With sweat dripping from his forehead, Logan stepped into the plaza and saw Jason sitting at the Deli with a cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie. He would have ordered something himself, but he wasn't exactly hungry. Plunking his butt in the chair, he grabbed a napkin and dried his face.

"You look like you just ran a marathon."

"I saw him again," he said, huffing and puffing as he tried to catch his breath. That was the third time he'd seen the guy.

"Who?"

"The guy with the gun. As soon as he saw me, he took off." Logan slammed his hand on the table. "Then I lost him in the crowd." If only he'd been more vigilant, instead of running on adrenaline, the man would never have got away. Again. It took him by surprise.

'Now, I know something is going on." Jason glanced around the room nervously, as he tapped his fork on the side of his plate.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked.

"Darla should be here by now."

"I thought you guys were searching together."

"We went our separate ways to try and cover more ground. I haven't seen her since."

That didn't sit well with him. "Are her things still in your room?"

"I haven't been back to the room. You don't think she found her and now they are in cahoots or something, do you?"

He was hoping that the girls just found a quiet nook to hide in and were avoiding them. But he had a feeling it was more sinister than that. "I wish that's all it were, but that girl dotes on you."

A goofy grin spread across Jason's face and his eyes brightened. "You think so?"

If it was one thing he did know, it was that the girls cared more than they often let on. He knew that Tamara loved him. But her stubborn nature was afraid of what might happen should they let their relationship develop. He didn't think Darla would do a Tamara though, that's how he knew that something was really going down.

"Come on. Let's go check your room."

The two men made their way back through the ship in silence, a dark foreboding resting on them both. It was like the grim reaper was trailing along behind Logan. If she didn't want to spend her life with him that would be hard enough to handle, but her death would tear him into pieces. The guilt would take him to the grave with her. Logan waited while Jason slipped his card into the slot to unlock the door.

When they walked inside, Jason let out a noisy breath. "Her stuff is still here, but something doesn't feel right."

Logan looked around the room and curled his fingers into a fist, his nails digging into his palm. "You're right. It doesn't." Truthfully, things felt off ever since he spoke with security about the man with the gun.

"Good, I'm not just being paranoid then," Jason replied, walking over to the balcony door. He pushed the curtain aside and cursed. "What should we do next?"

Just as in the past, Logan took control as he pulled out the ship map. "We are going to do a floor by floor search. There are 13 decks. You start at the top and I'll start at the bottom. We'll meet at our usual spot. Here." He pointed to the plaza on deck 7.

Jason pulled his lips to one side in a half-worried grin. "I swear we live in the plaza."

"I'm beginning to wonder if it's bad luck," Logan said, rubbing his tense neck. If he wasn't careful, it would turn into a migraine before the day was over, and that wasn't something he needed right now. He needed to be on top of his game if he was going to track her down. If the deck by deck search didn't work, they'd have to resort to knocking on cabin doors. And then his next plan of action would be to take his concerns to the captain. That might require some subterfuge on his part with one of the ladies who worked on board.

He had to find her before they docked at the next port. If she was fine, she might attempt to jump ship. But there was a part of him that knew she wasn't, and that was why he was going to the lengths he was.

"Come on, let's go," Logan grabbed Jason's shirt collar and pulled him out of the room at record speed. Armed with their pictures, the men set out at the task at hand, each going their separate ways.

Walking to the aft of the boat, he took the elevator to the lowest floor that he could access. Stepping out of the elevator, he found himself by a dining hall. The doors were closed to the large hall. Opposite those double doors were another set of doors, but it said restricted access. He'd have to see if he could access the rest of the floor by going up and then back down in the elevator in the middle of the ship.

Slowly but surely, he plodded his way through the lower levels. Now he was not only looking for the love of his life, but their new friend, too. He hoped that Darla just got caught up in a sale somewhere, but that intuition that he was born with was revving its motor.

He stopped and asked everyone he saw as to whether anyone had seen them, but after marching through two ship floors and everyone saying no, it was making him nervous and antsy. No one should be able to disappear on a ship like this. The only thing he could figure was that Tamara was in a room somewhere.

Flexing his fingers, he walked through the karaoke bar and by every table in the joint. He didn't want to miss a single face. Darkness hovered over him like an anxiety-demon, sucking the light from his soul. He hardened his jaw and then marched his way up the stairs to the next level. If she was in trouble, those involved weren't going to know what hit them. They wouldn't be left standing by time he was done with them. No one messed with his woman and got away with it.

His feet grew heavy by the time he reached the end of the next floor and he collapsed on a nearby chair, next to a window. It was beginning to feel like he was never going to find her. With his eyes beginning to water, he propped his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands.

"God, I don't know if you're listening, but please help me find her."

***

The man, that Tamara came to know as Captain Lockheart, tackled her friend before she even made it to the door. Tamara banged her head on the headboard in frustration. Why did bad luck follow her wherever she went? Maybe she needed to buy one of the Chinese Lucky Kitties and surround herself with them.

Her friend let out a wicked scream before he covered her mouth. But as soon as he did that, Darla bit into his hand as she clawed at his face.

"Shit! You little bitch!" and with that, he hit her so hard that her head bounced against the wall, and she stopped moving.

Tamara viciously tugged at the rope around her wrists, not caring whether or not they burned into her wrists. She wanted to give the man a piece of her mind and shove her foot up his ass. "Let me go," she growled into the tape, words unrecognizable.

He ignored her and picked up her unconscious friend and tossed her on the bed, tying rope around her wrists, too. All the while, she made nasty work of her wrists as she fought to get loss. Blood began to dribble down her arm and onto the white bedsheets.

Once he finished with the other girl, he wandered over to her and squeezed her chin between his thumb and index finger, as he flipped open a pocket knife, holding it up against her cheek. "Take a good look at this knife. If you try anything like that again, I'll use it on your flawless cheeks."

She tried to pull her head away but he had too firm a grip. He pressed the tip of the knife against her cheekbone. "I should do this cheek now, and then maybe you won't question me later."

Holding her breath, she stayed silent. No one survived by being stupid, so she had to smarten up. She'd have her time to escape, just had to live long enough to find her way to freedom. She rolled her fingers into a fist, digging her nails deep into her palm. It's the only reaction she allowed herself to have with his knife pressed up against her face, aside from her runaway heart.

He pulled back and walked towards the balcony of the cabin, pushing aside the curtains. What did he and his men hope to accomplish? There were like a hundred times as many people on board this ship as opposed to his mini gang. They'd be pounded into itty bitty pieces like coffee grounds. She just had to be patient and hope that they left her alive long enough to watch their downfall.

Soon, the two of them were left alone in the room. Darla still hadn't stirred, but Tamara could see the subtle rise of her chest and it filled her with relief. Hopefully it wouldn't take her long to wake up and then they could try to plan something. She wanted to smack herself for being so stupid.

They had a good thing going, her and Logan, and she, like usual, messed it up. At the rate she was going, if she ever made it out of this, she'd be a miserable old bachelorette. Single until the day she died. The only upside she could see to this recent development was that she at least new something was going down, and if they got away, they had a chance of stopping it.

If they got away were the operative words. The ropes were tied nice and tightly against her wrists, with knots that you couldn't untie with one hand. She wanted to kick herself in the butt for not being quick on her feet when she entered the room. Her sadness made her get caught off guard.

It was getting really frustrating not being able to talk and wake her friend up. She couldn't even kick her because the other bed was too far away. Banging her head against the headboard again in frustration, she closed her eyes and wished that Logan could read her mind.

He must hate her by now, especially not being able to find her and make his case. She had had to be stubborn in her life. She lived in a man's world, doing what they felt was a man's job. Was that why she'd been passed over so many times for a promotion? Because they felt that other men would be more likely to listen to a man than a woman. Oh, that thought made her so mad that she growled into the tape.

She had to get free. She had to free Darla. The man had no trouble killing the girl that helped them set up this coo, and Tamara wasn't about to let him kill Darla, too, or to use her friend in any way.

Biting her cheeks, she squeezed her fingers together, making her hand as small as she could and pulled with all her might. Tears filled her eyes as the rope burned against her skin, leaving scorching red marks.

But after a few moments, with black spots in front of her eyes from the pain, she felt something give...

-----

A/N

Thanks for reading my story this far. I hope you are enjoying it. Now that my other project is complete, I can return my focus to this one. That means I should be able to start uploading twice or so per week again.

I hope you'll leave a comment and let me know what you think so far :D