Page 83 of Undertow

“Yes, sir. Don’t know. Tall? Lots of tattoos? Yep. Brown hair. I guess he’s good-looking? I don’t know.”

Shit.

“Really? Usually, we take them to our office while they’re processed by HR… No, yeah. Of course. Sure. On our way.”

He hangs up and levels a suspicious glare on me. “Who the fuck are you?”

It’s not a real question since he doesn’t wait for a response. Instead, he grips my arm with hostility I’m much more accustomed to and motions for his partner to do the same. Within seconds, I’m jerked in the opposite direction we were walking.

“Change of plans,” he says to the others. “We’re taking him downstairs.”

Double shit.

“What partof don’t get fired was confusing for you?!” Merrick shouts from the other side of the small room. On an official blueprint, this is an unused storage space. In practice, it’s a room I was hoping never to see. I’ve spent enough time in concrete holes like this.

I shrug and unbutton the stiff uniform shirt I’m happy never to wear again.

“Not my fault Chef Egotist doesn’t like employees sampling his shitty desserts.”

Merrick’s glare darkens further as it rips into me. “There’s not a cell in my body that doesn’t know you orchestrated this. You got fired on purpose after I specifically told younotto. Know how I know? I have an entire resort buzzing abouttheincident in the kitchen,which makes it impossible to sweep it under the rug and put you back in play.”

I take my time slipping the shirt off, already feeling much freer in just the cotton tank beneath.This is a better outfit for violence anyway.

Merrick rips the uniform shirt from my hands and tosses it into a corner. I instinctively brace for a fight.

“Fucking listen to me, Shaw. Tell me why you went against my orders. Tell me why I shouldn’t beat your ass and bury you for insubordination and take this higher up. Trust me, now is not the time to be pissing off McArthur.”

“I already told you, the double agent thing served its purpose, but we’re wasting time we don’t have. Every second I spend playing resort employee is a second away from the real shit happening on the other end of the island. Something is up with the marina, but I can’t getthereif I’m alwayshere.”

His narrowed eyes remain fixed on me for several long seconds. I see his mind working and hold steady through the visual threat.

After a long pause, his shoulders finally relax. “And the Hartfords? They won’t be happy you got fired either. You were even more valuable to them as a McArthur employee than you were to us. What happens when you’re not useful to them anymore?”

I swallow a twinge at the thought of a secret door in a prison shack.

“I’ll just have to make sure I stayuseful.”

He shakes his head and runs a hand over his face. “You’re playing with fire, kid. You’re seriously going to kill me one day.”

“Playing? Pretty sure I live in the flames.”

He sighs, and I’m still in disbelief I’m standing here without a drop of blood shed.

“Tell me about the marina,” he says. “What’s going on there?”

“I don’t know yet, but if I had to guess, that’s probably where the majority of the transactions are happening. If I can get in onthat action, I can find out with whom, what type, and how much. The marina is the key to this entire equation.”

“And you think you can get in on whatever’s happening there?”

“Now that I’m not stuck here, yeah. They’ll have to give me something else to do. I’ll make sure it’s at the docks.”

Merrick nods, his expression lifting slightly. “Good. Do that and maybe McArthur doesn’t order a bullet in your head.”

“Don’t tempt me,” I mumble.

Something flickers in his eyes. That same change I’ve been noticing more and more lately. I wish I could interpret it, but the man is even better at this than I am.

“Okay, well, keep me posted. I’m serious, Shaw, you’re…”