Chapter one-hundred-and-twelve

"What did you do to him?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

He clears his throat; he sounds uneasy. "When I pulled the gun away I broke his trigger finger."

I don't know what to say.

"What do we do now –?"

Suddenly Harry's turning to me with worried eyes, frantically saying: "You should go, Tasmin. If you stay here you'll –"

"HANDS UP OVER YOUR HEAD, DROP ALL WEAPONS AND GET ON THE FLOOR!" A man's voice booms out and then the guns Harry's holding are on the floor and his hand is on my back, and he's helping me to the floor. I want to move away from him, stay away from him, but his hand feels sturdy, reassuring, even now.

Harry keeps his hand on my back, and he rubs gently.

There's vibration in the ground, and it's not the engine. I can feel so many people around us right now, and I might start screaming. I slowly lift my head. At the bottom of the staircase, Ben is also on the floor, still gripping his hand over his head and muffling in pain.

"HANDS TO YOURSELVES!"

I squint my eyes closed and beg Harry to take his hand away internally, guilty that I'm still worried about him after everything I've learnt about him.

"She's scared," he replies instead and I curse under my breath.

"Harry," I whisper. "Stop."

His face somehow retreats from mine, like he just lost all his feeling in his face. The soft feeling on my back lifts away. I feel cold and alone. I turn away from Harry, but I feel his eyes on me, even as I am pulled up by the security personnel behind us. I watch as Ben is also raised to his feet.

Cold metal slaps onto my wrists behind me.

"Please!" I hear Harry yell. "She didn't do anything wrong, let her go!" He tries to rush towards me and I instinctively step back, into the man behind me. My wound throbs in pain and I curse again. I glance up, and Harry is still looking at me, and I have to look away.

"Are you injured?" the man behind me asks.

I nod.

"He shot her," Harry exclaims, gesturing to Ben, who is also being shackled. "Please, she needs treatment, don't hurt her." He stares at me and I finally lock my eyes with him.

The big man standing behind Harry puts a firm hand on his shoulder, easing him back.

"Everyone's wounds will be treated and everyone will be questioned."

I hate that he's speaking for me. He shouldn't be speaking for me. I want him to shut up. I want him to leave. I don't want to see him. But at the same time…

"Don't let her walk, the wound will get worse!" Harry screams. My eyes follow his widened ones.

From the right corridor come three stretchers as if on cue. I'm lifted and lowered onto one, and I still hear Harry's distressed calls as I'm wheeled into an elevator. He yells my name over and over, and I close my eyes to try and stop the tears from leaking out.

Whether I wish to or not, I may not see him again.

Ally and I share a room in the infirmary. She's still asleep when I open my eyes, and when I try to get up to check on her, I'm hurried back into bed by a worried-looking nurse. Her eye bags are dark and her hair is ruffled. She's probably been working a while; she hasn't had this many seriously-injured patients at once.

"How is she?" I ask, and my voice comes out croaky.

The nurse presents me with a cup of warm water, and I allow myself to gulp down a few sips. She answers: "She lost a lot of blood. We can't risk removing the bullet now, so she'll have to sit tight till we dock back in Sydney. She'll need a lot of rest, and then a lot of food high in iron. You'll all be taken straight to the hospital tomorrow morning." She shakes her head. "This hasn't happened before. I don't understand how such contraband could've been allowed onto the ship, and to put so many people in danger."

I sit up, feeling very uncomfortable, but then I think of Ally and I make myself stop complaining.

"Tell me, Tasmin, were you involved?" the nurse asks, sounding very serious and slightly disappointed.

I swallow. "Not willingly."

She nods, then pats my knee through the blanket. "Rest."

There are continuous knocks at the door and muffled voices outside. Shadows flicker under the door. Ally stirs in her sleep.

The nurse rises, sighing loudly. "I expect that'll be the police, they've been asking every two hours to question you, and I've been turning them down every time." She stops at the door and turns to me. "Since I know that you weren't involved in that way, maybe I should just let them, hey?"

I think for a moment. May as well get it over with. "Okay."

She gives me a sad smile and says, "Answer honestly," then opens the door. "Oh, hello, ladies?"

It's Lilli and Emily.

Lilli sits at the end of the bed and Emily holds my hand in hers. They ask me if I'm okay, then Emily bombards me with questions. Lilli tells her to tone it down, but I know she wants to know too. So I start to tell them everything I heard, everything I think… except for one thing.

The reason Harry came on this cruise in the first place. I figure that their first decision after hearing that will be to get me the hell away from him. But I'd prefer to make that choice on my own.

When I tell them about Ben, I try to avoid her gaze, but I can tell that Emily is the most upset out of everyone.

I manage to recount (almost) everything to my friends before the nurse ushers them out, saying over and over that I'll be with them soon enough, after some rest.