Resonating Souls (Bermuda Nights #1)(26)

I staggered to my feet, and for a long moment it seemed my legs wouldn’t hold me. Then, at last, they stabilized enough to keep me upright. I leaned against the wall, taking one step toward the door, then two. My hand went to the metal handle.

Evan’s hand rested on top of mine, gently, delicately, the touch of a mother robin’s wing sweeping over the fragile blue eggs of her children. His voice was low and rich with emotion. “Amanda, please wait.”

I stared at his hand as if it were a viper’s head. “Nothing you could say will make me change my mind.”

His breath eased out of him, and tension sung in every muscle in his body. He gazed into my eyes as if it were the last sight he would ever see.

And then he spoke.

“Amanda -”

I turned the handle.

The door burst in on me, knocking me back, and I sprawled on the metal floor. Jeff strode in, his eyes sweeping from Evan down to me with sharp fury. He called back over his shoulder. “You were right, Mikey. We’ve got them now.”

There was a movement behind him. Five large men filled the doorway, creating an impenetrable barrier between us and the safety of the world beyond.

Jeff slipped his hand into his back pocket, coming out with a set of brass knuckles. He slowly settled them on his right hand. His eyes pinned me like a bully’s knife deliberately spearing a butterfly to a wooden fence. “You watch this good, Mandy,” he ordered. “You watch your playmate get pummeled into red jelly. Because, once he’s dumped on shore, and our ship leaves dock in four hours, it’ll just be you and me the whole cruise home.”