"Can you talk now?" Theo asked her, his tone impatient.

She took her time with her steak before she answered, "What do you want to know?"

He closed his eyes to control himself. He wanted to wring her neck but he knew that it would only make her make things harder for him. "Tell me what you planned with the twins," he said under his breath.

"Ah, that." She took more time with her wine this time. "Well, it is nothing of such great importance, but I was hoping it will help us once we dock."

"What is it?"

She smiled and said, "I successfully managed to make them think we are playing a game."

"What game?"

"A mission game."

Theo waited until she was satisfied with the long silence.

"I told them that we should find out who their brother's friends are on this ship."

He looked at her drily. "They already know."

Desiree flashed him a smile. "I know. And I know they are just trying to make me think that they don't. And I know that they will reveal who their brother's friends are in no time. That will make them think they are leading the mission game. And once they realize that, the real mission begins."

He raised his brows and leaned closer. "What mission?"

"Mission two: know what their brother and his friends are planning to do."

He thought about it and said, "Wouldn't it be dangerous for them?"

"They are smart kids. And people usually underestimate kids, even the incredible ones. Berkeley has been around the twins for quite a long time now. He must have long taken down his guards around them."

He just slowly nodded. "It is best if we know what he is planning with the Chinese but we still have to make plans of our own. We can't trust this whole thing to a couple of kids."

"I know. And Berkeley still thinks I am on his side, right?"

His face grew more serious. "Don't make plans with that man on your own, Desiree."

She sighed. "I might just do that."

His eyes darted toward her. "What do you mean by that?"

"You told me that if I work with you on this one, you'll tell me what you're planning to do to me with Vernier."

"I told you I'll do that after all of this is over."

"Well, the game has changed. I want to know now."

"Why?"

"And why won't you tell me? Will it make me change my mind?"

"No, not really."

"Then tell me. You can't expect me to let go of the chance to get out of this mess with you only to throw myself and be trapped in another mess."

He thought about it. Desiree would not dare betray him now, would she? But what if she would?

He studied her eyes and she did not even flinch as she met his with conviction. Theo sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you."

"Now."

"Later."

"But—"

"After dinner."

"Theo—"

"It's going to be a long story. I don't want my steak to go cold."

Desiree met his eyes. "Later."

"Yes."

*****

"They used aliases," Gian informed Marco later that afternoon.

"It's not a surprise."

"They went by Mr. and Mrs. Cushko. Theodore and Ysabel Cushko to be precise."

"And where did they go?"

"We lost track of them at Lima."

"What are they doing in Lima?"

"We are not sure. As I said, we lost track of them. And considering the place, any potential technical trace of them will be nearly impossible. But we are still trying."

Marco nodded and said, "Have you made arrangements with the airports? They may be back any time."

"Yes, we did. All eyes are on them."

"Keep me posted."

A long pause reigned before Gian spoke. "I want to see Khaye."

"She's okay. That's all you need to know for now."

"Marco—"

"I'll talk to you soon, okay? Keep me posted." He didn't wait for his partner's reply and ended the call. He'd have to ask Khaye about her brother visiting before anything.

He walked out of his room and found her sitting on the couch, reading an old magazine. She readily threw it on the coffee table when she saw him. "I want to learn how to fight."

Marco almost took a step back. "What?"

"I want to learn how to fight. To defend myself."

"I'm here. It's my job to—"

"I'm not suggesting anything bad, Marco, but there's a possibility that I will find myself alone again. Or worse, you might be injured or something and I will be left to fend for both of us. I want to at least learn how to shoot and kick some ass."

He frowned. "Didn't Gian teach you anything?"

"We don't teach each other anything."

"Okay. Once your wound is all healed, we can do some practice shooting." He started walking to the kitchen.

"Is he a good shot?"

"Who?"

"Gian."

Marco stopped and turned to face her. She wasn't trying to hide the fear on her face. "Yes. But he's your brother. He wouldn't hurt you."

"We don't know that."

He didn't answer and just stared at her, helpless to say anything.

"We don't know how deep he is into this mess."

"We don't know if he's even into the mess, Khaye."

"But we still need to be careful. I don't want to think he's one of them, Marco. But every cell in my body is screaming to stay away from my own flesh and blood."

Marco slowly nodded his head. "We'll do what is safe and if you think you'll feel safe by learning how to shoot and fight, I'll teach you some tricks."

She blinked and gave him an empty smile. "Thank you."

He watched as she reached for the old magazine again. He could only imagine what she was feeling at the moment.

*****

Khaye later found herself staring blankly at the ceiling of her room.

She worried about a lot of things.

Her brother was the greatest of them all.

What was he hiding from them? What was he planning?

Had he been working behind her back from the start?

She took a deep breath and sighed.

She didn't want to trust Marco but now it seemed that he was all that was left.

Her hand went to her bandaged wound. She'd have to get better. She'd have to at least do something and make things right again.

Her life was waiting for her to come back and she wanted to be back. She wanted to forget everything and go back to what was her normal life.

Before she closed her eyes, she thought of Desiree and what she might be doing now. She thought of Jamaica. She thought of that night at the hotel. She thought of her brother, Petroff and Marco.

One great struggle and I am fucking alone, she thought to herself.

But Marco was there.

He'd help her, was her final thought before falling asleep.

*****

"So?" Desiree asked hours later.

They were now lying on the bed, both of them naked under the sheets.

"Don't think I didn't notice you've been trying to buy some time, Theo." She pushed away from him and climbed out of bed, dragging the sheet along with her to cover herself, leaving him with nothing but the pillow. He closed his eyes and sighed.

She picked up his boxers and shirt and threw it at him. "Dress up because I want to have a proper talk."

Desiree did the same, picking up her dress. She kicked his trousers and other garments toward him for him and watched as he tidied them up on the bed. His hair was messy but his face looked fresher after their activity. She arched her brow as she sat on the seat in one corner of the cabin.

Theo jumped out of bed and poured himself some water. After gulping two glasses, he went back to the bed and sat up facing her. He looked her in the eye and asked, "Vernier is like the executive secretary of the organization."

She kept her mouth shut as she waited for his next words. To keep her hands from reaching out to his tousled hair, she tidied her dress and sat up straight with shoulders squared. She meant business.

"He keeps the vital information of almost everyone in the org, including my father's." At his last word, his eyes went back to hers, expecting her to understand everything from that one statement.

Somehow, she did, but only after a while. When it finally dawned on her, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "You are planning to overthrow your own father?"

His face was serious but she saw a hint of desire in his eyes—desire for power. And it scared her. "You can put it that way," he simply answered. "That's why I need you to get everything you can from Vernier. It will be an easy task."

"Theo, I am not suicidal. If I am, I'd be long dead by now."

"You will not be in danger, Desiree."

She stood up and started to pace the cabin in bare feet. "How do you plan to do it?"

He was following her movement from the bed and he smiled when she finally met his eyes. "I will lend you to him."

She stopped, her whole body getting cold. Anger was fast to rise to her throat and she started for Theo, ready to pounce on him.

"He will not touch you, Desiree," he uttered before she reached him.

"What do you mean?"

"He's not capable. He's old and he's...well, nonfunctional if we should use a better word."

"That still doesn't change the fact that he can do something to me, you bastard!" she shouted. "Your brother—and you—never touched me before but you still managed to inflict a great deal of damage!

She saw him flinch but he quickly regained his composure. "It's just going to be one night, Desiree. Just one night."

"You expect me to find some fucking files that can destroy your father in just one fucking night?"

"No." He reached out to grab her hand. She slapped it away but his grip tightened as he pulled her closer to him.

"Let me go."

He trapped her between his thighs as he looked up at her. "Look at me."

"Let me go."

"Look at me and let me talk."

She bent her head and looked him straight in the eye. "You fucking bastard," she snapped.

"I'll lend you to Vernier for a night—stop struggling and listen to me," he said, tightening his grip around her legs and her wrist. "You go home with him and open the doors for me."

Desiree froze and frowned. "What?"

Theo was wearing a smirk on his face. "I said, I lend you to him, you go home with him and open the doors for me."

"That's all?" her voice was full of doubt.

He pulled her down to sit on his lap as he said, "That's all."

"So you'll be there."

"I know where to find what I want. I just need you to distract him."

She let the silence linger for a while. "How do you know he'll be distracted?"

His hand ran up her thigh. "He was about ready to buy you at that auction, Desiree. Trust me, you'll be a great distraction."

She chewed on her lower lip as she tried to think. As she did so, his hand was already under the hem of her dress, pushing it up her hips.

"What do you think?" he asked, his mouth against her ear.

"What do I get in return?"

His lips trailed down her jaw to her chin, his breath washing over her skin. She caught her breath as his hand cupped one breast. "You'll have me," he answered before claiming her mouth.

Desiree thought that was enough for now. Having Theo would mean protection and power. It would mean her survival until the right time came—until she could find her way out.

A/N:

Sorry for such a very late update. I just came back from a vacation in Vietnam and Cambodia. The places were great and the food was fantastic, by the way! Anyway, the trip gave me a lot of inspiration to write more stories and finish this one. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will try to update as soon as I can. I am looking forward to finish this work (the ending is already done in my head so you should expect that this work will definitely have a good one).