Free Unexpected Places by V. K. Black Page B

‘How do you know all about this stuff?’
    He shrugged. ‘I got my captain’s ticket a few years back.’ He pushed the handle and the boat moved forward at a leisurely pace, away from the shallow Whylong River, up into its far deeper, narrower tributary. First scanning the computer screen in front of him, he studied the map stretched out beside it. It was the map, the one he’d re-stolen from her. Then he concentrated his gaze on the water ahead. ‘My license came in handy when I went diving for “pieces of eight” in the Caribbean.’
    ‘That sounds like so much fun,’ Ariana said enviously. She bent her head and studied the map. There was a thin blue wriggly line branching away from the main river. ‘So I can see that left turn we’ve taken, but what’s that drawing of an elephant’s tusk about?’ She tapped her finger on the odd drawing about half way along the new river.
    Luke rolled his eyes. ‘Left turn, eh?’ He laughed, peering through the windscreen out at the sparkling water. ‘This tributary is the Dandenar. You were obviously too busy stealing my plane tickets to have time to do any research.’ He tapped the map as well. ‘You see that mountain drawn there? When we approach that, we start watching out for some kind of formation that vaguely resembles an elephant’s tusks.’
    Ariana squirmed at his reference to her stealing his plane tickets. The green countryside slid past.
    ‘Don’t get me wrong, Moonbeam. I’m enjoying my time here with you. I’ll enjoy it even more once Percy is completely recovered. But I’m very interested to know who cancelled my plane flights. Someone had to hack into my computer to do that.’
    ‘I told you,’ she began, studying the map intently. ‘Mr Pu—’
    ‘Yeah,’ Luke interrupted. ‘Changpu keeps you separate. You told me.’
    As she raised her eyes to his, she winced. Mr Grim had returned.
    ‘The trouble is, Moonbeam, you’re a bad liar. Did anyone ever tell you that?’
    Nearly everyone at the commune and the convent at some time or another.
    Silence.
    Luke took a step closer to her, practising his accomplished intimidation skills. ‘When I find the bastard who Changpu planted in my office — and I’m guessing it’s a he?’
    Ariana shrugged.
    Luke ground his teeth. ‘If it’s a he , I’ll wring his neck and send the body gift wrapped, back to Changpu.’ His lips pressed together, and if he’d been in a cartoon, steam would have been coming out of his ears. She didn’t think this was the moment to ask the academic question of what he’d do if the perpetrator were a woman. But it gave her some comfort to know Luke seemed to have a committed policy of no violence toward women.
    Then he narrowed his gaze on her, his eyes mocking. ‘Go and make me breakfast, Ari.’
    She glowered up at him. ‘ Please .’
    ‘ Please make me my fucking breakfast, Ariana,’ he said, smiling, his eyes hard.
    ‘I will gladly make you breakfast, Mr Donahue,’ she said frigidly, as she exited with dignity, ‘but I would appreciate it if you’d stop swearing .’
    She ignored his rude laugh.
    * * *
    Ariana was a fantastic cook, Luke reflected, as he savoured his third coconut pancake, sweetened with honey. They were soft and doughy at their base, and thin and crisp around the edges, and tasted fantastic. ‘How do you know how to cook all this stuff?’ he asked, breaking the silence.
    Ariana shrugged. She’d brought his breakfast up to the bridge and had been doing a good impression of an iceberg. ‘When I was growing up, there were lots of people from different countries who used to stay with us for a while. Plus, I’ve worked in heaps of restaurants.’
    Suddenly impatient with her crap, Luke exploded. ‘Why am I the bad guy here? You’ve drugged me, knocked me unconscious, stolen my map and plane tickets and the boat I’d hired. You’re employed by a guy who wants to kill me. And you know perfectly well who the plant is at my office. Are you