Charlotte was finally on the adventure she'd dreamed of.The coordinates led to a point about four miles away from the city of Hvar, on a section of the island they'd quickly realized was undeveloped - though they learned after a quick stop at the Tourist Information Center by the wharf that there were a number of foot trails along that section of coast. To save time, they rented a motorized scooter to take them as far as the roads would go.She asked to ride behind him on the scooter. She told him it was because she'd never ridden one before - which was true - but the truth was that she just wanted to be close to him. Their conversation in bed had left a knot in her stomach the size of a watermelon. She didn't know what would ultimately happen between them, but in the meantime, she wanted to be as close to him as possible."You ready?" he asked over his shoulder as she settled onto the seat behind him.She slid her arms around his waist and pressed herself against his back. He see

Charlotte understood now.It wasn't that she hadn't understood before, but now it felt like the whole world had opened up in front of her. She felt wild. She'd never experienced a rush like this before.She and Jackson were on the ferry back to Split to meet up with the rest of the Set. They'd had no choice but to leave their unconscious opponents among the olive trees, but Jackson had phoned in an anonymous tip about the location to the local police force. It would buy them some time, at least. Meanwhile, the necklace and Vincent's accompanying set of riddles were stowed safely in her bag, and though she longed to pull them out and study them, she knew she shouldn't. Not here, anyway. So she stood next to Jackson at the ferry's rail and looked out over the water. The sun beat down on her skin and spray splashed up in her face, and though part of her wanted to stand here in this beauty forever, another part of her couldn't keep still.She couldn't stop touching Jackson, either. And

Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos IslandsThis was a terrible idea.Ruby Whitlock walked down the cruise ship's gangplank, trying to psych herself up for the third day of her honeymoon from hell. Her first glimpse of the island of Grand Turk looked promising - or at least exactly like the pictures in the brochure - but even the turquoise water, white sand, and cloudless blue sky couldn't stop her from plotting Jamie's murder as she followed a crowd of shuffling octogenarians toward the huge "Welcome to Grand Turk" sign at the end of the cruise pier. To the left of the pier, the beach was already crowded with people, most taking shelter in lounge chairs under big green umbrellas.She'd been working on her murder plan for four days now, ever since her cruise ship had left Fort Lauderdale. First, she'd lure Jamie back to her apartment, promising him the chance to "explain himself" that he'd been begging for since the day she found out about his dirty little secret. She'd been racking her br

Leo was startled by the intensity of the relief he felt at seeing Ruby unharmed. He was so relieved, in fact, that he didn't see the frying pan come swinging at his kneecap until it was too late."Mother fu - " His curses dissolved into Italian, into the phrases his father used to shout at Luigi the cat whenever he got underfoot. He sank down onto the deck, clutching his knee as searing pain shot up his leg.The girl was quick. She was up the ladder and shoving past him while the pain was still blinding him, but he reached out instinctively, grabbing for her. He managed to catch her by the ankle as she tried to run past, and she fell onto the deck next to him.He only just managed to get his arm up in time to block the pan as it swung at his head. Another jolt of pain rattled through him, this time aggravating the healing bullet wound in his upper arm. He bit back another string of curses."Damn it, woman, I'm trying to rescue you!""I don't know what you people want with me, but

"Shh," Leo hissed through clenched teeth. "Damn it, woman, do you want to draw them right to us?"The girl stopped squirming in his arms, looking up at him with shock in those big, dark eyes. Once he was sure she wasn't going to scream her head off, he peeled his hand away from her mouth.They were on the ground behind a parked car, crouched on gravel and dirt in the shadow of a few tropical trees he'd never learned to identify. Xavier was at the opposite end of the car, peering around the curve of the bumper, watching for Nash or security guards."What the hell are you doing?" Ruby demanded in a sharp whisper, her eyes flashing with that fire he'd come to appreciate from her. "You scared the crap out of me! Why are you here?""I could ask you the same thing," he replied, watching her carefully. "You were supposed to go straight to the Consular Agency this morning." He'd almost lost it when he saw her running up the hill. She was supposed to be gone - and safe. Instead, she'd falle