Page 86 of The Situation Ship
The question surprised him. He hesitated, and she stared up at him, eyes wide with fear and hope. They had only known each other for less than a fortnight, but every day had felt like a decade. They had been through more together in a matter of days than most couples went through in a lifetime.
“Not until you,” Isaiah confessed.
“You mean that?” she asked, sitting up so they could talk face to face. “Even after everything that’s happened, everything I’ve told you?”
He noticed how she bit her lip to contain her smile, like she was afraid to be happy. He knew all her secrets, including some he should arrest her for, but instead, he loved her. It didn’t feel possible.
Isaiah closed the gap between them and desperately kissed her concerns away. Not wanting to hurt her, he gently eased her towards him until she straddled him. The friction made her gasp against his mouth.
“I love you too.” Her confession was barely a whisper against his lips.
Heat travelled down his spine as she ground herself against him in the most delicious rhythm. With only thin fabric separating them and her dress pushed up around her hips, his hard length started to throb with need. Her moans told him she couldn’t take much more, either.
“You don’t have to say it if you’re not ready,” he said, not wanting her to feel any pressure.
“You’re the only person I’ve said that to and truly meant it.” Poppy took his hand and placed it over her heart. “This is yours, and yours only.”
Her words nearly stopped his heart, but when he went to kiss her, she pulled away, and fear twisted his gut.
“Did I hurt you?!”
“No, you didn’t. But I need to know when you realized when it felt like—”
She didn’t know how to ask the question, so he finished it.
“The first night, when you called me a hunky chunky detective, I knew I didn’t stand a chance against you,” he chuckled, holding her in his arms. “Why? Do you think what happened in the surveillance room will change how I feel about you? Because it won’t.” He rested his forehead against hers, practically hearing her thinking.
She removed herself from him but stayed close. He waited patiently, letting her take all the time she needed.
“Sophia. The woman I was talking to was Sophia,” she told him at last. “She threatened to kill you, to ruin your career because of what you know about me, about what I’ve done. I knew I loved you when I didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. What I said in the taxi – I meant it when I said I wouldn’t lose you. Davide was just another scapegoat. She wanted him to take the blame for Patrice, Joshua, Calliope, and even Mina. Davide was her escape plan, but I was the final piece of the puzzle.”
“What’s next?” Isaiah asked, digesting this. He had a dozen more questions but forced himself to remain quiet and listen.
“Me. It’s only me and Sophia left. She’ll find me when the time is right. I don’t know why or what I’ve done to fuel such hatred. I don’t know when she’ll approach, but I don’t doubt it’ll be soon. She’s as tired of this game as I am, but I also think she’ll wait until I’m home. There’s too much heat on us here and too many eyes on the investigation. She doesn’t want to get caught, and her self-preservation should protect us for a little while,” Poppy said. “Patrice and Joshua’s deaths were merely to prevent her from being named and caught. She wants to protect her own life as much as she wants to take mine. That plays in our favour.”
“You want to use yourself as bait.” Isaiah read between the lines, wondering why she was hesitating to share this or look at him. She had shot Davide to protect him, and now she was going to end it herself. If she was right, time was on their side. “Once we’re home, I’ll use every resource I have to find her. She won’t get away with this. Tomorrow, I’ll talk to Captain Hamill and the police. She won’t be able to leave the country.”
“We’ve got no evidence against her. As far as everyone living knows, she’s just another guest on the ship with an alibi for two of the deaths on board. If you go after her, she’ll kill you and disappear. But if we continue to live as normal, go home, and lether think that I’m going along with her plan, she’ll come after me– and I’ll be ready. We’ll be ready. If you tell the police and Captain Hamill, we’ll be back in the dark.”
He made to argue, but her lips slammed against him, silencing him. He could taste her desperation, how much she needed him to believe in her, that this was what she needed. If Sophia knew what Poppy had done, going to the police was mutually assured destruction. She would end up in a cell right next to Sophia’s.
“Trust me?” she asked, holding his face in her hands.
He took a breath. “I trust you.”
Poppy would have much preferred for Isaiah to stay in bed with her, but Captain Hamill called him early the next morning to help the local police go through events on the ship. He didn’t want to leave her, but they both understood they needed to cooperate. Given what had happened with Davide, she understood that the captain wasn’t ready to face her yet. She was scheduled to go to the police station this afternoon when he returned anyway, so they had no reason to cross paths until the captain was ready.
After a careful shower, Poppy found the first aid kit in Phoebe’s kitchen and cleaned her shoulder as best she could. She hadn’t developed a fever and the wound wasn’t red or inflamed, so she wasn’t too worried about an infection. An oversized T-shirt and a pair of Phoebe’s shorts were a struggle to get on by herself, but better than staying in last night’s dress. Thepain when she tried to use her right arm was the worst of her concerns, so she tried to keep it tucked closely to her side.
When she found breakfast and a strawberry milkshake prepared for her in the fridge, she wished Isaiah was home so she could thank him properly. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before he returned from theMidas. Even though her deal with Sophia had secured Isaiah and Mina’s safety for now, Poppy worried Sophia would go back on her word, and she hated him being away. With her injured shoulder, she couldn’t protect herself or anyone else without him.
Outside in the sun, she sat on the cushioned lounger and ate breakfast by the pool while waiting for Phoebe to come by. Isaiah had mentioned she would stop by and keep her company while he was gone. If it hadn’t been for the murderer on the loose, she would’ve felt like she was on holiday. She couldn’t thank Phoebe enough for all her help. For the first time in her life, Poppy found herself surrounded by good people instead of being miserable and lonely. But she also understood how it felt to have people to lose, and it stirred a new fear in her she didn’t know existed.
“Phoebe, I’m down here!” she called out as she heard the sliding door open, easing herself up slowly. “I’ve got watermelon and chocolate muffins to spare.”
She turned, and saw Sophia walking down the steps to the patio.
“Thanks, but I already ate. The breakfast at the hotel was phenomenal, though I was disappointed when I saw Phoebe and not you in the breakfast room,” she drawled.
