Page 38 of Wayward

He had scratched his beard and scrunched his face like he does before he comes up with a doozie. “If Ed’s men are the reason why we’re here, but trafficking is part of his business while Z seems . . .”

“Not into shooting us,” I said.

“Exactly. Why wouldn’t Ed’s men know about the chamber in the owner’s closet?”

I glared at Calvin. “Shit if I know. Is this Thayer’s yacht or Ed’s?” I cocked my head at Calvin. Because he’s smarter than I’ll ever admit he is.

“Thayer’s what . . . thirty? Think Dad paid for the yacht?”

“Yeah.” I think back to my own finances. Emily and I have trust funds, and different amounts of money vests at different ages. A way of keeping the kids in line. Though I’ve never actually cared about my dad’s money, I’m not as much of a free spirit as Emily. “I couldn’t afford to buy theRosewood, not on my own.”

“So, his dad did. And if his dad did, wouldn’t he have his men search it?”

“Yes,” I said.

Now Calvin’s voice hisses in the quiet compartment. “Wait for the signal . . .”

Haley’s shaking. Vibrating. If she wasn’t holding her jaw just so, her teeth would be chattering.

I hold my lips above her ear and whisper, “It’s okay.” I have absolutely no idea whether it’s going to be okay. But at least we’ve come up with something. Though I’m vibrating on my own.

The overhead light flicks on. Calvin moves the panel to the side, and we all file out. The door to the closet is open. I’m to go first. I have an important job to do. I poke my head out into the main cabin. The door’s cracked open. I throw a thumbs-up behind me, and we all move across the primary cabin to our hiding spots. Thayer’s voice echoes in the hallway. Calvin and I will hide in the bathroom while Dante, Zane, and Sam hide under the bed. Haley will be in the best spot, the chest at the end of the bed. It’s just big enough for her. I stop at the chest and hold it open for her while she contorts herself. I give her a smile and close the lid. Calvin’s standing in the doorway to the bathroom when I get there. There’s enough space behind the door for the two of us to stand. As long as the door doesn’t get thrown open, we should be good. Calvin pushes me back, taking the front position. He wanted Haley in here with us. But she’s better off in the chest. It’s small enough that they’re not going to open it. Especially after they’ve already searched the room. Calvin had brought up the issue to Thayer, that Ed’s men would want to search the lockers. And we all came up with the plan together. Thayer would let them search the room, take them out into the hallway and acquiesce about letting them search the lockers after giving us time to move.

“Fine,” Z says, too loudly. But I’m hoping they don’t figure it out. Nothing we can do about it now. “Search it. But I like my privacy too much to ever let someone stay back there.”

“I heard you’ve hardly been in here for the last few days. Staying in your office.”

“I’m a workaholic, just like Ed.”

“Right,” the deep voice says. “Then you don’t mind showing us.”

“Fine,” Z responds. “I’ll remember this.”

Through a small opening in the hinge, I see a flicker of a dark-clad security guard and then . . . nothing.

“Nothing. Exactly as I told you,” Z says a few minutes later.

I’m holding my breath and keeping as still as possible. Wishing I wasn’t as close to the hinge as I am. But I’m not moving now.

The door slams shut. We’re not supposed to move back until he comes into the cabin again. Which could be a hell of a long time. I find myself watching a shadow slowly moving across the floor.

It’s been over an hour when I lean forward to Calvin. “We need to get Haley out of there.”

“It’s made of wood, and there’s a crack in the side,” he whispers back.

“She’s not going to be able to walk straight.”

Calvin glares back at me, and the shadow inches forward, hitting the shower door. Thayer made it clear: don’t move from where we're hiding until he comes back. But this is becoming fucking crazy, and I’m worried about Haley. Though sore is better than dead. I school my breathing and wait.

The yacht shakes. We rock left and right, and then it stops.

“We’ve docked,” Calvin whispers.

I nod. Because I’d figured that out on my own. But where are we? And what now?

Chapter 17

Monsoon Bay