“He doesn’t just steal cash, sir.” Radcliffe brought up another webpage, this one full of sightings and warnings of Paradigm Purge.

I skimmed some of the headlines.

Two women missing from Koh Samui after black ship spotted off shore. As yet unfound.

One woman missing on her honeymoon, snatched from a beach in Penang by pirates.

One teenage girl taken under her father’s nose while family stayed in Phuket, Thailand. Authorities are seeking information on unpermitted vessel in harbour.

I scowled. “Unfortunate but not uncommon. Women go missing all the time.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m the cause of some of those disappearances.”

“I know, but women went missing each time Paradigm Purge was found in their bays. It’s not just a coincidence, Sinclair. And the fact that the boat has been seen sniffing off our coast means I highly suggest you double the security guards on shore.”

“You think this Rayvn bastard would steal a wife while she’s working on her marriage?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? But if we make it easy for them, then the temptation might be too hard to ignore. If we make it hard, we keep our guests safe.”

“Fine.” I nodded. “Double it. And have someone install the reef tripwires that we have around Goddess Isles, so they know if a boat arrives unwelcome, regardless of night or day.”

“Consider it done.”

I glanced again at the hulking monster of a ship. Black and sinister with rust on some areas and the tell-tale sign of machine guns hidden beneath coverings, a chill ran down my spine. If that bastard ever appeared in my Java Sea, he’d be picking up shrapnel and body parts for months after I blew his Paradigm Purge to fucking pieces.

I’d learned that viciousness was needed to protect those I loved. Drake had tried to teach me that lesson all my life, but I’d been slow to learn it. Now, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill and then ask questions later. Especially if Eleanor’s safety was on the line.

Speaking of Jinx.

I suddenly had an undeniable urge to see her.

We’d been on this island long enough. Things were working well, and in my experience, if you had a trustworthy team who did their jobs, it was best if you stayed out of it.

“You got this covered?” I asked. “I better go find my wife.”

Radcliffe nodded, sitting down at the monitor to organise emails and recruitment for more security. “No problem. I’ll meet you back on Calypso.”

“Great.” Opening the door to island air instead of recycled air-con, I placed my sunglasses over my eyes to shield them from the bright glare and strode through the open-island lobby of Rapture.

I’d never built a lobby on Batari, but here, Eleanor suggested having a central hub for check-in, welcome drinks, and somewhere where couples could book diving, day tours, and massages.

Carved sculptures of manta rays covered one wall so it seemed as if they floated toward the ceiling, a check-in desk sat with top-of-the-line technology just waiting to welcome, and a few sitting areas with comfy tangerine seats held a couple who’d obviously just arrived.

The girl with copper wavy hair, green eyes, and in her mid-twenties sat tense with her arms and legs crossed, her body language screeching at the man to leave her the fuck alone. The man in question looked as if he’d been driven over by a monster truck a few times. His dark blond hair needed a cut, his brown eyes were shadowed, and he watched his wife with a mixture of hate and hurt.

What the fuck were a couple that young doing here? How did something fail that bad to need our help so soon?

“Bellamy and Lawrence Whittaker?” A Rapture staff member smiled and approached the pissed-off couple, brandishing her tray of welcome cocktails as if it could shield her from their tempers. “I’ve taken the liberty of checking you in. We’ve assigned you Villa Camellia. We have you down for a ten-day stay, and if you change your mind on the marriage counselling sessions, I would be happy to—”

“Don’t bother,” the man barked, swiping a drink off the tray. “We’re just here for that Euphoria thing that everyone’s talking about.”

His wife curled up into a tighter, angrier ball.

Stupid bastard.

No wife wanted to fuck her husband if she wanted him to die a fiery death.

Rolling my eyes at the doomed couple, I forgot all about them as I strode down a manicured sandy path and went to find the love of my life.

It was time to go.

Chapter Sixteen

SKIMMING OVER THE SEA as the sun set with spectacular fire, I snuggled closer to Sully. “Sorry we were on Rapture so long.”

“Yeah, I hadn’t planned on staying all day. Pika and Skittles will be pissed we didn’t bring them.”

“True, we could’ve brought them after all. They could’ve explored a new island and made new friends.”

Sully kissed the top of my head, capturing my flying hair in his fist to stop the strands catching on my eyelashes. “Ah well, we didn’t exactly foresee your damn parents being there.”

I laughed softly. “Nope, that was a huge surprise.” Kissing his throat, I added, “Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with them. I know they appreciated it.”

“I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do. After all, we’re intruding on their sex-a-thon.”

“Eww.” I shuddered. “I’ve struggled to get those images out of my head all day. I don’t need you putting them there, thank you very much.”

Sully chuckled. “I never want to know what Euphoria codes they’ve dabbled in.”

“Never.”

We stayed quiet for a moment before I asked, “Do you think they’ll get married again?”

“Judging by how they acted at dinner? I’d say they might even make use of the wedding package you recently included for those couples who already signed the divorce papers and regretted it.”

“You think?”

Sully kissed my hair again. “I think next time we have a call for a visit, it won’t just be one of them visiting. They’ll be together.”

I skipped into the future, imagining the novelty of both my parents staying with Sully and me, sharing another dinner like the one we had tonight, talking about silly things, and growing comfortable together as two couples instead of estranged families.

If my father could move on and forgive my mother for cheating on him, then I wanted them both to be happy. He’d never found anyone else, and I’d noticed that my mother wasn’t coping in her overly busy world.

“Maybe they could write a review.” I snickered. “Husband and wife reconciled by having sex in a virtual reality world created by their son-in-law and commercialised by their daughter.”

Sully groan-laughed. “I think the less the world knows about that twisted connection, the better.”

“Agreed.”

We fell silent as we drew closer to Calypso.

My eyes drank in the dazzling sunset, dancing over fishing trawlers as they sailed home with poor fish suffocating in their holds. I had a good mind to go and release them all. To buy every fishing trawler and burn them, so the seas could finally replenish from years of overfishing and greed.

Looking past them to the darkening edge of where the world dropped away, I frowned. A hulking shape ruined the landscape. It didn’t look nearly as nautically sleek as Calypso, but it was twice as big. “Is that a tanker?”