they won that battle. There’s nothing left in the cave, and no survivors they could find. Malmon, according to Riley’s sources, hasn’t been back to the villa. His things are there right enough, but he hasn’t been seen.”
“If I had a fucking beer, I’d drink to that.”
“Considering all, I’ll get us both a beer.”
“Not for Sawyer, not as yet.” Bran, one of his kits in hand, walked out.
“Have a heart. I’ve been mostly dead all day.”
“Excellent Princess Bride usage.” Riley came out with a tray—the glass of sun tea, the pasta. “There’s more coming, but you can get started.”
“First, the pain—one to ten.”
Sawyer shrugged at Bran. “Maybe four and a half.”
“That means a solid six,” Riley said. “He’s downplaying.”
“I agree.” Bran took a vial from the kit. “For the pain,” he said. “Not for sleep. Just to take the pain down a bit. Sasha will insist on dealing with it, and I’d as soon she didn’t take on that much.”
“Fine.” Sawyer waited until Bran added a few drops to the glass, then downed the tea. “I gotta eat.”
He shoved in two healthy bites, sat back, said, “Whoa. For the pain?”
“It’ll give you a bit of an energy boost as well.”
“I’ll say. You need to get Annika to the water—seawater.”
“I’ll see to it.”
Both Sasha and Annika came out with trays.
“We’ve got more pasta,” Sasha began. “Bread, cheese, fruit, olives, peppers, and anything else Anni could think of.”
“Great. What are the rest of you going to eat?” Sawyer asked and grabbed a hunk of bread.
“Let’s see about the pain.”
“It’s barely there now,” he told Sasha.
“Then let’s get it gone. I’m good at this now. Just relax and keep eating.”
“How about that beer?”
“Half a glass of wine to start,” Bran said. “Then we’ll see how we go. Are you up for a report?”
“I’m definitely up. Thanks, Anni, this is great.”
“I didn’t set the table.”
“Next time. Here’s my POV. When I went back in the water, they had her in a goddamn net. She was out, unconscious. Between us and the sharks, their numbers were down, but not enough. They hit me with something, some sort of tranq, I’d say. Same thing they used on Annika most likely. And the next thing I know, I’m hanging by my arms in that cave. Lots of equipment—thugs with guns, and this tank. They had Annika in a tank of water.
“Sit down, Sash. Really, I’m good.”
“You had some torn muscles in your shoulders, in addition to where you were shot. And burns on your chest.” But Sasha sat.
“Feels okay now. Then he walks in. Mr. Torture.”
“Yadin,” Riley said.
“Introduced himself, real polite. Then he got started.”
He skimmed over the worst of it—what was the point?—but gave them the overview.
“Yadin had it rigged so he could send electrical current into the water. The son of a bitch kept zapping her.”
“And you,” Annika said.
“Depending on your scale, you could say he kept it light, until Malmon got there,” Sawyer continued. “Something off about him, Malmon. I want to say he walked different—like his shoes were too tight. And he wore shades inside the cave, and a long-sleeved shirt. And, I know it sounds weird, but his fingers were too long.”
“His fingers,” Riley repeated.
“Yeah, I know, weird, and I was feeling a little rough by the time he came to join the party.”
“Sawyer is right. He wasn’t like the other men. I felt he was not . . .” Annika struggled for the words. “Complete? Not one thing, not the other.”
“Seventh daughter of a seventh daughter’s instincts,” Riley pointed out, “which march right alongside our resident seer’s. We saw him sign a contract with Nerezza, in blood. I restate my vote for demon.”
“He seemed human enough,” Sawyer continued. “But edgy, jittery somehow. You know that’s not his style, Riley.”
“Nope, cool, calm superiority. The kind that slits your throat—or more likely pays to have it slit—without the slightest rise in blood pressure.”
“He’s pissed, too, because he can’t get the compass to work.”
“He struck Sawyer very hard, and the bindings you took off, Bran, cut into him. The other man talked to him, so he stopped.”
“Yeah, yeah, I guess I blanked there a minute. Malmon lost it. Yadin talked him down.”
“He had the man put the knife in Sawyer, but he told the man to hurt me more.”
“Increase the voltage. He said he’d fry her, and he meant it. He was past thinking of the profit he’d get from her.”