Page 39 of An Epic Voyage (The Epic Beauty Salon Files #1)

T he flight to the naval hospital in Cuba went quickly. Indigo didn’t wake up again, though her vital signs were holding steady. Franklin wasn’t doing as well, and there was fear that he had internal bleeding and damaged organs from the beating.

As soon as the helicopter touched down, Indigo and Franklin were rushed inside. Griffin insisted that Jordy be checked out as well. If anything, he needed fluids.

Griffin had met Indigo’s other boss, Evangeline Charvet, when he entered the chopper. Indigo was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but goodness, her boss was a close second, even if there was a hardness about her that screamed not to get too close.

He hadn’t had a chance to brief her or Jackson Rushing on what had happened. They were headed his way now.

Rushing had taken possession of the nuclear weapon. Indigo had successfully completed her mission. Griffin needed to call his boss and let him know the laptop was in Van Houten’s safe on the island.

“Mr. Decker,” Evangeline greeted.

“Call me Griffin.”

“Okay. Griffin, you should have your face checked out.”

“It’s fine.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like, “Save me from alpha males.”

“Let’s move to the waiting room, and you can tell us what happened,” Rushing suggested.

Once they were seated, Griffin recalled the events, from getting caught in the safe, to being dumped into the cargo hold, to Van Houten blowing his girlfriend away.

“As I told Mr. Rushing earlier, it was a perfect shot,” Griffin said.

“He knew how to use a gun,” Evangeline surmised.

“Yes. Also, he’d loaded the cargo hold with a massive bomb.

He planned on double-crossing Abdullahi and blowing him up.

” He relayed what had transpired during the meeting.

“Dr. Cheung told them the nuke was fake. That set off a shooting match. Indigo took Van Houten down when the bullets started flying. Abdullahi was riddled with holes and looked dead. Before we had a chance to check him, he lifted his gun and aimed at Van Houten. That’s when Indigo barreled into me like an NFL linebacker and we went sailing over the balcony as the boat exploded. ”

“Van Houten had a dead man’s switch,” Evangeline guessed.

Griffin nodded. “Indigo knew if he died, we all would. She saved my life.”

“Sounds like you did the same for her,” Rushing pointed out. “You prevented her from drowning.”

Griffin brushed the compliment away. “I just wish I could’ve spared her from getting shot.”

Evangeline let him off the hook. “It sounds as if that would’ve been impossible after Dr. Cheung’s announcement. Abdullahi would not have taken being double-crossed lightly.”

“Dr. Cheung is going to seek asylum in the United States,” Rushing supplied. “He has vital knowledge of Abdullahi’s operation. Their government might be able to shut the enterprise down before someone else steps up to take over.”

“What happened to Indigo’s face?” Evangeline wanted to know.

Griffin told them about the attempted rape by Van Houten’s bodyguard, Herm Gorden, and his subsequent drowning. “I’d have killed him for touching her if he hadn’t done it to himself.”

Indigo’s bosses were silent. He glanced from one to the other. They were both studying him with squinty eyes. Uh oh . Tactical mistake. He’d all but announced his feelings to them. Clearing his throat, he changed the subject.

“Before Van Houten caught us inside the safe, I found the missing military laptop I’d been tasked to recover.”

Rushing nodded. “We went to the island to hunt for Indigo when we couldn’t get in touch. Based on our last conversation with her, we located the room and computer. I let your boss know you’d found it, and it’s been successfully recovered.”

That was a tremendous relief. “Thank you.”

“As I’m sure Indigo told you, on paper, our agency doesn’t exist,” said Evangeline. “As far as the FBI and everyone else is concerned, you’ll be given credit for stopping the sale of the nuclear weapon.”

Indignant on Indigo’s behalf, he argued, “That’s not fair. This was all Indigo. She should get the recognition.”

“That’s not how we operate,” Evangeline replied. “We don’t do this for praise.”

That pissed Griffin off. Did they think he was a glory hog? “I don’t do this job for acclaim either.”

Evangeline’s cool exterior didn’t even crack. “I didn’t imply that you do.”

Rushing stepped in to diffuse the tension. “The people who tasked us with this mission will know Indigo’s role.”

In other words, the president.

“When you relay what happened with the numerous branches of government who will demand your side of the story, Indigo is who she appears on paper,” Rushing instructed. “A cosmetologist from Boston.”

Griffin didn’t pretend to understand how their organization worked.

The Bureau loved taking credit for successful operations and wouldn’t hesitate to alter the narrative of how Van Houten and Abdullahi were brought down.

Griffin didn’t have to like it, but he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Indigo or her job.

The doctor came out and all was forgotten.

“Ms. Adair was lucky. There was very little internal damage. No organs were hit. It’s a best-case scenario. She’s been stitched up. She does have significant bruising around the wound, so she’ll be doubly sore.”

Griffin winced. Saving him had caused that injury.

“Can we see her?” Evangeline asked.

“Yes.”

The doctor recited her room number. They thanked him and headed down the hallway. Griffin wanted to go in alone. He needed to touch her, make sure she was okay. He’d never been so scared as when he’d pulled her out of the water unconscious.

As it was, he entered first. Indigo’s eyes were closed, and an icepack rested against her swollen cheek.

The sheets were tucked around her, but her arms were out, relaxing against her stomach.

Tubes had been inserted in the back of one hand, and a blood pressure cuff was secured around her left bicep.

The lights were dim, but one shone down on her, making her look ethereal, vulnerable, and so damn beautiful.

Her blue eyes fluttered open, and she spotted him. Her lips curved. “Hey.”

“Hey, babe.” Oops, there we went again, but then, he didn’t care. He was so incredibly happy to see her alive.

#

I ndigo had tried to refuse the drugs, but the doctor had insisted.

He wanted her to rest so her body could recuperate, and she would—once she assured herself Griffin was okay.

She remembered all the bullets flying and then seeing Abdullahi about to kill Van Houten.

Her only thought had been to get Griffin off the boat before they were blown to smithereens.

The last thing she remembered was running toward him and then excruciating pain when she barreled into him.

The next thing she knew, she’d woken up on a boat, or maybe she’d been hallucinating, because she thought she remembered Jackson being there.

That didn’t make sense. Had Griffin been standing over her, or had it been a dream?

If it was real, she recalled that he’d thanked her for saving his life.

Seems he must have done the same for her.

She didn’t remember hitting the water or how she had gotten into the boat.

Her lids were drooping. She would only sleep for a minute, then she’d get out of bed and find him. She had to know if he was okay.

Something woke Indigo. It was a familiar scent. Comforting. She opened her eyes to the most beautiful sight in the world. Griffin.

“Hey.”

“Hey, babe.” He took her hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Good, now that you’re here. But that could be the drugs talking.”

He smiled, and she started to pull him down for a kiss, but she paused upon seeing movement behind him.

“You scared us to death,” Evangeline scolded.

She blinked to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She wasn’t. Evangeline Charvet and Jackson Rushing were standing by her bed. It hadn’t been a hallucination.

“I must be injured worse than I thought if you guys are here.”

Jackson patted her leg. “You aren’t. When we couldn’t get in touch with you, we went looking for you.”

“How did you find me?”

“It’s what we do,” Jackson stated.

Her eyelids started to droop again. She wanted to find out how they had tracked her down. She needed to ask Griffin how he’d gotten her to the boat. Jordy was on her mind too. Instead of posing questions, she fell into a deep slumber.