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“I’ll be right back, guys,” I said.
I walked toward the security guards, and they led me out of the bar. We walked down the hallway and came to a locked door that one of the guys opened for me. There was an office behind it, a pretty big one. It shocked me to see it as they led me in, and one of the guards ushered me to sit down.
“Miss Mathews,” the guard began. “My name’s Officer Melendez. We wanted to update you privately on what’s happening with your case.”
“Okay,” I said. “Is something wrong? Has something happened?” I asked.
“We didn’t want to alarm you when we talked befo
re, but now that things are settled down, we can walk you through what happened.”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “What are you talking about?”
“When it was brought to us that Mr. Thomas had not gotten back onto the ship, our first thought was to check his room. When we spotted the shrine, we were worried for your safety. But my partner here didn’t want me to become biased in the situation, so we were working this from two angles. One angle was that this man was on board to get to you somehow, and the other angle was that you had done something to him on the island that caused him not to board.”
“Because he had a creepy shrine of me in his room,” I said.
“We had to keep all options open. When we came to you with the shrine, we were hoping you would give us more information before we talked you through things. And you did. When you told us about the encounter you had with Mr. Thomas in the bathroom, we routed the information to the Curaçao police.”
“But you have him in custody, right? That … that’s a thing that’s happening, right?” I asked.
“We do,” Melendez said. “The Curaçao police found him stumbling around a medic tent on the other side of the island. His wounds match up with the sounds you told us you heard in the bathroom once your friend came to get you.”
“What happens now?” I asked.
“He’s been in a holding tank there until we can get him back to Miami. I brought you in here because I wanted to let you know we’re docking back at Curaçao tomorrow to pick him up.”
“There’s no way for you to get him to Miami without putting him back on this ship?” I asked.
“No, ma’am. Mr. Thomas is a well-off man, and he’s been battling us at every turn. The only way to get him into Miami P.D. custody is to get him on this ship and hold him here.”
“And, um, when are we getting him?” I asked.
“We dock tomorrow morning around seven. He will be escorted in handcuffs to a holding tank we’ve prepared for him below the deck of the ship.”
“And he’ll be guarded, right? So, he doesn’t escape or anything?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. I have my entire team on this ship taking rotations, so no one gets tired or loses focus on his job.”
“I’m not so sure about this,” I said.
“Miss Mathews, I know you’re worried, but I told you we would update you with details once we had them, and now we do. Tomorrow, we will dock and get him and then make our way to the Miami port. He will be the first one escorted off this ship, so the two of you will have no contact whatsoever. Miami P.D. will be there to take him into custody, and from there, he will be processed and held until further notice.”
I was shaking. Tomorrow? He was going to be back on this ship tomorrow? It made my stomach churn with fear. The idea of having to sleep one night on this ship with him on it was enough to freeze the blood in my veins. I thanked the guards for their time and then made my way back to the piano bar. Rhett jumped to his feet and strode over to me, his arms wrapping around me as I melted against him.
I had always felt safe in his arms, but this time it was different. This time, I felt defended.
And I enjoyed the feeling.
“What did they say?” Ana asked. “Come here. Sit down and talk to us.”
“That shithead do something else?” Tommy asked.
“Chanel.”
Rhett’s voice caught my attention as I sat down. He took my hand in his and held my gaze, waiting for me to come back to reality. He always knew what I needed. How did he do that? How could he study me in such a short amount of time and know exactly how he needed to react?
I could blame it on his SEAL training, but that wasn’t enough. He had always been that way. It was one of the reasons I had fallen in love with him all those years ago.
