Page 23 of Wayward (Wrecked #4)

Dam

Haley

T here’s a boat whipping around the corner of the marina. A wake surges to the sea walls. One of the night-fishing guys wobbles back and forth while the other one has slid into the harbor with his plastic tub of catch with him. His friend is waving his fist at the boat. Oh, no.

I grab Sam’s arm. “We need to go. We need to go now!” It’s not the same boat we passed a while back, the one with Ed’s guards hanging off the side. This is the speedboat from the boathouse, full of Thayer’s men, Ed’s men, not sure it matters anymore. We need to get out of here.

“Move!” Zane takes my hand and pulls me onto the dock. “Let’s go, Little Bird. Everyone else will catch up.”

I’m matching Zane stride for stride. It’s not the first time I’ve run for my life in a marina.

But the last time was because I had twenty minutes to find a decent bottle of rosé before the primary’s mother-in-law lost her shit.

It felt like life or death, but it wasn’t anywhere near it.

That’s a lifetime ago. I’m not sure I can even relate to the girl I used to be.

“Slow down,” a marina employee yells at us. He’s waving his hands downward like a grandfather at a public pool.

I run by him. “Sorry,” I shout over my shoulder, but I don’t stop running.

I don’t even change my steps to a fast walk.

Dante, Sam, Calvin, and Easton are behind us and quickly catching up.

The dock bounces under our thundering feet.

It’s a big marina, but Thayer’s slips are close to the harbormaster’s house.

The gate, of course, is closed. Not only is it closed, but it’s a six-foot-tall chain link barrier.

Zane puts on a burst of speed and passes me. He stops at the fence and holds his hands out for me to step into them. “Up and over, Haley. Let’s go.”

I want to tell him no, I’ll climb it myself, but that will take more time.

I quicken my pace and run at the fence. My foot lands in his hands and he gives me a good boost. I grab the top bar of the fence.

The metal rattle of the chain against the poles rings in my ears.

Clutching the top rail, I hoist my leg over the other side and jump to the ground.

I jumped off the living room platform on the island more than once, and this wasn’t as far.

But I land wrong, with a crunch. Grimacing, I push up from the crouch I’ve landed in.

“Shit.” I clutch my leg but keep hobbling forward.

Two buildings make an arch in front of me.

One’s the harbormaster’s house, and the other has a shuttered window, a snack bar. A few more feet and I have to stop.

Zane lands next on the ground behind me. The fence rattles behind us as the other guys come over. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” I take another stride. I just need to walk―or rather run―it off. “I’ll be fine.” It’s the same ankle I twisted back on the island. A tender shuffle forward and pain shoots up my calf and down my foot. It’s more of a rocking hobble, but I’m moving.

Zane’s dark eyes soften at me. “Haley,” he groans and takes my hand.

There’s a large thud on the ground behind us. Calvin’s the last one over the fence. “You’re not fine,” he growls and sweeps me up onto his shoulder. “Hang on, Chiefie.” His feet pound as we make it down the rest of the dock onto solid ground.

I can’t see where we’re going anymore. But I wrap my arms around Calvin’s waist and hold on tight, pushing my cheek against his ass.

The guards are coming down the dock. There are five of them, and even with my head bouncing against Calvin’s ass, I can make out Holloway’s scowl.

He’s the only one I can make out, though.

I tuck my head in tighter and wish I could be more graceful.

Twisting my ankle couldn’t have happened at a worse time―Calvin carrying me has got to be slowing us down.

“This way,” Zane says up ahead. The snack bar and harbormaster’s house disappear behind us.

It’s hard to get my bearings―things are sideways at best and mostly upside down.

There’s a long sandy beach to one side. Cabanas with blue and white striped roofs are buttoned up tight for the night.

The moonlit beach has been raked to perfection.

In the other direction, there’s an alleyway of booths.

Everywhere, the signs are in Thai and English.

There’s no one around. The boardwalk below Calvin’s feet is polished teak.

This resort has serious money. I clench my eyes tight from the sand flying up from Calvin’s quickly moving feet.

And when I open them again, we’ve taken a sharp turn.

There’s a large building along the side.

It’s darker here, quieter. There’s no crashing waves, only the sound of the guys’ feet.

“Here,” Dante says, and we duck between two buildings. The moonlight is completely gone in the alley.

“Shh,” Sam says behind me. He peers around the corner from where we came.

There’s a squeak and a rush of cool air on my arms.

Calvin steps into a room.

“Can you walk, Sassy? Having the Viking carry you through the resort―” Dante says.

Calvin’s growl cuts him off.

“Let me try. You can pick me up if I can’t do it.” I let go of Calvin’s waist, and he eases me to the ground. Dante steps back to the door and yanks on it.

“It’s locked,” Sam says.

I wince when I put my weight on my foot. I take a step away from the door, where Calvin and Zane are doing something. My heartbeat echoes in my ears. We need to get out of sight; Holloway can’t be too far behind us.

There’s a loud thud, and Zane says in a hushed voice. “I’ve got it.”

We’re in a hotel, a hallway, but it’s elegant.

Wallpaper embossed with golden threads lines the walls, while the carpet is plush and sculpted.

There’s a framed tapestry on the wall behind Sam that’s worth being the star of a room.

“We need to keep moving. Holloway’s not dumb. He’s going to find us.”

“You saw Holloway, not Ed’s guys?” Sam asks.

“It was definitely Holloway. I didn’t recognize any of the guys with them, though,” I whisper. I take another step, but it’s clear to everyone that I’m not fine.

“We’ve got this.” Calvin drops to his knees and pulls my shoes off.

“Here, Rockwell, hold these.” He tosses my shoes to Easton before picking me up, this time in front of him like a bride.

“Less I captured you, more I saved you from a poor footwear choice. Let’s go.

” He leads the guys down the hall. “Hold on, Chiefie.”

His strides are long enough to be the same speed as someone running.

My arms are looped firmly around his neck, and I’ve got my head tucked into his chest. Up ahead, the hallway opens up into what I’m assuming is a lobby.

Being in yachting, I’ve seen the inside of five-star hotels all over the world.

Delivering forgotten designer sunglasses.

Or picking up a special bottle of wine or a three-tier wedding cake.

And this place? It’s right up there with some of the finest I’ve seen in the French Riviera.

We step out into the grand lobby. It soars up at least three stories.

There’s plush, overstuffed furniture arranged in conversation areas around the room.

On the far side, there’s a long, polished mahogany front desk with a wide-eyed attendant.

I didn’t see how the door we came in was opened, but I’m guessing it wasn’t left unlocked.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, you can,” Dante says, his shoulders squared as he marches over to the front desk. “We were supposed to be picked up, but we were left to find our way here from the airport by ourselves. On top of that, we’ve lost our luggage and all we have to wear are these damn rags from our last gig.”

“And you are, sir? I do apologize, but I didn’t see that we had any guests coming in on a late-night flight tonight.”

I have no idea where Dante’s going with this because we definitely don’t look like guests. All the guys have beards or scruff. My hair and nails look . . . well, like I’ve spent a year living on a beach. None of our clothes fit correctly. Calvin’s are too tight, Sam’s too loose, and I’m barefoot.

“Guests? No, we’re staff brought in for the big wedding.”

“Big wedding?” he repeats as he types. He stops and glances up at Dante, but Dante stands close-mouthed with that look of impatience in his eyes. The one he does so well. The agent types again. “Oh, the Freeman wedding. That’s not until next week.”

“Exactly, you know them. They want everything perfect. This isn’t perfect, now is it?” He waves back at us. “Look at them? And now at me. We had three connections and twenty hours of flying. Do you have our rooms?”

“Rooms, right . . .” His fingers fly over the keyboard.

Anxiety boils in the pit of my stomach. There are five hallways around the space and a set of large doors that open out onto what must be the main entrance.

“I see it here. Do you have your passports? You’re three days early, but you’re in luck, I have space.

It really is going to be quite the event. ”

“Of course it is, but I told you we lost all our luggage.”

“You put your passports in your luggage?”

“No, no one is that stupid. But we had to crowd together in one car, and the driver made off with all our luggage and carry-ons. We came straight from another event. You don’t know how cranky you can be until you’ve worked a twenty-hour event for a billionaire and then had to go straight to the airport.

Rich people, am I right?” Dante doesn’t glance at Easton, which is a blessing.

The agent smiles. “I’ll call the police immediately.”

“What good will that do? He’s probably already sold our passports and tossed our clothes in the trash. We’ll straighten it all out tomorrow.”

“Okay. I . . .” The guy clearly doesn’t want to be an ass but knows there’s something not right with what’s happening.

“Put me down,” I whisper to Calvin. And he lets me slide to the ground.

I take a few tender steps to the counter.

“I’m really grateful that you’re able to help us.

It’s been a horribly long day.” I put on my best stew smile and pray I don’t mess up what is an amazing con by Dante.

But last year when I was working on Charlie’s boat, we had a group of mid-twenty-year-olds take a week-long charter.

Seven girls. The tab at the end of the week was just shy of a hundred thousand a piece, and the primary was named Stella Freeman.

The rock on her hand would have made Candy swoon.

“Stella’s expecting everything to be just perfect.

She’s so sweet, but we wouldn’t want her father to hear about any of this.

Because he’ll get upset at Stella’s groom.

It’s such a delicate balance with him, you know?

” And I only barely know . . . bits of conversations I overheard stitch back together for me.

“An overbearing, righteous father who believes no one will ever be good enough for his daughter.” I throw in a sigh.

“But then she’s really pretty great. And a really good tipper. ” I smile.

His eyes flick from his screen to mine. “‘I’ve heard that too.”

Champagne is going off in my stomach because I guessed right.

This could have gone really wrong. Freeman isn’t exactly Smith, but it’s not far from it.

“For the sake of keeping everyone’s tips in place, I don’t mind losing a bikini and a duffle bag of work clothes.

We’ll take care of our passports tomorrow.

Do you think you can just get us a room?

We’ll come back and do everything properly in the morning.

” I turn quickly, taking the money out of my bra.

“Stella gave me some money to tip the resort staff as we get settled for her.” I slide a hundred dollars across the counter to him.

“Yes, please come back in the morning.” He pockets the hundred and slides a card across the counter.

“I’ve got you in the Freeman staff villa.

I’m afraid things aren’t set up correctly yet for the Freeman contractors.

The beds aren’t pulled apart.” He takes a map of the resort out and draws a line to our villa.

“We’ll manage. Thank you.” I take the map.

“Oh, and the guy who dropped us off and drove away with our bags? He’s really tall.

Almost as tall as my friend here.” I place a hand on Calvin’s chest. “Brown hair. I hope he doesn’t come back.

But maybe you could call the authorities if he comes around?

Try not to tell him you saw us. He was making a pass at me.

I was nervous. I think that’s why he drove off. ”

“For sure!” Though he looks at the wall of muscle behind me and narrows his eyes at the guys. Like they weren’t willing to protect me.

“Thank you. You’re the best.” I pivot on my good leg and widen my eyes to Dante. Holy crap. I want to squeal both for the pain in my leg and the excitement that it worked. I hand Sam the packet of keycards, and we’re out the side door.