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“Yes, ma’am.”
Candace ignored the anger boiling beneath Mitch’s breath. “There’s a powder room right before his. Touch up your makeup. More coverup should do it.”
She reentered the VVIP room. Were they ashore, Mitch would take this opportunity to stealthily escape and either find Vanessa or one of her contacts in the FBI. Because this was theexactmoment she should extract herself from the investigation, the FBI’s threats be damned.
Except she wasn’t ashore. She was trapped on board a yacht full of depraved lunatics who knew laws no longer applied to them. Candace had been right. She was the only one standing between Mitch’s safety and danger, and Mitch had been an idiot to trust the sanctity of their working relationship and the unspoken rules that existed between Dommes.
Fuck!
Stealing into the powder room was the perfect excuse to pull herself together. Mitch locked the door and emptied her clutch. She had brought emergency makeup provisions, but the real treasure was her phone, not that she thought she’d get a sliver of reception all the way out in the middle of the ocean. Yet she had a good feeling that these rich bastards were so addicted to dopamine that Christopher would providesomesort of roaming network for his guests.
Sure enough, she found a signal when she climbed up on the sink and clung to the mirror.
“Are you all right?”
Vanessa’s voice shouldn’t have broken Mitch, but there she was, almost losing grip on the wall-mounted mirror and crashing to the floor.
“Mitch? Are you there?”
She could barely hear her partner through the crackling reception. “Van,” Mitch eked out when she found her breath again, “you were right. Candace does not give a fuck about my safety. She’s trying to feed me to the wolves like I’m one of her girls.”
“My God, why are you leading with this? I can’t do anything!”
“I know, I know. I’m not trying to freak you out.” In reality, Mitch was a fan ofnotbeing the one freaking out. “Turns out that Candace is the godmother of Christopher Pell-Martin. He’s the one throwing this ostentatious bash.”
“I recall. Can we get back to how you’re in danger right now?”
“It’s Christopher, Van. I’m supposed to meet him in his suite in like five minutes. They think I’m sprucing up my makeup in the bathroom. Never been so grateful that most people assume that because I’m a woman, I need to powder my nose.” She left off the detail that Candace had slapped her. That was too much for Vanessa right now.
Hell, it was too much for Mitch.
“You’re sure as hell not sleeping with him.”
Thanks, Vanessa, I had to have that explained to me.“Oh, don’t worry, Candace assured me that he’s known for making it quick. Now, how his godmother knows that…”
“Don’t even joke. God, I have to sit here and panic over you? Mitch, you have to get out of there. Somehow. I don’t know how! Do you want me to call the authorities?”
“Have them do what? Send a card of condolence? Call my mother while you’re at it.”
“Then why are you calling me if not to break my heart and send me to an early grave!”
“I will figure a way out of this. I promise. I…” Mitch pinched the bridge of her nose and avoided looking at her reflection in the mirror. “I didn’t know if you had an idea. Something to get me out of this without pissing off Candace. I’ve got good info while I’m here so far. I’m so close to getting the damning shit that will close the case for good.”
“This isn’t worth it, Mitch. Can’t you find a lifeboat and get yourself back to shore? Maybe bribe someone on staff to hide you until you’re back? For the love of God, do not go into that man’s room.”
That’s exactly where I’m going.“If you don’t have any bright ideas, then I’m afraid I have to regret calling you.” Mitch sighed. “What would you do if you were Christopher Pell-Martin? What would make you leave me alone without getting me into trouble with Candace?”
“I… offer him something that will make him happy without putting me into bodily harm. Damnit, I hate the thought of you being there! I knew this was going to happen. When you get home, this is over. Please come home to me, Mitch.Please.”
The painful desperation in Vanessa’s voice hurt Mitch more than her partner knew.I shouldn’t have called.This was Mitch’s mission to endure. Telling Vanessa only made her pace in place in California, all of her money and influence worthless while Mitch was untouchable out in the ocean.Another example of how my partner may be filthy rich, but we’re far from the most influential people we know.Vanessa couldn’t snap her fingers and fly in a flock of mercenaries to extract Mitch from danger, no matter how many phone calls she made in ten minutes.
“He’s not going to hurt me,” Mitch said with renewed resolve. “Nobody is. I swear it.”
“You really don’t know what people like that are capable of. Be vigilant!”
The line crackled again. “I’ve gotta go. I promise I’m coming home on time, and I promise I won’t need more therapy after this weekend. I love you.”
“Don’t even jo–”
