Reckless Abandon(10)

I’m surprised, really. He doesn’t seem like the dirty sex kind. I mean, yeah, I just met him, but he is really quite . . . heroic.

I can’t believe its taken this long for me to appreciate what he did for me. A complete stranger dove into the water and saved me from drowning.

“Thank you,” I say, entirely too late.

Even with the low roar of the engine he can hear me clearly.

“Just doing my job,” he says.

I look at him, puzzled by his answer. “Sorry about your wallet. Hope nothing was ruined.”

“Nothing that can’t be replaced,” he says, offering his free hand that is not driving the boat. “Devon.”

I shake it back, awkwardly from my seated position. “I’m Emma. And this is my sister, Leah.”

“Definitely had you pegged for sisters. You look exactly alike.”

Leah smiles at the comment and shakes his hand as well. “Were you hoping to see the Blue Grotto?”

“I can see it another time.”

Leah and I don’t have a chance to feel terrible for causing Devon to change his plans because we are quickly approaching the yacht and our gazes are drawn elsewhere.

OMEGA.

The name appears in large type across the starboard side of the boat written in black over an omega symbol.

Two grand staircases line the back of the boat. In between the staircases is an area, hidden from us yesterday, where a rectangular pool sits on a covered deck.

We circle the boat and wind around it, getting a closeup view. The ship is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s like a new-age luxury yacht. Almost the length of a football field, the bottom half is all black with two upper decks that look like they’re made of steel.

Three quarters through the boat, there’s a break in the ship’s middle deck to reveal an open seating area, shaded by an upper deck bridge on the third level. Looking up, I see a helicopter parked up top.

There are two garages open in the foreground of the boat. Instead of parking the boat we’re on in the garage, Devon pulls up beside an open docking area.

Slowing the engine, he skillfully idles up to the dock, and a much smaller man in a white uniform holds out his hands, helping Leah and I exit the speed boat onto the yacht. Devon follows us as the smaller man switches places with him to park the boat in the garage.

Leah and I follow Devon into the outside seating area on the lowest deck. It looks like a resort, with cabana-style lounge chairs of teak and white surrounding the pool. There is a bar and a dining area as well.

Devon walks inside and we wait on the deck until he returns wearing a dry shirt and shorts, carrying two large white towels with large omega symbols on them. Leah wraps her towel around her shoulders and I tuck mine around my chest, securing it under my armpits.

Leah follows Devon inside the cabin and I am right behind them, walking lopsided from only having one shoe. We walk through a living room bigger than the apartment I had back in Pittsburgh. The walls are paneled in shiny, rich mahogany cut in modern lines. Looking up, I see a honeycombed ceiling illuminated with soft white light. Around the room, furnishings of white creamy leather look like they haven’t ever been sat in.

We pass another bar area, a media room, a gym, and down a corridor where two staterooms sit at the end of the hallway. If I wasn’t so in awe of my surroundings I’d be nervous about the situation. You know, following a stranger down the hallway of a floating vessel. But if I were to die, this isn’t a bad place for it to happen.

Devon stops and holds his hand out, motioning for us to enter one of the bedrooms. Leah and I do, but Devon remains outside.

“There are robes and towels in the bathroom. You can shower and warm up in there. I’ll have someone come for your clothes so we can dry them. There’s a phone on the nightstand. If you call the hotel, they can get your passport numbers. It will help expedite the process.” Devon’s voice is authoritative. He’s being polite, not entering the room. It’s very southern gentleman. I appreciate his boundaries. “Can I get you anything?”

“No. Thank you. This is more than accommodating.”

With a curt nod of his head, Devon closes the door, leaving Leah and I inside the stateroom of, what I can only guess is a multimillion-dollar yacht.

“Holy crap, where are we?” Leah starts to laugh.

I let out a huge breath of air and an hour’s worth of tension. “When you dragged me out of bed this morning, I was not expecting this. How loaded is this guy?”

“Crazy rich. Did you see the sauna we passed by the pool? It was like a spa.”

“What about the artwork that was in the living room, or whatever that was? I’m pretty sure those were originals.”

“This is only the bottom floor. I’m dying to see what’s upstairs.” Leah looks around the room, opening drawers.

“What are you doing?” I pull her hand away from a handle.

“Trying to see how the mega-rich live.” She says, and then her eyes bug out as realization strikes her face. “Do you think the girl is still here?”

I blink at her until I understand who she’s talking about. “I would hope if he were getting busy with some woman last night, he’d have the decency to let her stay the night.”

“Devon was not who I saw yesterday. Trust me. I watched for a long time and that was not him,” she says, stressing the word long. “And the girl, if I see her, I’d definitely notice her. She was tall and thin with jet black hair and—”