“Ash? Are you awake?”
“Hmm?”
“Is anyone on board?”
“What was that?” Ash asked.
“I don’t know,” Kallie said.
“Ashly Worthington?”
That time, Kallie heard it. Plain as day. Someone was saying a name. At least, it sounded like a name to her.
In an instant, Ash was out of bed. He pulled clothes onto his body as a frown appeared on his features. Kallie sat up and watched him try to piece himself together, frantically and with malcontent strewn all over his features.
“Ashly Worthington. Are you there?”
“Who are they asking for?” Kallie asked.
But instead of Ash answering her, he ripped the door open and started for the stairs.
Kallie scrambled from the bed and slipped her flip-flops on. She followed Ash up the stairs as the sound began to clarify itself. A bullhorn. The sound she heard was the ear-piercing feedback of a bullhorn. And whoever was behind the bullhorn kept calling that name.
“Ashly Worthington. Are you on the boat?”
“I’m right here,” Ash said.
Kallie poked her head up from below deck and her jaw dropped. The yacht was surrounded by boats with flashing lights. She came up the rest of the steps
and stood on the slippery deck, her eyes panning around them. There were nine, possibly ten boats. All with men whose eyes were trained on the deck.
Trained on the two of them.
“Are you all right, Mr. Worthington?”
Kallie whipped around and tried to find the man with the bullhorn. She saw Ash at the other end of the boat, his shoulders tensed and his body tall. She held onto the edge and walked up to him, taking in the sight of the boats around them.
When had they shown up?
“Mr. Worthington. Is it just you two?” the man asked.
He’d abandoned the bullhorn in favor of shouting at them as the boat grew closer.
“It is,” Ash said. “Just Kallie and I.”
“Do you guys have power?” the man asked.
“No,” Kallie said. “We don’t.”
“Are there any other disruptions to the yacht’s system that you know of?” the man asked as the boat paused against the side of the yacht.
“Not that I’m aware. But it doesn’t hurt to take a look at things,” Ash said.
“Take a look at things?” Kallie asked.
“Permission to board?” the man asked.
“Come on over. The water’s fine on this end,” he said with a grin.