Skullduggery Book Two {sapphic thriller}

CHAPTER FIVE

"Desirae, pull over," I urged.

"What? Here?"

"It's gone."

"What's gone?"

"Petra. The yacht." As we cruised down the cliffside road, I had a clear view of the marina and the slip where Petra should have been docked. "Pull over at that overlook."

Desirae slowed the Ferrari and pulled off to the side. A small overlook jutted out about forty feet over the deep azure of the Mediterranean. I scanned every yacht along the docks, but Petra was not amongst them.

I opened the car door and ran to the edge of the overlook where barely a flat boulder of volcanic rock stopped me from plunging into the sea below. The sun was straight overhead. I shielded my eyes to squint across the water. Out past the marina's breakwaters, I spotted my beautiful boat cruising southeast, fast. As fast as her new turbo charged engines would carry her.

My heart sunk.

"She left me."

I plopped down on the boulder, feet dangling over the edge

Behind me, gravel crunched beneath soft footsteps. "Are you surprised?" Desirae took a seat next to me. "After you left her to be arrested in Bay City?"

"So she'd rather have me killed or have me go back to prison—or both than get her money?" I watched helplessly as Petra cruised farther out of sight, just a white dot reflecting the sun. "She must really fucking hate me."

"She doesn't hate you, Kirby. But you broke her heart." A ding from Desirae's phone briefly stole her attention. "Twice, for that matter."

"Is that her?"

When she didn't answer, I turned to face her better. "Des?"

Worry wrinkled her brows. "Just an email."

"Liar." As I snatched the phone away, Desirae tried to grab it back, but nearly knocked us both over the edge. She quickly stopped fighting me and instead glanced over her shoulder. I tapped in her PIN and my old frumpy mugshot popped up.

"Why are you looking at this?"

"Kirby..."

Scrolling down, I saw all my most recent information listed. Where I was hiding out in the village outside of Pozzallo. A photo of me eating a granita the other morning. Another on a date. And a still image of me leaving Georgiy's villa.

Hands red with blood.

"Interpol just put you on red notice."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I scrambled to my heels less carefully than I should have. My heart hammered as I wobbled on the uneven surface. "Give me the fucking keys, Desirae. I need to get to the marina."

"And then what?" Desirae cautiously pushed to her feet. "You call Artemisia and beg her to turn around?"

"Why not? Begging is kinda her kink. I don't care, whatever it takes. I'll commandeer that vintage speedboat I've had my eye on. I need to get off this island."

She gripped my arm hard. "I just found you, Kirby. I'm not letting you go again." As determined as her words were to stop me, I could feel a different desperation in her voice. I got a glimpse of that woman I thought I knew.

"Then come with me, Des."

Her deep umber eyes locked onto me. "You know why I can't."

I jerked my arm free. "You keep playing by the law and your little cop rules, but they've gotten you nowhere closer in finding your husband's body."