Safari Island Shifters: The Complete Collection(35)
“Lucky, since those are impossible to book.” Lily opened the door to her house. “Make yourself at home. I need to shower and change clothes. The satellite is a little spotty, but you can try the TV if you want. There’s water and pop in the fridge and snacks on the counter.”
“Thanks.” Maura sat on the couch until she heard the shower start up, then got up and looked around the small place. It looked like there was only one bedroom, which made sense, but the house was still small for three people to share. What if they had kids? Maybe she was used to American homes that were oversized. She’d heard that people all over the world lived in much smaller places. Not that she would know; Safari Island was the first stamp in her brand-new passport.
The kitchen was small but very functional. She took a bottle of water from the fridge and went to look out all the windows. Safari Town was very busy. Besides the construction there were lots of people walking on the sidewalks and golf carts whizzing past. She didn’t know why Jimmy Tony wanted to sneak in on the shore near here. It was going to be very hard to get ashore unspotted.
They had even tried once before. Last summer the PFA had sent a group to the island, and they’d been caught in less than four hours. She hoped they had a better plan this time, but she was starting to have doubts. Jimmy Tony was very secretive about the actual plan. She knew why they needed to get onto the island. There had been many speakers at the PFA Florida chapter meeting who talked about the horrors of Safari Corp. Still, it was huge undertaking.
What if this plan failed too? She would be in a lot of trouble. Being arrested would surely be the cherry on top of an awful summer. She had no clue what laws were in place on Safari Island or what country was in charge. What if she ended up in a gulag?!
No. Maura pushed her doubts aside. Who was she to question the leader of her chapter? He’d been working on this plan for over a year. He must have considered all the things that could go wrong. There was no way he hadn’t considered how busy Safari Town was or any other little details. He was the leader for a reason. If she stuck to the plan, she would be fine. This little detour wouldn’t be so bad. She could use one night of fun before the mission. It would help her relax and she would do a better job.
Lily came out of her bedroom wearing a kicky dress and heels. “Ready to party?”
Maura nodded. “Am I ever.”
***
“Hey, man.” Brent Zwisher nodded at Branch. He worked as a concierge at Wild Resort and partied with Shane and Branch often. Brent was a human, not a shifter, but Branch didn’t hold that against him; they were a small minority in the Safari Island employee pool. Besides, Brent always brought the hottest tourists to Club Safari and he was very laid back. He was a nice addition to the new trio.
The three had met outside Shane’s house and were walking to the bar in town. It was faster than trying to take a golf cart these days. The town had exploded with growth and it was impossible to get around during the summer. Branch couldn’t wait for the construction to be done. This was the slowest month of the summer and it was still a pain to get to work in the morning.
“What do you think the town bar is looking like tonight?” Shane asked.
“Crowded,” Brent guessed. “Lots of people are talking about skipping Club Safari. Too many tourists. They’re having to bring in new bartenders from off-island.”
“Figures,” Branch said. “Wild Resort is packed, and most of those people go to the club. They didn’t hire enough bartenders to begin with.”
The island was always understaffed but this summer was the worst Branch had ever seen. There wasn’t any area of the island that could get enough workers. While he liked seeing all the ladies visiting, it was starting to affect the quality of people’s vacations. If you didn’t book your safari tour as soon as you booked your hotel, you were out of luck. It made him sad to have to turn away families excited to show their kids the animals.
The bar was crowded, just as Brent had said. It was still better than being at the club, so Branch didn’t mind. There were a lot of new faces, he noticed. He hadn’t gotten around to meeting a lot of the new staff since he was a busy veteran. If he wasn’t so busy, he would have considered being part of the new employee orientation team. The only downside to the team was that it put new female employees out of reach. Orientation leaders weren’t allowed to date the new recruits. That wasn’t something he wanted to give up just yet.
“Looks like Lily’s here without the twins.” Shane pointed to a table near the back. “Let’s see if we can sit with her. There aren’t any open tables.”
It was strange seeing her out without Finn and Max. Branch could see some of the new guys eyeing his friends’ wife. They were definitely going to sit with her. He couldn’t leave her alone with all these guys eyeballing her.
He liked Lily. She was one of the many new recruits to the island. She’d gone from working accounting back in the States to working reception at the newest resort. She was funny and always spoke her mind. Even without the twins, he liked hanging out with her. His friends really had lucked out. Addison and Lily were both great women and cool wives. When he settled down, he hoped to find someone as great.
“Hey, Lily.” Branch took the seat next to her.
“Hey, that seat’s taken. Move down one.” Lily nodded just over his shoulder. “My new friend Maura is sitting there.”