My teammate makes his way up the stairs, his tall frame wobbling as he disappears.
“So where did we leave off ?” Castillo says and he puts his hand on my upper back. His palms are damp, sweaty. My skin does not react anywhere near the same way it did for Declan. “Ah, the primary suite is ahead.” He starts to lead us down the hallway.
“You know, I probably should check in with Uncle Ollie too. Make sure we have everything sorted for when we arrive.” I turn and put on my charming smile; this motion also causes his hand to fall.
“Uncle Ollie? I didn’t realize Oliver had any family.” Castillo is now appraising me with a different set of eyes. Less lascivious, more suspicious.
“Well, he does,” I say brightly and turn to head back down the hallway, up the stairs, and away from this guy and his bedroom.
Frank Castillo is silent for a beat before redoubling his efforts. “You know, Charlie, I’m sure working for your uncle has its perks, but you would be a great fit with my team. I’m sure I could find apositionfor you.” The way he says it makes me want to barf, but I keep my face stoic.
This man is as old as my uncle, as old as my father! Also, the whole “buying illegal arms and trying to recreate the world for his own profit” thing – huge turnoff.
“Sure,” I say, not sure how else to lead with this. “Especially if it would mean travel. I love that I get to travel in my current role.”
“Well, I’ll be based out of Italy for most of the summer. Working with me would ensure you’d see all the best places. Lake Como. Milan. Rome, of course.”
I nod my head as we climb the stairs. Making a mental log of his itinerary now. Oliver and Declan are out in the lounge. I do my best to keep my pace even as we walk toward them, trying not to run to the safety that I know they offer.
The rest of the cruise down to Key West is uneventful. Oliver keeps Castillo busy with conversation. They talk about business and potential new tariffs that could impact both enterprises. Declan keeps up his charade and sneaks below deck a few more times and each time I know he is gathering more data. I turn off the camera embedded in my glasses and wait for us to arrive in Key West.
We disembark in darkness; we’ll all have to get some rest before our early morning for the swim start.
“Thank you again for the ride. The next time you have your eye on one of our finish lines, let me know. We’ll arrange everything on our end.” Oliver shakes Castillo’s hand and beelines for the limo, checking his phone.
Frank offers to carry my bag to the car that is waiting for us. Declan is a few steps ahead of us and I catch him roll his eyes.
“Charlie, it was such a wonderful accident we were able to meet this afternoon.” Frank Castillo grabs my hand and plants a kiss on it. “I hope we’ll meet again soon,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.
I give a smile, because I know if I open my mouth to say anything, bile will come out. All our bags are in the back of the limo and I slide in next to Declan. The doors are closed and the limo pulls us away from the dock. Not fast enough for me.
“Please tell me you both got something?” Oliver says, his voice tired.
“Yes, but first I need a towel or a wipe or something,” I say, cringing, wanting to clean my hand.
“His ship was running slower than max. Which means he either wanted this to be a longer trip or it is running heavy,” Declan announces as he hands me a heated towel from one of the side compartments.
“You think the weapons were on board?” Oliver asks.
Declan gives a nod. Could be.
“Alright, next we’ll assess any major targets in the Caribbean and potentially the Yucatán. The captain told me they’re sticking to this region,” Oliver adds.
I correct him politely. “He’s spending the summer port-hopping in the Mediterranean.”
Both Declan and Oliver glance at me, clearly asking for clarification.
I tell them about the navigation room and Castillo’s boasting. “Madeira is a likely port after crossing. He specifically mentioned ports along the west coast of Italy.”
“Good work, Charlie.” Oliver turns to me as I make a show of rubbing my hand clean. “Please never tell your father I put you in this situation.” This makes me furrow my brow at him. Patriarchal bullshit, but I understand what Oliver is trying to say. He’s second-hand embarrassed. I don’t need him to be.
“Can you be frenemies with less creepy people?” I ask, trying to make light of the situation.
Oliver puts the information together. “We now have an idea of where the weapons may end up. Not a complete waste of time.”
I give a nod and feel a sense of accomplishment. One clue at a time, one piece of information at a time. We can stop him.
“Charlie,” Oliver says, peering at me over the top of his glasses, “if that guy does another one of our races, I will personally put a hole in his tires and add Ex-Lax to his electrolyte drink.”
