Page 110 of No One Aboard
He looked to the cockpit, wishing his weak voice could carry to Tia and warn her what he was about to do.
She’d been the one to tell him to do it, though, hadn’t she?SaveyOurSelf.
Though maybe she’d meant it more likeSave yourself, Rylan. For once.
In the cockpit, Tia and Francis were facing off at the wheel. Francis reached for it, Tia stepped back from it, and it seemed momentarily that they had reached some kind of accord. But then a sudden gigantic swell pointedThe Old Eileen’s bowsprit straight up at the sky, upending Rylan and knocking Lila overboard. She landed in the life raft, while Rylan was flattened against the railing he clung to, the wind slammed out of him. When he looked back at the cockpit, the helm spun free of its captain. He searched wildly for his father, for Tia.
They must have been swept overboard too.
Below, Lila waved at Rylan and mouthed pleas that he couldn’t hear. He wanted to whimper and curl into the fetal position and wait for the nightmare to end, but his family was down in that water.
So Rylan held his breath and jumped.
He landed in the trough of a wave. His life jacket rocketed him to the surface. From the raft, Lila strained to grab onto the straps. She pulled him aboard, bellowing a very unladylike cry at the effort. They fell back together, and Rylan popped back up, scanning the surface for his twin.
“Tia! Tia!” Even if her head were above water, there was no way she’d hear him. All of Rylan’s rescue-diver training came back to him in fragments. Unresponsive diver at the surface... rescue breaths... CPR...
But none of it mattered if he couldn’tfindthem.
“Rylan! We have one minute. We need to move!” Lila unhooked the tether to the raft and picked up a paddle. She plunged it in the water, trying to get them away fromThe Old Eileen.
“Wait!” Rylan’s heart dropped into his toes. His breathing came quick and ragged. He turned to his mother, pure panic in his voice. “Pirate’s still onboard!”
He stood to dive back into the water. The poor cat was belowdecks, probably terrified of the noise and feel of the storm. Hehadto go back for him.
“It’s too late.” Lila yanked him down and dropped the paddle. She held Rylan to her chest and covered her ears as best she could. “Hold on!”
Through his desperate sobs, Rylan managed to glance at his watch.
11.59.58
11.59.59
12.00.00
Rylan braced himself for the explosion.
It didn’t come.
Lila’s hands dropped to her lap, and she gaped at the ship, openmouthed. Rylan sobbed in relief. His cat was still okay.
It didn’t go off...Lila must have said—at least that’s what he read on her lips.
Suddenly Rylan felt very cold.
“Mom,” he said, a numb sensation crawling across his skin even beneath the life jacket. “Mom, how did you know the ship was going to sink at midnight? Why weren’t you worried about Alejandro getting killed in the blast?”
Lila rocked, her silk robe soaked. The rain between them made her pale face look cracked. “He’s dead,” she said. The storm made her sound shrill. “And he didn’t love me.”
“Wh-what?”
The tent-like apparatus of the life raft was keeping some of the rain off them, but it also blocked their view of the water. Not that they needed a view. Rylan could feel the ocean roiling under them.
Lila’s lower lip quivered. “I told him to set the explosives. I knew we had the supplies we needed. I gave him the midnight deadline. So you don’t have to spend your birthday on that boat, see? It’s okay! We’re going to be rescued, lovey. We’re going to be rescued, and this will be all over the news.”
Rylan’s jaw hung loose. He should never have gotten into the raft with her.
Suddenly, Lila shrieked and pointed over his shoulder. He whipped around.
