Page 105 of Emergency Exit
Harper
Yoga
Harper dusted off her hands and stood back, feeling proud of herself, like all her engineer co-workers would approve of her work. The engine manual had been invaluable. It even had diagrams. If she had calculated correctly, the boat was about to get stuck in gear, which would then cause it to overheat and ultimately conk out the engine.
She picked up the manual again and flipped to the coolant system section. It seemed like there was more she could do there.
The door opened, and Harper looked at Stephanie’s permanently dissatisfied face.
“Come on,” snapped Stephanie, gesturing to her to exit the room. “Oh, my God, are you reading the manual? What is wrong with you?”
“I was bored,” said Harper.
Stephanie rolled her eyes, and Harper shrugged. Other people might have inquired what Harper was doing with the manual and thought to investigate, but Stephanie lacked imagination.
Stephanie took her back out to the big room and pushed her onto the couch. Emma had changed to leggings and a sweatshirt and was sipping from a Hydro Flask. Her trench coat hung over the back of one of the chairs, and a yoga mat was on the floor. Somehow, the idea that Emma was doing yoga while Harper was locked in the engine room made Harper angrier than the kidnapping.
The boat gave a funny lurch, and Emma grabbed the windowframe, but Stephanie didn’t notice. Stephanie continued to poke at her phone, and Emma took a sip from her water bottle. A man hurried past the window, went to the boat’s back, and looked over the edge. He was wearing an anorak and crisp white pants. Then he spoke to someone on a walkie-talkie. Emma watched him with a frown.
“We’re going kind of fast, don’t you think?” asked Emma.
“It’s fine,” said Stephanie. “The crew know what they’re doing.”
“I thought we were putting her out at Bell Harbor. Shouldn’t we be slowing down?”
“Emma! Let it go!”
Emma glared at her sister and took another sip from the pale blue Hydro Flask. The double-walled water bottles were so popular that Piper had made fun of Harper for having one, but Harper had pointed out that they were highly functional and could last for years.
Another crew member was out on the deck. There was more running this time, and Harper felt a little gleeful spurt of rebellion. Her sabotage was about to get noticed. She wasn’t sure what would happen then, but it probably wouldn’t make Stephanie happy.
“OK,” said Stephanie, poking at her phone and then turning it around to face Harper. “Tell Ash you’re fine. Honestly, I don’t know why he’s overreacting so hard.”
The call clicked open, and the phone focused on Ash’s face. He had a very hard expression, and Harper thought it made him look more like his older brothers.
“Hey, baby!” said Harper.
“Harper, are you OK?” he asked.
The boat jerked, and the crew members ran back toward the front of the yacht.
“Yes,” said Harper, “but I saw an eagle.”
Harper saw Ash process the statement.
“Baby, have you been bad, or do you just have poor impulse control?” asked Ash, and while she had never thought thatbabywas a good nickname, she had to admit it was kind of sexy when Ash used it.
“What the hell are you two talking about?” demanded Emma, obviously picking up on the undercurrent.
“Both,” said Harper, ignoring Emma.
There was an odd surge and the faint sound of yelling from above them in the cockpit. The boat bounced again. This time, Stephanie staggered, and Emma’s Hydro Flask slid off the table, rolling toward Harper’s feet.
“Meet you at the emergency exit,” said Harper.
“OK, that’s enough,” said Emma, grabbing Stephanie’s phone and flipping it off.
“Hey,” protested Stephanie.
