The Wrong Gentleman(24)

Plausible deniability. Reynolds had to tell me not to search the cabins even if he knew that I was capable of doing so without getting caught. “I get it.” If I uncovered something incriminating, I could inflict a serious wound on a terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of fellow soldiers. And civilians. I couldn’t sit back and not do all I could. It just wasn’t possible.





Fourteen





Landon


I wasn’t sure how, but Harvey had found a curry house in the center of Cannes.

“You’re not drinking?” Harvey asked, handing his menu back to the waitress after ordering.

“Not tonight,” I replied. “Want to make sure I can get up bright and early tomorrow.”

“Well that will please your bosun.” Harvey tipped his beer bottle at me before taking a swig.

“It’s what I live for,” I replied.

“So how was your first ten days as a yachtie? Are you used to mindlessly doing what you’re told yet?” Harvey asked.

“Hey, I was in the army, remember? Doing what I’m told comes naturally.”

Harvey chuckled. We both knew better. Part of the selection process for the SAS was about establishing if recruits knew when to take orders and when to ignore them. The SAS weren’t just the elite, we were different—mavericks in our field.

“Regular time off is better though, right?”

“It’s all fine. It’s not like it’s a career. How’s your client? A decent human being?”

Harvey shrugged. “The money is like a disease, you know? It warps peoples’ values. But this guy doesn’t have any real enemies from what I can see and from what Reynolds has said. He’s just a bit paranoid.”

“Well, that’s good, I suppose.”

“But boring,” Harvey replied. “How’s your job? There must be more of a real threat or you wouldn’t have taken the job. I’ve never known you to do anything for the money.”

I shrugged. “Most of the challenge is making sure I have enough sunscreen on. That midday sun is a bastard.” Harvey knew I couldn’t discuss anything about the job I was on.

“Just take care of August,” he said.

“Absolutely,” I replied.

“If I’d known you two were on the same yacht, I may have suggested she get a job on another boat.”

“Well, it’s just as well you didn’t know then,” I said. “But seriously. She’s not in any danger.” Not with me around, anyway.

Harvey grinned and took another sip of his beer. “Speaking of women, how is the beautiful Skylar?”

“Still beautiful, but if I’d known we were going to be on the same yacht, I wouldn’t have gone there.”

“Maybe the gods wanted you to have regular sex while you were at sea.”

I chuckled. “You know that’s not my style. And anyway, I’m not Skylar’s type.” Every time I was close to Skylar, I felt a pull toward her. I found myself having to hold back. It wasn’t a familiar feeling I had around women. But then again, in my line of work, I didn’t spend much time with women. Skylar was a new experience for me in a lot of ways.

“Thanks, mate,” Harvey said as the waiter put the last of what seemed like fifty dishes on the table. When the waiter left, Harvey glanced over my shoulder. “Speaking of.”

I turned to find Skylar and August coming toward us. My stomach lurched as Skylar locked eyes with me and her smile faltered. Jesus, this girl did nothing for my ego.

“Hey guys.” August bounded up to the table, ignoring me as she looped her arms around Harvey’s neck and kissed him.

I should have looked at the rota—I hadn’t realized that August and Skylar were off as well. Otherwise I wouldn’t have suggested meeting up with Harvey.

“Hey,” I said as Skylar took a seat beside me as Harvey and August continued to paw at each other.

“Hey. I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Skylar said.

“I imagine not. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

“There was no fun to be had at the three bars we went to, and then we couldn’t get into this yacht party, so we gave up,” August said.

Skylar just shrugged and looked at my curry.

“It’s vindaloo. Which means hot. But help yourself.” I waved at the selection of food that we’d ordered.

“Awesome. I’m so hungry, and I love curry,” Skylar said, her eyes going wide at the array of food.

“You like curry?”

“It’s carb-tastic. The naan, chapatti, the rice—it’s all so good.”

I chuckled. “I thought girls hated carbs.”

Her nose twitched as she helped herself to a plate. “Not me. We had a cook when I was about fifteen who always did curry on a Friday night.” She frowned. “She didn’t stay long.”

Her family had a cook? I hadn’t found out anything really personal about Skylar, but the way she was wired made me want to know more. I would never have guessed she came from money.

“Reminds me of home, too,” I said.

“You eat it a lot in the UK, right?”

“Yeah. It’s man-food,” I said in a growly voice and grinned.