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For a good time?

Have you got yourself

A thin dime?”

&nbs

p; By the ti in place, the smile on Skeptical’s face as broad and entranced as Hopeful’s

She kept singing as she went to work, persuading the There was nothing to see, they were siination It would have been easier to si, like any one of her sisters would have, but Saina couldn’t bring herself to do that

Not even to drug-running scu mercenaries like this

She pulled the pink bag behind her to the stern of the ship and lifted the cowling off the inboardyanks to disconnect the fuel and easy-to-reach electronics, and Saina used a fire extinguisher to dent the ignitionshe wanted was for thelance showed that the disruptions to her song as she worked hadn’t broken the spell over Skeptical and Hopeful, but she knew she didn’t have much time or breath left

Hauling the dinghy down fro it over the side of the boat was a Herculean task, and Saina wished, not for the first ti to attain

The dinghy splashed into the water, and Saina struggled to get the heavy luggage over after it, her song stuttering with the effort

Then, as she drew in breath to get Skeptical and Hopeful back on track, her luck ran out

On the deck above, there was a sudden shout and Saina looked up in alar on his ar vacant and tipsy

Saina weighed her options She wasn’t sure that she could enspell the guard before others came to his alarm cry, and she wasn’t sure howinsensible - she’d spenther ground, she kicked off her heels and vaulted over the edge of the boat into the wobbly dinghy She flipped out the choke and yanked the tiny outboard to life

The guard’s shouts intensified, and Saina heard others answer Hopeful and Skeptical shook off the last of her song in confusion Frantically, she pointed the dinghy away fro its powerless motor and slow speed

Still, the yacht and the shouting began to drop away in the darkness behind her, and Saina breathed a sigh of relief Maybe she would actually get aith this Maybe…

Distant shots fired and bullets shattered the air around her Saina dived to the botto her lip against her cries of fear as they blasted around her for a length of ti They couldn’t see her in the darkness, so the shots ild, and she knew that was her only saving grace As it was, the boat lurched sickeningly and she knew it had been hit She could only hope that it had multiple floatation pockets, and that what hadn’t been coet somewhere safe

Theher further and further away from the disabled yacht, and the shots becaot more distant Saina’s cries of fear turned to sobs of pathetic relief as she thought she ht escape with her life

She crouched again, leaning to one side as the boat, clearly deflating on the other side, tipped and sagged She scanned the water ahead, hopeful for lights, but saw nothing

Behind her, another few shots rang out, and she was driven forward, nearly out of the boat, as pain and fire bloomed to one side of her back

Chapter 2

Bastian drew in a deep breath of salty air It was already windy, and he could sh the sky above was still clear and sunny