17

The quartet met at the entrance to the casino. They hadn’t been out to sea more than a couple of hours, and already the blackjack and roulette tables, and the one-armed bandits, were experiencing heavy traffic. The sights and sounds were similar to those of any of the major casinos in Atlantic City or Vegas. Lights flashed, money changed hands, and laughter and drinks flowed.

Jake, Jinx, and Eva were dressed in their crew-member attire: white button-up shirt, with the ship’s insignia on the sleeve, black vests, and matching slacks. Rita was the hook. She wore white, a deep V in the front of her summer dress exposing just enough cleavage to be tempting to the eye. Her shoulder-length auburn weave was pulled away from her face and neck and held on top of her head with a gold barrette.

They each had the standard headsets for communication among employees, except that theirs ran on a separate signal. Rita’s was a single earpiece with a high-powered microphone, courtesy of Jinx.

“Remember,” Jake said before they separated, “blend in and look busy.”

Jake took the casino floor, Eva went to the upper deck, Jinx took the lounge, and Rita combed the sky pool, all with the intention of getting a lay of the land, identify any potential problems, and of course, to spot Xavier Suarez.

For the next few hours they rotated floors, covering all fourteen levels.

“What if he’s not here” Jinx spoke into his headset from the Promenade Deck. He walked across the deck, stepping around the waves of passengers heading to the game rooms.

“Hey, if he ain’t, I’m gonna have the time of my life on this ship,” Rita responded from the bar. She caught the eye of a man who looked a heck of a lot like Don Johnson in his youth. He winked. She winked in return.

“He just walked in,” Jake hissed into his microphone.

“Where are you” Eva asked, looking around from her station near the spa. She pressed her finger to her earpiece.

“Panorama Deck.” He glanced at the numbers embossed on the pillar. “Level ten. Rita, make your way up here.”

“Excuse me. Can you tell me where the sauna is” a lithe female draped in a flimsy gauze wrap and a two-piece bikini asked Jake.

Jake blinked, for a moment forgetting that he wore the crew uniform. “Oh, sure, um, it’s on the sixth level. You can take the escalator to your left or the elevator a little farther down the hall.” All that studying of the layout was paying off early.

Her blue eyes rolled hungrily over him. “Thank you. Um.” She put a red-tipped nail to her lips. “What time do you get off Maybe we can have a drink together later.”

“Who the hell is that” Eva blasted into his headset.

Jake winced. “Sorry, miss. It’s against policy.” He smiled apologetically.

She pouted. “That’s too bad.” She ran her tongue across her lips then walked off.

“Jake! Jake Kelly!” Eva barked, knowing full well that he was giving her that charming smile of his.

“Would you relax It was a passenger asking for directions.” He chuckled to himself.

“She was asking for a lot more than directions.” Eva rolled her eyes as she trotted up a flight of stairs, turned left down a long, busy corridor then toward the escalator.

“Play nice, children,” Jinx said, making his way to the tenth level.

Rita arrived first. She spotted Jake, who walked in the direction of Suarez. Jake tipped his head slightly to the right to point Suarez out to Rita as he passed. Suarez took a seat at the bar. Two men flanked him.

Rita gave an imperceptible nod. Took her earpiece out and stuck it in her bag. Her eyes roamed the room. Jinx entered from the far right. Eva came up on the elevator.

“He’s the one in the white shirt with the two bulldogs on either side of him,” Jake said into his headset for Jinx and Eva’s benefit.

Rita surveyed the passengers. Checked out the two bartenders. She opted for the seat on the opposite side of the round bar. Suarez would have no choice but to notice her. She ordered a Scotch on the rocks, took out a pack of cigarettes from her purse. She reached for a book of matches in the circular ashtray on the bar counter. Lit her cigarette and blew a long plume of smoke into the air.

Her drink arrived.

As she raised the glass to her lips, she looked over the rim and directly into the eyes of Xavier Suarez. Her “G”-spot hit a high note. He was gorgeous. The blurry pictures that Jake had of him were a disservice.

His skin was the color of burnished bronze, and his face was chiseled. Dark soulful eyes, almost black with thick sweeping lashes that looked as if they’d been painted on with an artist’s brush. His mouth was lush, his bottom lip full, the top kissed by a thin inky black mustache. The thick head of hair was raven black as well and combed back from the wide forehead. Raw, sexual energy radiated from him in waves.

Suarez took a cigar from the breast pocket of his snow-white shirt and cut off the tip with a deadly-looking object. The man to his right quickly took out a lighter and lit the cigar. Suarez barely acknowledged him. The bartender set a bottle of brandy in front of them and filled three glasses before returning his attention to the other customers at the bar.

The man on his left leaned close to Suarez, whispered something in his ear. Suarez pursed his lips and then slid his eyes in Rita’s direction. She boldly stared back at him, leaned a bit forward to flick ashes in the ashtray and give him a momentary peek at her cleavage.

Rita watched his lips move but couldn’t make out what he was saying. She sipped her drink. The man to his right signaled a passing waiter. Moments later, the three men rose and walked out into the adjacent dining room, Suarez leading the way.

“Elvis has left the building,” Rita murmured after replacing her earpiece under the guise of fixing her earring.

“He’s being seated at a banquette in the dining room,” Eva said, walking into the elegant room. She picked up a discarded tray from the cart and walked around, recovering used glasses from the table. “All the way in the back,” she whispered.

“Notice any other players” Jake asked, surveying the space as best he could, hoping to spot any likely bodyguards. He slowly walked toward the bar, around the tables with his hands tucked behind his back as if overseeing the activities.

“There’s a guy standing near the elevators. Been there for a while,” Jinx said. “Short, kinda stocky. Dark suit, no tie.”

Jake retraced his steps and headed for the elevator. When he was in front of it, he pressed the button, checked his watch, frowned, shook his watch. “Do you have the time I hope my shift will be over soon.” He flashed an affable smile.

The man’s eyes narrowed as if clicking a mental picture of Jake. “No,” he responded with a thick accent.

“Thanks, anyway. Enjoy your cruise.” He stabbed the button again, glanced up at the numbers, then hurried off.

“He’s definitely one of them,” Jake said, walking toward the escalators. “That makes at least three that we have to concern ourselves with. I’m going back to the room. The ship’s passenger list should be accessible now. Gonna find out what room Suarez is in. When I do, I want Eva to go by there and see if we have anyone guarding the front door.”

*   *   *

Jake returned to his cabin and flipped open the laptop. He loaded the spy program he’d perfected and began searching for the ship’s manifest. Within moments, the entire list of more than two thousand passenger names appeared along with their room assignments. He grinned. “Technology.”

He scrolled the list and after several moments realized that Suarez’s name was not on it. Concern carved several lines in his forehead. He searched the list again, thinking he may have missed it. He didn’t.

“Damnit.”

He put on his headset. “Suarez’s name is not on the list,” he said into the microphone. “He must have registered under another name.”

“What should we do” Jinx asked.

“Rita, is he still in the restaurant” Jake asked.

“Yes, they’re being served now.”

Jake thought for a moment. “Okay, listen. Get yourself a table in the general vicinity if you can. Keep an eye on him. If they leave, let Eva know, and Eva, you find a way to follow them without being obvious. Jinx, keep an eye on the guy by the elevator. Chances are when Suarez is ready to leave, they’ll all leave together.”

“And what are you going to be doing, sweetheart” Eva cooed.

“Going to get friendly with the security team near the safe.”

“Be careful.”

“I will. I’ll use my charm.”

“Then we’re really up shit creek,” Rita teased.

“Very funny. Get busy, everyone.”

Jake signed off and then went back to the computer. He pulled up the ship’s diagrams. The security office was on the lower deck. It was the hub of the ship. The room was constantly manned by no fewer than four technicians. Their job was to ensure that the security system was operational at all times, from credit card processing to door entries to monitoring the cameras in the casinos and changing the access codes daily. The ship safe was on the fifth level, directly behind customer service. Jake had yet to figure out how he would get into the safe if indeed that’s where Suarez was keeping the stash. He’d pretty much figured that the process for changing the codes followed a sequence. He’d almost narrowed it down. From what he’d been able to determine, not only was the code changed daily, but twice per day—once in the morning at eleven and then again at eight. What he had to do was nail down the pattern. He was close. He could feel it. His fingertips tingled and his dick vibrated. Everything hinged on him getting it right, and he would get it right. He had no intention of explaining to Eva from behind bars how he’d screwed up. Or worse.

A cell phone rang.

He looked at the two phones on the bed. It was the phone from Lenora Ingram.

He breathed deep, picked it up.

“Yes,” he said the word in a serpent’s hiss.

“There’s been a change of plans,” Lenora said. “You’re going to meet me in Mexico instead of Miami.”

Jake briefly shut his eyes as he listened and knew they were screwed for real.