WE MET DAVE ON THE dock, just after sunset, avoiding customs and immigration. We didn’t want anyone questioning us. Dave loaded food, water, supplies, and toys for Gabriel. I instructed Annie to keep Gabriel below until we headed back out to sea.

Dave took helm of the ship, and we set out on our journey to San Diego. Before I could open my mouth to debrief him, he gave me a wink. “You found her? That missing American? Annie?”

“Yes. In a brothel in Aruba. How the hell did you know?”

“I’ve been looking for her myself. Hoping to claim the reward. But I never got anywhere. You aren’t the first treasure hunters to come searching for her pile of gold. A few years ago, some other former Team guys showed up here, sniffing around.”

Other guys? “You mean the con man? The one who bilked her dad out of money?”

“No. Not that fraud. These other men. Team guys—not active like you. Older. Retired. They were here for a full month, rented one of my yachts. But they came up empty handed also.”

So her parents had hired private security contractors to find her? That didn’t make any sense. I found her and wasn’t even looking. And even when I lost her, I’d found her again within a week. Something didn’t add up.

“Dave, we didn’t come here for the reward money. I found Annie myself. I hired her in a brothel when our ship docked. And we can’t take the money or be in the papers because of the rescue. You’d actually help us out if you took credit.”

Dave stared at me dead-on. “You’re fucking with me.”

“No, I’m dead serious. Collect the reward. I don’t want to get kicked out of the Teams. It’s my life—all I have. My career is just beginning. Take it—it’s yours.”

He shook my hand. “You have my word, kid. I’ll make sure you stay out of the papers, and I’ll reimburse you for this entire trip. If you ever need anything, money or anything, please, what’s mine is yours.”

“I appreciate that, man.” I heard a thump down below. “I need to check on Annie.”

I went down the stairs. “Pat! Pat!” Annie was pacing around the cabin.

Fuck. She was withdrawing, hard. Her skin was almost yellowish and she was pulling out her hair. I opened the door. “Kyle, can you show Gabriel his new toys?”

“Sure thing.” Kyle rummaged through the bags Dave brought. He held up a toy ship. “Little man, you want to play with this boat?”

Gabriel trotted over to Vic, who took him to the other cabin. From now on, I had to do a better job of shielding Gabriel from his mother’s detox.

I sat on Annie’s bed. “What? What’s wrong?”

Her hands trembled, her teeth clattered. “I need a fucking fix. Can you get me some smack? Maybe we can sail back and find a dealer. Just a little? I can’t do this. I can detox at home! My dad will send me to one of those Hollywood country club kinds of rehabs.”

Calm, Pat. Stay calm. “No way am I going to score you dope. And if you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of the ocean. You can do this, Annie. You need to do this for Gabriel.”

Vic opened the door to our cabin and tried to hand her more meds, but she pushed them out of his hand and they scattered on the floor.

Vic bent over to grab them but I stopped him. “Annie, pick them up,” I said calmly but firmly.

“You can’t fucking tell me what to do,” she hissed. Her pupils were dilated and she had beads of sweat on her forehead.

Vic was about to speak, but I signaled to him that I would handle it.

I still didn’t raise my voice. “I said pick them up, Annie.”

She cackled. “I don’t have to listen to you. You don’t fucking own me. You’re no hero—so fucking pathetic you have to pay for a blowjob from a whore. You’re no better than my pimp. At least he kept me high. At least he could stomach fucking me. I know you want me. What the fuck is your problem? Can’t get it up?”

My muscles quivered. I wasn’t going to engage with her. She was detoxing. I had to remind myself this was normal.

“I’m not going to ask you again. Pick them up or I’ll flush them down the toilet. You need them. They will make you feel better.”

She spat in my face then crawled on the floor and got the pills. This wasn’t Annie, this was Star. Like a fucking Jekyll and Hyde.

Vic handed her water and she downed the pills. Then she went into the bathroom, slammed the door, and started the shower.

Vic spoke in a quiet voice. “This is normal, man. My cousin went through this. He fucking jumped off a balcony trying to score.”

I gave a heavy nod. Her son had been born into hell. He needed his mom to be strong. I accepted this project with no reservations.