One Last Thing

by Kim Baldwin

  “And that poor Asian woman who works for her? Christ, I’ve seen people treat rabid bats better.” Melina leaned into Switch from behind, her breasts pressed against her back. “So, where were we?” she asked. “Oh, yeah. My hunk beat you.”

  “Good ride, Alex,” Ariadne said, getting off her Jet Ski.

  “Thanks,” Switch replied, too distracted by TQ’s departure to participate further in the fun and games. “I should probably get back to work.” She stepped off her Jet Ski and helped Melina onto the transom. “Manos is waiting to give me the rest of the tour,” she lied.

  “So, how about your reward?” Melina asked provocatively.

  “Keep it PG,” Ariadne said.

  “Buy me a drink on my day off?” Switch looked around for Manos and spotted him off to the right talking with Fotis, the other second bosun.

  “I believe in instant gratification.” Melina wrapped her arms around Switch’s neck and kissed her softly and soundly on the mouth.

  “You taste so sweet,” Melina said when she pulled back.

  Switch broke away from the embrace and smiled politely. “Thank you for the generous reward.”

  Ariadne stood off to the side, pretending not to look, but Switch could see her watching them in her peripheral vision. “Imagine what she’ll do if you win a medal,” Ariadne muttered under her breath.

  As soon as she was away from the women, Switch ducked into her quarters to call Pierce.

  “TQ was on the yacht when I arrived,” she said as soon as he answered. “But a little while ago, before I could make contact, she left here by helicopter, headed in the direction of Thessaloniki. Get Reno on conference.”

  “Damn it,” Pierce replied. She heard him bark instructions to someone, and Reno joined them on the line within seconds.

  “’Sup, Switch?”

  “Search all of today’s flights out of Thessaloniki to see if Rothschild’s going anywhere. Private charters included. And trains, though that’s less likely,” she said. “Then the five- and four-star hotels within the city.”

  “Doing it as we speak,” he replied.

  “This is her second visit to the yacht,” Switch told them both. “So it figures this was to deliver the icon and get her payment, since she was only on board one day. We have to stop her from leaving the country and I can’t get off the boat. Who do we have in the area?”

  “I’ll have our guy in Neos Marmaras head to the airport, see what he can find out,” Pierce said. “And I’ll get Allegro on it, since she’s in Venice and can be there fastest.”

  “I’ll get into the chief steward’s office tonight to retrieve the master records. They should have details on where she stayed between her yacht visits. She may have gone back there.”

  “Preliminary search is not turning up her name on any of this morning’s commercial-flight manifests,” Reno reported. “Still checking.”

  “Gotta run and get back to work. Text me if you come up with anything.”

  Switch spent the rest of the afternoon attending to her bosun’s duties, which consisted primarily of making sure that the entire exterior of the yacht was kept immaculate. On any other ship, that would have meant a lot of hard manual labor scrubbing decks, painting, varnishing, and making repairs. But the Pegasus was only a couple of years old, and its numerous deckhands were well trained in their routines and needed little supervision. The job was perfect as her cover, because it allowed her free roam of the ship—she was expected to inspect every square foot of the exterior every day—and since she was the go-to person for guests for their water sports and excursions ashore, she wouldn’t be questioned if found in the indoor areas.

  As soon as she’d touched base with all of the deckhands she supervised, she made her way to the forward guest quarters to check out the Olympus Suite. If TQ’s luggage was still there, it meant she was only going ashore briefly and would be back.

  The door to the suite was open when she got there, and a maid she hadn’t met yet was inside dusting the living-room area. She seemed very young, barely out of her teens.

  Time to turn on the charm. “Hi there. We haven’t met yet,” she said in Greek. “I’m Alex, the new bosun.”

  The girl stopped what she was doing and gave her a shy smile. “Sofia. Happy to meet you.”

  “Still finding my way around.” She stepped over the threshold. No luggage anywhere that she could see, but she couldn’t very well walk into the bedroom to check there. “Isn’t one of Ariadne’s friends staying in here? She asked about going ashore later.”

  “No, a guest of Mr. Lykourgos was here.” Sofia looked past Switch toward the hall to make sure they were alone. “Quite a demanding woman, that one. Not sorry she’s gone,” she added, just above a whisper. “Miss Ariadne’s friends are all farther down the hallway.”

  “Thanks. You sure can get some real demanding bitches as guests on a yacht this size, I expect.” Switch winked conspiratorially.

  Sofia shook her head. “Of course, but they were saints compared to this one. Nothing was ever right. The pillows weren’t soft enough, her clothes weren’t ironed right, the food was not up to her standards—and our chef came from the finest restaurant in Athens. I felt sorry for the poor woman working for her. She looked terrified of Mrs. Rothschild the whole time they were here.”

  “I take it Mr. Lykourgos is a much better employer,” Switch said.

  “Oh, yes. He’s very good to his staff. Not too demanding. You’ll see.”

  “Well, better get back to work. Nice meeting you.”

  The girl smiled shyly. “Nice to meet you, too, Alex.”

  Switch wanted to get back into the billionaire’s room as soon as possible to make a thorough search, but it wouldn’t be easy since he didn’t have any plans on the schedule to go ashore any time soon.

  At dusk, she ate her dinner in the crew quarters with other members of the staff, chatting with them genially and trying to get a fix on their off-duty routines. Everyone seemed happy to be employed on the Pegasus and spoke highly of Lykourgos and Ariadne, who were both described as down-to-earth and unpretentious. A few were less generous in their comments about the wife and son. Christine Lykourgos was a stickler for details when she was aboard: bed linens, ironed just so, were changed daily. Fresh flowers, also replenished every morning, were arranged according to her specifications and placed throughout the master suite and in the game room where she spent most of her day. Her clothes were arranged by type and color, and every item in the private refrigerator in her suite had to be placed with the label facing outward. Son Nikolaos threw almost nightly parties aboard the yacht with his raucous friends, soirees requiring very late nights for his stewards and a massive cleanup job the next morning.

  Switch did a late-night tour of the ship to supervise the deckhands, who did much of the exterior mopping chores while the guests were sleeping. About two a.m., she returned to the crew offices to find the hallway deserted and dark. Five minutes later, she was inside the chief steward’s office, sorting through the records on the desk and in his computer.

  The yacht’s extensive guest file for TQ told her that Rothschild had been staying at the Electra Palace in Thessaloniki when she wasn’t aboard the Pegasus—a detail she immediately texted off to Reno to check out. The file also reinforced Rothschild’s reputation as a high-maintenance bitch. Among her demands: stewards and maids were instructed not to speak to her or make direct eye contact. Three large, fluffy, lavender towels of 100 percent Egyptian cotton were required for her bathroom, her pillows must be brand-new, high-quality goose down, and all onboard telephones within earshot of her suite must be disabled during the entirety of her stay. There was a lot more, along with an entire page listing the food and drinks she preferred, as well as those to be avoided. Switch found no indication in any of the paperwork that TQ would be returning to the Pegasus.

  The other interesting tidbit she learned from her search was that Lykourgos had no timetable for his return to his home and workpla
ce. The schedule for the Pegasus’s stay in the waters off Halkidiki was open-ended and she wondered why, since TQ had likely already delivered the icon.

  Chapter Nine

  Venice, Italy

  Next day, four a.m.

  “To what do I owe this rude awakening?” Mishael Taylor, aka EOO agent Allegro, rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on the digital clock on her nightstand.

  “I need you in Greece,” Montgomery Pierce replied.

  Kristine Marie-Louise van der Jagt rolled over and draped her body over Misha’s. “No, you can’t go.” It was the standard reply her partner of five years gave whenever the EOO called.

  They’d had two whole months together without any missions getting in the way. Misha had even taken a long absence from her civilian job as a Formula One race-car mechanic so they could spend some quality time together at their villa. She wasn’t anxious to see it end. “Kris says she needs me here.” She caressed Kris’s hair. “So you know, I guess I’ll have to pass.”

  “Be in Thessaloniki by noon,” Pierce said. “Your contact will meet you at the airport with details.”

  “Can I bring a swimsuit?”

  “No.”

  “Can Kris come with?”

  “No.”

  “Island-hopping a possibility?”

  Pierce sighed. “No.”

  “Sightseeing?” She played with Kris’s hair.

  “No.”

  Pierce would ordinarily have hung up by now, but instead he was humoring her. Was he even listening? Or was he preoccupied with Grant? Joanne had softened him up a lot since they’d moved in together. “I got another ticket,” she said. He’d always balked at picking up her numerous speeding tickets, so the remark was sure to get a rise out of him.

  “Of course you did,” he replied.

  “For driving nude in clown makeup.”

  “Of course you were.” He clearly wasn’t listening. Seconds passed. “You what?” he finally asked when the coin dropped.

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where’s Grant?”

  “In her office.”

  Something was going on with him, for sure. “Are you okay?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “’Cause you’re still on the phone…with me.”

  “My blood pressure’s a bit low and talking to you fixes that.”

  Misha laughed. “Hilarious. Did Grant buy you a sense of humor for Christmas?”

  Pierce cleared his throat. “Twelve o’clock sharp, in Thessaloniki.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there.” Misha hung up. “Pierce is being all shades of weird.” She shifted to get up.

  Kris climbed on top of her and kissed her on the neck. “You don’t have to leave for another six hours.”

  “I know, but I’m wide-awake.” She kissed Kris on the mouth.

  “Good.” Kris straddled her and removed her T-shirt. “Now, take care of your domestic responsibilities before you run off to your professional ones.”

  *

  Aegean Sea

  As a steward brewed her another Greek coffee tableside, Ariadne scanned the latest dismal economic news in that day’s Naftemporiki and tried to tune out the chatter of her friends. Why hadn’t she taken breakfast with her family?

  “Good morning.” Alex’s voice came from a few feet away, to her right.

  Her friends looked up when they returned the greeting, but Ariadne mumbled her polite response, too absorbed in her newspaper and too irritated with her friends’ new obsession to pay the slightest notice to the bosun. This trip was supposed to be about them having fun and spending time together, not about drooling over one of the crew. Sure, the guy was cute and polite. But hell…no guy was worth this much attention. They’d been talking about little else all morning.

  “Is there anything I can do for you this morning, Ms. Lykourgos?” he asked. “Prepare something in the way of water sports?”

  “No. Nothing I can think of, anyway.”

  “We want to take the Zodiac. See if we can move the party to shore.” Melina stopped stuffing her face with toast, and Ariadne saw her give the bosun her “I remember what we did yesterday” smile.

  “I’m going to pass.” Ariadne wasn’t in the mood today. “I’m rather tired.” Her father had been coughing almost nonstop all night but refused to see the family doctor despite her pleas. He said it was nothing but a cold and sore throat, but it had lasted way too long for that.

  “You’re kidding,” Jo said.

  “Sorry, guys, but I’m just going to hang around the pool and read a book.”

  “You’re too young to be hanging around the pool.” Natasa poured honey over her croissant.

  “And way too young to be this obsessed with reading,” Melina added. “How about you, Alex? Would you mind escorting us?”

  “I’d love to, but I have a list of things I need to prepare,” Alex replied. “Maybe Fotis can—”

  “No, that won’t do.” Melina leaned forward, giving him a better view of her cleavage. “It’s you I want.”

  Ariadne turned her attention from her friends—who were all staring expectantly at the bosun—to Alex, curious what his reaction would be to such a blatant come-on.

  “Perhaps next time?” Alex gave Melina one of those charming smiles.

  Melina pouted her lips. “I’m holding you to it.”

  Alex bowed slightly. “Let me know if I can assist you with anything, Ms. Lykourgos.”

  “I will.”

  As soon as he’d gone, she turned to Melina. “Don’t you ever feel bad about leading guys on?”

  “Why would I?” She laughed as though the question was absurd. “It’s beneficial to both parties, after all. I get to have fun, and he gets to have the night of his life.”

  “Are you really going to sleep with him?” Jo sounded almost shocked.

  “Well, of course she is.” Ariadne folded her paper and put it down. “When was the last time she passed on a one-night frenzy?”

  The other two girls laughed, but not Melina. “I’ll have you know that I’m sincerely interested.”

  All three of them went into stunned silence.

  “What?” Melina shrugged. “I like him.”

  “He’s, like, twenty-four,” Jo said.

  “So what?” Melina replied seriously. “I really like him. I mean, he’s fun, gorgeous, well spoken and polite, tastes great, and has…that look. In other words, exactly the type of guy I’m in the market for.”

  “What look?” Ariadne and Jo both asked at once.

  “Figures the lesbian asks,” Melina replied, “but you, too, Jo?”

  Jo was the sweetest, but most naive, of the four of them. She was also the one to most likely spot a unicorn.

  “Gentleman by day, and a wild…you know, by night,” Natasa said.

  “Fuck.” Melina sipped her coffee. “The word you’re looking for is fuck.”

  “You said you thought he was interested in me,” Ariadne said nonchalantly.

  “He’ll get over it once he realizes just how uninterested you are and how passionately captivated I am. He’s young. His attention span, unlike his libido, is limited.”

  “Poor Alex doesn’t stand a chance,” Jo said.

  “Well.” Ariadne dropped her napkin on the table and stood. “Good luck to you both.” She pushed her chair under the table. “Have fun, guys. I’ll catch you tonight.”

  Though she loved her friends, Ariadne was glad for the day off playing hostess to them. She’d met with her father after breakfast for four hours and was now finally able to relax and sunbathe, away from any further commitments or responsibility. When she reached the upper-deck pool, she found she had the place to herself, just as she’d hoped.

  Ariadne took off her wrap, lay back on one of the comfortable chaise lounges, and pulled out her book.

  The next thing she knew, she was waking up to the sound of voices. She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but when she opened h
er eyes, Alex was standing a few feet away talking with the two second bosuns. He appeared relaxed but alert at the same time. Come to think of it, Alex always seemed to be on guard, as if looking for something.

  She let her gaze drift from Alex’s profile to the rest of his body. He was an attractive man, for sure. She could see why her friends were all over him. But there was something almost off about him, and she wasn’t sure what. It was as though he was almost too perfect to be real. And he had great legs for a guy.

  Alex smiled at her and Ariadne looked away, pretending to hunt for something in her bag.

  “Do you need something, Ms. Lykourgos?” he asked from just beside her chair.

  Ariadne jumped. “What? No, why?”

  Alex had his hands folded behind him. “Because you were looking at me.”

  How could he know that? Ariadne put her hand to her face and only then realized she wasn’t wearing her sunglasses.

  Alex picked her shades up off the deck and handed them to her. “You must’ve dropped them when you nodded off.”

  Oh, great. Not only had she been caught staring, but she’d also probably been caught with her mouth open and snoring, as well. Her ex used to tease her all the time about that. After twenty-hour workdays, Ariadne would often fall into a semi-coma in the evening and snore loud enough to wake the neighbors. She put her shades on. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” Alex turned to leave.

  “So, how do you like it on board Pegasus?”

  He resumed his “at attention” stance, hands behind his back. “It’s a beautiful yacht.”

  “I think it’s too big.”

  “I agree.”

  “Do you sail?”

  He nodded. “Smaller boats.”

  Ariadne didn’t want Alex to leave. His presence was somehow soothing and unforced. “Would you like to sit?” she asked.

  “I’m sure your father didn’t hire me to lounge by the pool.”

  “Don’t worry about it, he’s a softy. And besides, you’re with me.” Ariadne smiled.

  “Okay, but if I get fired, it’s on you.” Alex smiled back.