I turned to meet his eyes. “Thank you.”
He nodded and moved over to the counter to freshen my coffee.
When everyone settled back at the table a short time later, Jett stepped back out of the room, offering his arm to Liyana, who seemed a little unwell.
When we resumed play, Esteban leaned forward and made a move on the board indicating that he’d passed on the message and his crew was acting on it immediately.
Julien made a move informing us that the missing drones had turned up in the possession of an international intelligence agency who’d found them during an inspection and was in the process of returning them to his company.
By the time we’d breathed a sigh of relief about that, Santi Alvarado was already moving back into the room to whisper something in his father’s ear. Esteban nodded once and waved him off. A moment later, he moved his pieces indicating Helvig’s intended announcement at finding the smuggled goods as part of its commitment to integrity, professionalism, and global peace. Or something like that.
We blew out a collective breath. Done.
Mission success.
We’d won the tournament.
After finishing out the game, Vraj sat forward and reached for his glass of water. “Victory is sweet, but sharing it with you makes it sacred. Cheers, my friends.” He tipped the glass and took a sip.
We each reached for our own drinks to tilt in his direction.
Ted nodded happily and tilted his mimosa glass. “To effort, to togetherness, and to the joy of playing.”
More players exchanged statements of victory and relief.
Esteban reminded everyone that the tournament wasn’t over, only the game. “Let us meet back after lunch for the next game?” he suggested eagerly. The next game was to arrange aid to victims of the cyclone.
We agreed and stood up, ready to take a break and eat some lunch since all we’d had so far were a few pastries.
I moved back to the suite first to check in with Jett. As soon as I closed the suite door behind me, I realized he was pacing back and forth, running fingers through his hair until it was even messier than usual.
“It’s okay,” I said. “The only person who noticed me holding your hand was al-Qadiri, and he won’t?—”
“I don’t care about the hand thing,” Jett interrupted. “That’s your rule, and I followed it to protect you.”
I moved closer to him and put my hands on his hips to stop his movement. “Then why are you so upset?”
He licked his lips. “Because al-Qadiri owns Malik Makida Ltd., Locke. I know it for sure, and?—”
“Jett.” I squeezed him more tightly. “I told you, the horse thing is a stretch. Besides, Iknowal-Qadiri. He has been friends with my grandfather for years, even before he became a Paxis player. He’s known for his kindness and generosity. His integrity.”
Jett was already shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I know it’s hard to fathom about a… a friend. He handed his wife a note, and she looked upset. Like she was going to murder someone. And then?—”
“You’re being dramatic. She looked like she wasn’t feeling well, I admit, but— Please sit down. You’re stressing me out.”
Jett closed his eyes and put his fingers over his eyelids as if gathering his patience. “Liyana left.” He moved to sit next to me, then turned on the small sofa to face me. “Whatever note he gave her caused her to call for her driver and leave the villa.”
I reached for his hand and pulled it up to drop a kiss on his palm. “Take a breath, Jethro. That doesn’t mean anything. She’s probably shopping. That’s what she’s known for at these tournaments.”
He turned his hand in mine and threaded our fingers together, squeezing firmly as if to make a point. “Johnny. You know that I… that there are…ugh.” He took a deep breath and blew it out. “I think you already have an idea that I’m… not just a go-go dancer, right? So please believe me when I tell you that Malik Makida, Ltd. is owned by al-Qadari. I know people. I… asked around.”
I felt the hot, unsteady flush of betrayal and dropped his hand like it was the sharp end of a knife. “You told someone about… Paxis? About what was going on here?” My voice was deadly, even though I was trying my hardest not to kill anyone.Yet.
“No. I swear. I haven’t spoken a word about that.”
“You just said you asked around. About Malik Makida Ltd. Who did you ask, Jett?” I took a breath and let it out. “Who did you break your NDA with, huh?”
“That’s not important.” He stood and began moving toward the door. “I just need you to believe me. And then we need to find out where Liyana went. Because my gut is screaming, and I really think she?—”
