A shiver surges through me. I’m starting to feel cold again without Anton’s jacket. Not that I would put it on again, anyway. It’s tainted now. Stained with blood both literal and figurative.
“Can I ask you a question?” I ask as Yulian slowly sidles closer to me.
“You can try.”
“What are my chances of getting out of here in one piece?”
He shrugs. “Higher than most other people’s chances would be. Like I said… those legs of yours. An ace up the sleeve.”
“Your brother didn’t look at my legs,” I say without thinking about the words coming out of my mouth. “His eyes stayed on my face.”
“Then he’s more subtle than I am. But no less hungry.”
I take a step back and he laughs with amusement. “Don’t worry. I’ve never forced myself on a woman and I don’t intend to now.”
“So this whole creepy, leering thing you’ve got going on is what—just entertainment for you?”
“You can tell a lot about a woman based on how she stands up to a man.”
“Why would you care either way?”
“Because I don’t think my brother will kill you tonight,” he says bluntly. “And maybe you’re right and your legs didn’t have anything to do with it. But he saw something in you he liked.”
“Let’s pretend that’s true. If so, you’re here to do… what?”
“Me?” He shrugs, pure nonchalance, like we’re nothing more than two friendly strangers chatting in a dog park or something. “Nothin’. I’m just curious.”
I frown. “Curious about what?”
“He has an… interesting track record with women. So if you caught his eye, then I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.”
This time, I can’t stop the shiver from traversing up my spine.
He doesn’t miss it. “Ah. so you’ve heard the rumors. That kitchen staff sure chatters a lot. For people who work on a boat, you’d think they’d be familiar with the phrase ‘Loose lips sink ships.’”
I swallow hard. My throat is suddenly parched. “Is it true?” I hear myself croak.
“That depends,” he says, “on which rumor you heard.”
I open my mouth to respond, but then I hear footsteps approaching. Somehow, I know it’s Anton. The fear I’ve managed to barely shove aside rises up in full force.
I wonder what will happen to me once they’re finished. Maybe I’ll just disappear forever, no trace left behind. Or maybe my bloated corpse will wash up on some tropical shoreline, thousands of miles from where we are right now.
And what happens when you’re dead? Is it just an eternity of blackness? Do I become a ghost, an angel, a memory, a wisp of wind?
As my heart races and my chest rises and falls, I can feel Anton’s phone lodged in my bra. It strikes me a second later that if the cursed thing rings, I’m screwed.
But with his brother’s eyes on me and Anton’s footsteps approaching, there’s nothing I can do about it now.
“Yulian,” Anton growls when he storms back into the room.
He steps over the spot where the dead man was lying just a few minutes ago, but he doesn’t so much as glance down. To him, the murder is already ancient history.
“Anton.”
“Is there a reason you’re down here?” he asks his brother.
“Just wanted to make sure she wouldn’t make a break for it,” Yulian says, giving Anton a wide smile. “But now, I can see why she has you so intrigued.”