Chapter Fifteen
Isla
He locked the door. From the outside.
Shaking my head, I glanced around the cabin that was more luxurious than any hotel I’d ever seen, and a part of me thought about this unintentional—on my part—first-class ticket to a new destination.
That, I could be at peace with. I’d had way, way worse accommodations, or none at all, for the better part of a decade.
But the other part of me was thinking about that shoot-out on the estate, and I needed my cell phone. Sooner rather than later.
Not because I needed to make a call for myself.
I still, idiotically, wasn’t fearing for my safety.
But I was watching the shoreline disappear in the distance, and I didn’t know how far out a burner cell that I’d hated since being forced to carry one by my brother would work.
Ten years of carrying around various cell phones, all of which I’d eventually lost or purposely misplaced, and now the one time I wanted a cell to text my brother, I didn’t have one.
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
Hungry, irritated about all the wrong things, still feeling every second of a Navy SEAL’s arm around me as he’d hauled me against his rock-hard body, I watched the distant speck of Cap d’Antibes fade to almost nothing.
Then I stared at the Mediterranean Sea as she tumbled around in an ocean’s version of frolicking. It was honestly more beautiful from this close-up vantage point than from an expensive oceanfront, terraced villa.
But I didn’t need to be waxing poetic about views.
I needed to face reality.
Those waves would be hell to swim any kind of distance in, and I wasn’t all that confident on a Jet Ski, even if I could get it off the boat before anyone noticed.
Not that I thought for one second that Helios wouldn’t welcome me trying to take a plunge. Hell, he’d throw me overboard. Ares, who was probably pissed about the knife incident, was less predictable. And Phoenix—frankly, I didn’t know what Nix would do if he caught me trying to steal his Jet Ski.
I’d never expected him to almost defend me against his own men.
Then again, a couple hours ago, I never expected an American Tier One would be pointing a gun at my chest before he tossed me over his shoulder, threw me into a helicopter, and flew me out to his mega yacht.
I thrived on living on the edge, and honestly, all of this would’ve been exciting if I weren’t pissed about the cell phone and Helios opening fire back at the estate.
Admittedly, it also would’ve been terrifying if these weren’t the exact type of scenarios I’d been trained to evade since I was a young girl.
But none of that was important right now.
Finding my phone was. Or any phone I could dial out on with reasonable assurance that it wouldn’t get looked into by whoever that Cypher person was that Helios mentioned. Which meant I had to get moving.
Glancing one more time toward the ever-diminishing shoreline, then longingly at my backpack, I promised myself I’d grab clothes later.
Walking to the door that locked from the outside, I took my barrette out of my hair.
Sixteen seconds later, I had the door open, and I was moving barefoot down a hallway when I looked up.
Of course he had security cameras on his giant boat.
Mentally sighing, no way to avoid them, I picked up my pace and started looking for where a dominating SEAL would lay his head.
A few minutes later, on the floor below mine, I found my target.
A locked door with some kind of fancy wall-mounted security feature next to it. Hoping it wasn’t a fingerprint or eye scanner that’d prevent me from getting in even if I picked the lock, I went to work with my barrette.
This time, it only took nine seconds.
As soon as I opened the door, I knew I’d hit paydirt.
The entire suite that stretched from one side of the boat to the other smelled exactly like him.
Quickly closing the door behind me, I took a moment to listen.
And breathe in deep.
Not hearing or sensing any movement, I started my search at one end of the giant space that made a mockery of my cabin and systematically made my way to the other.
There was nothing.
No cell phone, no laptop, no electronics of any kind, unless you counted a darkened touch screen that was wall-mounted by the door.
There was an office area with some locked built-ins and a desk with locked drawers, but the chair was neatly pushed in, and it didn’t look like he’d ever used the space.
Other than that, all I found inside a walk-in closet were some perfectly folded pants and shirts, and some expensive suits on fancy hangers.
There were also some toiletries in the bathroom, which was where I was currently standing.
Staring at an enormous glass-walled shower, it had two of those ceiling-mounted rainmaker showerheads.
I’d never had an opportunity to try one.
I also hadn’t had a hot shower in too many weeks to count because the rinse-off shower on the pool terrace of the villa only had cold water.
The reason I needed my cell phone momentarily forgotten, I stared at temptation for another heartbeat.
“Screw it.”
Turning on the shower, then stripping off my bikini, I stepped under the wall of hot water.
Oh my god.