Then, halfway there, a small boat appeared. Two men aboard said they were volunteers cleaning up debris in the area. They hauled me out of the water and handed me a warm bowl of fish soup. Slowly, the feeling returned to my fingers.
A few minutes later, the world started to tilt.
The men's friendly expressions melted away. They closed in on me, grinning like wolves.
"So you're the little tramp who's been threatening our goddess Bianca, huh?"
"We're here to teach you a lesson. You're not bad-looking, though. Once we've had our fun, we'll toss you overboard for the fish."
My blood ran cold.
They were Bianca's obsessive fans. She'd sent them.
My phone buzzed. Anthony's name flashed on the screen.
Panic sharpened my senses. I bit down on my tongue until I tasted copper, forcing myself to stay conscious. I grabbed a fishing spear from the deck and held it in front of me. The men hesitated just long enough for me to hit answer.
His voice came through the speaker, breathless and lazy with satisfaction.
"You dead yet? If not, come back and change the sheets."