Marco literally dragged Khaye's limp body away from the entrance while the other detectives ran out with their guns. Gian was kneeling over his sister and shouting for someone to call for help.

It was Marco who thought of assessing Khaye's physical state. He felt a pulse but it was weak and her breathing wasn't good either. She had lost consciousness and there was a lot of blood over the right side of her chest. He located the bullet entrance just near her clavicle. "We have to take her out of here now," he said to Gian.

His partner looked over his shoulder where the detectives were scattered. Some of them already ran across the street to get to the building where the shooter must have been hiding. Gian didn't waste more time and took Khaye in his arms. Marco ran outside to get his car. He was already wailing his siren by the time Gian managed to get Khaye in the backseat.

On their way to the nearest hospital, Gian tried to shake Khaye to her senses. She opened her eyes once but that was all. She was losing a lot of blood. Marco shouted orders to the other detectives back in the station. He called a trusted team to gather the footages from the station and the cameras across the street. "Make sure no one touches them other than your team, you get it? No one gets those damned footages!"

They reached the hospital and Khaye was immediately handed over to the ER nurses. Marco had to stop Gian from running after the team when they wheeled her to the surgical area.

"Hey, she's going to be okay," he said to his partner.

Gian's face pictured more than just worry. Marco saw the anger in his eyes. "We shouldn't have let her be involved in this." He looked at the closed door behind him with regret.

"There is no point in thinking what we should have done or shouldn't have. It already happened. And this just means one thing," he said, sitting down on a vacant chair and leaning his head against the wall. "Your sister is in danger from the very people we have been hunting down for years. If she goes through with this, we have to make sure that she stays alive."

Gian did not answer. He just stared at Marco for a moment, his face unreadable. "I need some air," he said before taking off.

*****

"What did you do inside that room?" he asked her the moment she stepped inside the cabin.

Desiree stepped out of her heels and walked to the bar. She needed a drink after her crazy and nerve-wrecking encounter with Mr. Berkeley. "Nothing. Just what you wanted me to do."

"I didn't tell you to drag him into a fucking dressing area." His voice was cold, almost angry.

"You told me to get close to him, didn't you? I just did what he suggested we should do. There was no harm done."

"He could have easily strangled you do death back there. Have you realized that? Were you so confident that he would stick his dick out instead of a knife?"

Desiree's jaw tightened. "What the fuck are you talking about?" She took a gulp of brandy to calm her nerves. "Do you think we did it back there? How could we have managed that?" she asked when he did not say a word. Turning around to face him, she looked at his blank face and asked, "Are you jealous?"

The anger on his face was so sudden that it almost took her aback. "This trip is very important for me that a petty thing as jealousy doesn't even have a fucking place in it. What you do with that man concerns me because he has what my client wants. You make one wrong move and this can all end up bad and that includes the children. You don't want that, do you?"

"You are the devil himself," Desiree spat out.

"You haven't seen the devil yet, Desiree. And if you wish not to, follow my orders. Don't do improvisations because there's no room for that." He got up and started for the door.

"Aren't you curious what we did in that room?" she asked after him, her voice taunting and testing.

"He must have liked your performance from what I saw after you both got out. That's enough for me." He looked at her over his shoulder and added, "But don't do it again. He's not someone you would want to be alone with. I can't promise your safety once that happens so no sex with the man, Desiree, otherwise you might just end up like your friend."

Theo left the room after he said that and did not return until it was lunch time. By then, Desiree had already fallen asleep, thinking how she could make Mr. Berkeley trust her. Asking him to show his unique and detailed tattoos wouldn't be enough next time.

*****

"The wound was not the problem. It was the amount of blood loss," the doctor was explaining to Gian. His voice became distant to Marco as he focused his attention on Khaye's pale face. There was no use explaining how they managed to save her. The important thing was that she was alive.

They were still transfusing blood and he watched the IV line filled with the dark red liquid attached to her hand. She looked really pale and the ray of sun through the window made her look like she was on her deathbed. But her breathing was gentle and consistent now and that was all that mattered. Her entire chest was covered with bandages.

"I have to make a call to our parents," Gian said behind him after the doctor left. "They've been calling nonstop."

"Are they coming?" Marco asked.

"I told them not to come. It's not safe for anyone. It's not safe to drag more people into this shit." He looked at his sister's sleeping form. "I'll be right back."

"You go get some rest. I'll watch over her tonight."

Gian considered it for a second. He nodded and sighed. "I'll need to get her things anyway. Are you sure it's okay?"

"I promised her I'll make her safe if she starts telling me the truth. And the minute she did, she was shot. The hell I'm okay with it."

"Thank you," Gian said before leaving.

"And Gian, I think we need to take her somewhere else."

"Why?"

"You know why. Your sister is as good as dead here."

"Okay. Whatever you think is best."

Marco expected Gian to contradict, to say that Khaye needed to heal completely. Maybe he was just stressed and he couldn't think straight.

Alone with Khaye that night, Marco started to make plans.

*****

Khaye didn't know where she was when she opened her eyes. She felt some sort of pain but couldn't point out where it came from.

She tried to speak but her throat was dry. What came out was a soft groan.

"You're awake," Gian's voice said.

She closed her eyes again and tried to ask her question.

"You're in the hospital."

The hospital? What happened?

"You were shot, Khaye. But you're okay now. You're safe."

Everything suddenly came back to her. She was at the station and she watched the footages with Marco. She told him everything about Petroff and then they were leaving in a hurry. That was the last she remembered. A faint memory of a gunshot lingered somewhere but that was the extent of her memory.

"Shooter," she tried to say but it came out as a whisper.

"The shooter?" Gian asked. "We didn't catch him."

There was something wrong with her brother, she thought. He didn't sound like he was himself. Maybe it was just her. She wasn't okay. She must be hearing things differently.

Khaye tried to open her eyes again until it didn't hurt anymore. She scanned the room and found her brother beside her bed, looking at her with blank eyes. She frowned. "Wha...what's wr...wrong?" she breathed out.

Gian stayed motionless for a moment before he blinked and forced a smile on his face. "Nothing. Everything's fine. You've been asleep for two days now. I am glad you're awake." He reached for her hand and gently squeezed it.

There was definitely wrong with him and she didn't like it. "Where...where..."

"Marco? He's doing something. He wants to take you somewhere safe."

She gave a short nod. Yes, she wanted to be taken away. Away from everything. She wanted to be safe. She didn't know who she could trust now. She was shot the moment she decided to tell Marco the truth.

Her eyes went back to her brother's again. He was acting weird. It may not be obvious to others, but as his sister, she was certain something had changed.

His presence alarmed her in a weird way and at that moment, she wasn't sure she felt. She couldn't even bring herself to trust her own brother.

*****

"Where are you going?" Theo asked with a frown.

"Mr. Berkeley invited me for drinks tonight."

He raised an eyebrow. "You already went out for drinks last night."

Desiree shrugged her bare shoulders. "There's nothing much to do on this blasted ship, is there?"

He crossed his leg over the other and stared at her from head down. "You sure made a lot of effort for a night of drinking."

"He enjoys my choice of wardrobe. Don't deny I am not making any progress." For three days now, she had managed to make Mr. Berkeley spill something about the Chinese couple traveling with them. He didn't directly say he knew them, but he referred to them as people he was familiar with.

"You're doing a very good job, actually, considering what you're going to get after this is all over," he said.

"I would do anything if it means I can save those two boys. And knowing your plans for me in regards to Vernier is a bonus point."

He let the silence linger between them before he spoke. "You know you can't do anything for them once we reach home, right? They are not ours to be bothered with in the first place."

"You don't have to own anyone to do something nice to them. Oh," she said, feigning surprise. "Of course you don't know that. You own me and you treat me like...well, whatever. I am sure you won't understand since you grew up thinking that way. I can't blame you either for being who you are. Your father surely made you that way." She turned and went for the door. "Don't wait up. And don't lock the door. I promise to give you some info when I get back. He talks a lot when he's drunk, you know."

"Desiree." His voice sent chills up her spine. She must have hit a nerve somewhere in her speech. "Remember what I told you."

She scoffed. "Don't worry, Theo, I can take care of myself."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" She was startled when his voice came near. He had stood up and walked toward her without a sound.

"You know I can't promise I won't jump in bed with that man."

"You are considering fucking him to save those children?"

She looked him straight in the eye and mockingly smiled. "I've done that for less, haven't I? Remember?"

He grabbed her hand as she reached for the door and roughly whirled her around to face him. He inched his face down until their noses almost touched and she felt his breathing brush against her skin. "That was different."

Desiree tried to pull away but he held her firmly. She scoffed and equalled his gaze. "Oh, yeah? Well, maybe it was. Maybe you deliberately seduced me to your bed to make sure I end up at this very spot. Maybe I have been your pawn from the very start, right?"

"You are talking nonsense."

"Let me go, Theo," she bit out. She was getting uncomfortable with their closeness. "Or I'll start thinking you are getting irrationally jealous."

With that, he pushed her away and walked back to his chair. "Just be sure that you don't go screaming my name for help if he ends up murdering you in bed."

She chose not to answer and left.

Mr. Berkeley was already waiting for her at the bar and his eyes devoured her as she walked in. "Where's Theo?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, busy with his work. That's why I told you this trip is getting boring." She rolled her eyes as she said it, tucking her short her behind one ear. She looked him up and down. "Where are you brothers?"

"I had to lock them in the cabin. I'm starting to get the feeling that I made the wrong choice here."

"What wrong choice?"

"Traveling with kids," he said, his voice full of meaning as his eyes went to her lips.

She ran her tongue through them and smiled. "I want something to drink."

"Of course," he said, raising his hand to order.

*****

"Something came up," Gian told him outside the hospital door.

"What?"

"They found the missing shoe in one of the rooms. No one seemed to have noticed it during the initial investigation."

"I'll go check it out—"

"No, let me do it," Gian said. "I need some distraction after all. You watch over her for now. I'll be back with updates later."

With a frown, Marco watched as Gian left the room in a hurry. He had just arrived and his partner was already eager to run off to somewhere.

"He said he has to call home," Khaye uttered weakly from the bed when he came in. He knew she was trying to cover for his brother's weird departure. They both knew it was a lie. "And I needed a few things from home. He doesn't want to leave me but he has to do it, right?"

Marco looked at her and nodded. "Whatever you say."

A very long awkward silence fell between them. He tried to hold back bombarding her with questions because of her state. And he wasn't sure if she trusted him now after what happened.

"Where are you planning to take me?" she finally asked.

"A very secret place," he answered. "I won't tell you because you do crazy things when you are scared. You have to trust me this time."

She looked him in the eye and nodded. That surprised him. "I don't have a choice now, do I? I've decided to talk and now Petroff knows about it. I don't have any other place to go now."

Another long silence. He was lost for words.

"Don't you have questions for me? I am sure you have a lot and you're just considering when is the right moment to ask. You think it's not now because I am in a hospital bed yet you think you are running out of time because I might be targeted again at any moment."

Marco let out a ridiculous scoff. "Straight to the point. I actually like the honest you, Khaye."

"It makes things better for you," she said with a smile.

"I'll get to my questions at the right time."

"I might end up dead and you might not get the answers that will help you solve this case."

He stared at her for a long time, his jaw clenching. "I won't let something bad happen to you again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she snapped at him. Then her eyes wavered and she said, "I'm sorry. I know what happened was out of your hands."

"But I should have known it. There was a reason why you were so afraid and I chose to ignore it because I wanted things to be done and over with."

"Don't blame yourself. It doesn't suit your persona," she uttered with a chuckle. "So," she added with a sigh before he could answer. "When are we leaving?"

"Until you're good to go," he said.

"No, I don't think I need to stay here another day."

He saw the fear in her eyes again and this time, he took it seriously. "We have people watching out for you 24/7. No one can enter this room without our permission."

She hesitated for a moment. "You can never be sure that everyone who works with you can be trusted."

"I personally picked them."

She was silent for a while before she returned her gaze to him. "Marco, I don't feel comfortable."

"With me or the guys outside the door?"

She blinked and shook her head. "No. I don't feel comfortable around my brother."

*****

"Everything going alright?" Richard asked from the other end of the line.

"I think your delivery guy is going to double cross us, Richard."

"Damn it. How can you be sure?"

"There's a Chinese couple on the cruise with us. They don't look like a couple to me."

"Fuck. I should be there. You won't be able to deal with this."

"I am handling it pretty well, thank you," he snapped.

"How?"

"I have my ways."

"Don't tell me you're getting help from that bitch."

"She's far more useful than you think. I'll keep you updated later. I have to go."

"We already got half of the money for this work, Theo. Don't let that bitch ruin everything."

"I have her on a leash," he lied. "I have to go."

He stared at his phone thinking about what Desiree must be doing with that man at this moment. She had been gone for almost two hours now.

When he thought he couldn't wait another hour, he jumped to his feet and stormed out of the cabin. On his way there, he thought of any possibility that she would actually fuck that guy. But where the hell would they do it? He was in a cabin with two boys and unless she was crazy, she wouldn't jump in bed with snoring kids in one room.

He spotted them a few feet away at the bar, sitting too close to each other. She was intently listening to whatever he was saying with a curious smile. He knew he shouldn't have come the moment her eyes spotted him.

Mr. Berkeley immediately noticed her distracted glance and made a motion to follow her gaze. But Desiree was fast to and she caught the man's face in one hand and leaned over to kiss him.

Theo clenched his teeth as Desiree deepened the kiss. Mr. Berkeley's hand was on her waist, pulling her closer until she was almost straddling him. Her eyes opened and the hand over Mr. Berkeley's shoulder motioned for Theo to go away.

He forced himself to walk off. Once he got back inside the cabin, he checked his watch. He couldn't jeopardize this one, he thought. And so he waited until she came back. It was the longest time he had to wait.

*****

"Can we meet again tomorrow?" Desiree asked Mr. Berkeley. She fought off the urge to slap his hand off her thigh.

"Is Theo giving you less than what you deserve, darling?"

Desiree felt a chill through her spine when his hand slid higher down her dress. "Well, if you must know, we don't have that kind of relationship. As I told you, I am getting bored with this work. You're the distraction I have been looking for."

His eyes bored into hers for a long time and she tried hard to relay a message of desperation to him.

"I don't think I can trust you," he said and her eyes almost leaped out of her chest.

"Well, I can't trust you either. Who knows? You might go to Theo and tell him everything I've been doing behind his back. Now, that is going to be bloody for me."

His hand was now resting on her groin and she was itching to jump off her chair and run away. But now was not the right time.

Mr. Berkeley chuckled. "But I trust that you like money as much as anyone, right, my dear?"

She forced out a moan and nodded. "Oh, very much, yes."

"And I trust that you want to take this," he took his hand an inch higher, "somewhere, right?"

"Uh-huh," she said breathlessly. This was not how she planned it. It was Theo's fault. He shouldn't have appeared right when this bastard was about to tell her something about his work.

"So, my dear, why don't you work with me?"

"Work with you?"

He nodded his head. "I am someone who gets an offer and search for a better one. And right now, I have a better offer, if you know what I mean."

She feigned excitement and shock. "You mean to tell me that—"

He brought his lips to her ear and she felt his tongue gently tasting it, causing a shiver throughout her body. "Yes, my dear. I have another client waiting for me to hand them the packages. And they are paying me double."

Desiree forced out a groan before she leaned away. She gave him a sultry look. "You want me to work against Theo."

"I know this is his first time. He's used to taking care of the business with a pen and his smart talks. But this is his first time, right?"

"Yes, you're right."

"And we can take that to our advantage," he said, running his hand up and down her thigh again.

"We can?"

"Yes. You and I can take the money once the packages are delivered to my new clients. And we can work together from then on."

She pretended to consider it for a moment before she smiled and said, "Then how can I do my part?"

"You don't have to do anything at all for the next two weeks. Not until we are about to dock."

"What do I have to do?" she asked with excitement.

"Simple. You just make sure that Theo can't come after us when we take the packages to our real clients."

"How do I do that?"

"You knock him unconscious. You tie him down. You can even kill the bastard. That's up to you."

That was actually a tempting offer, she thought. "And then we'll be gone?"

"With our money, yes. But if you want to work with me, we can't see each other again. That will make Theo suspicious and it is very important that you make him think you are still working for him."

"But—"

His thumb silenced her lips. "I feel your desperation, my dear, but we have to be patient if we want to succeed."

"How do I know you're not trying to fool me?"

"I'm not. But I know you tried to play me at first."

Her eyes widened and Mr. Berkely laughed.

"I knew from the moment you approached me that you were trying to spy on me, dear. You don't have to pretend that you didn't."

She forced out a laugh. "Fuck, you are smart. Just as what he said."

"But you know why I'm giving you this offer?"

"Why?"

His hand went back up to her groin. "Because I sensed that he forced you to do it."

"I never wanted to be on this ship in the first place, yes." She found that telling him a bit of the truth was better. "Do you know why I'm even here?"

"Enlighten me."

"He bought me at an auction."

His eyes widened in surprise and his excitement further increased. "All the more reason for you to stab the man at the back then."

"You don't have any idea."

"I can take you anywhere you want if we make this delivery a success. I promise you that," he said.

Desiree seriously considered his offer. Why was she even trying to help Theo when the answer to her freedom was right before her eyes? She could save the kids later and still run away with this man. He knew half of her story and he was willing to let her jump along his ship. Theo could go to hell. He and his client didn't deserve their package and money as much as this man did.

If she played her cards right here, she might just end up free from Theo, his crazy brother and The Liaisons.

She could be free.