Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Cool it, you salty bitch.
I took a breath. Maybe I was annoyed. As shit.
Adrien got with the program, and either he wasn’t unaffected one bit, or he was better at displaying composure. “I’m afraid there’s been a delay. We were originally expecting Carillo to board in three days, but there’s a storm system currently developing into a hurricane in the ship’s trajectory. We have no reason to believe it’s going to be a major hurricane, but we’ll probably have to wait an extra day or two.”
So…I was looking at another four or five days stuck on this thing?
Safe to say, the peacefulness from before was gone. Frustration built up, and I scrubbed my hands over my face.
“You gotta give me something,” I said bluntly. “If you don’t want me to sink the whole fucking boat, you have to send Elliott something to go on. A clue—a good one. A trail, whatever.”
Adrien stared at me with that familiar calculating gaze.
“I mean it,” I said. “We can find a way to keep the peace on board. Hell, I’ll even assist you with whatever you might need, but my cooperation ain’t free.”
It was up to him.
“All right,” he replied eventually. “Not even Willow Quinn can extract all the information on my laptops in a few days, so if you stay with me willingly, I will make sure she gets the encryption keys.”
Keep talking.
“What information will she find on there?” I asked.
“Transactions, time stamps, a smaller number of contact logs, and bank account information,” he replied. “In short, it will give Willow everything she needs in order to map out much of Carillo’s financial assets, including those of his closest associates, Dimitri Petrov and Luiz Gajero. I can’t promise locations,” he was quick to add. “But your team will be able to freeze their assets.”
Well. I’d say we had ourselves a deal.
I extended my hand. “I wanna be there when you pass on the keys.”
“It won’t be anything exciting. Our mutual friend can set up a secure digital mailbox where I’ll drop the keys, and she will download them.”
That…sounded riveting. Nevertheless, I wanted to witness the drop. “I’ll bring the popcorn.”
He shook my hand firmly. “You’re great at pretending you don’t know what you’re doing—and I’m well aware you’re not used to working in intelligence. But you know more than you let on, don’t you? Don’t tell me I’m the only one sitting on intel.”
I smiled and withdrew my hand. “You know what they say, the best intelligence is the knowledge your enemy doesn’t have.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You still view me as your enemy.”
“Combatant.”
His mouth twisted with a pinch of dark amusement.
It was a sick game we were playing.
“You’re free to roam the boat as you please,” he said, slipping off the sunbed. “The Jet Skis and the tender can’t be hot-wired, and all communication devices are locked up. I’m going to bed.”
I had no intention of leaving anymore. I was back to being convinced that I would do more good by staying close to Adrien. Who knew what more information I could get my hands on?
“One more thing,” he said.
I glanced back at him.
“Please stop being a dick to Fred,” he told me. “He’s brand-new and can’t take it yet.”
I let out a chuckle. “Then what the fuck is he doing here?”
“He won’t be here much longer,” he replied. “He’s going back to the mainland tomorrow.”
Hold up, what?
“Is anyone else on board?” I asked. “Who’s your backup when Carillo gets here?”
He cocked his head and grinned faintly. “Most of the time, I don’t have backup at all. Is that a surprise?”
I guessed I hadn’t thought about it, but I’d sort of assumed federal agents were more protected than private contractors.
I didn’t like the idea of Adrien going up against Carillo all alone—and who knew how many travel companions the cartel fucker arrived with.
“For the record, you won’t be here when Carillo arrives either,” Adrien said. “Goodnight, Crew.”
“Excuse me—wait, what?” I exclaimed. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“No, I’m quite sane,” he assured. He took a couple steps closer again. “I made some calls, and your name doesn’t come up in the case file about the attack on Jones’s ranch. But you were there, weren’t you? Don’t deny it.”
I frowned and pinched my lips shut.
He took that as confirmation. “It’s highly possible Carillo knows what you look like. I won’t risk that. We can discuss where you’ll be at breakfast. Goodnight.”
My mind started spinning.
“Goodnight,” I answered absently.
I needed to find a way to contact Elliott. For all intents and purposes, I was in the middle of the lion’s den. This was where Carillo was going to pass through in a few days. I couldn’t waste a single opportunity, whether Elliott wanted me to kill Carillo, get footage somehow, or maybe audio… Once Bucko Fred had left the yacht, I’d have one less pair of eyes on me.