Christopher didn’t look convinced, but didn’t say anything further.
Finally a voice came on the line. “Lisa. You’ve been out of touch for some time now. I was beginning to get a little frantic.”
It was Juliet’s brother Cameron.
“My apologies, Mr. X. There was a change in plans, although I must admit I ended up on a lovely yacht. As a matter of fact, I’m sitting right here with the yacht’s owner.”
Evan knew Cameron would take the hint.
“I see. And with Bob, too, I hope. Or have you thrown him overboard?”
“No, I’m still here, Mr. X. Enjoying my time with my lovely wife,” Evan responded.
“And were you able to secure the items we discussed, in the midst of what seems like a mini-vacation?”
“Yes, sir,” Juliet said. “Even came in under budget. I have the first of the codes to be authenticated. Once that is done—and I’m sure there won’t be any problem—the money can be transferred. Is Dr. Fuller nearby, sir?”
Why did she want Sawyer’s fiancée to be there?
“I’m sure she’s around here.”
“You’ll need her to access the code. She’s the one able to do what needs to be done, in terms of authentication. She’ll know what to do with the code. I’ll be sending it to you, and the account number to route the money, right after our conversation.”
“Well, good job, as always, Lisa. And you, too, Bob. When can I expect to see you again?”
“Soon, sir. We’ve enjoyed the boat. Water is turning a bit choppy, but nothing too rough.”
“Do I need to send a lifeboat to rescue you?” Cameron asked.
Evan and Juliet both laughed lightly, but they knew what Cameron was really asking. Were they in trouble? They weren’t. But getting these codes into safekeeping would definitely be a good idea.
“Well, if you happen to have a lifeboat nearby, that would be great. Otherwise I guess Lisa and I will just suffer through the gourmet food and fine company a couple more days,” Evan interjected.
Cameron pretended to laugh, too. “I’ll see what I can do. But it looks like you’re being well taken care of.”
“We’re just glad to have the codes for you, sir. Getting them to you is the most important thing.” Juliet was on the same page as Evan. If they could get those codes off the ship tonight, that would be the best thing for everyone.
“I’ll have Dr. Fuller authenticate, then we’ll transfer the money. Tell your seller to expect it within the hour.”
“Thanks, sir. Transferring the data now. See you soon.”
Juliet disconnected the call. “I’ll just email this code and your account number in an encrypted file. Like Mr. X said, it shouldn’t take long.”
She sat down with her phone and began sending the information.
“Lisa’s pretty amazing, isn’t she?” Evan told the other men. Vince smiled, but Christopher just glared at him.
Vince was right, his son definitely did not have much going for him when it came to the ladies. That was okay; soon he’d be rotting away in prison with his father. His lack of game wouldn’t matter then.
“Okay, finished.” Juliet turned to Evan and nodded. He wasn’t sure exactly what she’d just sent to Cameron, and wished he could get her out of this room so they could discuss it. But he didn’t want to leave without the rest of the codes.
“Great.” He held out a hand to her as she stood. The ship was beginning to take on more movement now from the waves outside. Juliet was looking a little green from the rocking. Evan knew his own coloring probably wasn’t much better. They walked over to the balcony so they could get some air. Ominous clouds hung low in the sky. The sun was going down, although finding it was nearly impossible given the cloud cover. It wasn’t raining yet, but would be soon.
“You doing okay?” Evan asked her. Vince and Christopher could hear them, so there was no opportunity to talk about important stuff yet.
“I’ll be better after we get the confirmation we need.”
It didn’t take long, thank goodness. The Cadys were already antsy enough, especially Christopher. Juliet received the text.
“Okay, your money is in your account. You can check it,” she announced.
Christopher sat at the laptop at the table. A few moments later he confirmed it. “It’s there, Father. Everything looks good.” He stood back up.
Evan took Juliet’s arm. “Okay then.” He grabbed the briefcase with the codes. “We’re going back to the upper floors, where maybe this rocking isn’t so bad. It’s been a pleasure doing business, Vince.”
He turned with Juliet to leave, and for a moment thought Christopher was going to stop them, but the younger man just looked at her before stepping aside.
Juliet clung to Evan’s arm as they walked down the hallway.
“I sent our coordinates to Cameron. Megan should be able to decipher them amid the numbers, especially if she knows she’s looking for something,” Juliet told him.
That’s why she had asked if Dr. Fuller was around. Juliet had wanted to make sure someone would recognize the coordinates. Sawyer’s fiancée would be sure to spot them.
“Good. Hopefully, they’ll come tonight, so we can at least offload the codes. We should get those into safe hands as soon as possible.” They couldn’t take a chance on them being intercepted during an electronic submission. The codes needed to be handed off person to person.
Evan grabbed a railing to help with balance. This storm was turning nasty. Rain and nightfall made getting around even more difficult.
“Let’s just head back to the room. There’s no point staying out here,” he muttered.
Juliet nodded. “Okay. We have until 3:00 a.m. before whoever Omega is sending will be here. They’ll be at the back of the ship.”
“How do you know that?”
She held up her cell phone. “Message from Cameron or Megan or whoever from Omega ended up sending it. It says ‘Code received and
