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“Slipped,” I said.
“I noticed.” He held onto my elbow the rest of the way down.
The rest of the men watched us. All were frowning aside from Kevin, Avery and Ethan. Those three were just curious, and seemed oblivious to the jealous glares everyone else wore.
“Are you okay, dear?” Ethan asked once we got to the foyer floor. “I do worry about having marble as a stairway. It looks amazing but not at the risk of our women falling.”
How chivalrous. Let’s all point at the girl and feel sorry for her because her loafers were too big for her feet. I know he was just showing some sympathy in traditional Southern charm, but since I was the one embarrassed, it grated. “I’m fine,” I said. “Let’s just focus.”
“Right,” Ethan said and turned to Axel, holding out a hand. “Welcome again. So glad to have you on board.”
Axel walked over to him, shook Ethan’s hand and nodded. “I just hope we can help.”
“I do, too,” Ethan said. He took his hand back and then waved his arms wide for everyone. “Okay, so I wanted to ask you all here. I know we’re due for guests at any moment, but I wanted to talk to everyone all together. I’ve been informed of the plan. I just hope we’re not in too over our heads.”
“If we take things slow, it should be fine,” Blake said. He looked casually at everyone. The others seemed to have calmed down, or at least had hidden their dislike well enough for now. “There is absolutely no rush to act, unless you discover information that should suggest otherwise. In which case, let either Kayli or I know immediately. Let’s try not to make a move without discussing it.”
“Remember, people,” Ethan said. “Despite our interests, all of these people are guests. They are to be treated with respect, even when and if we prove our suspicions to be correct. We don’t want to alarm our innocent friends by assaulting the wrongdoers, if we should find any.”
I leaned on one foot, distracted as they went on. It was probably the medicine I’d taken earlier, making it hard to concentrate. I was concerned about how I was going to talk to complete strangers and make friends just enough for them to trust me. This wasn’t my forte. I was a pickpocket. I didn’t make friends with people I stole from. I didn’t have many friends of my own. Being nice to strangers was one thing, but getting to know them was going to be very different.
I turned my head, distracted by movement on the second floor near the shops, and was surprised to find Raven by my side. I hadn’t heard him move.
I leaned into him and whispered. “Raven?”
He kept his eyes on Ethan like he was listening bur spoke to me. “Did you hurt your foot?” he asked quietly. “When you slipped?”
“No,” I said. I lifted my ankle and bent it, to show him the bottom of the loafers. “These aren’t exactly my size. And the bottoms are really slippery.”
Raven studied the material and then turned, reaching out to pinch Corey on the arm.
Corey looked our way. He smiled and stepped closer, leaning in. “What?”
“Fix her shoes,” Raven said, pointing to my loafer.
“Do I look like a cobbler?” Corey whispered, the smile turning more amused.
Raven grunted low, disappointed. “You fix things.”
“Computers,” he said. “I fix computers. I fixed your phone. I don’t know anything about shoes.” He looked at the shoes and then at my outfit and then the glasses. “You look good in glasses.”
I touched the corner of the glasses, feeling self-conscious. “They’re a pain,” I said. “I think they’ll fall off.”
“I wear them sometimes,” Corey said. “When we’re on missions. They can be a nice touch.”
Kevin partially turned and snapped his fingers at us and then put a finger against his lips in a silencing gesture, reminding us to pay attention.
I refocused on Ethan and Blake who were taking turns talking about where life vests were, where the crew stayed and some emergency situations to be aware of. “We’ve got a list of gun owners who may come aboard with a weapon. Only one on the Nightingale team, but at the very least, be aware of the others. Now, I think that’s it.”
Kevin raised a hand in the air.
“Yeah?” Blake asked him. “Am I forgetting something?”
“Where exactly do we go if we do learn anything? Do we have a base to drop off notes or something?”
“When you get a chance, either Avery, Kayli or I can show you where Doyle’s and my rooms are. You’re welcome to go there any time. Leave notes. Leave clues. Whatever you need to do, but once a day, preferably in the morning, try to drop by, write your name and the time and anything you might have learned. That’ll just help us make sure we’re all okay.” He picked up his phone and held it in front of himself. “Now, can I get a quick check-in on what everyone will be focusing on? Axel, Kayli and I will be focused on the Nightingale team directly. The rest of you?”
“I’ll be with the crew,” Kevin said. “Raven will go with me when I’m with them. I asked specifically if I could blend in with cleaning crew and with serving at the social events, since I’ve got experience being a waiter. I can come back as a guest if needed but you all seem to have that covered. I’ve already got uniforms for us. When I’m not with Raven, I’ll find Corey to work with him on going through computer stuff.”
“Brandon and I will be available in public,” Corey said. “We’ll pass whatever you need back and forth, and can switch out.” He pointed to his own pants and then Brandon’s dark clothes. “We’ve got to go change in a minute but we’ll be ready. If we aren’t needed, we’ll be working on any cell phones or laptops we’re able to snag.”
Marc stepped forward. “I’ll be a backup for everyone. I’ll follow with Brandon if he talks to anyone of interest. Raven and I will be working the rooms they’ll be staying in to go through laptops, starting with Nightingale people and working our way down through the list. We’ve got portable drives and will copy hard drives where we can and leave. Nothing fancy. We’ll bring anything Nightingale to Corey and will leave the rest for later when we’ve got time. We’re going to make use of some of the service tunnels along the ship to show up if you need us at any time. We also need to keep an eye on Fancy if she wanders off with anyone. We’ll be her back-up.”
“Brilliant,” Ethan said. He waved his arms again to get our attention. “Now, gang, just remember, be very, very careful. More important outside of not wanting to get caught, is that I value your safety. Don’t do anything remotely dangerous if you can help it. I’d rather take the long road than risk your welfare.”
I smiled at this, proud that Ethan had said it. See, guys? He’s not so bad.
When no one said anything else, Ethan clapped his hands together. “Then let’s get into our starting positions.”
The team shared looks with each other. Were we ready? There hadn’t been much time to organize. Suddenly, I felt very unprepared. I wanted to study the faces of the Nightingale team again. I wanted to go over how Marc and Raven would go about getting into their rooms and how Corey was going to dig up their information without leaving a trace. I didn’t want Kevin by himself with the crew and wanted Raven to be with him. I wanted to be around them all so they wouldn’t get into trouble.
Too late to back down now. I’d signed up for this. I’d be at fault if anything went wrong.
I could only hope the boys would behave. Right now our greatest threat was among us and if they could get along with Blake.
I looked back at Blake as the others moved on. He had been looking at me and met my eyes. The gold in his flashed with the bright sun filtering down through the dome above us. His light hair took on an almost halo-like glow. He gave a cool, confident smile. The fox.
I smiled back, trying to show confidence. He was trying, making an effort at every turn. If he was willing and trying, the guys had to. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
ALL ABOARD
I stood on the deck of Ethan’s huge cruise liner. It had turned in
to a battle ship. Ethan versus his own company. It still looked like a boat in every way, but somewhere within the many corridors lurked Marc, Raven, Corey, Brandon and Kevin, not to mention Doyle and Fancy. With Axel, Avery, Blake and myself near Ethan now by the gangway, he truly had the most versatile and dangerous set of assistants in his quest to separate out the good and bad of his company.
An entire team assembled to target and dismantle as quietly as possible some of the most powerful people around Charleston.
And me, the thief, was going to help lead them. What in the world had I been thinking?
Ethan was speaking to Axel, going over the list of people who were coming that were personal friends of Ethan’s.
I slid a loafer against the smooth wood of the ship. There were crew and guests to think about now. They’d be lumped together on a ship, discussing the politics and on-goings of each of the companies they represented, while downing lots of caviar and wine and taking advantage of spa treatments.
Avery held onto a clipboard with names. He’d combed his hair back and now had on a blue tie. Very mature.
I wondered if my own look would be accepted by people who didn’t know me. I supposed I should act a little more demure. That would be odd. My hands felt the lines of corduroy in the dress, slightly pushing it down as it constantly felt like I was about to expose my butt. To keep the dress down, I shoved my hands deep into my pockets.
“Avery,” Ethan said as he pulled himself out of his discussion with Axel.
