Page 108 of Lethal Abduction

It’s a ridiculous question, given the circumstances in which I found her. Juvenile. Selfish to even think, let alone ask.

And yet it’s the only question that matters to me.

Sure, I want to know what deal she made with themudakin that hotel room. Not that it matters, since the fucker is already walking around on borrowed time. He’s a dead man the minute I unravel whatever shitstorm is going down here.

Yes, I want to know who took her and why. Where she’s been for the past few months.

Why I found her all but naked in a hotel bedroom.

I wrench the boat around a water taxi, so close I almost clip it.

But all of those questions, no matter how disturbing their answers might be, pale into insignificance next to the first one.

Were you planning to come back to me, Abby? Do you want to come back to me now?

And I can’t ask those questions. Not now, and not until this entire thing is over.

Or are you just trying to avoid hearing what you already fucking know?

I know that the only reason Abby is currently lying a few feet from me is because she wants to keep her parents safe. I know that if there’d been any option tonight other than coming with me, she’d have taken it.

She’s here right now because I’m her only choice.

I saw it in her eyes in that hotel room. In her panicked expression when Pete mentioned the embassy.

I trust him, she told her father.

But that isn’t true. Not really.

Because if Abby really trusted me, she never would have left me in the first place. And she sure won’t trust me now, after she disappeared and I didn’t look for her.

I glare at the nighttime lights shimmering on the river. On Paddy’s advice, I’m avoiding the small canals where traffic is slower and tourists more noticeable, taking a direct route straight down Chao Phraya River, which eventually opens into the Gulf of Thailand.

“If you make it that far,” Paddy told me, “turn west, toward the mangroves and rice paddies. You’ll be easier to spot, but there’ll be less people looking.”

Where we’ll go from there, I have no idea. Right now we just need to be out of this city.

“There’s water and some food in a crate,” I say in a low voice, keeping my eyes on the river. “But go lightly. I’m not sure when we’ll be able to restock.”

“I’m fine.” Between the canvas barrier and the engine noise, Abby’s voice is barely audible. “Do you want me to pass you anything?”

I bite back the urge to laugh. It seems a stupidly polite conversation to be having under the circumstances.

“No,” I say shortly. “Stay down until we’re clear of the city. As far as I know, nobody will be looking for me. As long as you stay hidden, we have a decent chance of getting out of here.”

“They’ll notice you sooner or later” comes Abby’s muffled reply. “No chance anyone is going to mistakeyoufor a Thai fisherman, even wearing those ridiculous pants. ”

I flick my eyes toward her in surprise. Abby’s face is stillhidden, but her dry comment sounded suspiciously like a return of her customary snark.

It’s an opening I’m definitely going to take.

“That’s the second time tonight you’ve called my clothes ridiculous.” I strive for a light tone. “And after I changed them just for you, too. I’m hurt.”

A faint gurgle of laughter comes from beneath the canvas. It’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever fucking heard, and suddenly, I don’t want it to stop.

“Besides,” I carry on, finding myself grinning despite it all, “you’re wearing the same ridiculous pants I am, so you can’t talk. And at least my T-shirt is a plain black one. Yours has a rainbow heart with glitter around it and the wordpeacein the center, which means that whoever chose it clearly doesn’t know you at all.”

“Oh, wow.” Her swift retort is music to my ears. “This, coming from a man who doesn’t even know how to wear a pair of Thai pants properly. You look like the kid who failed origami, the way you’ve tied those things up.”

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