Page 69 of Created in Chaos

“I’m not changing out in the open.” I look at the guy behind the wheel, a little surprised he would even suggest it.

“Not this boat.” Nox shakes his head and points out to the water. “The Leviathan.”

I follow his finger to a massive white yacht floating a few hundred yards out. “Holy crap,” I mumble.

LUCIAN

I watch Nova’s profile as she turns to look out at the water. Her eyes go wide before she gives it a double take. “That’s the boat?”

I love the awe in her tone and the fact that she doesn’t take any of this for granted. “It’s the one we will be using today.” I want to tell her we have other, larger yachts, but this one can get closer to the island and is docked locally, but I keep my mouth shut. I don’t need to try to impress Nova. She probably doesn’t even care beyond the fact that she’ll have some place to feel safe and change her clothes. It’s almost funny she thought we would let her strip out in the open.

“The Leviathan can’t dock at the island. The water is too shallow,” Nox explains.

“Do you just keep it floating out there all the time?”

“No, it’s kept at a nearby marina when we’re not using it.”

“It’s huge.” She looks back at it again.

I chuckle under my breath, but I don’t deliver the obvious joke.

The wind picks up as we get into deeper waters, and the captain speeds up, making quick work of getting us onboard the Leviathan. The full crew is there to greet us. “Sirs, will anyone else be joining us, or are we clear to get underway?”

“It will just be us,” I answer, then dismiss the captain with a nod, leaving the rest of the crew behind as we guide Nova over the decks for a short tour before heading inside.

“I should have known.” She lays the bag on one of the couches with care.

“Known what?” Nox plops down.

“That wasn’t the boat. You guys don’t do anything small.”

“Not where it counts.” Nox grins, causing Nova to roll her eyes.

I lean down to give her a kiss on the top of her head but stop short when I realize where we are and who could be watching. “I need to speak with the crew, don’t let him get you into trouble while I’m gone,” I mutter instead.

“What kind of trouble could Nox get me into?” She peers up at me, all sweet curiosity.

“How do you usually get in trouble?” I run my fingers along her jaw, even though I know I shouldn’t. Fuck the rules. She leans into my touch, confirming I made the right move.

“With you, it could be anything.”

“Not true.” I step away from her temptation. “This place isn’t like the house. The crew will come and go, so there’s no privacy here.”

“Oh, you think I’ll be in that kind of trouble.” Her eyelids lower, and she averts her gaze.

“I just happen to be very aware of how enticing you are, pet, but I did say Nox would be the one who would get you in trouble.”

She peeks at me again. There’s a little suspicion in her sharp gaze, but she’s not upset, so I can live with that.

“Be back soon.” I walk away from her before I do the very thing I accused my brother of and try to strip her bare.

I head straight to the security room to meet with the members of our team who are already on board, including Lev and Morozov. “Do we have everything in place for tonight?”

“We’re green,” Lev answers, telling me everything I need to know.

“Good. I’ll meet you when it’s time to go.”

“Vera is meeting with Bridget tomorrow afternoon. She says she has information you’ll want. She’s asking for a million and help disappearing.”

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