Her Very Strict Captain, Carpenter, Maggie [top 50 books to read TXT] 📗

for an answer.

“Yeah, you’re right, I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“See you on deck.”

Her heart racing as he left, she darted into her cabin, opened her bag, gathered up the stuffing, then frantically unzipped the cushions. Trying to control her panic, she transferred the wads of cash into the bottom of her bag, and shoved the stuffing back into place, but as she attempted to close the zippers they kept getting caught.

She sensed the boat slowing down.

Glancing out the window, she discovered they were at the dock.

She’d only managed to close one of the four cushions.

As she anxiously returned to her fight with the second, Scott knocked on her door.

“Elizabeth? It’s time to go.”

“I’ll be right there.”

With no time to continue the battle, she positioned the decorative pillows upside down to hide the gaping opening, threw her clothes into her bag and hurriedly dressed. She was about to dash into the bathroom to retrieve the rolls of bills from the toilet tissue when he knocked again.

“Elizabeth, are you okay? What’s taking so long?”

“I want to make sure I don’t forget anything.”

“You don’t have much to forget,” he remarked, opening the door and poking his head in. “What’s going on?”

“Sorry, I’m seriously sleep deprived.”

“Ah, right, of course.”

“I’m all set. I just need to use the bathroom.”

“Use the one on the mono-hull.”

“But—”

“It will only take a minute to get off this boat and on to the other one,” he declared, taking her bag and turning to leave.

Frozen to the spot, she was feverishly trying to figure out a way to grab the rolls of cash and take them with her, when he suddenly stopped and looked back at her.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked testily.

“You said it’s a mono-hull. They make me nervous,” she replied, hoping she sounded believable.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then believe me when I say you’ll love this yacht. Or would you rather stick around and wait for Dan to show up?”

“We don’t even know if he’s chasing us.”

“We do know he’s chasing you, and he’s got it in his head you’re with me. Once he realizes I’ve left you can bet he’ll be paying this base a visit,” Scott exclaimed, then pausing, he narrowed his eyes. “Is there something else going on here?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“Sorry,” she said softly, her heart sinking. “I’m just so tired I can’t think straight.”

His expression abruptly changed. “I know you are,” he said, his voice softening. “I didn’t mean to yell at you, but we really do need to leave. You’ll love the yacht. It’s great, and if you don’t, you can jump off and swim back,” he finished with a grin.

“Thanks, Scott,” she murmured, managing a smile.

“Are you ready to go now?”

“Yes, Captain.”

But as she followed him, she glanced over her shoulder and stared at the bathroom, praying no one would find the rolls of cash. It would be impossible to explain.

* * *

By the time Dan Miller had gone through the rigmarole of hiring a boat, the sun had set and the light was fading fast.

But that wasn’t his only problem.

He’d been forced to rent a larger, slower boat.

Moving through the bay, his binoculars in one hand and the wheel in the other, he searched out the catamarans.

None sported the big blue letters.

Knowing Scott could have sailed in any direction, he headed to the Victoria Sailing School base at Red Hook on the other side of the island, hoping one of Scott’s employees might be able to shed some light on his whereabouts.

Dan pursed his lips in grim determination.

Elizabeth had to be found.

Deciding to dock as close to the sailing school as he could, and resume his hunt in the morning, he cruised toward the marina, but as he neared, he couldn’t believe his luck. The catamaran was there.

Spotting a guy on the deck, Dan’s pulse ticked up.

A moment later, he cursed under his breath.

It wasn’t Scott Specter.

“Excuse me,” Dan called, getting as close as he dared.

The young man raised his head and looked around.

“Over here,” Dan yelled. “Is Captain Scott on board?”

“No, sorry, you just missed him.”

Seething, the detective tried to control the tone in his voice.

“Did he go into town? Maybe I can catch him there.”

“He left on another boat.”

“Where’s he headed?”

“Sorry, he didn’t say, but he told me not to expect him back for a few days.”

Fury coursing through his body and desperately trying to think of a Plan B, the only thing that came to mind was spending the evening at the Shady Shack. With Scott and the owner on such good terms, Scott probably spent time there, and a few drinks loosened tongues.

Turning his lumbering boat, he started back.

The hunt wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.

Chapter 6

The emerging night sky could not have been more perfect. An almost full moon in a clear sky kissed the dark ocean with its silver glow, and myriad stars twinkled overhead, arching down to the horizon. Slowly gliding through the bay, Scott set the auto pilot and left to sit with Elizabeth at the back of the boat.

“Still nervous?” he asked as he approached.

“Not at all, and I love the name Hi Ho Silver.”

“Classics live forever,” he remarked with a grin. “Where’s your phone?”

“In my purse.”

“Give it to me.”

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

“Okay, jeez,” she mumbled, pulling it from her handbag and handing it to him. “We don’t want our tenacious detective tracking you through this,” he declared, quickly removing the sim card and throwing it overboard.

“Scott! I could’ve just turned it off.”

“Yeah, but now I don’t have to worry about you turning it back on,” he retorted. “Are you ready to see the cabin now?”

“Absolutely.”

The salon was smaller than the one on the catamaran, but the layout gave it an airy spaciousness, and when he opened the door to the cabin, she caught her breath.

“I told you it was nice,” he declared. “Why are you so surprised?”

“Nice? Nice is my grandmother’s sweater,” she exclaimed. “This is gorgeous. It’s like something out of