Page 75 of Dark Witch: Entangled Fates

Looking nervous, Larissa said something in Russian to Marina while her fingers were plucking at the fabric of her dress, the same one she had worn the night before.

Marina laughed and clapped her friend on her back. "Larissa is not happy about wearing the same dress two nights in a row," she translated for Jasmine. "I told her that Jay doesn't mind."

Larissa mumbled something under her breath and blushed profusely.

"What did she say?" Jasmine asked.

"That Jay only cares about taking the dress off her."

As the three of them laughed, Marina turned to her. "So, how did you and the handsome Edgar meet?"

"He's the helicopter pilot who flew Kevin over to the mobster yacht. We talked a little on the way to the ship, but then I didn't see him until yesterday when he suddenly came down to see me and brought me delicious food from the wedding party."

Marina regarded her with a wicked gleam in her eye. "I've heard that he left your cabin early this morning."

"You've heard right."

"Good for you." Marina let out a whoop of laughter, her hand coming up for a high five that Jasmine met with a grin. "Life is too short to wait for pleasure."

"I'll drink to that." Jasmine lifted her margarita glass.

As they giggled and gossiped like schoolgirls, with Marina translating for Larissa, who was too tipsy to concentrate on finding the right words, Jasmine still couldn't shake off the nagging sense of unease.

There was something different about Marina and Larissa. Jasmine was no stranger to girl talk, and women usually had much more to say about their lovers, their friends, and their life in general than those two were sharing.

Maybe it was the difference in cultures.

She tried to probe deeper, to ask about their pasts, their families, the places they had come from. But each time, she was met with vague, evasive answers, a polite but firm deflection that left her feeling even more frustrated and confused.

"We're from a remote region of Russia that is near Finland," Marina finally said after being asked for the umpteenth time where they were from. "You've probably never heard of it."

Jasmine decided to let it go.

It was just no use.

And then there was the matter of the nondisclosure agreement that, for some reason, no one had mentioned to her.

Margo had told her that everyone on the ship was supposedly required to sign one and that she wouldn't be allowed to mingle with the guests without it.

And yet, Jasmine hadn't been asked to sign anything.

Heck, no one had even told her what she could and couldn't say about her time on board.

Things didn't add up, and the more Jasmine thought about it, the more worried she became. There were too many secrets and too many unanswered questions.

Thankfully, it wouldn't be long before the ship docked back in Los Angeles, and she would be back on solid ground and in control of her own life.

But what if the cartel was looking for her?

Julio Modana had been made to forget about her, but what about Carlos? Kevin hadn't hypnotized the other brother, who was supposed to be even more evil than Julio. What if he decided to come after her?

Jasmine shivered, her hand coming up to rub at her arm as a sudden chill raced down her spine. She needed to talk to Kian and find out what he knew. He seemed to be the only one with any real answers.

55

MEY

Mey's heart was full to bursting as she walked toward the altar. Yamanu was waiting for her with a huge grin on his handsome face and eyes that shone with love and adoration.

---