A Player for A Princess

My eyes widen, and I confess, my heart beats faster. “Do you remember any of the names?”

“He never said names. It’s possible they don’t have names.” My uncle reaches for the file in front of Logan. “Is this the roster of ship captains?”

“We isolated a Russian and a Turk.”

“It’s the Turk,” Reggie says, flipping the pages quickly. “Antilles or Agnan?”

“Adem?” Freddie says.

“Yes—Adem Tanipar captains cargo ships from Brazil to Turkey.” He drops the file and slides it back to Logan. “He’ll know where they are.”

I’m out of my chair, pacing the room. “How fast can we find this Tanipar?”

“We’re searching for him now…” Logan’s tone is solemn. It makes my stomach twist.

“What’s the problem?”

“We’ve been unable to locate him since his ship left Paulista.” He’s standing, and his large arms cross over his broad chest. “We have everyone looking, but nothing.”

“Did he take a different ship? A different route?” I’m out of my element when it comes to cargo ship lines.

“He took his usual ship. He simply disappeared once he entered international waters. A local captain said he seemed to be changing course.”

“Heading for Tortola,” I say, clenching my fists. “We have to find that ship.”

“Have the crown prince request a satellite search,” Reggie says. “He has contacts in the tech industry.”

“Will that work?” I look from Logan to Freddie.

“It’s worth a try,” Freddie says.

The last thing I hear as I’m pushing through the door headed for Occitan is Logan addressing my uncle. “Can you help us locate Seth Hines?”

17

A Pass

Zelda

Mako likes to play blackjack. It’s an unexpected stroke of luck I can’t believe dropped right into my lap.

The night he left, after I’d wandered away from the camp, Selena was quiet. Ximena never left her bed, but the girl managed to get her mother to eat a piece of the flat bread she’d prepared with our meal. I felt mild nausea again, which I’d assumed was because Mako had thrown me down on the path and irritated my existing injury.

My little friend had taken out a worn pack of playing cards, and I watched as she played a round of solitaire. When I felt better, we’d played a game of Twenty-One. Now card games are our favorite way to pass the time.

Another week has passed, and no one has come to the island. I don’t know if I’ve been forgotten or if I should be looking over my shoulder every morning, noon, and night. The problem with indefinite imprisonment is the tendency to grow complacent.

“Mako loves to bet,” Selena says holding a handful of cards. Today we’re playing Go Fish. “Give me all your aces.”

I pull a pair of aces from my hand and pass them to her. I’m sitting across from her in a light cotton dress scattered with tiny pink flowers. It’s loose and flowy and keeps me cool in the rising heat.

The denim dress I wore to this place is soiled and tight around my middle, which I know is the result of doing nothing but sitting on my ass in this house all day. I’m going to be so fat by the time this is over Cal won’t even want me anymore.

“Give me all your kings,” I say as I study the hand I’ve been dealt. My hair is piled on top of my head in a bun. “What happens when he wins?”

“He takes away a pass. Go fish.”

A tiny bead of sweat is lingering around my hairline, and I reach up to flick it away before pulling a card from the pool. “What’s a pass?”