Page 27 of Wayward (Wrecked #4)

Dress Blues

Haley

I never meant to fall back asleep. But that’s what happened, and it’s not like I’m refreshed.

Though, sex with Calvin in a bed—in a bed where we’re so close to freedom—was absolutely fantastic.

Easing off the bed, I test my ankle. It’s better but not great.

Gingerly, I clean up in the en suite bathroom.

Hopefully, I will never take running water for granted again, but . . . I know I will.

“Hey, Sassy. I put some clean clothes for you on the counter.” Dante peeks into the shower. “Damn, if we didn’t need to get moving, I’d join you.”

“We’re leaving? Where are we going?”

“We’ll figure that out soon. We need to get photos printed first.”

“Right.” I turn the shower off and step out.

There’s a bright orange and blue floral dress on the counter.

“Thank you for the dress,” I say, but I’m not sure how much I mean it.

Picking it up, I shake it from the fold.

It’s not as bad as it appeared on the counter.

It’s not good but not horrible. I pull it on.

It’s short with a frilly hem. “It’s . . . clean.”

“You can find the positive in anything. We’ll find you something else soon. That dress doesn’t exactly say covert.” It also doesn’t say luxury resort.

I glance over at the loose black cargo pants and black T-shirt I wore coming off the Rosewood . “It’s fine.”

“We’ll find something tonight.” Dante straightens the strap of the dress.

My stomach lets out a loud rumble.

“We’ll fix that too.” Dante kisses my neck. “Sooner.”

Now that I’m not as tired, there’s a list of questions I want to ask him. I push away the less important ones, like how he came to work for a guy who sells black market passports. But then, he did work for a Russian mobster. Why did he leave? But the real question is: “Do you trust Anan?”

“Absolutely not. But the only people I trust in my life are my mother, my sister, and you. He’ll get us the passports we need. I know that much is true.”

I nod. “Okay, so photos?” I glance over myself in the mirror. Even with the fancy shampoo and skincare line in this bathroom, I still look like I’ve been run over by a tuk-tuk.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Dante kisses my other cheek.

“Let’s do this.”

The other guys are sitting on the edge of the sofa, all but Calvin. He’s watching out the window, but he turns and smiles at me. I melt. The guys have on new clothes too. T-shirts of various colors and dark pants.

“Stand against that white wall, Sassy. Let me snap a few pictures.”

“You sure you can do it, mate?” Zane puts his hand out with the cell phone.

“I’ve got it.”

I stand next to the wall and do my best government non-smile as Dante snaps my picture. He holds it up for Zane to see, and Zane shrugs.

“Okay, you.” Sam takes my hand. “As much as we would all like to keep our heads in the sand longer, we need to move. You and I are going to follow behind Calvin and Dante. Zane and Easton will follow behind us.”

I nod. Sam’s got his captain’s take-charge voice on, and I have to squeeze my legs together. I hope he doesn’t notice.

“You like it bossy, don’t you, Little Bird,” Zane says and kisses my cheek.

“We’re taking everything. Because the front desk has probably already figured out our little trick.” Dante puts on the backpack. It’s a lot fuller now. “I have your spare black clothes, Sassy.”

I nod. But I hope I never have to put them back on. Even though this dress is hideous, especially with the dark tennis shoes, it’s better than the ill-fitting cargo pants. I look around the room. “I’m tempted to leave a tip but . . .”

“I’ll send one after we’re safe.” Easton hugs my shoulders.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Calvin and Dante slip out the front door.

I glance up at Sam. “We have a meeting spot in case . . . ?”

“Yes. And I’ve got a map of the city. It’s one of those tourist things. You want to hold it?” He hands me the map. There are several routes laid out and three starred spots. “Anan’s, the police station if things go sideways, and a women’s shelter if everything goes to complete shit.”

“I’d put it in my bra, but that’s where I’m keeping the cash. And this lovely thing doesn’t have any pockets.” I do a little twirl.

“You make anything look good, Sugar.” Sam takes my hand. “Ready?”

“We’re ten minutes behind you,” Zane says. “Love you. Be safe.” He pulls the door shut behind us.

My heart is thudding.

“It’s a bit of a walk, but it’s a nice day and the clouds are keeping the temperature down.” Sam smiles.

It’s at least eighty degrees and humid. But I agree with Sam, no point in making it worse.

There are people walking around the villas.

I’m keeping my head down or looking at Sam every time we pass a group of people going to the beach or pool.

They’re made up from head to toe, designer hats to top of the line sandals and wraps.

I’ve got on this odd dress, black athletic shoes with a wrapped ankle.

Several older women with British accents slow as they pass us. “Good afternoon. Taking your daughter out to lunch?” one says as they pass.

“Afternoon,” Sam says in a low voice.

I’m about to jump in and say something to them when Sam grabs my elbow.

“You don’t look that old,” I say, because he doesn’t. The woman must need glasses.

“No, but your dress is more of a romper for a pre-teen.”

“I suppose it is.” I hold his gaze as we make our way past another villa. Another group passes us and slows.

“Haley?” a woman’s voice says behind me.

My heart stops, then races. I glance over at Sam. I’ve already slowed, but we haven’t stopped.

A hand touches my shoulder. “Excuse me. I’m sorry to bother you, but are you Haley?”

I can’t breathe. I turn slowly, because running will make the whole thing worse. “I’m afraid you have . . .” It’s Stella.

“You’re Haley, right?”

“Stella, I’ll see you at the beach.” Her friend’s eyes flick over me and linger a little too long on Sam before she pivots back in the direction she and Stella were going.

“You were chief stew on the yacht my father rented for my graduation from grad school. Come on, it’s you. I saw that you were lost at sea. I was so worried. I’m so glad you’re okay. I hadn’t heard that you were found. The damn news can be so fickle. They only like to report bad stuff.”

I take Sam’s hand. This isn’t flying under the radar. And down the path, I can see that Zane and Easton have stopped near a bench.

“Stella! Congratulations.” I give her a hug while holding down the back side of the dress. “So, honestly . . .” I flick my eyes to Sam. He inclines his head. He’s letting me make the call. “Right, honestly, we just made our way back to land. No one knows yet.”

Her eyes go wide. Her mouth drops open.

“We’re in a bit of trouble. More than a bit. This is Sam, Sam Miller. He’s the brother of the captain who took you and your friends out.”

“I see charming and handsome runs in the family.” Stella smiles, brushing her hair from her face, and the diamond on her left hand flashes in the sun.

“Thank you. Haley’s right, though. Let’s talk about this, but not out in the open,” Sam says as he turns, surveilling the area.

“My bridal villa is just up the path.” Stella loops her arm with mine.

“So, where have you been since―” She stops, waiting for a trio of staff members to pass us.

“Let’s wait until we get inside.” She swipes her keycard and opens the door to a three-story villa.

A crystal chandelier is centered over a golden table with a massive flower arrangement.

The cavernous space smells like a floral shop.

She sits and hands Sam and me a bottle of water.

I give her the shortest rendition of the last year, mostly the last week. But I come clean about pretending to be part of the wedding planner’s crew, too. “But you can’t tell anyone we’re here. We’ll pay you back for the villa fees. Please.”

“I don’t care about the fees.” She waves her hand. “You really think this asshole can get you? We should go to the police.” Stella has her phone out.

“No, please. I believe he can hurt us if we do. We just need to get out of the country and to better protection.” I stand, ready to dive on her phone.

“This is going to sound . . . no, it is elitist . . . but I’ve not found a problem that a black Amex card can’t fix.

” Her dark brown hair is swept up into an effortless updo.

She’s wearing a textured white one-piece bathing suit with black piping and a gold belt that doesn’t have a designer logo on it.

Because she doesn’t need anyone to know she has money.

She is money. “I’ll just buy you all a ticket home on the next flight to JFK or wherever.

Or you can wait a day until my mother gets here and take our private jet on its return trip to New York.

It’s scheduled to go back the tomorrow.”

“Are you kidding me?” I clap.

“No, the jet has to go back and pick up some other guests anyway. It’s just flying home empty.”

I jump up and run over to her and throw my arms around her. “You are the best.”

“You might want to rethink that?” Stella says, holding me at arm’s length.

“Um, why?”

“Because I’m not letting you on my jet in that dress.”

My laugh starts out slow and builds until I’m holding my side. “You’re right. It’s horrible.”

“It is. But if you weren’t wearing it, I wouldn’t have noticed you. Do you want to borrow some clothes?” Stella stands.

“No, that’s okay.” I drop my arms to my sides and step back toward Sam. I have no idea where Dante found this dress. But seeing that I have the same amount of money I first put in my bra, he got what he paid for.

“Really, I insist. I overpacked, anyway. Krit, my fiancé, said I should leave most of it here anyway. We’re moving to the mainland after the wedding.

We’ll live here half the year and New York the other half.

We’ll be right back. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen or bar.

” She gives Sam a cute shrug and takes my hand and leads me up the winding, open staircase to the primary bedroom.

“Take anything you want. Well, not the wedding dress.” She takes the sheet covering it off and laughs.

I pause. “Whoa, that’s beautiful.” Though the last wedding dress I held was Candy’s, and it was a lot of things, but beautiful wasn’t one of them.

“It’s my dream dress, but even this girl with the black Amex had sticker shock when I saw the price tag. I picked out something lovely but not as expensive, but when Krit heard about it, he called the shop and had them special order me one.”

“It’s lovely.” So lovely that even though I want to touch it, I don’t dare in case I have oils on my hands.

“Here, try these instead. What size shoes do you wear?”

There’s no way my boat feet will fit in her tiny shoes. “Huge.” I laugh.

“Like this?” She pulls out a cute pair of flats. “My sister is coming from Scotland.”

I change into lightweight navy blue pants and a crisp white collared shirt. Part of me wants to stay with Stella and be a girl longer. But Calvin and Dante have no idea where we are, and I can’t imagine what they’re thinking. Because I wouldn’t have put together that I’ve found us a ride home.

Back on the first floor, Sam’s chatting with Easton and Zane. Zane’s eating an apple, and Easton’s holding a sports drink.

“Nice to meet you, Stella.” Easton gives her a nod, like nothing is out of the ordinary, and I can hear Calvin cursing rich people under his breath even though he’s not here.