Cowboy cringed.
“Oh,” said Abby. She turned to Cowboy. “Are you two together?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Not exactly,” said Charlotte, grinning at Cowboy.
Abby tilted her head. “Oh.”
“It’s complicated,” said Cowboy. “I’d appreciate it if you kept it to yourself.”
“You know what they say. What happens in the middle of the ocean stays in the middle of the ocean.”
“It was nice to meet you, Abby,” said Charlotte. She winked at Cowboy before walking off.
Time would tell if that was true and Abby could be trusted to keep a secret. Jax wanted to grow the team. Hire a few women. Abby’s role on this cruise made her a potential candidate and he didn’t need her to know more about Charlotte than she already did.
Cowboy’s cell phone rang. It was Jim Harrison, the security director for the ship. He was cooperating with HERO Force on their mission to protect the royals. “Hey, Harrison.”
“There’s been an incident. I don’t think it has anything to do with your assignment, but I wanted to make you aware of it nonetheless.”
“What’s going on?”
“There’s been a murder.”
Cowboy’s eyes opened wide. “Who?”
“I don’t know. There’s no body, but from the amount of blood and the lack of any mortally wounded passengers in the infirmary, it’s pretty clear someone has been killed. It happened in an area that’s only accessible to crew members.”
That was some relief. “What now? Do we turn around?” Cowboy asked.
Abby sat up and took her sunglasses off, her eyes questioning.
“The cruise line has spoken to the Coast Guard,” said Harrison. “The decision has been made to continue with the voyage.”
“Let me know if I can be of any help. Thanks for letting me know.” Cowboy hung up and turned to Abby. “It looks like someone was murdered on the ship. They didn’t find a body but there’s a lot of blood.”
“Holy shit. Any concerns for the royals?”
He shook his head. “No. It happened in an area of the ship that’s not open to guests. Probably one crew member killed another.”
Abby leaned back and put her sunglasses back on. “Well, that doesn’t bode well for the rest of this trip.”
“It has nothing to do with us.”
“Everything has something to do with everything else. It’s the way of the universe. And somebody getting offed on this ship does not bode well for any of us.”
Cowboy settled back in his chair. “Is there anything you want to do this week? Rock climbing? Skydiving simulator?”
“I want to go to the spa for a massage. You?”
He thought of Charlotte and the sexual gymnastics he wanted to put her through. “I’m just gonna sit in the sun and work on my tan.”
And my fucking self-restraint.
7
Charlotte pulledhard on the arm of the slot machine, watching the old-fashioned tumblers spin and sparkle. They stopped moving, but everything was out of focus. She didn’t know if she’d won or lost, and she didn’t give a shit either way.
