"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."
Chapter 19
Nash sidled close to Lena’s side, his hand on the small of her back. If she thought he was hovering too close, she gave no indication. Which was good, because after her disappearance a few minutes ago, he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight.
He opened the door at the end of the hallway, and they found themselves in a large, open living area with sofas and chairs. Beyond that, a floating pier with two smaller boats and three Jet Skis. He eyed the perimeter until he located a closet that met Cassidy’s description.
“Over here,” he whispered.
Lena nodded and followed. He gripped the door handle, and the closet opened. Cassidy was right. It was unlocked.
