Page 43 of Wayward

The door squeaks open, and I jump. We’re not expecting anyone to come in since it’s not nearly dark yet and Holloway just left. A tall gray-haired man with a square jaw and deep wrinkles, the kind you get from decades of being out in the sun, stands in the doorway.

“Hey. Excuse me, I didn’t mean to startle you.” His voice is deep with a thick accent, something Nordic?like a lot of officers in yachting. And I can’t help wondering if this is Haakon, the captain of theRosewood. “Sam, are you hurt?”

“I’m gonna be fine, just fine. Our resident medic has fixed me up. It’s nice to see you again, though.”

TheRosewoodcaptain glances over his shoulder out into the twilight. “I’m sorry I can’t help you more. But I do have this for you.” He hands Sam an envelope. “Holloway should be taking you to the house soon. When you get there, what you find in the envelope should help you. I wish you the best of luck. Once again, I question the decisions I have made in my own life, and I know Hawk will never forgive me for not doing more.” The captain looks down at the dirty tile floor, and he shakes his head and disappears back out into the early evening.

Sam holds the envelope in his lap.

“Bloody hell, Sam. Aren’t you gonna open it?” Zane’s eyebrows shoot up.

Chapter 19

Paper Beats Lock

Zane

Iwant to rush across the room and rip the envelope from Sam’s hand. “What is it?”

“It better be six plane tickets back to Miami or I’m gonna track Hawk down and tell him exactly what an asshole his dad is,” Calvin says.

Sam cracks open the seal of the envelope and peers into it without revealing the contents. His eyebrows shoot up.

“What is it?” Dante storms across the room. And I expect him to rip the envelope from Sam’s hand, but he doesn’t. “Show us. Holloway could be back any second.”

Sam holds up a fistful of cash. It’s mostly American money, but there are some pounds and probably what’s local currency mixed in. “There’s a note too. It says, ‘Esmeralda, these are good people. Do what you can, and I will owe you one, whatever you want.’”

Dante lets out a laugh. “I wonder if what Esmeralda wants is theRosewood’s captain?”

“Well, I don’t care what she wants as long as she helps us,” I say.

“Here, Haley, you hold the money. Z seems to have some pretty strong rules about what his guards can and cannot do to women. It’ll be safest with you.”

“It better be, or I’ll tear them to shreds.” Calvin moves from where he’s been standing next to the door. “How much is there, Haley?”

We watch her count it in silence for a few moments.

“That’s great and all, but what use is money if we can’t get by Z’s guards? And more importantly, Ed’s guards?” I crouch next to Haley, and she stops counting.

“Maybe Esmeralda holds our get out of jail free card.” Easton gathers up the medical kit from the table.

“You played Monopoly?” My voice rises. Easton gives me the look. It’s his I’m-thinking-about-Emily look. “Sorry.”

“No worries. We did use real money, though.” He smiles.

“Shut up, Rockwell,” Calvin says, staring back out the window next to the door.

Easton cocks his head at me. “Susan won a house in the Hamptons from my dad when I was on Christmas break my freshman year.”

“Fucking?”

“?rich people,” Easton finishes for me. There’s a moment of laughter. A moment where we’re just us back on the island.

“How much, Sassy?”

“Excluding some of the Asian currencies I don’t know the exchange rate for, it’s about 3000 USD.” Haley shoves it inside her bra.

“Well, we’ve got cash and a note. It’s the start of a plan,” Sam says as he stands. There’s a twitch in the corner of his eye. He’s in pain, but he’s trying not to show it as he paces along the windows.