Page 45
Amusement teases a chuckle from me because I know how persistent our little charge can be when she wants something. “She never did want to leave the boat.”
“That’s not the life for a young woman. She’s old enough that she needs to settle down somewhere. Maybe if she spends some time on the mainland, I can convince her to go to college or something.”
My head tips back in outright laughter. “Good luck with that.”
Kairos grimaces before taking a heavy gulp of wine. “Laugh it up now because I’m not done with the good news.”
Fuck if that doesn’t take the wind out of my sails. “What is it?”
“While the accountant was going through the numbers, he found another smaller discrepancy that he tracked back to your boat.”
“Well, shit.”
Organizations on land have large numbers of soldiers on their payroll. Plenty of expendable men. If an issue of loyalty arises, the loss of a man or two wouldn’t even be noticeable. We’re much more limited out here on the ocean. Every man matters, and replacing crew is a much larger pain in the ass.
“The receipts in July were short,” he explains. “Do you remember who you collected from that month?”
“It had to have been from the Souza take because we’ve been in New York ever since then.” I grab my phone and dial Drake.
“Cap?”
“Who did the legwork on the Souza drop?”
Drake thinks for a moment. “That was Pete and Andreas.”
“Grab them and meet us in the main lounge.”
“Will do.”
I hang up and turn my attention back to Kairos. “Let’s see what they have to say.”
When we head down, Isa is with Evie on the sectional sofa. The two are deep in conversation, and it falls silent the second we enter. After our little kiss and tell earlier, I left her in the sky lounge by herself. I’m not worried about her roaming on her own at this point. It’s not like she’s going to jump overboard, and nothing else she can do is of much concern. Even if she got a hold of a phone, what would her family do? Come after her? How? They wouldn’t know where to look.
The question is, do I let her stay for what’s about to happen? She’s grown up in the Mafia world, but I doubt she’s seen much of it firsthand. My inclination is to let her stay. Let her see the man I’ve become. She ought to know because I don’t see myself letting her go anytime soon.
Kairos and I cross to the other side of the room containing the dining table and wet bar, and I note Kairos eyeing Isa curiously. It takes every fiber of my being not to hiss at him to stay the fuck away from her like some feral dog claiming a kill. The violence of my conviction is unnerving. Kairos and I relied on one another to survive for years. We’re a team. Yet it’s all erased with his simple glance at Isa. I’m shocked at my own response.
Fortunately, Drake arrives with the two crewmen, quickly shifting our focus.
“We’ve got a problem,” I begin, making sure to cut each with a leveling stare. “The numbers from July were off. You two met with Souza and brought back the take. Either of you have something you need to tell me?”
Souza has been paying us $50,000 a month in hush money for years to ensure that activities on his private island remain private. We are the epitome of discretion. So long as people aren’t being trafficked and payments are made on time, the fact that the Portuguese tycoon has a pony play kink with other consenting adults will never leave his little island oasis.
He’s never missed a payment or shorted us, so I doubt the problem is on his end. We were $2,500 short. That’s nothing in the grand scheme of things for us, but we can’t allow sticky fingers at any level. The problem always grows.
Andreas’s eyes dart around in disbelief as though frantically trying to figure out how this could have happened. Pete, on the other hand, keeps his stare anchored to the floor.
I glare at him and wait.
Eventually, Pete lifts a trembling hand, bringing his petrified gaze to mine. “It was an accident, Cap,” he chokes out. “Please, I swear I didn’t take it.”
“If you didn’t take it, where the fuck is it?” I demand.
He swipes a hand across his sweating forehead. “I dropped it.” His shoulders round as the words tumble past his lips. “The tender boat was back in its berth, and we were unloading. I stumbled, and the paper bag ripped. Some of the stacks fell out, and one went overboard. I didn’t know what to do. We were too deep to dive in and get it. I panicked, sir. I swear it’ll never happen again. Please, sir.” His rushed words tumble past his lips in an urgent attempt to save himself.
The problem is, I believe him.
Little Pete is young. That also makes him dumb because we all do stupid-ass shit when we’re young.
