Page 7 of An Epic Voyage

Indy told them about the trip on the Van Houten yacht and the stop on his private island.

“I’m so jealous,” Piper groused.“I’d love an exotic vacation on a billionaire’s dime.”

“It’s hardly a pleasure trip.”She explained about the missing nuke.

“Indy, Jabari Abdullahi is as brutal as they come,” Chelsea fretted.“He kills kids in front of their parents, and vice versa.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of his resume.I hope to find the nuke before the meeting.I’d rather not run into him.Now, let’s talk about something else.Piper, how was the girl you helped who was going on her first date?”

“She was a nervous wreck,” Piper told them.“She’s had a crush on the guy for a while and got tired of waiting on him, so she asked him out.”

“Good for her,” Indy praised.

They talked and laughed as the sun set and stars filled the sky.Indy checked her watch.“I’d better get to sleep.I have research to do, and an early flight to Miami.”

They hugged, and Indy promised to be careful before retreating to her loft.Before she went to bed, she googled Benedict Van Houten and read the latest articles about him.There were several pictures of Jinger.She was a beautiful woman if you went for the plastic Barbie type.She was obviously conscious of her looks and had been a dancer in a Las Vegas show.Van Houten had watched one of her performances and had fallen for her.Several gossip sites painted her as a vain, cruel gold digger, only with Van Houten for his money, but then, they tended to do that with everyone he dated, as if he were too good for any mere mortal.

Jinger’s style seemed to be excessive makeup, big hair, and minimal clothing.Her assets were prominently displayed in most of the online pictures.Apparently, she was Van Houten’s type.He looked smitten in the photos.Indy knew him to be forty-six.Jinger was fifteen years his junior.

Indy shut off the computer, brushed her teeth, and washed her face.She picked up the dossier that Evangeline and Jackson had prepared for her and read the entire thing before shutting off the light and crawling under the covers.

Images from her first assignment filtered through her head.She’d been scared out of her mind, afraid she’d mess up and blow everything, including their cover.She hadn’t been able to sleep a wink the night before.Evangeline and Jackson had continually assured her they trusted her and that she was ready.Her preparation had been extensive and thorough.Thankfully, she hadn’t messed up.It’d been successful, and she’d gained confidence in herself, which grew with every mission.Instead of fear and anxiety, she now felt excited to accomplish her goals.

Still, it took a while for her mind to shut down.Scenarios ran through her head of things that might go wrong.She liked to prepare for every contingency so she’d know how to react.

This wasn’t the life she’d planned for herself, but she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Chapter Three

Indigo rolled her suitcasesalong the boardwalk, enjoying the warm breeze off the Atlantic Ocean.The caw of seagulls circling overhead mingled with the gentle lap of waves against the wooden pylons.Soaring palm trees lined the shore in all their tall, elegant glory.They were her favorite, but she never got the chance to see them in Boston.

Indy burned easily, so she’d slathered on sunscreen in the airport bathroom, and the faint scent of coconuts tickled her nose.It reminded her of sultry nights and exotic drinks garnished with fruit skewers.Not that she’d indulged in a vacation like that in years, but, hey, a girl could dream, right?

During the three-hour flight to Miami, she’d done more digging on Van Houten.She wasn’t worried about anyone confiscating her phone and finding her browser history.It could easily be explained as researching her last-minute client.

Indy felt as prepared as humanly possible.Evangeline and Jackson’s brief had been thorough.Gossip websites filled in the rest.She probably knew more about Benedict Van Houten than he did about himself.