“Option one. I choose option one.”
His mouth curls in a mirthless smile. “Good girl, good choice. Cooperation is usually the best. Begin with who ordered the surveillance. A single person? Or several?”
“J-just the one.”
“Who?”
Her throat closes. She struggles to breathe.
“Roshaan, I don’t have time to waste. Which means you don’t, either. You have exactly ten minutes to give me everything I want.” He checks the time on his watch. “Go.”
“Theo Pappas,” she whispers, barely audibly.
“Louder, please.”
“Theo Pappas. He’s an entertainer on the ship. The mesmerist / magician / mind reader.”
His features, his eyes, show no reaction.
“It’s Theo watching everything in the rooms?”
She nods. A tear slides down her cheek. She swipes it away.
“Are the surveillance cams connected with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth?”
“Wi-Fi.”
“The footage being saved? To a device? The cloud? Where’s it going?”
“Both. I—I think. Definitely to the cloud. With an option to download or save footage to a device. His—his laptop.”
“Why’s he doing this?”
“For his act.”
“Elaborate, Roshaan. The more you tell me up front, the more clear you are, the less I have to press, the easier I will go on you.”
She sucks in a shaky breath. “He reads minds, and body language. That’s the premise of his show. He purports to see inside people, to see things and thoughts they’re hiding. He does this in his performances in the context of stripping off masks we all wear, our personas. He uses actual masks for the act—all the attendees get to pick one to wear to the event. He—he’s going to use what he saw on the cams—personal things—and weave it into his show. As though he can see hidden things in the guests.”
He studies her.
“There’s one born each minute, isn’t there?” he says.
Heat swims into her cheeks. Her skin prickles as shame and humiliation rise in her chest.
“So what’s hereallygoing to do with the footage?”
Theo’s words from their Crete date loop through her brain.
I can’t even begin to tell you what else I’ve seen on those cams. I witnessed something early this morning in Avi Galev’s suite that is fucking insane—mind-blowing.
“I—I only found out today he’s going to sell it. For extortion. I would never have helped him if I’d known. I promise. I believed him that it was all just for his show. I ...” Roshaan’s words die on her lips. She feels so bloody stupid. And she’s not a dumb person. She’s always thought of herself as intelligent. Sharp. She did incredibly well at school. She’s logical. She’s practical—except when it comes to Theo Pappas and his smoldering charm. His path crossed hers right after she’d come out of a messy relationship. Her biological clock was ticking off the charts, and she desperately needed affirmation, love, someone to care. He aimedfor all the gaps in her soul. He gave her exactly what she needed. He seduced her with his charm.
“Has he sold it already?”
“I don’t know. I think he’s promised it. They offered him a big sum. As a way to settle gambling debts, in part.”
“Who’s ‘they’?”
