low voice, “Does this yacht belong to the agency? And what about the crew?”
“I have no idea. Want to ask Siran?”
Rafferty glanced in the captain’s direction as they moved forward. “Not really.”
“It isn’t good procedure,” she agreed, sitting on a padded bench on the starboard side. “If he
isn’t
Hagen’s man, we could give the show away. And if he is—Oh, he has to be. We may have to leave Kadeira in a hurry; surely Hagen wouldn’t trust a hired captain and crew with this assignment.”
“I hope you’re right.” Rafferty sat beside her as they both gazed out on the colorful marina. “Judging by what Zach found out, we’ll be lucky if we escape Kadeira with our skins, let alone the information.”
He had explained all of it to her after hehad called Zach back as promised, and Sarah chewed her bottom lip absently as she thought about their situation. She felt Rafferty’s gaze on her, but wasn’t quite able to straighten out her expression fast enough.
“What is it?” He took her hand, looking at her steadily and smiling a little. “What is it that you weren’t supposed to tell me?”
The
Thespian
gathered speed as they left the clutter of boats behind, and Sarah drew a deep breath. “I don’t think you’re going to like it. And I
wanted
to tell you … Hagen told me not to until we reached Kadeira.”
“But you’re going to tell me now.” He knew then that his forebodings about this assignment had been on target. True to character, Hagen had once again decided not to tell everyone everything.
Sarah drew a deep breath. “Actually, it isn’t bad. Not really. You see, we probably won’t have too much trouble staying in Kadeira as long as we need to. We don’t have an invitation, but we do have a kind of special pass.”
“Which is?”
“Me.”
“Hey!” Lucas Kendrick made a wild grab for something solid to hold on to, only just managing to keep his balance. “Keep both eyes on the road, will you?”
Zachary Steele, whose gaze had not left the clear blue waters of the Caribbean, swung the wheel a bit further to starboard, his own feet planted as solidly as the roots of a great oak. “It isn’t my fault you have lousy sea legs,” he observed mildly.
Lucas glared at him. “I’m half asleep and suffering jet lag,
not
seasickness,” he stated. “If you weren’t made of granite, you’d be dead yourself. You’ve come three thousand miles farther than I have.”
“I slept on the plane,” Zach said, glancing down to check his heading, then looking back at the water.
Lucas found a reasonably comfortable seat near the wheel, his mind turning to the reasonsthey were there. “You didn’t tell Rafferty we were coming?”
“No.”
Gloomily, Lucas said, “The boss is going to murder us. You and I are AWOL, you know.”
“Well, no, not really.” A faint smile softened Zach’s hard face and his gray eyes showed his amusement. “I called Josh. When he’d finished casting aspersions on my ancestors and damning me six ways from Sunday for interrupting his honeymoon, he gave us grudging permission to stick our noses in this.”
In a plaintive tone, Lucas asked, “Then why on earth didn’t we borrow the yacht instead of renting this damned fishing boat? At least we could have been comfortable.”
“And a target,” Zach pointed out dryly. “Look, even though no one could trace the registry of the
Corsair
back to Josh, it still reeks of money, and evidence suggests that the government of Kadeira seems to have a fondness for arresting wealthy visitors. Rafferty’s already a target in the
Thespian
, but that seems to be Hagen’s plan.”
Lucas frowned, his strikingly handsome face troubled. “Insane plan, if you ask me. Any idea what’s going on?”
“Rafferty didn’t say, but I can hazard a few guesses. According to the harbormaster in Trinidad, whom I spoke to before you arrived, the
Thespian
pulled out with its crew and two passengers—Rafferty and
“I have no idea. Want to ask Siran?”
Rafferty glanced in the captain’s direction as they moved forward. “Not really.”
“It isn’t good procedure,” she agreed, sitting on a padded bench on the starboard side. “If he
isn’t
Hagen’s man, we could give the show away. And if he is—Oh, he has to be. We may have to leave Kadeira in a hurry; surely Hagen wouldn’t trust a hired captain and crew with this assignment.”
“I hope you’re right.” Rafferty sat beside her as they both gazed out on the colorful marina. “Judging by what Zach found out, we’ll be lucky if we escape Kadeira with our skins, let alone the information.”
He had explained all of it to her after hehad called Zach back as promised, and Sarah chewed her bottom lip absently as she thought about their situation. She felt Rafferty’s gaze on her, but wasn’t quite able to straighten out her expression fast enough.
“What is it?” He took her hand, looking at her steadily and smiling a little. “What is it that you weren’t supposed to tell me?”
The
Thespian
gathered speed as they left the clutter of boats behind, and Sarah drew a deep breath. “I don’t think you’re going to like it. And I
wanted
to tell you … Hagen told me not to until we reached Kadeira.”
“But you’re going to tell me now.” He knew then that his forebodings about this assignment had been on target. True to character, Hagen had once again decided not to tell everyone everything.
Sarah drew a deep breath. “Actually, it isn’t bad. Not really. You see, we probably won’t have too much trouble staying in Kadeira as long as we need to. We don’t have an invitation, but we do have a kind of special pass.”
“Which is?”
“Me.”
“Hey!” Lucas Kendrick made a wild grab for something solid to hold on to, only just managing to keep his balance. “Keep both eyes on the road, will you?”
Zachary Steele, whose gaze had not left the clear blue waters of the Caribbean, swung the wheel a bit further to starboard, his own feet planted as solidly as the roots of a great oak. “It isn’t my fault you have lousy sea legs,” he observed mildly.
Lucas glared at him. “I’m half asleep and suffering jet lag,
not
seasickness,” he stated. “If you weren’t made of granite, you’d be dead yourself. You’ve come three thousand miles farther than I have.”
“I slept on the plane,” Zach said, glancing down to check his heading, then looking back at the water.
Lucas found a reasonably comfortable seat near the wheel, his mind turning to the reasonsthey were there. “You didn’t tell Rafferty we were coming?”
“No.”
Gloomily, Lucas said, “The boss is going to murder us. You and I are AWOL, you know.”
“Well, no, not really.” A faint smile softened Zach’s hard face and his gray eyes showed his amusement. “I called Josh. When he’d finished casting aspersions on my ancestors and damning me six ways from Sunday for interrupting his honeymoon, he gave us grudging permission to stick our noses in this.”
In a plaintive tone, Lucas asked, “Then why on earth didn’t we borrow the yacht instead of renting this damned fishing boat? At least we could have been comfortable.”
“And a target,” Zach pointed out dryly. “Look, even though no one could trace the registry of the
Corsair
back to Josh, it still reeks of money, and evidence suggests that the government of Kadeira seems to have a fondness for arresting wealthy visitors. Rafferty’s already a target in the
Thespian
, but that seems to be Hagen’s plan.”
Lucas frowned, his strikingly handsome face troubled. “Insane plan, if you ask me. Any idea what’s going on?”
“Rafferty didn’t say, but I can hazard a few guesses. According to the harbormaster in Trinidad, whom I spoke to before you arrived, the
Thespian
pulled out with its crew and two passengers—Rafferty and
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