Page 32 of Deadly Waves

Mandy smiled. “Give me ten minutes.”

“You have five,” James said, extending his tongue into her ear and causing her to squirm.

“Oh, knock that off,” Grady said, throwing a dinner roll across the table and smacking James in the face. “You two have been so gross since we sat down that I want to lock you in a room and throw away the key.”

“You won’t hear any complaints from me,” James said, staring at the roll for a moment before biting into it. “That’s just what I was suggesting.”

“Pig,” Grady said.

“Coward,” James pointedly shot back.

“Stop being babies,” Ally ordered, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her stomach. “I think I ate too much. I feel fat.”

“You’re beautiful, angel,” Jake countered, resting his hand on top of hers. “If you’re feeling sick, though, I can take you back to the room and make you feel better.”

“You’re sick, too,” Grady said, extending a finger. “That’s our baby sister. James, don’t you want to beat him up for talking that way about Ally?”

“If I wasn’t so stuffed myself, I might play along with that game,” James said. “All I want to do is take my wife back to our room and … go to sleep.”

“Sleep?” Sophie made a face. “Please. You two are so jacked up from seeing that shark you’re going to have a sharknado right in your room.”

“Ooh, nice one,” Mandy intoned, scooping up some chocolate cake and frowning when James swooped in to eat it from her fork before she could shove it in her mouth. “Hey! That’s mine.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” James said. “I’m just helping you along. I’ve never seen you eat this slowly before.”

“Someone needs a cold shower,” Finn teased. “I … .” He didn’t get a chance to finish the statement because Will picked that moment to hurry in their direction. He had a worried look on his face. “This looks serious.”

James followed his gaze and frowned. He had a sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach that his shark plans were Mandy were about to go up in flames. “What’s wrong, Will?”

“I honestly don’t know that anything is wrong,” Will said, keeping his voice low as he rested his hands on the table. “It’s just … someone has gone missing. I thought you would want to know right away.”

James was instantly alert. “Who?”

“It’s the singer for the main dining room band,” Will replied. “Her name is Zoe Walters. She’s … .”

“A brunette with big … lungs,” Grady filled in, cringing when Sophie glared in his direction. “That was a guess, sugar.”

“She was the one singing last night before the disc jockey took over,” Mandy said. “I saw her, too. She was wearing a really pretty purple dress.”

“I don’t remember her, but I’ll take your word for it,” James said. “When was the last time anyone saw her, Will?”

“As far as I can tell, the last time she was seen was in this room last night,” Will said. “No one realized she was missing because she often spends the entire day in her room reading. She likes a break from all the people. The band just informed me that they can’t find her.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound good,” James said, wiping his hands on his napkin and dropping it on the table before kissing Mandy’s cheek. “Baby, I’ve got to check this out. Can you get back to the room on your own?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“We’re going to get a drink on the deck before going down,” Ally interjected. “You’ll probably find us there when you get back.”

“Is that really necessary?” James asked. “It’s dark.”

“And there’s four of us and we’re fine,” Ally shot back.

“Fine.” James rested his hand on Mandy’s shoulder. “Call me on your phone if you need me.”

“I’ll be okay,” Mandy said, her eyes filled with mirth. “Do your job.”

“I love you,” James said, kissing her on the mouth before moving away from the table. “Don’t get in any trouble, Ally.”