You have your way with me and pass me off to the bad guys after?”
“I’m not passing you off to anyone.” There’s a level of possession in his voice that tickles my stomach, and I hate that I kind of like it.
“So, then, why are you hanging onto me like an ugly purse that doesn’t match your outfit?”
“I’m curious to know their interest in you.”
“Well, when you figure that out, perhaps you’ll clue me in, too.”
“Perhaps.”
As comfortable as this is, with the breeze and the gun in my hand, the long stretch of silence between us that follows is unnerving. Tapping my foot against the bottom of the boat, I try to think of something else to ask, while I have the chance. Unfortunately, conversation isn’t my strong suit. “So. You live alone. I mean, I know there’s no woman in the picture, but you don’t have a psychotic roommate, or anything, right?”
“I live alone. Except for Moses.”
“Who the hell is Moses?”
“You’re about to find out.” The hum of the skiff slows to a puttering, before the engine eventually cuts out. The boat rocks slightly, as he seems to move around the stern of it. At the first touch on my arm, my muscles tighten, and his gentle but steady grip lifts me up onto a solid surface. A breeze of delicious woodsy musk pervades my senses, while he leads me toward the unknown. At a splash of water, I flinch, and we come to a stop.
His grip on my arm falls away. “You can take off the blindfold.”
Awkwardly holding the gun, I slip the fabric from my eyes to blinding lights beating down on me. Squinting against the intense flare, I stare down at him, while my sight adjusts, to find him opening up the cooler he lifted out of the boat.
He tosses a piece of the contained fish into the water. Seconds later, an enormous set of teeth emerge from the murky depths and snatch it up.
A shiver rushes down my spine, as I watch the alligator that must be about twelve feet in length, if that enormous head is anything to go by. The narrow jetty I’m standing on suddenly doesn’t feel very stable, or safe, not if that thing decides to leap up out of the water for my feet.
Before I even realize what I’m doing, I glance down to find my fingers digging into Thierry’s arm and back up a step. “Moses, I take it?”
“Yes. He greets me every evening.”
“You must feed him well.”
“He’s had a few good meals.” Leaving the cooler where it is, he jerks his head for me to follow.
Eyes glued to the bumpy muzzle sticking up over the water’s surface, I skirt around the cooler after my smartass host, toward a rather pricey-looking boat docked closer to the shore. A yacht, I’m guessing, though I’ve never actually seen one up close. The front of the monstrosity is one big deck, with rocking chairs set at either side of the door, like a friggin’ house. I’ve heard of house boats before, but this thing must be the luxury edition, and it looks wildly out of place, tucked into a row of cypress trees and surrounding swampland. Not a single neighbor that I can make out at either side of it. Totally secluded.
If one were interested in killing and disposing, this would be the place to go.
Pausing at the door, Thierry turns toward me, flicking his fingers expectantly. After a quick glance down at the gun, I hand it off to him.
“I have to admit, you don’t look like the gun type,” I say, ignoring the fact that the gun looks totally natural in his hand. Something about the easy way he holds it. Like a born killer. “I suspected you’d be much more intimate than that when it comes to your kills. Whispering sweet nothings in your victim’s ears while you gut them open.”
Flashing me a brief grin, he turns back toward the door, checking the mag of his gun, before popping it back in. “You’re very perceptive. Did you go to school for that, or have you just dated your fair share of psychopaths?”
“I’ve known a few assholes.”
Without another word, he opens the door, letting the gun lead the way, and when his hand rests against my hip, drawing me behind him, almost protectively, the jokes no longer hold any merit.
Not bothering to turn on the light, he performs a quick sweep of the rooms, keeping me at his back at