Page 20 of An Epic Voyage (The Epic Beauty Salon Files #1)
I ndigo stood on the edge of the island and tried not to get vertigo as she looked down at the churning waters below her. While she wasn’t excited to wait out a hurricane, she’d hunker down until it passed and then call for an extraction—once she found the nuke.
There didn’t seem to be a good way to get down to the cave.
No marked trail directed, This Way to the Smuggler’s Den.
She certainly didn’t want to get stuck and then sucked out to sea when the storm hit.
She was a risk-taker, but she wasn’t reckless.
Or stupid. The boathouse by the pier likely had watercraft that could reach the cave.
“Indigo!”
She turned to see Griffin racing toward her. Fudge nuggets, he should’ve been on the boat with the others. She was so mad at getting caught, she briefly considered pushing him over the side. Not really, but he was ruining her plans.
He came to a stop in front of her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Sitting at a bar with a glass of wine. What does it look like? I’m exploring the island.”
“With a hurricane barreling down on us? Didn’t you hear the warnings to get to the boat?”
“No,” she lied. “So, it’s headed our way?”
“It is.”
A gust of wind slammed into them, sending Indy staggering backward with the force.
Oh, just freaking great. She had just joked with herself about pushing Griffin over.
Now it looked as if she would be the one taking the plunge instead.
Mother Nature must be having a good old laugh at her expense right now.
Her arms windmilled as she tried not to plummet over the edge of the cliff.
Two firm hands wrapped around her and yanked her to safety. She clutched Griffin’s solid, muscular body and tried to control her racing heart. That had been too close.
“Whew, thanks. You saved me from an unintentional swim.”
She blinked up at him. The wind quit blowing, the earth stopped rotating on its axis, and time stood still. Or it sure seemed that way as she got lost in his eyes.
A branch flew by, barely missing their heads and jarring them from their mutual trances.
“Come on, let’s go. I need to get you to the yacht.”
Short of shooting Griffin, Indy didn’t see a way out of this. She’d have to board with him, sneak down to hijack one of the jet skis, and head back. Normally, she would swim, but the water was too rough to chance it.
Griffin grabbed her hand, and they raced over the rough terrain. The dock was on the other side of the mansion, and by the time they reached it, the yacht was gone.
Griffin unloaded a litany of curses, some incredibly inventive. “I wanted you safely away from here. We’ll take one of the speedboats and try to catch up with them.”
“Griffin, the waters are too rough to try it. Besides, how would you get on board if you’re driving? I’m sure Van Houten wouldn’t appreciate us leaving one of his boats in the middle of the ocean.”
Another powerful gust of wind shoved Indy into Griffin, and they toppled to the ground.
He wasn’t the most comfortable pillow to land on.
In fact, he was as hard as a rock. Oh my, he was all muscle all over.
Not an ounce of fat on him. She wanted to stay where she was, but the weather wasn’t cooperating.
Indy rolled off as he stood up and helped her to her feet. “Fine. You’re right. We need to find somewhere to ride it out.”
She knew there was a concrete and steel-reinforced room. It would be the safest place to stay, only she didn’t know where it was. How would she admit to Griffin that she knew about it?
“There’s a panic room on the bottom level. Let’s go.”
Well, that solved her problem.
“We should stock up on food first,” Indy suggested.
“Good idea. I’m going to go through the house and make sure everyone got out. You can gather some supplies. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
Indy watched him go and then dashed to her room.
Her bags were where she’d left them, so it only took a few seconds to grab them.
She checked her messages and saw that Evangeline had called several times—no doubt to tell her about the storm.
There was a text telling her to call as soon as possible. She punched in her number.
“Indy, where are you? Are you okay?”
So much for a greeting. “I’m fine.”
“We’ll arrange to pick you up when you arrive in Miami,” Jackson said.
“Hold off there.” She told them about missing the yacht, explaining that it was a good thing since she could search the island without Van Houten or his security guards around.
“I don’t like you being alone in a hurricane,” Evangeline fretted.
She hadn’t planned on telling them about Griffin, but she didn’t have a choice. “One of Van Houten’s security men came looking for me, and he’s stranded too.”
“That will make searching difficult,” Jackson pointed out.
“I’ll find a way.” And she would. Somehow.
“Worry about looking for the nuke later,” Jackson told her. “Get to the safe room.”
“I will. Depending on the weather, I might not be able to call. I’ll contact you when I can.”
They spoke for a few more minutes, and then Indy returned to the kitchen and found a serving cart. She loaded it with water, boxed and canned foods, and anything else she could find that would last for at least a day or two.
Griffin returned with his suitcase.
“I take it you didn’t find anyone else?”
“No, just us suckers.” He grabbed the handle of the cart and said, “Follow me.”
Indy did, and they came to a dead end. Griffin moved a sconce, and the wall slid aside to reveal what appeared to be a storage room. He gestured for her to go first.
“This is it?” Frankly, she was underwhelmed.
“Nope.”
She glanced behind her as the wall closed them in. He found another secret latch, and a panel moved aside to reveal elevator doors. Griffin stabbed the button, and the doors swished open. Once they were loaded inside, it descended and came to a stop.
“We’re not entering the bowels of Hades, are we?”
Griffin chuckled. “I have no idea. I’ve never been down here before.”
“Seriously? How did you know about it?”
“It’s my job.”
They stepped out, and Indy scanned the empty space. All she could see was concrete everywhere. She started to say something, but Griffin opened a light switch and pulled out a keypad. He entered a code, and a section of the concrete wall slicked open.
“Good grief. Paranoid much?”
“You should see the panic room in his Los Angeles mansion.”
She could only imagine.
In front of them was a steel door with no handle. “Now what?”
The wall they just passed through closed, revealing another light switch. Griffin opened it the same way as the other, tapped in the code, and rolled his eyes. “Van Houten is so predictable. The code on each one is his birthday.”
The final door opened with a whoosh, signifying it was vacuum-sealed.
“Are we going to be able to get out of here, or will this be our tomb?”
Griffin shook his head. “Honestly? I have no clue.”
Indy stepped inside and almost gasped. This was not like any panic room she’d ever been in. It was lavish, featuring leather furniture, a gigantic television on the wall, a fully stocked bar and kitchen, a king-sized bed, and an en-suite bathroom. “This is a safe room?”
“It is for a billionaire. He spares no expense. There’s even a generator and a backup if we lose power.”
#
I f Griffin had to get caught in a hurricane, being stranded with a beautiful woman he was intensely attracted to was pretty much the ideal scenario—if he trusted her, that is.
Doubt crept into his head as to why she would roam the grounds with a storm barreling down on them.
He’d discussed the weather with her and specifically instructed her to stay close and listen for the alarms. She knew there was a good possibility they might need to leave.
What was she doing on the north shore of the island? What was she looking for?
He intended to find out.
Then there was the incident the other night when she had asked if the boat was bugged. That wasn’t a question the average person would consider. He’d been suspicious but had accepted her explanation that she was a crime show junkie. Now, it made him wonder.
Griffin picked up the remote and found a weather channel. He winced at the size of the storm swirling through the Atlantic as it picked up strength. It’d grown exponentially.
Indigo walked up beside him and whistled. “That’s going to leave a mark.”
“It’s a whopper.”
“Do you think Van Houten and the others will make it back to Miami?”
“With the head start, I would say so. They’ll be running full throttle.”
“Have you been in a hurricane before?”
Griffin turned to Indigo. “No, and I wouldn’t be in this one if you hadn’t been nosing around the property and ignoring the warnings.”
That was a lie. He’d planned to stay—was truly glad there was a reason for everyone else to evacuate, including the island staff. He’d intended to jump off the yacht at the last minute, but Indigo had torpedoed that plan.
She shrugged. “I don’t know what’s so hard to understand. It’s a beautiful island. I love to hike. What can I say? I was curious.”
“You didn’t notice the rapidly darkening sky and the increase in wind velocity?”
She fixed him with a frosty glare. “I’m not stupid. The storm wasn’t supposed to hit here the last time I looked.”
He scoffed. “Ignorance is no excuse, and I warned you.”
“Look, Griff, I’m sorry. I feel bad enough that you got stuck here with me. No need to pile on. You didn’t have to come back for me.”
“No man or woman left behind.”
“I’m guessing you were in the military.”
“Semper Fi.”
“Ah. A marine.”
Their attention was drawn back to the television when an update on the storm’s path flashed on the screen. There was no way it would miss them.
“Do you think the TV will work once that monster hits us?” Indigo wondered.
“It should. It’s satellite, and he has a backup HD antenna.”
“What about the elevator?”