I had so many questions, but I wouldn’t risk getting returned to Justin. I’d keep my mouth shut; I could handle this. Once we got away from the island we could find help. I had no clue where we were going, but by the rocking sensation, I knew we were on a boat heading somewhere.

We sat there, squeezed together in the crate for what felt like hours. Ryan said nothing, but he kept my hand in his the entire time. I was grateful for it. For him. I wasn’t alone, and that made the experience slightly easier to handle. We didn’t have much space in the small container, but we figured out if we lay back each leaning against one side, with our legs on top of each other’s, we could at least stretch out.

The ship was silent other than the sound of a motor. The boat swayed from side to side, and I was grateful sea-sickness wasn’t an issue for me. Otherwise the tight confines would have been far worse.

“Are you okay?” Ryan whispered from across the crate. By this point our legs were completely tangled together in a familiar way that wasn’t normal for two strangers.

Since he was talking, I assumed I could now too. “I think so. Where are we going?”

“I think Honolulu, but I don’t know for sure.”

“Hawaii?” I sat forward. It was too dark to see much of anything. I rubbed my back.

“Come over here and lean against me, your back won’t hurt so much.”

“How do you know my back hurts?”

“You’re rubbing it right now.”

“You can see?”

“There’s enough light come through the breathing holes that my night vision works.”

“Night vision, huh?” Without thinking it through I turned around and backed up. He moved his knees up so I could slide in between his legs. His chest was hard, but it was way more comfortable than the side of the box. His arms wrapped around me, and I allowed myself to relax back against him.

“You don’t actually know where we are going?” I needed to stay on topic. Otherwise I was going to focus on how good it felt to be in Ryan’s arms. I closed my eyes tight, trying to push away the sensations wracking through my body and the very obvious evidence of his arousal.

“I don’t. I’m doing the best I can.”

And then the sensations got worse, as he made his reaction clear. “I should go back to where I was before.”

“No. Stay.” He wrapped his arms tighter.

“Could you do your best to, uh, not make your feelings so obvious?”

“Oh.” He shifted me slightly. “That better?”

“Kind of.” But I already knew how hard he was, shifting it didn’t erase what I knew. “How long do we need to stay in here?”

“I say we wait a few more minutes. Then I’m going to head out and check the boat.”

“I’m coming too.”

“No, you stay here. You need to be safe.”

“What happened to Mr. ‘I am not an alpha asshole’.”

He chuckled. “Well, even I have to draw a line somewhere.”

“I’m coming. You can’t leave me alone here.” Panic seized me. The space was tight with Ryan, but his presence made it so much better.

“Fine.” He gently lifted me off his lap and moved to his knees.

He pushed up on the lid, elbowing me in the process.

“Ow.” The complaint slipped out.

“Sorry.” He pushed off the lid. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine.” I gulped in the air, but then took a look at my companion. “When did you take your shirt off?” I should have noticed it considering his arms had been wrapped around me, but I’d been too distracted by other things.

“While you slept.” He jumped out and held out his hand to help me out. I gladly accepted it. I nearly fell when my feet hit the floor. I’d been sitting in a cramped position for far too long.

“I didn’t sleep.” I was positive I’d remember that. Sleeping while in a shipping container seemed memorable.

“You slept.”

“Wouldn’t I remember sleeping?” Sure, there were more important things to worry about, but then again, if I fell asleep without knowing it again, it could be a major problem. When we finally escaped this nightmare I was going to have to catch up on real, honest-to-goodness sleep.

“Not when you were that exhausted.”

“How long were we in there?” I pointed to the crate.

“Several hours.” He rolled back his shoulder. “At least.”

“Whatever. I guess it doesn’t matter if I slept.”

“Not particularly. It’s not like we could have talked anyway.”

“So what now?” I stretched, trying to get rid of the aches.

“You still insisting on coming with me?” He rolled his shoulders back.

“Yes.” The blood had finally returned to the rest of my body.

“Then we’re going to explore and see who else is on this boat. Please stay close and follow my lead.”

“We’re really off the island?” Part of me couldn’t accept I’d escaped. Of course I was now on a boat in the middle of the ocean, but at least it wasn’t the island.

“We’re really off it.” He watched me, his eyes taking in every inch of me. His smile was warm and friendly, but his eyes were heated, reminding me of sitting between his legs minutes before.

“Then it’s time you tell me about those drawings.” I’d thought about the weapon diagrams over and over in the crate. How did that all fit with what Justin had done?

“First we have to make sure we’re safe.”

I let out a slow breath. “Fine, but then you’re explaining. If the Wellingtons are into selling illegal weapons or something, I’m blowing the whistle. No way are they getting away with it.” I’d had enough of them, and now that I knew how crazy they were, I had to stop them from hurting others.

“I will explain everything I can. And by can, I mean what I know.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“I assumed you would.” He carefully stepped between the large containers. Most of them looked a whole lot like the one we were just in.

I wanted to ask so many questions, but Ryan had his finger to his lips. I was tired of having to be quiet, but I knew he was right. We needed to be careful. There was no way I was going back to the island.

We wove our way between more of the containers. There were tons of them; it looked like a container graveyard. Each one was grey and looked identical to the one we’d just left except that their lids were still snapped on tight. That was pretty much all there was on the level of the ship we were on.

Finally we finished our circle and ended up back were where we started. Ryan pointed to a set of metal stairs off to the side that appeared to lead up to the top deck. I nodded in acknowledgement and followed him over.

He took slow and deliberate steps on the stairs, in what I assumed was an effort to stay quiet. I was barefoot, making it easier to keep my footsteps from making noise. We reached the next level, and Ryan once again took the lead.

This level was full of lots of crates and containers. How many were there total? We scanned the whole area before Ryan led the way up the second flight of stairs. This time we entered a tight corridor rather than an open room. Ryan walked slowly, quietly, and I followed yet again. He stopped in front of a heavy metal door.

He gestured for me to step back. After glancing behind me to make sure nothing was there, I did just that. He reached out for the door handle, but before he could touch it the door flew open.

Ryan poised to attack, but a raspy voice laughed. “Easy there, kid.”

“Matheson?” Ryan sputtered out.

The older man who had told us to get into the crate stepped out of the room. “Nice to see you too. And hello again, Hope.”

I looked at Ryan. Was this part of the plan?

“I thought I was on my own once we left the island.”

Matheson shrugged. “She reminded me of my granddaughter. I had to do more.”

“Oh, thanks. I think.” I wasn’t sure what Matheson could do to help, but he had been the one to get us off the island.

“Is it just you?” Ryan gestured to the now open door.

“I have a friend with me.” Matheson grinned.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I peeked in through the open door. There was a man tied up in his chair with tape over his mouth. “A friend, huh?”

“I am sure you are familiar with the word sarcasm.” Matheson smiled.

“Why did you leave us in the crate if it’s safe?” Sure the guy had helped us, but he’d also left us all cooped up for hours. The pain in my neck wouldn’t let me forget it.

“Because you never know when someone is going to drop in to check on things.”

“Drop in?” I asked. “Aren’t we in the middle of the ocean?”

“Yes, but the boxes we’re carrying are worth a lot. You can bet we are being tracked.”

“Wonderful.” I sighed. “So what now?”

“You both get back downstairs. We lose everything if they find you here.”

“But where are we going?” I wasn’t going back down there without answers. I had hoped Ryan would give them, but he didn’t seem to know everything.

“The ship is on auto-pilot, and we are heading north of Hawaii. They must have changed the exchange site.”

“Does your friend know?” Ryan pointed to the gagged and tied up man.

“No. He’d have told me if he did.” Something about the way Matheson said it made me shiver. He didn’t look that frightening, but I had a feeling this was one of those cases when looks can be very deceiving.

“So you expect us to hide downstairs until we get there?” Ryan put a hand in the pocket of his khaki’s.

“Who said anything about hide?” Matheson scrunched up his forehead. “Do whatever you please, but stay out of site. My guess is you have a lot to talk to each other about.”

“He does have plenty to explain.” I wasn’t going to let him forget it. “But you could explain more too.”

“I need to stay by the radio. I don’t want to tip anyone off.”

Ryan seemed to contemplate Matheson’s words.

“By the way, your partner checked in. Says he has you covered.” Matheson added.

“My partner?” Ryan narrowed his eyes.

“You can stop pretending, kid. We are off the island. I know who you work for. I’ve been waiting years for a chance to cross paths with them.”

Shock crossed Ryan’s face, but he recovered quickly. “What did my partner have to say?”

“Asher said he has us covered. Hold tight. We need to find out who the buyer is.”

“And they’ll show up on time?” Ryan glanced into the pilot room again.

“They want the answers as much as you do. Probably more.”

“That doesn’t mean they can find us.”

“They already contacted me. They can find us.” Matheson had such a calming demeanor. Even though his words were directed to Ryan, they also impacted me.

Ryan nodded. “Keep us updated.”

“Absolutely.” Matheson reached back into the room and then handed Ryan a phone. “Don’t use this unless you have to.”

Ryan nodded. “Got it.” He turned to me. “You okay going back downstairs?”

“Oh yeah, I’m missing the crate.” I’m not sure what possessed me to start joking, but it slipped out. Somehow once Ryan relaxed, I relaxed too.

He led the way down the stairs, stopping to double check the second floor was clear before we headed down.

“Are you really sure we can trust him?” I didn’t use Matheson’s name. I didn’t think I had to.

“I don’t think we have much of another choice right now.” Ryan walked back toward our crate. Was I really viewing a shipping container as mine?

“You’re right.” I sat down on the ground beside the crate. “Unfortunately.”

“What do you know about Matheson?” I figured not much, but I needed more details.

“He’s an interesting guy. Not that I know him particularly well. He seemed determined to stop the Wellingtons.”

“And you trust him enough to put our lives in his hands?” Evidently he did, but that didn’t mean Ryan could avoid explaining.

“Did you want to stay on the island with Justin?” Ryan cocked his head to the side.

“No. Of course not, but that’s not the point.” I realized moving the conversation to other questions was prudent. “Why should I trust you?”

“Isn’t that a question you should be asking yourself?” He sat down with his back against the container nearest to ours.

“No, it’s one you should answer. Why should I trust you?”

“What’s your alternative right now? Jump off the ship into the middle of the Pacific Ocean?”

He had me there. “What I’m really asking is, why? Why are you even helping me? And what did Matheson mean by your partner? What organization is he talking about?” The more questions I asked, the more I thought of to ask.

“First of all, how do you know you can trust anyone? You can’t.” He answered before I could. “I’ve learned that over and over in my life, and right now all I can do is trust blindly. I’m in over my head, but that’s just how life works sometimes.”

“I’ve definitely learned that the hard way too.” The worst one was Mirabella. I’d trusted her with everything I had. We spent so much time together; we lived together. And in the end everything was a lie.

“But what I can say is that I’m not going to hurt you. I promise you, even though my words aren’t going to convince you of anything.” He pressed his palms into the floor on either side of him.

“I feel like I believe you.”

His expression darkened.

I needed to respond quickly. “How could my saying I believe you get you upset?”

“I’m not who you think I am.” He looked down at the metal floor between us.

“I know you’re not a doctor. I’ve known that the whole time.”

“How?” He looked up and met my eye.

“I don’t know. It just didn’t mesh with how I saw you, I guess.” I didn’t have a good reason, but I’d known.

“Do doctors look a certain way or something?” His lips curled into an amused smile.

“No.” I shrugged. “I can’t really explain it. I just knew.”

“You didn’t say anything.”

“No. I wasn’t really in the position to say something when there was a chance you were going to help me.”

“You knew I was…” An unreadable expression crossed his face.

“Yeah, I did. Kind of how I knew you weren’t a doctor from the beginning, I knew you were there to help.”

“I’m not a doctor. I admit that. And I was there to help you, but more than that.”

“Why were you there?” Now that he was talking I needed to know more. I also needed to distract myself from studying every inch of him. It’s like the second I wasn’t in imminent danger I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was.

“I was able to get on the island because Clayton sent me.”

“So you are working for him?” I didn’t want to believe that. Not after everything. Besides there was the whole organization comment Matheson had made.

“No. But I pretended to be.”

“Ok, staying on the Clayton topic, why did he send you? I can’t imagine it was really about pregnancy.”

“No, it wasn’t. All I know was what he told me, which was that I needed to protect you and get you off the island. You remember the letter…” He scooted over to lean back against the container right next to me.

“Then why send me to the island to begin with?” I rested my head back. “That’s what I want to know.”

“Most of this makes no sense, but I agree that part definitely doesn't. He had to of had his reasons. I just haven’t quite figured them out yet.”

“So if you’re not really working for Clayton, who are you working for? What was Matheson talking about?” I was done waiting. I needed answers.

“That's complicated.”

“I can handle complicated.” I’d handled more than enough already.