Page 11 of The Devil's Daughter

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” I say. When he doesn’t respond, I grab his headset controller and switch it on, then repeat myself. “Benny, it’ll be okay. Let’s just enjoy ourselves, huh?”

“This asshat doesn’t make it easy. His boneheaded decisions are why we had to leave in the first place.”

Drake’s expression pinches and he shakes his head. “It wasn’t my decision that put the cameras in. There are so many it’s unlikely you’d have found them all as it is. Besides, if someone did it to fuck with me, they’d have found another way to get to me.”

“This yacht of yours had better fucking be safe,” Ben snaps.

“It is, I promise. You’re welcome to check it yourself when we get there.”

But his comment catches me off-guard. He said someone would have found another way to get tohim. Not me. Who would be after Drake? I hope Baz returns my laptop so I can keep searching for clues about Drake’s history. All we got were fresh smart phones from a secure stash the twins keep just for emergencies like this one. I guess their budget doesn’t allow for extra laptops.

About forty-five minutes later,we’re flying over Catalina Island to a harbor on the far side, where we land on what is basically a floating penthouse. The yacht is sixty meters long, Drake explains, with a dozen full-time staff, and a captain who basically just sails it around Catalina Island when its owner isn’t using it, ostensibly to keep the engines in running order. It’s anchored in the bay on the western side of the island with a perfect, unimpeded view of the sun dipping past the edge of the Pacific.

The captain himself greets us and holds a hand up to help me step down onto the deck.

“Welcome to theBrizo, Miss Flores. I’m Captain Theodorides. You can call me Theo.”

He’s a clean-cut man with deep lines beside eyes, which are such a pale shade of blue they seem bleached by the sun. His skin has likewise seen too much sun as well, looking like rough, tanned leather. But his hand is gentle, though callused, and the tattoos on both his forearms are so old they’ve gone soft at the edges. One looks like an anchor, the other a faded pinup girl.

“Theo’s been with me since I was a kid,” Drake says. “He’s like family. You can trust him to take care of us.”

Ben climbs down and reaches out to take the bags Duffy is unloading, but Drake moves to grab them instead. “Theo will give you a tour, show you all the security measures in place here. If you need to make any changes, be my guest. I’ll get Elle settled, and you can meet us in the dining room later for dinner.”

That seems to mollify Ben, and he follows Theo off, disappearing up a narrow set of steps to the bridge deck above us.

“Do I get a tour too?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Drake says in an indulgently sexy tone. When he looks at me and smiles, my insides turn molten, but then he looks away, clearing his throat as if what he just said was overly suggestive and inappropriate. My cheeks heat, remembering that he did see me mostly naked just a couple hours ago.

“I owe you an apology,” I blurt. When he frowns, I continue. “It was a dumb stunt. I honestly believed I was screwing with the twins, but I shouldn’t have done it anyway. Not in your apartment. I mean, you’re myboss. I probably put you in a bad position.”

He exhales a slow breath as he regards me, and his serious expression causes knots to tighten in my belly. “Elle, I don’t think anything you do could change my opinion of you. What happened was more my fault than anything—the cameras shouldn’t even have been there. It put you in danger, which is the last thing I want.”

“But the striptease… and you’re myboss…”

His lips twitch as if he’s trying not to smile, then he shakes his head and sighs. “What you do in your own room is none of my business. I only saw because I…” He winces. Then in a careful, measured tone, he adds, “I may have a bit of a compulsion to watch you—and not in the sense of a caretaker, either. I’ve tried limiting it to observing your work, never observing you directly. I didn’t expect to see what I did, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. But you were absolutely right; I shouldn’t have been spying on you.Thatwas the only mistake anyone made today. I’m the one who owesyouan apology.”

I’m dumbfounded by this turn of events and shake my head. “I think you made up for it.” I gesture at the helicopter beside us. “You didn’t hesitate to take me away when you believed there was a threat. But I’m not really the one in danger, am I?”

Any humor that might’ve flickered across his face is gone now. His jaw clenches and he shifts the strap of my bag on his shoulder, tightening his grip on the other suitcases he still holds in each hand. Then he turns and says, “Let’s get you settled. We can talk more later, if you want.”

“Nice deflection,” I mutter, earning myself an arch look as he turns away, but I’m too baffled by what he shared to poke further. He clearly didn’t install the cameras, but did he just confess to beingcompelledto watch me?

Mulling that over, I follow him down a short flight of steps off the helipad. The wind picks up as Duffy starts up the rotors in preparation to head back to San Diego, and we duck inside the opulent quietude of a luxurious living space with views on three sides. I thought I was impressed by the decor inside his penthouse, but I’m stunned at the attention to detail in here.

“This isgorgeous,” I say, sliding my hand along the cushions of an off-white leather sofa as he leads me farther in. The yacht’s interior is all-natural wood and textured stone in a range of comforting neutrals.

“When my father died, I wanted to sell the thing, but Theo talked me into getting the interior redesigned instead. He has a special connection with theBrizoand would’ve been heartbroken to lose her. Who am I to deprive an old man of his one true love? I think he was secretly angling for an upgrade to his quarters, though, which he got.”

“That was sweet of you,” I say. “When we met, I pegged you as an emotionless automaton who didn’t care about anything but work. Living with you has opened my eyes to the real Drake, or at least made me want to get to know you better.”

He’s walking ahead of me down a narrow corridor with windows overlooking the deck. He glances back, and his half-smile returns, which is a relief. “I’m not emotionless, but it’ll take more than cohabitating for a couple weeks to figure me out.”

We reach a door, and he presses a button. A second later, an honest-to-god elevator opens up. It’s a cozy space, but I’m so baffled that this thing exists on aboatI step inside and stare around in awe. He chuckles as he joins me, hitting the button for a lower deck.

I grin at him. “Well, I like what I’ve learned so far, even if it is the tip of the iceberg.” I step out when the elevator doors open onto a corridor that’s slightly narrower than the one below us.

“You like the money more, or the man?” he asks, giving me a dubious look.

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