The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (great novels .txt) 📕

I want to board while your offices are still open in case there’s any trouble with security.”

“Sounds good. Logan, as much as I hate the thought that this is one of our people, I agree with you. If I could report by the end of the cruise that we’ve identified the distributor and the route onto the ship and have shut it down, that would satisfy the insurers. Otherwise . . .” I can’t see it, but I can almost hear his shrug. “Things are going to get tough.”

“Understood.”

More pressure.

After we say our goodbyes and Ed hangs up, Michael raises an eyebrow at me. “Maybe I need to polish up my resume.”

“I hope not.” But I can’t really offer him any assurances beyond that.

“You don’t always get your man?”

“I’m not Poirot. The most logical assumption is that the distributor tossed my cabin. They didn’t find anything, but they at least suspect what I’m doing. Easiest thing is for them to simply close up shop until I go away.”

“By which time the insurers may have closed down the cruise.”

“I’m afraid so.” Pressure, pressure, pressure. I roll my shoulders. I can only do what I can do. “How about this brick?”

Michael’s done a good job with both the pills, which are in a prescription bottle that has my name on the convincing-looking label, and the liquid brick, which is in a sports drink bottle.

“Local pharmacy,” Michael says, tapping the pill-bottle label. “Prescription antihistamines. If you’re questioned, your doctor called the prescription down for you to pick up while you were ashore. That’s plausible. For the solution, don’t open the bottle whatever you do. The smell is worse than Saturday night in emergency.”

I wrinkle my nose and make a mental note to keep the bottle separate from all my other stuff in case of leakage. “Thanks for the warning. Anything else I should know?”

“Nothing I can think of. Teresa and I are flying back to L.A. tonight. You’ve got my cell. Don’t hesitate to call me if anything comes up.”

I offer him my hand. “Thanks for everything, Michael.”

“My pleasure. Shall we go find our ladies before they buy out the town? I know the boutique Teresa will have taken Emily to.”

“Now that’s a plan.”

* * *

Out on the street, the heat wraps me in a humid embrace. Remembering Emily’s Aliens quip has me chuckling as we make our way through the crowded streets towards the Marina.

“Always this busy?” I ask Michael, as I detour around a pair of sunburned tourists who are blocking the entire sidewalk as they point at beach tat in a shop window.

He snorts. “This is off-peak. You should see it when the snowbirds are here. And the spring breakers. We’ve stopped running cruises during spring break. It’s too crazy. Impossible to get a spare square inch on the beaches, and it’s wall-to-wall here in town.”

I don’t usually have an issue with crowds, but between the sun bouncing off the concrete and the sticky heat of other bodies, I’m not just ready for the air-conditioned store, but also to head back to the boat. Even the deep freeze of my cabin is preferable to this heat. It’s also been several hours since I fucked Emily, which my balls are informing me is just too long.

A blast of cold air at the boutique’s entrance revives me, although not enough to want to actually shop. The sight of my little girl bouncing towards me lifts my spirits even more.

She grins, eyes alight, as she approaches, and I can’t keep an answering, goofy grin off my face. We’ve been apart less than an hour and I’m ridiculously happy to see her. Everything feels lighter when I’m with my little girl. The worries are still there: finding the brick pusher before Pink Pearl’s insurers shut them down, figuring out what the Hell to do about Miranda and Colin and the baby. But they’re a featherweight instead of a megaton.

When she reaches me, I run my knuckles down her soft, soft cheek and tap the small paper bag she has tucked under one arm. She immediately tries to shift it behind her, as though that’ll make it disappear.

“Find something you liked?”

“It’s a surprise. For you. When we get back to New York.”

“Is it?” What could she have found for me in this store? It’s not a women’s clothes-type boutique. It’s more artsy, with handmade glass, metal and fabric bits filling the shelves. The only thing I see that I’d actually want are a couple of bottles of Blue Mango craft beer, but the package Emily’s holding is too small to contain beer bottles. Still, I’ll never say “no” to a gift from my baby girl. “Thank you, sweetie.”

“It’s just a souvenir. I mean, it’s not as nice as this.” She touches the pearl on her collar. “But maybe it will remind you of our trip.”

“I’m sure it will. I look forward to seeing it when we get home.”

She goes up on her toes and when I lean in, nuzzles and then kisses me in the spot under my jaw she likes.

“You ready to brave the heat again while we see the sights?” I ask, sliding my arm around her shoulders.

She nods but the light in her eyes fades a little.

“Everything okay, baby doll?”

She shifts from foot to foot. Everything’s not okay, but she’s nervous about telling me.

“Communication, Emmy. What’s up?”

“I’m—would it be okay if I said I was kind of Cabo-ed out? Are there things you want to see?”

Not really. The sightseeing was for her benefit, not mine.

“Would you like to head back to the boat?”

“If it would be okay with you,” she says, vibrating with anxiety. This is the flip side of her intense desire to please me. It brings every protective instinct I have roaring to the surface. “I just—I feel like I might have had too much sun.”

“Never be afraid of telling me when you’ve had too much.” I draw her a little closer and kiss her forehead. “We’ve had a nice day.