Okay but try not to murd.., p.20
Okay, But Try Not to Murder Anyone 8, page 20
“Does Laura seem a little extra tense to you?” Elaine asked as she cuddled up to me in the large bed.
“Maybe a little,” I agreed. “I think she’s just nervous. This will be the biggest takedown of her career, she wants to make sure everything goes right.”
“Fair enough,” Elaine murmured. “It’s just usually I’m the one taking on the role of drill sergeant.”
“I guess Laura found her authority out at sea,” I chuckled as I leaned my head against Elaine’s and rested a hand on her belly, where my baby was. Then I smiled contentedly as we drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, there was no need for an alarm, because Laura went to each room individually, like she had at light’s out.
“We’re up, we’re up,” Elaine said as she dragged herself out of bed. Then she sniffed the air as Laura went off to the next room. “At least she made coffee.”
We quickly dressed and hurried down to the deck. The sun was starting to rise, so we finally got the full view of the Caribbean island, and it was stunning. Crystal clear water, white beaches in the distance, and a pinkish-purple sunrise to top it off. The marina was already alive with activity, so I figured Laura was right about getting an early start.
Elaine and I followed the smell of coffee into the lounging cabin, where Sammy and Laura were hard at work laying out a breakfast for us.
“Whoa, where did all this come from?” Elaine asked as she looked over at the impressive display of fresh fruit, warm baked goods, and aromatic coffee.
“We’re FBI, baby,” I said as I grabbed a banana. “Just one of the many perks.”
“Or Laura got up at four AM and sourced it all for us,” Sammy said as he poured coffee.
“Did you?” I asked the blonde woman, and I rounded the table and gave her a big kiss. “Thanks so much, babe. But you need to be careful, don’t burn yourself out.”
“Are you kidding?” the blonde agent countered with a wide grin. “The sea is my sanctuary, I could never get burnt out on a boat.”
“Noted,” I said as I tapped my temple with the banana.
Just then, Sloan and Mary appeared at the doorway, and they both headed straight for the coffee.
“I take back anything I said about enjoying boats,” a bleary-eyed Sloan said. “Not if it involves a five AM wake up.”
“At least...” Mary began but was interrupted by a yawn. “At least it’s five AM on a boat and not the top of a frigid mountain.”
“Point taken,” Sloan said as she poured herself a coffee, and then she loaded up a plate of fresh cut pineapple and papaya. “So, when do we sail?”
“I want to push off no later than six-thirty,” Laura said as she fixed her own cup of coffee. “Make the most use out of the daylight that we can.”
“Great, what’s the plan after that?” I asked as I peeled my banana. “Are we heading to that second island near Bannister’s?”
“Yes,” Laura confirmed with a nod. “The plan is to moor there, then we’re going to get the smaller boat in the water. We can get a little closer to Bannister’s island on that one.”
“All of us?” Sloan asked with a surprised look on her face. “Well, all of you. I’ll be flying, of course.”
“Heavens, no,” Laura said. “Sammy is staying on the yacht for sure. I wanted to check in with everyone else and see who wants to go ahead and who wants to stay behind.”
“Well, I would love to go,” Elaine said as she cradled her lower belly. “But I think it would be better for everyone if I didn’t risk the seasickness on a smaller boat.”
“Probably a good call, babe,” I said.
“Fair point.” Laura nodded and turned to Mary. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m always up for an adventure,” Mary replied with a wide smile.
“It’s settled then,” Laura said. “Elaine and Sammy will hold down the fort on the yacht, and the rest of us will go ahead to scope out Bannister’s island.”
“I hope you all brought your bikinis,” I said, and I wiggled my eyebrows.
“Even me?” Sammy asked as he pretended to toss his hair over his shoulder.
“Only if it’s an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot one,” I countered.
“How did you know?” Sammy gasped as he batted his eyelashes.
“Stop, you’re making me jealous that I don’t have an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini,” Mary groaned.
“We’ll have to get you one when we get a chance,” I said.
“Yes, please.” Mary smiled brightly before she turned to Laura. “Please tell me you brought a bikini and not just work clothes.”
“This isn’t a holiday, Mary,” Laura said with a frown.
“Don’t worry, I packed one for her,” Elaine countered and smiled slyly.
“Wait,” Sloan said suddenly. “Bannister knows what we look like. Aren’t we playing it pretty risky just pulling up to his island?”
“We’re in the land of easy disguises,” Mary said with a wave of her hand. “Big hats and sunglasses. Plus, you can shapeshift to bird form.”
“And I can shapeshift a little bit if needed,” I added.
“See,” Mary said with a nod. “Then sunglasses and hats for us. What do you think, Laura?”
“I think that’ll work,” Laura said as she cocked her head thoughtfully. “The bounty hunters aren’t looking for us here. And Bannister will be too busy preparing for the party to spend his time looking out to sea in case we show up.”
“Perfect,” Mary said, and she made her way over to Laura and grabbed her hand. “Now, come on, we’re trying on that bikini. I know it’s not a vacation, but you can still wear a damn bikini in the Caribbean.”
“Ugh, fine,” Laura relented and let herself be dragged out of the room by Mary, but she called out over her shoulder as she crossed the doorway. “Sailing in an hour, make sure you’re ready!”
An hour later, everyone was in position to set sail. Well, everyone except Sloan and me, since we didn’t really have jobs for this part. Instead, we hung out at the bow of the ship so we could watch the impressive yacht slice through the clear blue waters like it was a warm knife and the sea was a stick of butter. The salty mist on my face was divine, and after a while, we even spotted dolphins jumping playfully in the wake left by the bow.
“This is incredible,” Sloan said with awe in her voice as she looked out over the beautiful Caribbean islands. Then she turned her big, dark eyes on me. “I owe you so much, Jonah. How can I ever repay you?”
“What?” I threw my head back and laughed. “You’ve outright saved my life twice since you’ve been on the team. All I did was get you a job. I’m pretty sure I’m the one indebted to you. Plus, none of this would’ve been possible without your help getting all that dirt on Bannister. We owe you more than we could ever repay you.”
“You know what, you’re right,” Sloan said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully. “You do owe me. But I’ll take a baby as repayment. Then our debt is squared.”
“Well, if I didn’t impregnate you in the jet the other day, I’m more than willing to try again,” I murmured as I pulled the sexy Native American woman into an embrace. “I’ll try every day until it works.”
“Mmm, I like that idea,” Sloan said.
Then her cupid’s bow mouth covered mine, and we kissed passionately on the bow of the luxury yacht while we sailed through the Caribbean. It was one of those moments in life that I had to pinch myself to believe it was really happening, so that’s what I did.
I pulled back from the kiss and pinched my arm, and Sloan gave me a curious look.
“Just making sure this is real,” I explained.
“I’ve done that a couple times since I met you,” Sloan said with a throaty laugh. “I’m still surprised every time.”
“Same,” I said. Then I looked out over the water and noticed we were getting pretty close to another island. “Looks like we’re almost there.”
“We should probably get back to the others before Laura freaks out,” Sloan said with a jerk of her head.
We walked hand in hand toward the center of the ship to meet the others, and we made our way into the navigation pit to see Laura at the helm and Mary sitting behind a radar map. Elaine and Sammy were nowhere to be seen, but we entered just as Laura slowed the yacht down in order to moor us. Her pale eyebrows were knitted together in concentration, and there was a sliver of her pink tongue caught between her teeth as she steered the large ship up to a dock.
“Nice steering,” I said in an impressed tone.
“It’s not her first rodeo,” Mary replied enthusiastically. “Seriously, I’ve learned so much from her. Jonah, when we get home, can we buy a boat? I’ve got a taste for sailing now.”
“Sure,” I said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t mind sailing down the Chicago River in the summer.”
“Yay!” Mary wiggled in her seat with excitement.
“Okay,” Laura said once she was finished parking the boat. “I want to get the recon started as soon as possible.”
“Of course you do,” I chuckled before I checked my watch, and I saw it was almost nine in the morning. “But it’s probably better to get out there and beat the midday heat.”
“I’ll bring the sunscreen,” Mary said as she hopped to her feet.
“Meet back on the deck in twenty,” Laura said as she headed for the door.
Everyone dispersed to change and grab what they needed, and then we all gathered on the deck twenty minutes later. I was wearing a pair of palm tree swimming shorts with a plain t-shirt and boat shoes. Laura had on a long, flowy dress, but I could see the bikini straps poking out from underneath the collar. Sloan was also wearing a bikini, and she wasn’t covering it. It was a sexy black thing that was very Sloan-esque. Thong bottom and a small zip up top. Mary had on a green bikini top, and she wore denim shorts over her bikini bottoms and a wide-brimmed sun hat to complete the look. Elaine had on a little sundress, but since she was staying on the yacht, she didn’t need the bikini. Sammy wore a flowy linen outfit, and his nose was white with a thick layer of sunscreen. And of course, everyone wore sunglasses to protect against the bright Caribbean sun and disguise our identities. Mary and Laura’s were almost comically large, but that was a good thing in this case.
“You’re supposed to rub that in, you know,” Mary said with a nod at his nose.
“Nah, extra protection,” Sammy said.
“And it looks so cool,” Elaine added with a cheeky grin.
“Exactly,” Sammy said as he pointed at the ex-soldier. “See, she gets it.”
“You know good and well she’s being facetious,” Mary countered.
“I’ll take it,” Sammy said with a shrug.
“Focus, please,” Laura said. “We need to get the dinghy down, and that’s going to be all hands on deck.”
“Just tell us what to do,” I said, and I spread my hands wide.
“My favorite thing to do.” Laura smiled. “Let’s go.”
It was certainly a process that involved a lot of yelling, but eventually we all worked together as a team to launch the small dinghy into the water. Then Laura, Sloan, Mary, and I climbed down the ladder to board the smaller boat, with a bag of gear, and we turned and looked up at the yacht from below.
“We’ll be back soon,” I said as I waved at Elaine and Sammy above.
“We’ll be on comms the whole time!” Elaine shouted down.
We continued to wave as Laura steered the small boat away from the yacht. The ride was a lot bumpier when we were this close to the water, but once Laura navigated away from the dock and we could open up the throttle on the open water, the ride got a lot smoother.
And a lot louder.
“This is so cool!” Mary shouted over the whipping wind as she held her hat down on her head.
“How far to Bannister’s island?” Sloan yelled.
“Half hour, and I’ll slow it down!” Laura replied over the wind.
I figured it was safer to shapeshift my appearance before we were at the island, so I slipped the mikinàk ring on my finger and worked some ancient magic. With Sloan’s guidance, I shifted my appearance enough so that I didn’t look like myself, but I also didn’t look like my alter ego who was attending Bannister’s party tomorrow. I just looked like some random dude.
Once I was done shapeshifting, we sat back and enjoyed the ride. There were plenty of other boats around, along with parasailers and wake surfers. It was definitely a fun, relaxed vibe on the Caribbean waters, and I couldn’t wait to bring the women back here for a real vacation. One where we could relax and join in on the fun. God knows they deserved it.
I watched Laura as she expertly navigated through the water, and I shook my head in wonder. How the hell did I get so lucky?
I’d never stop asking myself that question.
After a while, Laura eased up on the throttle as a hunk of land became visible in the distance.
“Is that it?” Mary asked.
“Sure is,” Laura said in a serious tone.
“Shit, here, take this,” Mary said, and she reached into the bag and pulled out another large sunhat. She shoved it at Laura, who donned it immediately, and then the curly-haired woman eyed Laura’s dress. “I think it’s time, Laura. Get the bikini out.”
“Only if you do, too,” Laura shot back.
“Easy,” Mary said as she stood up, pulled her denim shorts off, and then kicked them to the side.
Laura followed suit and slipped out of her long, flowy dress, so now all three sexy women were in their bikinis.
“Goddamn,” I said, and I let out a long whistle. “I need a picture of this. You three get together.”
I pulled my phone out as the three women giggled and stood together with Laura in the middle. They wrapped their arms around each other and shot the camera a dazzling smile, and I snapped a couple shots before I slipped my phone back in my pocket, out of the sun.
“Gorgeous,” I said as I took another moment to appreciate the three bikini-clad women.
“Thank you, Jonah, but we have work to do,” Laura said, and it was back to business, just in a bikini this time.
“You got it, boss.” I nodded, and then I turned to Sloan. “I think it’s time.”
“Oh, good,” Sloan said as she backed away from the others. “I’ve been dying to spread my wings in this gorgeous weather.”
“Get as much info as you can,” Laura said quickly before Sloan shapeshifted. “We need a layout, an estimate for security guards, eyes on Bannister if you could...”
“I got this, don’t worry,” Sloan said, and she shot me a wink. “Natural hunter. I’ll be back soon.”
We watched as Sloan shapeshifted into falcon form, and then we watched her soar high into the air, toward Bannister’s island. I was so focused on watching Sloan fly toward the island that it took me a second to notice the speedboat headed for our direction.
“Oh, shit, Laura, we might need to move,” I said as I indicated the approaching boat.
“Umm, they don’t look very friendly,” Mary commented.
I squinted against the sun to peer into the speedboat, where three men were visible. They approached us fast, and that’s when I noticed they were brandishing submachine guns, and those guns were aimed at us.
Chapter 15
“Shit,” Laura muttered, and she threw herself behind the helm of the small boat, ready to speed away.
Before she could move the dinghy, the speedboat pulled to a stop in front of us. The three local men in the boat shot us threatening glares as they raised their guns higher, and one of them rushed to the bow of his speedboat, like he was about to jump onto ours.
“Whoa, there, buddy,” I said as I moved to the front of our own boat with my hands raised. “What’s the problem here, my friend?”
“This is a private island,” the man said as he swung the tip of his gun around at everyone. “You are not welcome.”
“Alright, there’s no need for all that,” I said with a gesture at the gun. “We didn’t know anything about a private island.”
Normally, I’d blast this dude into another dimension for even pointing a gun in the general direction of any of my girlfriends, but I had to play it cool here. These guys were obviously hired security guards designated to protect the water around Bannister’s island so no one got too close. I figured Bannister would be paying them more money than they thought was possible to earn in their lifetime, so they were going to take this job seriously. All we had to do was play the dumb, ignorant tourist.
“Leave, now,” the man said in a steely tone.
“Alright, we’re leaving,” I said, and I looked over to nod at Laura.
The blonde woman worked some of the controls, and our small dinghy started to slowly reverse away from the speedboat, with a loud gurgling sound from the engine. The men continued to glare at us with their submachine guns raised, and I watched them watch us as we reversed and sped away from them. Once it was clear we were retreating, the speedboat did a big loop and headed back to their post.
“Phew,” Mary sighed once Laura slowed the boat down again.
“Well, if we were wondering how tight security is, I guess we have our answer,” Laura said in a somber tone.
“No surprise, really,” I said with a shrug as my eyes scanned the horizon.
Bannister’s island emerged from the water like an oasis, but I spotted at least two other speedboats on its perimeter.
“How are the party guests going to get to the island if they’ve got crazy guys with guns chasing them away?” Mary asked with a tilted head.
“Party doesn’t start until tomorrow,” Laura remarked. “I’m sure they’ll have some system in place for security when guests start to arrive.”
“I’m sure most of them will be arriving by boat,” I said as I turned my eyes to the sky. “But some might fly in.”
“Speaking of which,” Mary said as she also lifted her face upward. “I hope Sloan managed to get past security. Those guys definitely seemed like the kind of guys who’d have fun shooting birds out of the air for no reason.”
