Page 82 of Deadly Designs

“I wouldn’t take that bet.” A couple of the men wereyounger, but some looked like they should have known better.

“My God.”

“What?”

“Look at that.”

Aja Blue followed Christian’s gaze, and her jaw hitthe ground. She knewThe Original Sin, Heathcliff andEleanor’s boat, was enormous. It was a mega-yacht owned by abillionaire, after all. The thing bobbing in front of them was nextlevel. It was a monster, at least three hundred feet long, andlooked like a luxury hotel floating on the water. Frankly, Aja Bluedidn’t know how it kept from sinking to the bottom of the bay.

A black helicopter hovered above one of the decks,preparing to land. Probably the hosts arriving at the party. Shecouldn’t see them parking in the lot and walking to the boat likeregular attendees. The Sinclairs didn’t mingle with the littlepeople.

Something slammed into Aja Blue, jolting her forward.Christian’s grip kept her from smashing face-first onto the woodplanks, as did the person who hit her.

“Oh gosh, I am so sorry, ma’am. Are you okay?”

She turned to see one of the men who’d been tossingthe pigskin gazing at her with concern as a blush tinted his faircheeks. His friends had suddenly vanished.

The blow had stunned her, but she wasn’t hurt. “I’mfine.”

“I really am sorry.”

“No problem.”

With a nod, he jogged ahead of them, disappearinginto the crowd of people milling about.

“Are you okay?” Christian asked.

“Yes. He didn’t hit me that hard. Thanks for keepingme from face-planting.”

He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips.“Anytime, babe.”

#

Christian and Aja Blue stopped at the end of the lineand waited to board. Instructions were explicit that no weapons ofany kind were allowed on the boat. Christian hated being withouthis Sig Sauer or his K-bar knife. He was an expert in hand-to-handcombat, but it was nice to have the reassurance of a gun.

When it was their turn to show their invitation, aman wearing a tuxedo, sunglasses, and an earwig said, “Invitation,please.”

Aja Blue reached into her bag and dug around beforetugging the strap from her shoulder and peering inside. “My phone’sgone.”

“You had it when we left the SUV because it had thedirections to where the boat was anchored.” An image of the manwith the football crashing into her came rushing back, and his jawclenched. “He stole it.”

“He who?” Aja Blue asked.

“The man who bumped into you.”

“That bastard.”

“At least he won’t be able to get into it.”

Tyler had added a feature that would flash a messagewhen anyone attempted to break into a secure COBRA Securitiesphone. An alarm would sound, and a warning would appear, lettingthe thief know the police had been notified and their photo andfingerprints had been captured. Even if they tried to get rid ofit, it would be too late. Christian activated the app on Aja Blue’sphone, hoping it wasn’t too late.

Man, COBRA Securities was lucky to have Tyler. BeBetoo.

“I’ll need your invitation, or you’ll have to stepout of line,” the guard remarked.

Thankfully, Aja Blue had forwarded him the email.Christian scrolled to his mailbox, accessed the message, and showedit to the gatekeeper. The man checked to ensure it was legit andfound their name on a list. He waved them through the metaldetector. Aja Blue placed her bag in a bin, and he added his phone.She stepped through first, and the light remained green. No alarmsounded when he followed her through. They retrieved theirbelongings and walked forward.

“I can’t believe he stole it,” she muttered as theystepped onto the deck. “Why?”

---