Mercedes brought him an iced tea and jotted down his request for a light salad lunch.
‘Will you be eating with the other guests?’ she asked.
‘I thought they’d all gone on the trip,’ Cliff replied.
‘No. The Senator’s wife is still aboard. So is Luca Perez’s companion.’
‘I’ll stay where I am,’ Cliff decided, in no mood to be social.
‘Yes, Mr Baxter,’ Mercedes said, acting as the perfect little stewardess in her neat uniform, a practised smile on her face.
One down, two to go. The Senator’s wife was still in her cabin, and Mercedes wasn’t quite sure where Luca Perez’s significant other was.
The truth was, she didn’t much care for the gays. She considered being gay a waste of manpower, although she’d had an experience or two with girls. However, girl-on-girl action was different. Besides, Luca Perez was crazy hot, so what was he doing with some old douche who seemed to be about as much fun as a box of tampons?
With most of the guests gone, she planned on doing a quick sweep of their rooms to check out the jewelry and money stash. She’d already ascertained that the limey blonde was into diamonds, and that the footballer had several expensive watches. Nice. But the real prize would be in the main stateroom where she’d already discovered a hidden safe.
No problem there, for amongst her many other talents, Mercedes knew how to crack a safe with the best of ’em.
As soon as the maids were safely out of the way, she slipped into the master suite and headed straight for the safe with her handy box of tools. Fifteen heart-stopping minutes later she was in.
What a bonanza! A stack of cash. Papers — boring. And a small black jewel box containing the most exquisite ring she’d ever seen. A magnificent emerald surrounded by dozens of sparkling diamonds.
Mercedes almost salivated.
Oh yes, when the time came, she planned on cleaning up.
Why shouldn’t she grab what she wanted? Cruz could do his thing, and she’d do hers. It was about time she seized the opportunity to make a killing and strike out by herself.
Yes, she had an agenda. No more Daddy’s little helper.
Mercedes had her own plans.
Chapter Forty-Nine
The deserted island was a magical place. A glorious oasis in the middle of the sea. Pristine white sands, crystal-clear blue water, pockets of unusual rock formations, lush greenery and groves of palm trees heading inland.
The Captain had arranged to have a tour guide meet them on the island, and the Mexican man was already waiting when they arrived.
‘Wow!’ Bianca exclaimed, jumping off the tender and running straight onto the sand, throwing off her T-shirt to reveal a barely-there orange bikini. ‘This is fanfuckin’tastic! And no hidden paparazzi. I’m in heaven!’
Aleksandr smiled. There was nothing he enjoyed more than watching Bianca indulge her childlike tendencies. He found it refreshing.
‘C’mon, Ashley,’ Bianca called out. ‘Join me.’
Ashley, who was gingerly stepping off the tender, trying not to get her Dolce sandals wet, nodded.
‘This is like a friggin’ dream,’ Taye said to Luca. ‘Jesus, mate, it’s a bloody long way from the old Elephant.’
‘You had an elephant?’ Luca questioned, trying to keep his eyes away from Taye’s fully stocked crotch.
‘No way, man,’ Taye said, breaking up laughing. ‘The Elephant an’ Castle is the part of London where I was born.’
Luca was even more confused, but he shrugged it off as he helped Lori from the tender.
After checking out the view, Lori wished she’d brought her camera as this was without a doubt the most stunning place she’d ever seen. Cliff should’ve come, he would’ve loved it.
Den, Renee, and several of the crew members were busy unloading the tenders, setting up umbrellas and giant beach towels and erecting a food and drink station, while Guy supervised.
Manuel, the Mexican tour guide, watched in stoic bewilderment. Tourists. They never failed to dumbfound him with their endless extravagances. It was staggering, the money they must have to throw away on non-essential things. When he’d been hired for this job, he’d been informed that these were very important people. They didn’t look that important to him. The women were half-naked, something that didn’t seem to bother the men. He would be shamed if his wife or daughters ever exposed themselves in such a blatant fashion.
Guy approached him. ‘The guests will be eating lunch first,’ he instructed Manuel. ‘Then we’ll start the island tour. Okay, mate?’
Manuel nodded, and walked a distance away, prepared to wait. For he knew from experience that he was merely there to serve.
When Flynn realized that Sierra was not on the excursion he was torn. Should he have stayed on the yacht?
For what? So she could practically ignore him again? Treat him like a total stranger?
He had a gnawing in his stomach that was bothering the hell out of him. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move in the world, but with Hammond on the island, surely this was the perfect opportunity to clear things up with Sierra once and for all?
He needed closure. Now that he’d seen her again he knew in his heart that he had to find out why she’d betrayed him in such a cruel fashion.
Goddamm it! Now he was trapped on the island when he should’ve stayed on the yacht. And how was he supposed to get back? Swim? No. The yacht was too far away, at least a ten-minute trip, and that was by tender.
What to do?
Perhaps feign some kind of stomach ailment? Act like a weakling and claim to be sick? Not the most manly of actions, but it appeared to be the only excuse he could come up with.
He glanced around at the activity. The girls were frolicking on the sand as if they were just out of grade school, all except Xuan, who’d sat herself down next to Aleksandr on one of the folding chairs, and was busy engaging him in conversation. Hammond was leering at the girls — typical — while Taye and Luca had plunged into the ocean.
Flynn approached Guy. ‘I don’t want to make a big deal out of this,’ he said quietly, ‘only I’ve got a bad case of the runs, so I’m going to have to get back to the yacht.’
‘Don’t fancy the bushes, eh?’ Guy joked. Then realizing he might have overstepped his mark, he hurriedly backtracked. ‘Sorry, mate,’ he said with a sombre shake of his head. ‘Not so funny, huh?’
‘Any chance of a ride?’ Flynn enquired.
‘Sure thing. We need more stuff from the mothership. Hop aboard tender two, one of the boys’ll take you.’
‘Thanks,’ Flynn said, thinking that he’d travelled through war zones, witnessed atrocities, interviewed terrorists, and yet now, at the thought of facing Sierra, he was more nervous than he’d ever been.
Could it get any better than this? Lori didn’t think so. Here she was, a girl who’d had to struggle for most of her life, and now she was on a fabulous island in the middle of nowhere with one of the world’s most famous super-models, a mega-football hero, a Senator, who was definitely lusting after her, a super-star Latin singer, and a Russian billionaire.
It was all totally surreal. Nobody would believe it.
She could just imagine her mom’s face if she could see her now. Oh lordy, Sherrine Walsh would have a
