Ace groaned, shaking his head as he gave Joel a look that gave me the impression he was the one leading the whole thing.
I just stood there with my mouth open like a guppy.
“We found everything we knew was missing and then some stuffed in the compartment under your bed,” he said, looking at Joel. “And yours,” he added, his eyes on Ivy now. “Quite unimaginative, if I do say so myself. Still, I didn’t want to assume it was you. I thought perhaps someone else was doing the grand theft and framing it up to make themselves look innocent. So, I left it alone, knowing nothing was leaving the ship just yet anyway.” His gaze hardened. “Instead, we set up cameras.”
“Sir, let me just say I wanted nothing to—” Celeste tried, but Theo held up a hand to silence her.
“You know, honestly? I didn’t care at first. You want to take back a few watches and some tech gear to make a few thousand bucks back home?” He shrugged. “Not the end of the world. You all work hard, and I guess I don’t blame you for thinking a billionaire wouldn’t miss a few valuable things. I clearly have the means to replace them.” He paused. “But that wasn’t enough, was it?” He pinned Ace with his glare then. “You wanted more.”
“I told you not to go for the fucking safe, Ace!” Celeste hissed, and Ivy elbowed her in the ribs, giving her a look to shut up as if her being quiet would save them at this point.
“Really, this is a reflection of me. I was too trusting of you, and I didn’t safeguard myself against the attack. But last night, when I sent you all to shore, Chuck and Wayland recovered everything that had been taken and returned the items to me. I can only assume that you were planning when, how, and what you would take from my safe, but unfortunately for you, that day will never come.”
Celeste began crying, but Ivy, Ace, and Joel stood with their shoulders straight, not denying, not confirming, just taking their lashing without so much as a flinch.
“Your bags are in the car.”
“Sir, please,” Ivy tried, but Theo cut her off in the next breath.
“You’re lucky I’m not getting you tossed into a foreign jail where I could easily pay off an officer to show you how I really feel right now,” he said, and his nostrils flared with the anger I knew he was restraining. “Consider this your first and only warning, and don’t even think about trying to get another job in this industry. You have all been blackballed from this moment forward. I suggest you go home, lick your wounds, and consider your next life choice carefully.” He paused, stepping an inch closer, which I knew from experience was enough to suck all the air out of the room. “Cross me again, and you will wish you had my mercy, as you have it today.”
He held their gazes for a moment to hammer that point home, then he made a little wave in the air with his finger, signaling Wayland, Captain Chuck, Eric, and one of the engineers to come in from where they’d been on the deck. They each grabbed a thief by the arm and steered them toward the dock.
Celeste struggled, still crying, screaming out that she was innocent. The other three remained silent, though I didn’t miss the look Joel gave me as Wayland forcefully moved him past me, as if this were all my fault.
It sent a chill of terror down my spine, because in that precise moment, I realized I didn’t know the man behind those eyes. Not even a little bit. Not at all.
I watched them go in shock, their heads ducking into the black car with Celeste still carrying on. As soon as they were all inside, Wayland hit the top of the car twice, and it sped off.
“All set, sir,” Captain Chuck said when he was back on the boat with us. He glanced at me with a regretful smile. “Sorry you had to see all that, Miss Dawn.”
I shook my head, but words were lost for me at the moment. I didn’t know what to say about any of it.
Joel, a thief?
And Theo had known?
“I’d like confirmation when they’re all on the flight,” Theo said to Captain Chuck. “Their replacements should be here within the hour. Brief them as quickly as you can to get us moving again, then you can have more of a thorough break down this evening.”
Captain Chuck nodded, tipping his hat at me once more before he left us. Wayland said something under his breath in Theo’s ear, which Theo addressed with a curt nod, and then Wayland left us, too.
We were alone.
“Are you okay?” Theo asked, stepping closer. He slid his hands into his pockets again.
“I…” I swallowed, looking down the dock at where the car had been. “I don’t know. I just… I can’t believe…” I shook my head, finally looking back at Theo. “What does this mean?”
“For who?”
“For all of us.”
Theo inhaled, letting the breath leave him slowly before he said, “Well, for them, it means a free flight home that I feel is a gracious sign of mercy after what they’ve done. For the rest of the crew, it means picking up some slack while the replacements settle in.” He paused, his eyes flicking between mine. “And for us, it’s a new start. At least, I hope it is. If you want it to be.”
I frowned. “So you don’t still want me to leave?”
Theo shook his head, stepping into me, and this time his hands came from his pockets and reached up to frame my face. “I never wanted you to leave.”
Tears pricked my eyes again, those words like a salvation.
“I’m sorry I ever let you believe that I did. But I hope you can see the truth now.”
“The truth?”
Theo smiled, though his brows were still pinched together as he
