Page 78 of No Time Off

“Yes. But stay alert.”

We climbed back on the bike and Slash cautiously approached the house. I could feel his tension with my arms wrapped around him. He was on high operational alert. Manny had gone back in the house when we first got back on the bike but had now come out and was waiting for us at the edge of the yard.

He handed us cold water bottles and protein bars. We immediately dug in, both of us starving.

“Maivia’s forces clearly didn’t spend any time here,” Manny said, taking a sip from his water bottle. “The fridge is full of food, the electricity is still on, and the house wasn’t visibly ransacked. I suspect they weren’t sure this was where the prime minister was hiding.”

We mumbled incoherent responses around the chewing of the protein bars.

While we ate and drank, Manny took our bike and pushed it out of sight behind the nearby shed. When he returned, something rustled in the underbrush at the edge of the yard to our right. There was nothing professional about our response. We must have looked like a dysfunctional gymnastics team. Slash and Manny went for their weapons, while I jerked and tossed a water bottle in the air that nearly clipped Slash.

The rustling abruptly stopped. A second later, a coconut rolled into the yard, bumping and bouncing along like it had somewhere to be.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. “Wow. An assassin dressed as a coconut. Bold strategy.”

Manny didn’t laugh. Neither did Slash.

I sighed. “Come on, guys. I’m trying to lighten the mood. I thought we decided no one would figure us for being dumb enough to come back to the farmhouse. Are we not going with that anymore?”

“We’re being prudent,” Slash said shortly. “I’m going to do one more sweep of the perimeter and house just to be extra safe. Manny, you wait here with Lexi and take cover in those bushes over there until I give the final all clear.” He jogged off across the field and disappeared.

“Your man is in a good mood,” Manny quipped.

I sighed. He was cranky, not that I blamed him. Just hours before he’d been beaten up, tied up, threatened, and locked in a closet. He’d earned that crankiness fair and square.

We waited for ten minutes, then twenty. Finally, Slash came back, sweat dripping from his temples and beading on his neck.

“I’ve checked the entire perimeter, and it’s quiet,” he said. “No one is here, and the house looks clear. Inside, everything seems to be as we left it. You’re right, Manny. No signs of a struggle or fight, so I wonder what happened to Rangi and the security guys we left behind.”

No one had the answer.

“Can we go inside?” I finally asked. I was hot, sweaty, and needed to go to the bathroom.

“Yes,” Slash said. “It’s safe to go in.”

I went to the bathroom and then joined the men in the kitchen. Slash handed me another water bottle from the fridge, and I drank it almost as quickly as the first.

I checked my phone to see if the Wi-Fi was still operational, and indeed, it had connected. I headed directly to the office to begin setting up our equipment while Slash and Manny did a more thorough room-by-room check looking for bugs, cameras, or any surprise parting gifts that might have been left by the police.

They found nothing.

“I guess they really didn’t think the prime minister was here, or that, if she was, we’d come back,” Manny commented. “Or maybe they just want us to get comfortable.”

“Too late for that,” I said. “I haven’t been comfortable on the island since my last glass of banana-infused wine. One of the best parts of the honeymoon to this point.”

“I didn’t see any alcohol in the house,” Manny said. “But seriously, a glass of wine right now sounds pretty good to me.”

“We have to keep our wits sharp,” Slash said. “And let’s keep the house dark—except for a little light in this room or the kitchen—so it appears uninhabited. The curtains will remain tightly closed and all doors locked.”

“Party pooper,” I quipped, and that at least elicited a small smile from him. “Guess we should call and let the prime minister know our situation here.”

Manny pulled out his phone and called her, putting her on speaker so we could all hear. “Petra, we’ve made it and did a thorough check of the farmhouse and immediate area. It’s empty. It looks like Maivia’s forces left in a hurry—the place is mostly untouched. If your security agrees, I feel like it’s safe for you to return.”

“Okay,” she replied. “Let me talk to Henry and security, and we’ll call you back.”

Manny hung up and slid the phone in his pocket.

“Do you think she’ll come?” I asked him.

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