Blood Diamond (8 page)

I groaned and draped my arm over my eyes, thinking of all of the curses I couldn’t bring myself to say while Evelyn could hear me.

“This better be good,” Evelyn growled, and with a sinking feeling, I realized she had answered the call. “What is it, Zachary?” Her tone was so sharp I wondered if she was about to break my phone. I shifted my arm to my forehead to watch her hover over the nightstand, pouting.

If she did break my phone, I wouldn’t blame her. I wanted to destroy the damned thing—preferably by sending it on a collision course with my friend’s thick head.

“Yes, yes you did interrupt something interesting, thank you absolutely not at all,” she snapped.

I sighed, mourning the lost opportunity while also relieved that Zachary’s timing had spared me from doing something I’d regret later. It was probably for the best, as I had no doubts I wouldn’t want to stop if I did give in to my desire for the gorgeous woman hanging off the side of the bed while talking to my friend on the phone.

“No, he fell out of bed trying to answer your call. Jackson? He wants to talk to you.” Evelyn leaned over, dangling the phone within easy reach.

I groaned again and lifted my hand. Once I had a good grip on the cell, I flopped it down somewhere in the general vicinity of my ear. “I hate you. What do you need? If it involves driving, you’re fu—out of luck.” I coughed at my lack of discretion and loose tongue. “Did I mention I hate you?”

“Damn, Boss. I’ll make it up to you later, but you need to go take a very cold shower and get your ass checked out of that hotel in twenty minutes or less. There are sixteen Inquisitors booked on the
Wave Dream
, and I’m pretty sure they’re tracking your phone. Smash it, sober up, and get ready to hit the road. No, you don’t have time for arguing—or treating your lady properly. Give the nice and angry woman a kiss on the cheek and tell her to get dressed. I’ll be there with a pickup soon.”

I bit back the hundred and one curses I wanted to spit out. Without waiting for my acknowledgment, Zach hung up.

“I hate my life,” I lamented, holding my cell up to Evelyn. “I don’t suppose you’re strong enough to break this, are you?”

She leaned over the edge of the bed, her hair spilling over her shoulder. “Why do you need to smash your poor phone?”

“GPS tracking,” I grumbled, waving it at her. When she reached down to grab my cell, I captured her hand, pulling it down to kiss the back of it. “I need a very cold shower now. And clothes.” I was already wearing clothes, but at least my other suit wouldn’t look quite so rumpled. “We check out in twenty.”

She sighed. “So I heard. Okay, I’ll get dressed while you shower.”

I wanted to kiss her cheek, but I didn’t trust myself not to miss—on purpose. Her pouting lips tempted me far, far too much. “I’m sorry.”

Gripping my phone in both hands, she snapped it in half. “I do not let my prey escape.” She broke the two halves into smaller pieces, all without looking away from me.

I gulped. “I’ll remember that.” Staggering to my feet, I stumbled across the room to fetch my suit and retreated to the bathroom, cursing the Inquisition, Zachary, and the fact I was stupid enough to leave a gorgeous and willing woman alone on a bed plenty large enough for two.

~~*~~

Between the shower and my new worries over how the Inquisition had linked my new phone to me, I was reasonably sober by the time we were checked out. I limited my interactions to tired grunts while Evelyn handled anything that required actual words. Once we finished checking out, I stowed my disposable credit card in my pocket.

Before I could worry about whether or not Zachary would show, he swept in through the hotel’s automatic doors.

“All ready?” My friend had gained a few more gray hairs since the last time I saw him. He wore his crisp white uniform with his captain’s hat tucked under his arm.

I judged the distance and my capabilities of crossing it without tripping over my own feet. The odds weren’t in my favor.

Evelyn met him halfway across the lobby, thrusting out her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she said. Judging by the way her pitch dropped, I ranked my friend as one of the very last people on Earth the Fenerec wished to see.

With a sigh, I stooped to grab our bag. That I made it upright without staggering was something I classified as a miracle. Leaving the two to their posturing, I headed for the door. Once outside, the cooling evening air revitalized me more than the shower had. The salt in the air filled my lungs, and while it didn’t help sober me up, I halted to enjoy the scent.

“She’s pretty, Boss. Now I’m genuinely truly and deeply sorry I interrupted you,” Zachary said, taking the bag from me. “You look like hell. What did you do to your hand?”

“She bites,” I replied, turning to open the door for Evelyn before remembering it was automatic.

Coming to a halt at my side, she bared her teeth. At the same time, she brushed her fingers against the back of my uninjured hand. “Later.”

I flushed.

“Miss Evelyn, I will make up for ruining your plans, I assure you. Considering the developments, I thought it was wise to get you both to the
Wave Dream
and settled. I’ll explain in more detail once we’re in the truck—and on board.” Zachary pointed at a dark blue truck parked near the front of the hotel. Evelyn’s motorcycle was already loaded and secured to the bed.

“I suppose I’ll forgive you this once, but only this once,” the Fenerec murmured, flashing Zachary a smile.

I smirked when my friend’s tanned cheeks darkened with his blush, glad I wasn’t the only one who reacted to her.

“I’ll have to steal him from you for a while for business, I’m afraid. There are a lot of things we’ll need to discuss.”

Circling around the truck, I opened the passenger side door for Evelyn. “I wouldn’t be worried with only one or two Inquisitors to dodge. It’s a big ship. Sixteen, however, is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“The Inquisition officially notified me, informing me that I would relinquish available suites to them. I’ve been led to believe that your killers might have booked passage. Canada’s a popular destination this week.” Zachary climbed into the truck. “Do you mind taking the back, Evelyn?”

“I don’t mind,” she said, wiggling into the narrow backseat.

I think she wiggled more than necessary, and while I should have averted my eyes, I stared at her. When she caught me watching, she smirked.

“Boss, I know she’s pretty, but get in the truck already. I’d rather not leave without you, seeing as I came all this way just to pick you up.”

I grunted and climbed in, buckling up before I shut the door. Zachary started the engine and pulled out. While I expected him to burn rubber, he drove at a sedate speed. “Five minutes if that,” I countered.

“I’m amazed you can still count. How much did you drink, anyway?”

“Too much. Why did I break my brand new phone, anyway?”

“I already told you, didn’t I? They were tracking it. In less than thirty minutes, a group of very angry Inquisitors will be visiting the hotel. News on the wire is your killer stole the phone to access Inquisition data.”

Evelyn growled before saying,  “He didn’t break it. I did. Into teeny tiny pieces, which I decided to flush to make certain the phone didn’t reappear anytime soon.”

Laughing, Zachary shook his head. “That’s going to drive them absolutely wild. You did dump your wallet, didn’t you, Boss?”

“It’s gone, along with my regular ID. Last I saw it, it was somewhere in Georgia lying on the ground. It might have been covered in blood.”

“No wonder they think you’re dead. Your brother’s in the process of losing his shi—”

I cleared my throat so my friend wouldn’t curse in front of Evelyn. “Yes, I expect he’ll be a little upset with me.”

“A little? Someone blew up his truck. Also, we’ll be talking about who your brother is. I can’t even believe it, and he was the one who told me. Anyway, add in the fact they found your stuff covered in your blood, and almost everyone believes you’re dead. A few believe you’ve been kidnapped, since they didn’t find your body. That said, I heard it’s a real mess there, and it’s entirely possible, according to some, that your body is there, but it’s in so many chunks they might never get a positive ID on it.”

I groaned, wishing I hadn’t drunk so much. Following the conversation was proving difficult enough. It took me far longer than I liked to realize my friend must have done one of the more dangerous and foolish things he’d ever managed since I’d employed him. “You hacked into the Inquisition’s communications, didn’t you?”

While I could handle the fact the world spun around me in slow circles, dealing with the unanticipated fallout of my haphazard escape with Evelyn required sobriety, something I definitely lacked.

With a snort, Zachary pulled the truck into a parking lot near the pier. “Of course I did. I was in less than ten minutes after you called me. It’s going to be hard keeping you hidden, Boss. We both know the Inquisition will cheat, so we will have to cheat better than they do. How do you want to play this?”

With another groan, I banged my head into the truck’s dashboard. “I’m too drunk for this. Let me think for a bit.”

“I’ll have coffee for you once we’re on board,” my friend promised.

“If the Inquisition believes he’s been kidnapped, that’s better for him, right?” Evelyn asked.

Zachary made a thoughtful noise before replying, “Possibly.”

“Could you make it look like we’ve both been kidnapped?”

I grunted, waving my hand dismissively. “Impossible. Absolutely not. I might get away with it because of my brother, but not you. They have your picture on file. They might believe you’ve been kidnapped, but they won’t treat you well.”

“Boss, please tell me she’s not one of their targets.”

Drumming my fingers against the dash, I considered how to handle the newest of my problems. “I won’t tell you she’s one of their targets. Instead, I’ll tell your truck. I know, truck. It’s difficult being us. You have to put up with him every day. Your owner is an idiot if he thinks I’d leave her for the Inquisition to find.”

Evelyn giggled.

“Okay, okay. Fine, I got the idea, Boss. Your sarcasm has improved. It must be the alcohol talking. I understand. Of course you wouldn’t abandon such a pretty lady. With her looks? I wouldn’t have abandoned her either.”

“Why, thank you,” was the Fenerec’s pleased reply.

I had no real reason to be jealous, but I was. “I wouldn’t leave any la—”

“Boss, be quiet before you get yourself in trouble.”

Evelyn’s laughter was sweet. “He’s fine, Zachary.”

“It’s not a far walk to where we board. Think you’ll make it that far, Boss? I’d rather not have to try to carry you. It’d rumple my uniform.”

I threw open the door and slid out. For a moment, I thought I’d make a one way trip to the asphalt, but with a little help from the truck, I stayed on my feet. “Next time, I stick to whiskey.”

“So there’ll be a next time?” Evelyn asked, her tone pleased.

Instead of answering, I grabbed our bag and headed in the direction of the
Wave Dream
. As far as cruise ships went, it was on the smaller size, although I knew it could easily carry eight hundred passengers. In the spotlights illuminating the piers, I could see that the hull had been repainted recently in white with blue accents.

“Not for a while, Miss,” Zachary chided, following after me, and despite my protests, he took the luggage from me. “Let’s get you both on board. Boss, you’ll be holed up in my quarters for the time being. A friend of mine will need to see your lady for a while in your stateroom.”

“She’s—”

“—delighted to meet your friend,” Evelyn replied, delivered in a tone warning me to keep my mouth shut.

I decided it was in my better interest to obey, so I swallowed back the rest of what I had been planning to say. Evelyn wasn’t my lady, no matter how badly I wanted her at the moment. “Why your quarters?”

“First, no one will bother you while you sleep off the wine. Second, I had it swept for bugs an hour ago. Third, it’s guarded by one of mine, so if someone from the Inquisition tries to install any listening devices, I’ll know about it. Just how much did you have, anyway?”

“A bit,” I evaded.

Once again, it was Evelyn who undid my efforts by saying, “Two or three bottles.”

“You’re going to be so hung over, Boss.”

I believed him.

~~*~~

Before Zachary let me crash in his quarters, he forced me to drink enough water to float the
Wave Dream
. It didn’t save me from the prophesied hangover. An army of little men with pickaxes dug their way through my skull. I didn’t want to know what had died in my mouth, but it had died and rotted, which was ultimately the reason I forced myself to get out of bed. Staggering to the bathroom, I splashed water on my face and went through the motions of getting ready for the day, wondering how long I’d been asleep and whether or not I could get away with going back to bed.

“You alive, Boss?” Zachary asked from the other room. I grunted, hoping I was loud enough for my friend to hear me. A chuckle answered me, followed by, “There’s breakfast and painkillers out here. We’re setting sail in a few hours. I have work to do, but you need to be functional. I just finished setting up a monitor tapping into our security system so you can watch the passengers boarding. It’s your job to identify all of the Inquisitors you can. I know I’ve missed at least a few.”

I splashed my face again before I staggered my way into Zachary’s private sitting room. He had an official Captain’s Quarters meant to impress any passengers who found their way into it. I preferred the private room, large and excessively decorated in a Victorian styling, including a fainting couch tucked in a corner and an antique globe that had probably been old when my grandfather had been born. Zach was perched on the edge of the floral-patterned couch, staring intently at a laptop set up on the coffee table.

A covered silver plate awaited me, reeking of bacon, eggs, and other foods deemed suitable for those suffering from excess. I swallowed as my stomach announced its dislike of even the thought of eating. A bottle of water and a pair of pills sat on the edge of the table, which I grabbed before flopping down next to my friend.