Page 73 of An Epic Voyage

“It’s a shame I don’t believe you.”

Herm Gordon walked closer, his gun aimed at Griffin’s head.

“Do you want me to shoot them, boss?”

“Why would you sh-shoot us?”Indigo gasped.“Because we snooped?I’m sorry.It’s all my fault.I talked Griffin into exploring.We were bored.We didn’t mean to trespass.”

Her babbling was an act, and a good one.Van Houten’s face softened.

“Boss?”Gordon prompted.

Van Houten wrinkled his nose.“No.I don’t want blood and guts in here.Tie them up and load them onto the boat.We’ll take them with us.”

“Take me if you must, but leave Ms.Adair alone.She hasn’t done anything but follow me.”

A chill went down Griffin’s spine at the look on Van Houten’s face.“Oh, no.I’m not letting Ms.Adair go.I have special plans for her.”

#

Over my dead body.If Van Houten tried anything with her, Indigo would castrate him with her bare hands.

Van Houten motioned to his bodyguards.“Search them for weapons.”

Indigo had dropped her SIG Sauer and gloves beneath a tarp.She hated losing the gun, but it was better than them finding it on her.If they thought she was a beautician, they wouldn’t see her as a threat.

Mistake.

“I have a gun behind my back,” Griffin informed them.

“Why would you be carrying when you thought you were alone on the island?”Van Houten challenged.

“To keep Ms.Adair safe in case of looters or wild animals.”

One of Van Houten’s bodyguards—she mentally named him Bruiser One—patted her down and felt her up, adding a pinch to her nipple.Indy gritted her teeth.He would pay for that.She looked at Griffin, and the fury in his eyes was unmistakable.She gave a sharp jerk of her head.They needed to stay alive and get out of this mess.Van Houten clearly didn’t buy their explanation.

Bruiser One confiscated her cell phone and then took out a pair of flex cuffs.Indy held out her wrists, and he zipped them together in front of her, as she’d hoped he would.

“Take them to the boat and watch them,” Van Houten ordered the men.“Send Garcia back here to help.”

“Will do, boss.”

Bruiser Two shoved Griffin and then Indy in front of them, prodding them to walk with his gun.Bruiser One kept his weapon trained on Griffin’s head as he pushed the button in the elevator.There went any hope of overpowering them.It would take only an infinitesimal amount of pressure on the trigger to blow out Griffin’s brains.She shuddered.

The doors opened to reveal a speedboat idling against a wooden walkway with Bruiser Three at the helm.The water was still choppy, causing the boat to shift and bob with the unpredictable rhythm of the waves.

“Dean?What are you doing here?”the man in the boat said.

It took Indigo a second to recall that Dean was Griffin’s undercover alias.

“Go help the boss,” Bruiser One ordered him.

The man shot a confused glance at them but did as told.Indy watched as he stepped into the lift.The door closed, revealing a wall of rock that disguised it.You would never know an elevator was there.

“Whit, you could be the good guy here and let Ms.Adair go,” Griffin said to Bruiser Two.“You don’t hurt women.”

The man looked conflicted but shook his head.“My job is to protect the boss.”

“We have done nothing wrong,” Indy whined.“I don’t understand why you tied us up and are holding us at g-gunpoint.Can’t you put that thing away?”