I threw my hands up in surrender. “Fuck if I know. I’m hoping the right moment will arise.”
Ann-Marie smirked, but this time there was something friendly in her expression. “Okay, I believe you, but you need to get your butt in gear. Riley left a little while ago. She went sailing with that Seth friend of yours.”
“What?” I exploded.
Ann-Marie crossed her arms. “Yep. Tell me about it.”
“Why did she do that?” I demanded.
Ann-Marie’s face turned pink. “Because she wants to find out more about that stupid list you idiots have.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“She has some hero complex all of a sudden. She thinks she’ll be able to get Seth to give her the list or something. And then she wants to contact all of the women on it and tell them about what’s been going on.”
“That’s crazy,” I breathed. It was also a daring plan. One I wouldn’t have thought Riley would concoct.
“That’s what she said.”
“Seth won’t give it to her. He doesn’t just give anything away.”
Fear passed over Ann-Marie’s face. “Maybe I should call her. I had a bad feeling about her going...” She bit her thumbnail. “I should have gone with her. God… I’m so stupid.”
She pulled her phone out, hit a couple buttons, and pressed it to her ear. “She’s not answering. I told her to keep her phone on her.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to get her.”
“I have the name of the yacht.”
“I know it.” I backed away from the stoop and turned. There was no time for goodbyes. My phone was already out of my pocket and in my hand. I rushed to the corner as I called my driver and told him to come pick me up.
So, Riley was a sleuth now? And just where did I play in all of this? Did she plan on publicly exposing the list and bringing me down? Or was it really all about the women?
Right now, it didn’t matter either way. Seth wasn’t a person to be trusted. He’d already proven that beyond a doubt. The thought of him getting Riley out on his yacht all alone had me wanting to roar with rage.
I would find them. And if Seth had so much as touched one hair on Riley’s head, I would make him pay. She was mine. What I’d told Ann-Marie was true. I loved that woman.
Thank God, I finally realized it.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Riley
Seth grabbed his third or fourth beer from the cooler and popped the top. I eyed him with growing discomfort. I didn’t know how long we’d been out here, but it wasn’t that long ago that Seth had switched from water to alcohol. Since his first beer, he’d been guzzling like a champ. He’d also smoked a second joint.
I adjusted my weight on the seat and turned my face into the sail’s shade. “Are you okay to drink and then sail us back?”
Seth made a face. “Yeah, of course. Drinking and driving is bad. Sailing is fine. Do you see any dotted lines out here?” He waved his hand around the general area.
“Huh.” I didn’t buy what he said at all. I myself held no sailing knowledge whatsoever and wouldn’t be able to take us back to shore if something did happen. However, I figured Seth’s drinking might have a silver lining. Perhaps he was now loose enough to talk about what I came to learn.
“What kind of girls do you like?” I asked.
Seth’s bottle stopped halfway to his lips. He looked at me with a pleased smile. “Brunettes. Ones with brown eyes.”
My stomach churned, but I forced myself to keep my cool. “That’s funny. If you wanted to meet one you could just go and look her up in… a filing cabinet?”
“I wouldn’t need to look one up. I have one right here.” He scooted along the cushioned bench. His arm came up to snake around my shoulders and his hand pressed against my upper arm. I sucked in a sharp breath and held it.
Seth leaned his face toward me. The beer on his breath washed across my mouth. Even with my breath sucked in, I could smell it. Just before his lips made contact with mine, I pushed myself out of his reach.
Seth stared at me with wild eyes. “What’s the deal?”
“I’m just, I’m not into you in that way, Seth. Sorry. It’s so nice of you to bring me out here today, but I don’t feel that way about you. I was hoping we could be friends.”
I tried to hold back my cringe. I couldn’t afford for him to catch me in a lie.
Seth’s nostrils flared. “Okay, I get it. You just came out here to tease me. That’s how you get off.”
“No,” I insisted. “I just don’t have those kinds of feelings for you.”
He snorted and took another long drink of his beer. “Feelings. What kind of feelings do you need to have in order to have fun? Jesus Christ, Riley, you’re such an ice queen. No wonder Xavier is going crazy for you. You have him all pussy whipped.”
His words made me burn. Coming here was a mistake. It had been silly to think that I could somehow coerce Seth into basically sharing his and Xavier’s list with me. Now I was stuck here in the middle of the Hudson River with one of the most despicable people I’d ever met. I wanted to hide, but I stood on a boat I could clear in a few swift strides. I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run to.
I looked away from Seth and dropped my face so that my hair fell across my cheeks. “I’m not feeling well. I think I’m getting seasick.”
“We’re not moving.”
“Yeah, but I’m not used to being out here. I think we should go back.”
Seth snickered. “You are such a bad liar. Really.”
He grabbed my wrist, and I jerked my arm away. My heart pounded, and all the little voices in my head screamed. Run, they said. Run away! Swim if you have to!
Were there sharks in the river? That’s all I could think as I stared back at Seth. He finished off his beer and dropped the bottle on the deck. It hit the wood with a thud and rolled a little bit before stopping. He started to reach for me again. Quick as I could, I jumped to my feet and took a step back.
“Really,” I said, my voice shaking. “I’m feeling really bad. I think I might throw up.”
Seth stood. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”
Although I’d been watching him closely, I was still surprised when he lunged toward me. I dashed to my right just as he hit the deck. Seth was fully down, his right foot tangled up in the rope that tripped him.
“Fuck,” he grunted, turning to loosen his ankle.
Now that I’d taken one step to get away, I couldn’t stop. I skirted around Seth and ran to the cabin. Once inside, I slammed the door shut and locked it.
I heard Seth’s muffled voice on the deck above, calling my name. I took a few steps back from the door as his footsteps pounded toward me.
“Breathe,” I whispered to myself. “Just breathe.”