Page 47 of Wayward

She turns and glares at Calvin. “You new? Ed’s man?” She puts one hand on her hip, a knife in the other one. And I’m wishing Dante was here to speak to her, chef to chef.

Calvin raises his chin in an affirmative.

I widen my stance and act like any of the security guards my dad has hired over the years.

“What the fuck? You’re not due until midnight. All twenty of you are already here? I’m not going to have enough dinner for you. I have to feed everyone on theRosewoodtoo. Along with all the regular staff. And Mr. Z.” She shakes her head. Her accent is odd. American, maybe, but twisted from years of living abroad.

There’s a high-pitched bark, and Penny comes running from across the kitchen. She’s in full play mode, barking and jumping, first on Calvin. But when he ignores her, she moves to Zane, who has never ignored her. Zane rubs her behind her ear. Her foot starts thumping.

The thump of Penny’s foot matches my heart. I scan the kitchen for a weapon. There are lots of options, but no knives near me.

Esmeralda says something in Thai, and the four men scurry out of the kitchen. “You’re not Ed’s men. You’re the ones who’re supposed to be dead. The crew of the yacht that was lost last year.” She looks from Calvin to Zane to me. She holds up a chef’s knife.

“Yes,” I say. “We have a note.”

“A note?” She laughs. “A note? You think that’s going to keep me from calling the guards in here?”

“Why didn’t you already?” I ask. “You could have. Instead, you let the kitchen staff take a smoke break.”

“I like your dog. Cat’s okay. A bit of a demon. But she’s coming around. And my sous chefs? They would have knocked over my broth on their way to get out of a fight anyhow. Now, what’s on this note that makes you think I’m not going to call someone who won’t run away?”

Penny nuzzles my hand until I start petting her, even though I’m not looking at her but at the knife Esmeralda’s holding.

“The note.” I cock my head at Zane.

“Right.” He pulls it out of his pocket. “Here.” He hands it over to her.

She reads it and purses her lips. “Well, I guess that answers my question about what I’m going to do.” The knife drops to the counter with a clatter, and she takes long steps over to a disheveled desk in the corner of the room. There are stacks of paper and open cookbooks mixed with receipts and at least ten open energy drinks. She grabs a piece of paper. “I’ll give you the information, but it’s up to the lot of you. Aren’t there more of you?”

I nod.

“Right.” She draws a map on the paper. “This is the staff path to the main dock. There’s a boat in there. Keys are in a locker on the wall.”

“Where’s Pepper?” I ask.

“You’re going to take the dog and cat with you?”

“Yes,” Calvin says.

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re going to get them hurt. No, they stay. You go. You know the way?” She shakes the map at Calvin.

“Yes,” Zane says.

“Right. I’m not letting you keep this. But here’s my email address. You actually get yourselves back to the states, or England, or wherever the hell you want, contact me. I’ll find a way to get you your animals. Because they don’t need to die with you. Okay?”

I’m about to go to town on her when Calvin puts his hand out. “I have your word?”

“I swear to the Philadelphia Eagles that I will take good care of your pets until you let me know you’re safe.” She shakes his hand.

“I expect you to stick to your oath even though you’re an Eagles fan,” I say.

She laughs. “So, what are you going to do? It’s up to you. But if it were me, I would get the hell out of here.”

Chapter 21

Below Deck

Calvin