Chapter Sixty-Four

I squinted into the darkness, struggling to cover my face against the onslaught of light. The source was way below us, but that could mean anything.

Were there real pirates out there? Were they coming to take a billionaire hostage? What would happen to me?

A man crossed in front of the spotlight. For a moment, my eyes clearly made out a man, dressed all in black, holding a gun. I was no expert, but it was one that you had to hold with two hands.

A rifle. These guys had rifles. These guys were pirates for sure. They were going to board this ship and make examples of us, all because we had the audacity to be in international waters.

I looked over at Carter, expecting him to be as panicked as I was getting. Instead, he just had a smirk on his face.

“Carter?” I started. I wondered if he could be in shock.

“I thought this might happen,” he said softly, shaking his head as if it were nothing more than a funny joke to him.

I was at a