Chapter 18
The day of the party flew by. Lena took Nutmeg on three walks on the beach, escorted by Nash.
Their conversation settled safely in a comfortable, appropriate friend zone—despite her stomach turning somersaults every time he looked at her.
And executing a gold-medal gymnastics floor routine every time he smiled at her.
Relief and nervous anticipation flowed through her when she realized it was time to get ready for Emil's party—time to get dressed up and snatch her wayward cousin off that slimy guy's boat.
All four dresses Delphine ordered were stunning, but three of them revealed more than she was comfortable with. The light-blue one, however, was beautifully elegant. It fit well. And didn't make her feel inappropriate.
She took her time getting ready, putting a little more effort into her hair and makeup than usual. Since it was a party on a superyacht and all.
She wondered if she looked okay.
Until Nash showed up.
When she opened the door, he stared. And swallowed. And ran a hand through his hair. All before remembering to say, "Hey, you look great. Ready to go?"
Yep, she looked just fine. And she was ready to go.
Lena spent a few minutes settling Nutmeg with plenty of toys, food, water, and an automatic treat dispenser that she could control via an app on her phone.
"Is that really necessary?" Nash asked.
"No," Lena said. "Except Victoria wants me to use it.
So, in a way, yes. It's necessary to keep Victoria happy.
There's a little camera on the treat dispenser so I can watch Nutmeg when he eats his treats.
There's also . . ." She pointed to a small, white camera on the dresser.
"It's a nanny cam—to keep an eye on him.
I'm supposed to monitor it from my phone anytime I'm away from him. "
He raised one amused eyebrow. "A little obsessive?"
"Well, she loves Nutmeg and is very protective. If you're going to be obsessive about something, I think spoiling a Maltipoo isn't such a bad obsession."
He threw up both hands in surrender. "Okay, not going to argue with that." He ruffled the fur on Nutmeg's head. "Bye, Nutmeg. Enjoy your evening."
Lena's initial impression of Emil's party was exactly what she had expected. About two dozen people stood on the upper decks, laughing and chatting. And looking red-carpet glamorous.
Smiling politely, she stuck to Nash's side, scanning constantly for Cassidy. Her cousin hadn't shown yet, but they hadn't spotted Emil either. They were likely together. So, no reason to lose hope. Yet.
After a few minutes of mingling, Lena sighted Emil finally emerging from below deck. He apologized to some of his guests for his tardiness and moved through the small crowd, greeting everyone with that annoying, too-white smile.
Cassidy was conspicuously absent.
Lena's stomach dropped.
She tugged on Nash's arm. "Let's go below deck. I'll say I have to go to the bathroom or something."
"Wait, not yet. Let's—"
A lanky man near them called out to Emil. "Emil, where's this lovely woman you keep telling us about?"
Emil beamed at the tall guest. "Cassidy will be up in a moment. She's doing her hair. You know how women are."
The way he said it was apparently supposed to be funny, but there was a sliminess to it.
She leaned into Nash. "Let's go now."
He scanned the crowd, then met her eyes. "Okay, quickly. And if anyone asks, you're looking for the bathroom and I'm following you."
"I'm not sure how to explain that."
"Don't. If anyone has a problem, I'll talk to them."
"Whatever." She made a beeline for the stairs.
"Go down two flights," he said. "I studied the layout. Most of the cabins should be on that level."
Soon they found themselves in a hallway lined with ornate brass sconces and a dozen doors.
She listened closely. Was she really expecting to hear Cassidy's voice? Just choose a door, Lena. She examined the doors, weighing her options. "Nash, what do you th—"
A waiter popped out of one of the doors, holding a large tray of appetizers and drinks, and crashed into Nash.
The horrified waiter immediately started brushing little shrimp and globs of cocktail sauce from Nash's shirt and pants.
Nash, his back to Lena, was busy trying to convince the waiter to move along when the door behind her opened. Two arms grabbed her, pulled her into a cabin, and shut the door. She fought and started to scream, but a hand clamped over her mouth.
When she focused on the face in front of her, she wanted to scream, but for a whole other reason.
Cassidy grinned and removed her hand from Lena's mouth.
"Cass! Oh, Cassidy!" She flung her arms around her cousin. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, but you shouldn't be here."
"You don't understand. Emil's not safe. Someone was killed at his house. And those men you saw yesterday at the beach—they threw a dead man into the ocean."
Color drained from Cassidy's face. "Okay, that . . . that's something I didn't know." Her head snapped up. "But I know Emil stole the jewels. And I'm leaving him."
Lena hadn't expected that. She'd expected an argument.
Fury flashed in her cousin's eyes. "I didn't know at first. I came out here thinking Emil hadn't done anything wrong. But—"
The door flew open. Nash stood in the doorway, a tense combination of fear and aggression radiating from him. He gripped Lena by the shoulders—as if his hands needed physical proof she was there.
"I'm fine. Sorry, I—" She inclined her head to Cassidy. He'd noted her presence when he walked in, but he didn't display Lena's joyous reaction.
He shut the door behind him. "Why did you grab her like that? What are y'all doing in here?"
Lena didn't like the way he looked at Cassidy. Like he suspected her of something.
Cassidy narrowed her eyes at Lena. "Who is this?" she asked, pointing at Nash.
"It's a long story," Lena said. "He's helping me. He's a private security agent."
Cassidy wasn't impressed. "A what?"
"He's one of the good guys, Cass. Don't worry about it. We have to get out of here."
"Listen to her, Cassidy. Your life is at stake," Nash said. His words were firm and professional, with something else simmering underneath.
"I was trying to tell you," Cassidy said. "I know Emil took the jewels. I saw them."
"What?" Lena and Nash asked in unison.
"I've been keeping tabs on what's going on back home," she said to Lena.
"How?"
"Through Lacey."
"Oh." Lacey was the family business's biggest gossip. She and Cassidy had always had a strange relationship. The gossip turned Lena off. Cassidy couldn't get enough of it.
"Lacey's been feeding me a few sordid details," Cassidy continued.
"I know some people think I took the jewels, so I wasn't about to come home without being able to clear my name.
I've been playing dumb so Emil wouldn't suspect I'd take the jewels.
I had to wait until tonight because Emil was having them appraised by some guy, but now they're back here, on the yacht. "
"That was a very dangerous plan," Nash said.
Cassidy looked annoyed. She and Nash were not hitting it off. "It's worked so far."
Nash pursed his lips. "No time to discuss this. You and Lena need to get out of here. I'll secure the jewels. Where are they?"
"Seriously?" Cassidy widened her eyes at Lena. "Who does he think he is?"
"I'm the guy who's going to make sure you go straight to the airport tonight with your cousin," Nash growled.
Lena worried she was about to have to play referee.
"You're welcome to drive us, whoever you are," Cassidy said. "But I'll get—wait, this will be even easier with you here." She looked at Lena.
"No," Nash said. "You two are getting off this boat and I'll—"
"I have a plan." Cassidy raised her voice, clearly attempting to grab the reins of the conversation.
"Emil's going to start missing me in about a minute.
Before he does, I'll go to the party. I'll stay on his arm and smile and laugh.
And I'll keep him up on the top deck while you two get the jewels.
You can slip off the boat and I'll meet you.
" She side-eyed Nash. "I assume you have a car. "
"No, we swam."
Cassidy's glare could cut glass. "You two grab the jewels.
I'll meet you in the parking lot. At the end of this hallway, there's an exit to a lounge deck.
To your left, you'll see a closet that holds life jackets and water skis.
The jewels are hidden inside the blue life jacket with yellow stripes.
I watched Emil slip them inside last night. He didn't even lock the closet."
"Thank you," Nash said. "I'll get them. The two of you go to the car." He slipped the key fob from his pocket and pressed it into Lena's hand. "Take Cassidy to the car. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."
Cassidy might have growled before she lit into Nash. "That doesn't make sense. My plan's better. If you're down there rooting around for the jewels, Emil could walk up on you. I'm going to keep him out of your way. That's what we're doing."
Lena squeezed Nash's arm before he could fire his rebuttal. "It'll be faster to do it her way. She's right. It'll be easier with three of us. She can—"
"Listen to her," Cassidy hissed. She didn't wait for a response. She threw open the door and rushed into the hallway.
Nash brushed past Lena, jaw set, his focus on Cassidy.
Lena followed.
Nash's aggressive steps ate up the distance between them and Cassidy until he stopped suddenly, causing Lena to run into the back of him.
Cassidy, standing only six feet in front of Nash, greeted guests descending the stairs. Her tone light and cheerful. The perfect hostess. "Oh, hello. I'm so glad you could come. I was hoping to see you tonight."
She turned back to Nash and Lena and addressed them in the same cheery tone, loud enough for the guests to hear. "It was so wonderful to run into you. We'll visit again in a few minutes. Enjoy the party."
Cassidy was a good actress. Her performance didn't surprise Lena. Her cousin continued to chat with the guests as the three of them ascended the stairs and returned to the party.
The tension wafting off Nash was palpable. Slowly, he pivoted to face her.
His frustration—or maybe anger—roiled at full boil. She'd never seen him like this. The usually stoic, steadfast protector was fuming. But he wasn't mad at her.
She reached for his upper arm, stroking her thumb across his rock-hard bicep until his intensity lowered to a simmer.
He finally focused on her. "I didn't know where you were." Poorly camouflaged fear pulsed in his words.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to disappear. Cassidy jerked me into that room and put her hand over my mouth. I didn't even know it was her at first. You came in about five seconds later."
She stroked his bicep again. The tender gesture achieved the intended calming effect.
"I know you don't like this, Nash. I know it's not your plan, but it's not a bad plan. Come on. Let's just get the jewels and get out of here. This all might be over in a few minutes. She'll keep him busy at the party. Come on."
Her hand slid from his arm, and her feet—in her less-than-ideal, strappy high heels—took two steps in the direction of the life jackets.
With a final disgruntled sound in the back of his throat, the fight left him. "For the record, I'm not happy about this."
"Noted, Mr. Stone."