Li Bai invited Mila to the boat party. Nobody objected. By the third week of the vacation, Mila had become an honorary member of the group — the warm, funny restaurant owner who comped desserts and remembered everyone's name. She fit. That was the problem, though none of us knew it yet.
The boat was Darius's find — a forty-foot catamaran he'd located through a charter company run by a former Marine. Darius vetted the captain, the crew, and the safety equipment with the quiet thoroughness of a man who'd spent years making sure things didn't go wrong. He didn't relax on the boat. He stood at the stern, watching the water, scanning the horizon, his massive frame blocking the wind for anyone standing behind him. He'd brought a first-aid kit, three emergency flares, and a satellite phone. When Ethan asked him why, Darius looked at him and said, "Water doesn't negotiate." That was the end of the conversation.
