Chapter 10
Low clouds hung over the ocean, obscuring the morning sun as Cowboy made his way back to his room. It was still warm, with a chilly bite to the air that hadn’t been there the day before, and he wondered if a storm was on its way.
He let himself in, stacking one cup of coffee on the other to work the key card.
Abby was sitting on the couch. “Seems I wasn’t the only one who got lucky last night,” she said with a smile.
“Where are the royals?” he asked.
“On a tour of the engine room with two members of the security team. Harrison thought I might want a break. They should be busy for another hour, at least.”
“Thanks. I’ll take over through dinnertime to make up for disappearing on you this morning.”
She shrugged. “It’s all right. Trust me, if I had a beautiful woman who wanted to spend the night with me, I’d be the first one to ask you to pick up an extra shift.”
Cowboy wasn’t a stickler for protocol, but her easy insubordination rubbed him the wrong way. He was a navy man, and even when he chose not to follow the rules, he did so with respect and caution.
He filed the thought away for later and put the coffee down next to her. “I’m not sure how you like it.”
“So this woman,” said Abby. “Is it serious between you two?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Just making conversation, that’s all. You already know about my love life, or lack thereof.”
He stared at her.
After an awkward silence, she said, “It’s none of my business, is it?”
“Nope.” He sat down on the bed and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I’m going to check in with HERO Force.”
“You can’t. The cell service is down. Wi-Fi too.”
Cowboy frowned. “When did that happen?”
She shrugged. “An hour ago, maybe two.”
“Did you check in with security to see what’s going on with it?”
“It’s probably just some glitch.”
“Glitch or not, it impacts our ability to communicate with each other, which impacts our ability to guard the royals.” He would have hoped Abby would realize that. “I’m going to go check with Harrison.”
Cowboy took the stairs down two flights, emerging onto an open-air deck.
It was raining lightly, the drops lightly kissing his skin.
He thought of the moonlight from the night before, so vivid when he’d first gotten to Charlotte’s room.
This front had moved in while they slept, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that was some kind of omen.
Stop it.
The decision had already been made. They’d already slept together once, and he’d have to be out of his mind to ruin this week with Charlotte by constantly second-guessing himself. Was it the smart, safe thing to do? Absolutely not.
But it was fucking incredible.
He smiled. They had six days left, and he was going to enjoy every minute with that woman. He felt a moment’s guilt. This wasn’t a vacation, it was a HERO Force assignment and that had to come first. But still, a man had to sleep, didn’t he? And he planned to sleep with Charlotte by his side.
Or underneath him.
Or on top of him.
An image of her going down on him the night before popped into his mind. She was such an arresting lover, open and unashamed. He was getting aroused just thinking about it, so he forced the thought to the back of his mind.
He hoped the communications problem would be resolved soon. Life would get complicated pretty quickly if he wasn’t able to reach Abby on her cell phone and he wasn’t staying in his own room.
He thought of Charlotte’s stateroom with its large living area and even a kitchenette. Logan had mentioned something about his sister getting a large settlement in the divorce, and how his ex-brother-in-law had deserved to be on the generous side of that arrangement after the way he’d treated her.
It seemed like Charlotte had gone through a tough time, though whether it was from her marriage or subsequent divorce he still wasn’t sure.
Are you looking to find out?
This was a fling, not a relationship. That was how Charlotte presented it to him, and that was what he had agreed to. He wasn’t quite sure of the rules, but it just made good sense not to go digging through her past looking for answers.
Keep it light.
Keep it simple.
Keep it sexy.
He smiled and pushed through an unmarked door. Inside was a long hallway with many doors off it. The administrative headquarters of the Gem of the Seas. He made his way to Harrison’s office and knocked on the closed door. An unfamiliar man in an employee’s uniform opened it. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Harrison.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Harrison—”
“It’s okay, Nicholas,” said a voice from behind the man. “He can come in.”
Something in Harrison’s tone had the hair on Cowboy's arms standing on end. Cowboy had been around trouble enough in his lifetime to feel it in the air. It had a physical presence, just like a human being.
“What’s going on?” asked Cowboy. Two more men sat at a desk along the side of the room working at computers with multiple screens.
Harrison crossed his arms over his chest. “I was just about to look for you. I would have called, but you’ve probably noticed our communications are down.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“That’s why we’re all here. We have a problem, Leo. The cellular service and Wi-Fi were deliberately taken out.”
“By whom?”
“I wish I knew. Hell, for that matter I wish we could get it back online, but we can’t. Whoever did it installed a virus that took over our computers. Made them forget how to interface with the satellites that connect us to the world.”
Cowboy’s spine tingled. “That doesn’t sound like a couple of kids playing around.”
Harrison shook his head. “No way. Whoever did this is a professional, and it took planning. Hours of computer programming.”
“Why would someone do it? What’s their motivation?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Harrison cursed under his breath. “My gut tells me this is big. Like there might be more to come.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” There was no way to know if this attack had anything to do with the royals, or was an isolated incident. “Can you fix the network?”
“So far, no. And the more they try, the more security cameras go off-line.”
Cowboy cocked his head. “I don’t understand how those two are related.”
“Me either. It seems to be part of the virus. A punishment of sorts for trying to free ourselves from it.” Harrison’s phone rang. “Excuse me, I need to take this.” He stepped out of the room.
Cowboy looked around at the men working. They seemed frantic, their attention clearly focused on the screens before them. He would bet none of them were computer programmers, and he mentally gave them fifty to one odds of getting the communications system back online.
He walked toward a wall of screens. Clearly these were the surveillance feeds from around the ship, nearly a quarter of them dark. He stared at one of the black screens, mentally surveying the situation.
A crew member had been killed. On its own, that was not necessarily anything that would affect the ship at large. But the deliberate attack on the communications system changed all that, making it far more likely that the two were related.
He remembered the thick folder Logan had given him before this trip. Briefing documents they’ve received on the prince and princess from the princess’s mother, who’d hired them.
It contained general information on the royal couple and current threats to the British Empire. The dossier clearly outlined some long-standing political grudges, a handful of nutjob royal watchers, and the pervasive threat of global terrorism.
Terrorism.
Prince Hugo was a member of the French Parliament, Princess Violet the youngest daughter of Princess Mary. Together they represented the coming together of two great families. It was a good thing, assuming you wanted them to come together peacefully.
But if you didn’t, taking over a luxury cruise liner where the young and beautiful royal couple were beginning their life together would make one hell of a statement, especially with thousands of innocent people on board.
“Wilson.” Harrison gestured for Cowboy to come to the door, then led the way to a conference room, closing the door behind them.
“That was the captain.” He sighed heavily. “The ship’s radio just went off-line.”