Page 40 of The Honeymoon Hack

“I was doing tech support for the university.” Will waved dismissively. He must have settled on an excuse while he was getting the coffee. “Helped maintain the lab’s computers, nothing exciting. The lights in our server room just reminded me of their equipment setup, that’s all.”

“Right,” Claire nodded, but something flickered across her features. Disappointment? Suspicion? “Still, it must have been an interesting exposure to that kind of work.”

“As interesting as watching servers run diagnostics all day,” Will replied with a shrug.

Undeterred by Will’s attempted evasion, Claire started, “Labs like that?—”

“Will, what time do you want to head up to Little Haven?” I blurted, tapping my watch. “It’s eight now.”

He glanced at my half-eaten breakfast. “We’ve got four hours until our shift starts. Maybe in an hour? Give your stomach time to settle?”

“Or now?”

Will looked as though he were going to decline, but he paused, stood, and pulled out my chair for me. “Pardon us, everyone, but my bride needs some alone time.”

He waggled his eyebrows at Rav—such a guy thing—and we said our goodbyes. Once we were out of earshot, he leaned close. “Everything all right?”

“I didn’t like the questions.”

“Sheisa curious bird.”

And curiosity was something we didn’t need right now.

Chapter 16

Will

“What’sthe guard even checking for?” Brie hissed as we climbed the long ramp toward the door to Little Haven. “We’re the staff, heading to our own private island.”

“Probably keeping unauthorized people out.” I adjusted my backpack, which was full of our towels, sunscreen, and our phones, along with the custom wireless earbuds. “For that matter, someone could dock a boat on the far side, drop off drugs or contraband, and any of the legitimate staff could tote it back in.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

Brie had been on edge since breakfast. Claire’s questions had not only rattled her, but had led to my minor slip. My time at the labhadbeen interesting, but it was hardly a story I’d be sharing with Claire.

The guard gestured for me to drop my bag onto the X-ray machine’s conveyor. Apparently, they were also checking for secrets being taken out of the building. Fortunately, our earbuds resembled standard commercial models, and only someone intimately familiar with their inner mechanics would know they were anything but.

The guard waved us through, and once I’d collected the bag, I swiped my ID card over the scanner by the door. A beep, a green light, and the door clicked open.

Brie and I stepped outside into the stifling Caribbean air. After the past day underground in a precisely controlled low-humidity environment, it literally took my breath away.

However, it wasgorgeous. Palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze, the rhythmic pop of paddles came from a nearby pickleball court, and electric bikes were set up by a path that ringed the small island. Several employees had already claimed spots on the white-sand beach.

It was as though we had stepped into a vacation brochure.

“My god,” Brie breathed, pausing to take it all in. “I’ve spent years being jealous of Scarlett traveling to places like this.”

“Have you?” I steered us along the shore, our sandals sinking slightly into the warm sand with each step. The gentle lapping of waves provided a soothing backdrop. It was paradise. “Including the part where people shoot at her?”

She snorted. “Exactly why I stick to my computer screen. All the adventure, none of the trauma.”

We moved past several occupied spots—a couple reading books side by side, a lone woman doing yoga near the water’s edge, six men playing volleyball. I guided us toward an umbrella with two loungers that offered clear sightlines in all directions. No cabanas nearby to block our view if anyone approached, no people close enough to eavesdrop.

Brie adjusted her lounger to lie flat and pulled off the short white dress she’d worn as a beach cover-up. Revealing surprisingly little fabric.

And a whole lot of skin.

Brie had always been a one-piece girl and was still shy about her body. Her curves were subtle, and the bikini highlighted every one of them. She wadded the fabric of her dress up,holding it like a shield in front of herself. “I told you Scarlett packed for me, right?”