is.”

  Fiona glanced over her shoulder, watching as Nicole ripped open the square packet, revealing a substance that did indeed look like a big hunk of tofu, or perhaps cheese. If only it were cheese…

  Nicole grimaced as she chewed a bite of it. “It’s… I don’t even know how to describe it. You’ll just have to try it for yourself.” She swallowed and reached for her water pack. “But we’ve got a shit-ton of these things meant for eighteen people, so we might as well keep our strength up. It says they’re packed with protein.”

  “Your face is not selling me on the idea.”

  “It tastes like…sweet, greasy chalk, but it’s food, Fi, and we’ve got to eat. I’ve got breath mints in my purse to help with the aftertaste.”

  Fiona couldn’t help the smile that turned her lips at the nickname Nicole had given her. She wasn’t the first person to call her Fi. Usually, Fiona didn’t like it, but from Nicole, for reasons she’d rather not examine too closely, she did. “Fine. Give me one.”

  Nicole tossed a packet at her, which she missed like a clumsy idiot, holding in a groan as she bent to pick it up off the floor. At least they’d gotten the boat fully bailed out, but the wet clothes were a problem. She was chilled to the point she might be approaching mild hypothermia and suspected Nicole must be in the same boat.

  “What’s the plan for the night?” Nicole asked, walking over to peer out of the open hatch as she ate.

  “We’ll take it in turns, keep the boat pointing north, and hope for the best.”

  “How much fuel do we have left?”

  Fiona squinted at the fuel gauge. “About a third of a tank, I think.”

  “You think?”

  “I’m blind as a fucking bat without my contacts.”

  “Now you tell me?” Nicole teased, moving to stand beside her. “Shit, you’re right. Our fuel is really low.”

  “Hopefully, land is right over the horizon.”

  Nicole rubbed her forehead. “What if it’s not? What if we run out of fuel?”

  “Then we’ll float here and eat food cubes until someone finds us.”

  Nicole looked at her, panic gleaming in her eyes. “What if they don’t?”

  “They will.” Fiona forced certainty into her tone for Nicole’s sake. “The Mediterranean is dotted with islands and crawling with boats. It’s virtually impossible to get lost out here.”

  “You’re bullshitting me,” Nicole said, a smile tugging at her lips. “But thank you.”

  “It’s not entirely bullshit,” Fiona said. “Our chances are better here than in the middle of the Atlantic.”

  “True.” Nicole sighed. “I have to admit, I was
really looking forward to that hotel room tonight.”

  “Me too.” More than she cared to admit. She ripped open the packet Nicole had given her and took a bite of the crumbly white substance inside. “Jesus Christ, that’s awful.”

  Nicole grinned at her. “It is, right?”

  “We need to get dry,” Fiona said after she’d managed to swallow her first bite. “We should get out of these clothes and wrap up in those thermal suits before we get hypothermic.”

  “I think that’s smart.” Nicole paused. “What do you think’s happening on the Cyprus Star?”

  “Probably best not to think about.”

  “I can’t stop thinking about it,” Nicole admitted. “I feel like it’s even more motivation to find land, so we can tell the police what we know, maybe help the other passengers get rescued.”

  “Yes.” Fiona hadn’t let herself dwell on the plight of the passengers on the Cyprus Star, but Nicole was right. They had vital information about the hijacking. “Hopefully soon.”

  They kept talking as they ate, distracting themselves from the disgusting food and discomfort of their situation, although Fiona’s aches and pains had grown impossible to ignore. After they’d finished, Nicole passed out breath mints as promised, as well as thermal suits. And she didn’t say a word when Fiona snagged one of the aspirin packets from the first aid kit—not even a raised eyebrow—which, frankly, Fiona really fucking appreciated.

  Actually, she appreciated pretty much everything about her. Nicole had been straightforward and resourceful throughout their ordeal, despite her initial panic when the pirates boarded the boat. At this point, Fiona was somewhere between smitten and obsessed, unable to think about anything but fucking her as soon as they made it to dry land, which she really hoped would be soon, because she was so done with this lifeboat and pretty much everything about their situation except Nicole’s company.

  But the emergency ration curbed her hunger, the aspirin soothed her pain, and the thermal suit—once she’d shed her dress and climbed inside—offered some much-needed warmth. “I’ll take the first shift.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Fiona nodded. As exhausted as she was, she was too wired to sleep right now. She needed the quiet reflection of a little time to herself while Nicole slept first.

  “This feels so good,” Nicole murmured, lying somewhat awkwardly across the row of seats. “Tell me when you’re ready for a break.”

  “I will. You get some sleep,” Fiona told her. They’d barely slept last night, and they’d get sloppy if they didn’t rest tonight. They couldn’t afford to get sloppy.

  Something she hadn’t voiced out loud yet was her fear that no one was looking for them. No one would have reported them missing. If the kidnappers had even noticed she and Nicole were gone, they would keep that information to themselves, would pretend they still had every passenger to maximize their ransom demand. Until the Cyprus Star was rescued, no one would know she and Nicole weren’t on it.

  It was up to them to save themselves.

  Behind her, Nicole’s breathing evened out. Apparently, exhaustion left her able to sleep while laid out across a row of plastic seats that couldn’t be even remotely comfortable. For a few minutes, Fiona just watched her sleep, admiring the steady rise and fall of her chest and the way her eyelashes occasionally fluttered.

  God, she was beautiful, with those impossibly dark lashes and all that smooth, tanned skin. Her hair had been pin straight when they met—no doubt the product of a hairdryer—but now it curled around her face in soft waves and the occasional ringlet, not so unlike Fiona’s own unruly corkscrews. She resisted the urge to reach down and twirl one of Nicole’s curls between her fingers.

  Reluctantly, she returned her attention to the instruments in front of her. The compass showed they were still headed north, although no land dotted the horizon ahead. After a while, her eyelids grew heavy beneath the steady hum of the engine as darkness fell across the sky. She’d been running on adrenaline for twenty-four hours now, and she had just crashed like slamming headfirst into a cement wall.

  Determined to give Nicole a proper rest before she caved to her own exhaustion, she resorted to pinching herself periodically to prod herself awake, but eventually, even that wasn’t enough. She climbed out of the thermal suit and walked the lifeboat end to end—not giving a flying fuck that she wore only her underwear, because she was lost at sea, so who cared? If only there’d been room for yoga. That might have helped calm the growing restlessness and frustration inside her.

  After prowling the boat, she returned to the captain’s chair—still wearing only her underwear—and double-checked they were still headed in the right direction. Off to the right, a light glimmered on the horizon. A jolt raced through her system, erasing all symptoms of fatigue. Another boat? Land?

  Should she change course and head toward it? What if it was the Cyprus Star? She hoped they were miles away from it by now, but for all she knew, they were unknowingly following in its wake. Before she could decide what to do, the light blinked out, snuffed by the horizon.

  Maybe it was for the best. If it was another boat, it was surely moving faster than they were. With their fuel running critically low, it would be foolish to start motoring in circles out here, chasing lights on the horizon. Their safest course was to keep heading in a straight line until land came into sight. Hopefully, friendly land, because there were a few countries out here she wasn’t wild about crashing into.

  Now that the excitement of the light had passed, fatigue swept over her again. How long had it been since Nicole fell asleep? Minutes? An hour? Hours? She had no fucking clue. So she got up and started pacing again, back and forth, back and forth, checking their course on the end of each loop. She hurt, her bones rattled with cold, and her limbs felt like they were made from lead.

  Eventually, after what she hoped had been hours and not minutes, she picked up her thermal suit and tapped Nicole on the shoulder.

  “Mm,” Nicole murmured, rolling toward her.

  Fiona braced a hand against her chest to keep her from rolling off the narrow row of seats onto the floor. “Careful,” she whispered.

  Nicole’s eyes popped open, widening as she took in Fiona’s mostly naked form in front of her. She cleared her throat, blinked, and dragged her gaze up to Fiona’s face. “Did you, um, did you get hot in the suit?”

  “No, but being warm made me too sleepy.” Fiona stepped into her suit, zipping it up to her chest. It was like a body-shaped, spacesuit-looking sleeping bag, and it was warm, but not as hot as the look in Nicole’s eyes when she’d seen Fiona’s bare breasts.

  “I’m up.” Nicole dragged herself upright, rubbing at her eyes. “Your turn to sleep. You look exhausted.”

  “I am.” Too tired to debate the point or even fully appreciate the fact that Nicole had just seen her in her underwear. She lay down in the spot Nicole had vacated, watching the sway of her hair over her shoulders as she sat in the captain’s seat until Fiona slipped into unconsciousness.

  Nicole’s hair brushed against her cheek. They were in bed together, and Fiona wanted to kiss and touch every inch of her, but her arms were trapped against her chest, and her pillow felt like it was made of cement. She groaned in frustration.

  “Fi…wake up…” Nicole’s voice filtered through her brain, drawing her back toward reality. The first thing she registered was the silence. No sound of the engine rumbling beneath her.

  “What…?” she mumbled, scrambling to gather her wits as her eyes blinked open. God, she was so tired, she felt drunk.

  “We ran out of gas about an hour ago, but that’s not why I woke you,” Nicole said. “Listen.”

  Fiona blinked into the darkness, straining her ears to hear anything other than the hollow slap of water against the hull and her own ragged breathing. Beyond all that, she could just make out a rhythmic roar that almost sounded like…

  “Hear that?” Nicole said, excitement in her tone. “Waves crashing! And
that means…”

  Fiona sat upright, reaching for her in the darkness. “Land.”

  NICOLE CLUTCHED FIONA’S HANDS, tears spilling over her cheeks. “We did it. We’re safe.”

  “I hope so,” Fiona said, her voice even raspier than usual from sleep. “I don’t see any lights. If we were going to wash up on the beach of that fancy hotel we’ve been dreaming about, there would be lights.”

  “Dammit, stop being so rational.” Nicole leaned forward to fish her cell phone out of the storage chest. Sending up a silent prayer, she powered it on. She and Fiona waited in breathless silence as it searched…and searched…for a signal. “Nothing.” And her battery was down to four percent. She turned it off. They’d never found Fiona’s phone. Presumably, it was at the bottom of the Mediterranean.

  “Maybe the fancy resort is up the beach a little ways,” Fiona said.

  “It sounds kind of rough out there. What if we’re about to crash into rocks or something?”

  Fiona’s arm snaked around her waist, pulling Nicole onto the seat beside her. “Then we’ll go down together, fighting.”

  “Now you’re scaring me.” Nicole turned toward her, wrapping her arms around her in the darkness.

  Fiona’s lips pressed against her neck. “Sorry. I’m not trying to. But to prove I can learn from my mistakes, let’s put our harnesses on in case we’re about to have another rough landing, hm?”

  “Yes.” Nicole put her phone away and fumbled with the straps behind her, securing the harness across her chest as Fiona did the same beside her. “If we can float around out here until dawn, we’ll be able to guide ourselves in.”

  “I thought you said we’d run out of fuel?” Fiona rested her head on Nicole’s shoulder the way she’d done last night, and Nicole couldn’t remember ever feeling closer to another person.

  She burrowed her fingers into the silvery fabric of Fiona’s thermal suit. “We have, but there are paddles.”