“Where’s the basement?” Steele asked.“It’s a bomb shelter. Under the house. Slide the rug under the card table in the back room. There’s a...trap door. He’s down there.”Steele wiggled the knife out of the floor. It had gone in further this time. Bufford lay still as a corpse, his eyes locked on Steele’s hand and the knife. Steele rolled him onto his belly and tugged the bindings. Both his hands and feet were secure. The leather might stretch a bit, but not break.Steele went to the back room and. Looking at the time, they started down the stairs, with fifteen minutes to spare. They stopped in the kitchen and grabbed the bag containing their lunch from the refrigerator, and headed for the boat.They reached the end of the pier in time to hear Jack start the motor."Good morning," Kim smiled at her brother, "Did you guys sleep well on the boat?"Jack said, "It was fun, Tom and I would like to take a short trip one day."The girls stepped from the wooden surface of the pier onto the dew-slick. ” Cassius took off his shirt and tossed it in the laundry basket. “What are you doing?” “What does it look like I’m doing? Getting ready for bed.” He walked into his bathroom and turned on the tap. Tristan stood still, silently fighting with himself as he watched Cassius brush his teeth. The only reason why he showed up was because he was high, which weakened his ability to stay guarded and isolate himself. He collapsed on Cassius’s bed and shut his eyes. A few minutes later, Cass switched off. Fortunately they had toilet options; a full bathroom; a shower-stall and another lavatory. The twin beds were separated by a few feet.Ben shucked off his shoes and jacket and flopped onto the bed trying to decipher Jessica’s language; ‘ Some mature men could turn her on? ‘But he had to avoid getting it wrong. It might sound like she fancied him but that was obviously his wild wishful thinking; wasn’t it? Why a peach like Jess need only to bend her finger at the man she wants.Then he recalled.