Chapter 151: She Was Drugged; He Took Down Four Men Alone

Adrian said nothing.

The air around them felt suffocating.

Everyone held their breath. Even the friend who'd been loudly talking about going to fight someone had gone quiet, standing there with his head tucked in.

Chloe watched Adrian's face and felt a quiet sense of relief. He hadn't flared up right away, which meant he was still holding himself together, still thinking clearly, which meant Elodie didn't matter that much to him.

She was putting together what she wanted to say, ready to steer the conversation somewhere else, when she glanced over and found the seat beside her empty.

Adrian had stood up without a word and walked straight toward the other side of the deck.

The words died in Chloe's throat.

Christopher leaned back in his lounge chair, swirling his glass, and gave her a small smile without saying anything.

There was something in that smile that made Chloe's grip tighten around her glass.

On the other side of the deck.

Elodie and Ellie had just wrapped up their discussion and were figuring out their afternoon plans when a foreign man walked over carrying two drinks.

"Excuse me, are you two attorneys?" he said. He was well-dressed, with a Windsor Group guest pin on his lapel.

Ellie and Elodie looked at each other.

"My name's David. I work with the Windsor Group on the Amber District project. I'm an external investment consultant, here as a guest tonight." He introduced himself and handed over his business card. "I heard someone mention your project at the reception earlier. I'm personally quite interested. If you're open to it, I could introduce you to the people on the group's side who are running things."

Ellie took the card and looked it over. It had the Windsor Group logo and his title printed on it. Seemed fine.

Elodie took one too.

This was exactly the kind of opening they'd been looking for since they got on board. The Windsor Group's people were senior and hard to get close to — Elodie and Ellie hadn't been able to get a word in with any of them. Now someone was coming to them on his own. Elodie had no reason to say no.

"Sure, let's talk," Elodie said with a nod.

David smiled and gestured toward the bar. "It's quieter over there. Want to sit?"

The three of them moved to the bar area.

David grabbed two glasses of juice from the bar and handed them over. "The fresh-squeezed juice on this boat is really good. Give it a try."

Elodie was still thinking about how to bring up the topic she wanted. She took the glass without thinking, had a small sip, and set it on the table. Ellie didn't drink hers — she never touched anything handed to her by a stranger.

They'd been talking for a few minutes when Ellie's phone rang.

She glanced at the screen. Lucas.

"I need to take this. I'll be right back." Ellie stood up, and before she left she looked back at Elodie. Elodie gave a small nod — go ahead, it's fine.

Once Ellie was out of earshot, David's conversation started to drift.

"You're so capable for someone your age, Ms. Turner. You must be pretty popular in Astoria." He held his glass and let his eyes travel slowly down from her face. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Elodie set down her glass. "Let's keep this professional."

"Relax, just making conversation." David smiled and kept going — asking which city she was based in, what kind of cases she usually handled. Every question came with a look that felt like he was sizing her up.

Elodie didn't engage. She pushed back her chair and stood. "If it works for you, we could continue this tomorrow during the day. It's getting late."

The moment she stood up, her head went blank with a sudden buzz.

Her legs felt weak. Her body was burning up, like a fire had been lit from the inside.

Elodie instinctively reached for the edge of the table. Her fingertips were numb. Her heart was pounding — not from her usual condition. It was the juice.

She looked back at the glass she'd barely touched, and her pupils shrank.

David saw her sway and stood up, grabbing her wrist with a smile still on his face. "Had too much? I'll walk you back to your room."

Elodie wrenched her arm away, her voice low and tight. "Let go of me."

But her strength was draining fast. He had her arm, and she couldn't pull free no matter how hard she tried.

She hadn't noticed when they appeared, but there were two or three other men nearby now — the same group David had been drinking with earlier. They closed in around her with smirks on their faces, half-surrounding her.

"This lady's had too much. We'll help her get back."

"Yeah, can't have her falling."

Elodie stepped back and hit the edge of the bar. Nowhere left to go.

She bit down on her lip and fought to keep her voice steady. "I'm warning you. Let go, or you'll regret it."

Her voice was already shaking.

David smiled and reached out to put his arm around her waist.

His hand never got there.

A hand shot out from behind and grabbed David's shoulder with enough force to spin him completely around.

Then a fist connected with his face.

A dull crack.

Blood flew from his nose and splattered across the white deck. David stumbled backward several steps, clutching his face, and knocked over a barstool as he went down.

Adrian stood there, shirtsleeves rolled to his forearms, right fist smeared with blood, breathing hard and heavy.

David's friends froze for a split second, then rushed in cursing.

The first one lunged at Adrian, who sidestepped and drove his elbow into the man's back, dropping him flat on the ground. The second threw a punch — Adrian blocked it and brought his knee up, and the man doubled over. The third was the biggest, coming from the side and trying to take him down. He shoved Adrian back two steps, but Adrian found his footing fast and slammed his fist into the man's temple. The third man crumpled sideways to the floor.

Adrian fought dirty and fast, going straight for the places that hurt most.

He didn't look like any kind of polished businessman. He looked like someone who'd been holding back a lot of anger and had finally found somewhere to put it.

By the time Christopher arrived with a few others, David was on the ground and couldn't get up, his face covered in blood.

"Damn, you started a fight without me," Christopher muttered, but he jumped in anyway and helped finish off the ones still looking for trouble.

The whole scene fell apart.

More and more people gathered to watch.

Elodie had sunk to the floor. Her body was burning like it was on fire, and her mind was getting cloudier by the second. She bit down hard on the back of her hand, teeth pressing into skin, using the pain to hold onto the last thread of consciousness.

Her nails dug into her palm. Blood welled up. She could barely feel it.

Through her blurred vision, someone crouched down in front of her.

The heat had gotten so bad she couldn't tell who it was — just a dark shape in front of her.

Then she was lifted off the ground, carried in someone's arms.

Every muscle in Elodie's body went rigid. She pushed back on instinct, fingers grabbing at the person's collar, trying to get free.

A low voice came close to her ear.

"It's me."

Elodie's hands went still.

She stopped fighting. Her fingers curled into the fabric instead, and she pressed her face against his chest, shaking all over from the fever burning through her.

Adrian carried her toward the cabins, moving fast and steady, jaw set in a hard line.

People stepped out of the way as he passed. A few recognized him and whispered to each other.

Chloe moved to follow.

She'd barely taken a step when Christopher's arm came out and blocked her.

Chloe looked up. "What are you doing?"

Christopher wiped the corner of his mouth — he'd caught a small cut during the fight. He smiled as if it were nothing, his tone easy and offhand.

"Adrian's got Elodie. Let him handle it. We'd just be in the way."

The words hit Chloe like a slap.

She stood there without moving, the color draining from her face, her nails pressing hard into her palm.