Page 35 of An Epic Voyage (The Epic Beauty Salon Files #1)

I ndigo wanted to stay in Griffin’s arms forever. It’d become her favorite place. Feeling his steely muscles wrapped around her was grounding. Inhaling his clean, woodsy scent was intoxicating. How had she fallen so hard for a man she barely knew?

That wasn’t entirely true. She recognized the crucial facts. Integrity. Honesty. Compassion. Trustworthiness. And, oh my , he was sexy. They complemented each other in every way.

When Indigo worked on a case, she was usually alone, and she didn’t mind.

There had been a couple of times when all three women were required, but for the most part, she preferred going solo.

It shocked her to realize she not only enjoyed having Griffin by her side for this one but thrived on it.

There was an added element of worry for his safety, but she was there to watch over him, and vice versa.

Indigo didn’t want to leave her job. Evangeline and Jackson were not only perfect bosses but also family.

Piper and Chelsea were her sisters. The excitement and diversity of each mission challenged and satisfied her, and she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

She even enjoyed working at the salon. It gave her something to do in the off times.

Otherwise, she’d be exercising constantly and going stir crazy.

Was she seriously considering giving it all up for a man?

She was.

“What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours?”

Indigo blinked and focused on Griffin. His eye was black from where she’d kicked him, and his jaw was red and swollen where Gordon had hit him with a gun. She traced it. Instead of answering his question, she said, “We make a fine pair, all battered and bruised.”

“It hurts me to look at you and see what Gordon did to you, knowing how much it must have hurt,” he admitted.

“You make me forget all the pain.”

He framed her face with his hands. “Oh, babe, I lo—”

A knock sounded on the door.

She almost screamed for the person to go away so Griffin could finish his sentence. Instead, she whispered, “Go hide in the closet.”

He wanted to argue. She could see it on his face. He relented, giving a brusque nod before disappearing. She moved to the door. “Who is it?”

“Garcia. Mr. Van Houten’s bodyguard.”

Indigo opened the door.

“I came to check on you. How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but okay.”

“I brought you some aspirin I found.”

She held out her hand. “Thank you. That was thoughtful.” Not that she would swallow them. No telling what the pills were. “I’m going to take a nap, but I’ll be ready for the meeting.”

“I’ll be back to get you when it’s time.”

As soon as he left, Indigo locked the door. She turned around and yelped. She hadn’t heard Griffin approach.

“You scared me.”

“We have a few hours. Let’s put them to good use.”

#

J ackson disconnected a call and turned to Evangeline. He hated delivering more bad news, almost as much as he hated hearing it.

“The Coast Guard boarded Van Houten’s yacht on the way back to Miami. Benedict Van Houten wasn’t on board.”

“Where did he go?”

“No one knows. He took a speedboat from the tender garage without telling anyone where he was going.”

“He came back here to get the nuke and found Indigo inside the safe.” Scared eyes met his. “What did he do with her, Jackson?”

He pulled Evie into his arms. She rarely showed any emotion and hated for anyone to see her vulnerabilities. That she was doing so in front of him, of all people, meant she was genuinely terrified. “I don’t know.”

Evie allowed herself only a few minutes of distress before she steeled her spine and stepped out of his arms. He mourned the loss.

“We need to find out if the speedboat has GPS. Maybe we can track it.”

“If not, I’ll try to get a lead on where Jabari Abdullahi is headed. My gut tells me the exchange is a go.”

#

G riffin held Indigo in his arms. They’d made love again. Earlier, when they had first seen each other, it had been hard and fast because he’d needed her too much. This time was slower, intense, and shattering.

Neither knew what would happen in the next few hours. The situation was precarious, dealing with not one but two killers and a stolen nuclear weapon, not to mention the bomb below, waiting to blow everything up.

Griffin had almost begged Indigo to jump in the speedboat with him and motor away.

She would be safe, and that was all that mattered to him.

But he couldn’t do it. Her job was to recover the nuke.

He didn’t want to give her any reason to think he doubted her or that the mission would fail. He had complete faith in her.

She patted his arm, which was encircling her. “I need to shower and get dressed.”

“I’ll help.”

She twisted her head to look at him with a cocked brow. “You think that’s a good idea?”

“The best.”

“Me too, but I won’t get anything done. The quicker this is over, the faster we can do this again.”

There was an incentive if he’d ever heard one.

Despite her earlier objection, she took his hand and guided him to the shower. They lathered each other almost reverently. When he slid into her, he wanted to make it last forever, but his body had other plans.

While she fixed her hair and makeup, Griffin dressed in the same shirt and pants since he didn’t have a change of clothing. Indigo selected a dress that was both functional and fashionable. She looked incredible. It was easy to see why Van Houten had become obsessed with her. Griffin had too.

When a knock sounded on the door, Griffin pulled Indigo in for one last kiss.

“You’re smearing my lipstick,” she chastised as she eagerly participated. He didn’t want to let her go, but, as she’d said, the quicker they got this over with, the better.

He cupped his hands around her head. “Be safe.”

“I will.”

Letting her go was the hardest thing he’d ever done. She’d be in a room with two cold-blooded killers.

Griffin ducked into the bathroom and watched as she opened the door. Garcia was waiting for her. With a look back at him, she left the room.

Griffin checked his gun. Though he’d wanted her to carry it, they determined it was better if he did—well, Indigo had decided, and he’d reluctantly gone along with her wishes. He would provide cover for her.

While Indigo was getting ready, he’d snuck down to the storage locker where the handcuffs were kept. He’d found zip ties and duct tape, along with more cuffs. He’d loaded his pockets.

The sound of a helicopter approaching prompted him to hurry to the door. Abdullahi was arriving. Griffin checked the hallway. Empty. He crept to the stairway on the opposite end of the boat from Van Houten’s suite, hoping they would use the one closer.

The helo was hovering above the yacht when he reached the roof.

The only one waiting for Abdullahi was Zisk, who looked ill at ease.

Griffin stayed out of sight and watched as the copter landed and the engine powered down.

As soon as the blades stopped rotating, the door opened, and two brawny men jumped out.

They turned and helped the African drug lord from the aircraft, followed by a smaller, bespectacled Asian man, nervously clutching a bag to his chest. Two more behemoths climbed out behind them, armed to the teeth.

One was holding a large briefcase. Had to be cash for the exchange.

Zisk shook Abdullahi’s hand and gestured for the group to follow him.

One of the first men off the helicopter stayed behind while the others filed onto the elevator.

He walked to the edge of the roof and relieved himself into the ocean.

Cretin. He could’ve used one of the dozen or so bathrooms on board.

Nevertheless, it provided the perfect opportunity.

Griffin came up behind him, wrapped his forearm around the man’s beefy neck, and choked him unconscious before he could realize what hit him.

He zip-tied the man’s hands behind his back and then his feet before slapping a strip of duct tape across his mouth.

Griffin dragged him behind a half-wall and separated him from his weapons.

The pilot was next. Griffin leaped into the opening and came up behind the man.

He’d removed his headgear and was drinking from a thermos.

Griffin stuck a gun in his face, and he sputtered, spewing liquid across the control panel.

Griffin ordered him to unbuckle and stand.

He came out of his seat looking for a fight.

Griffin gave him one, but it was over before it started.

A swift knock to the temple with the butt of his gun and the man collapsed unconscious to the floor.

Griffin handcuffed him to the base of the chair and tied his legs together before covering his mouth with the tape.

Two down. Now, to get to Indigo.

Griffin hopped out and flew down the stairs.

He turned a corner and almost slammed into one of Abdullahi’s guards coming out of the men’s room.

Griffin shoved him back inside and landed on top of him.

He cracked the man’s head against the floor, and he was out.

Griffin tied him up, removed his weapons so he couldn’t get to them, and checked the hall before exiting.

There were now two guards with Abdullahi, plus the other man, who, now that he thought about it, was most likely a scientist to verify the authenticity of the nuke. Counting Van Houten, Zisk, and Garcia, that meant there were seven people he and Indigo had to take down.

He liked their odds.