Page 76 of What Doesn't Kill You…

Rochelle shared a look with Abasi and had a feeling they were thinking the same thing.

"No, we'll hold off until we know more," she said. "If we tell them now, they'll want to pull the plug on the op, and I don't want that to happen until we're absolutely certain there's no way to salvage this situation."

Evan shifted in his seat, looking more nervous than usual. "Uh, shouldn't we tell them before the wedding? I mean, there's no point in them going through with it if they don't have to."

"I'm not worried about the wedding," Rochelle said. "It's only for show anyway. There's nothing legally binding about it. The worst that can happen is Violet has to explain everything to her family afterward, and then deal with their reactions."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that." Abasi rocked back on his heels. "Last I checked, they'd signed the paperwork for a marriage license and the officiant was traveling over from St. Patrice to take care of the ceremony. That sounds pretty legal to me."

Suddenly, the orange juice she'd swallowed felt like acid in Rochelle's stomach. "Are you joking? Because that isn't funny. As far as I know, this is purely a symbolic ceremony, and the paperwork has to be filed back home to make it legal."

Abasi was shaking his head. "I checked. Max picked the Eternal Love package, which comes with a marriage license. It cost him a few hundred bucks extra for the paperwork, and I wondered why he'd chosen that package when cash is tight and he could have saved some money by forgoing the license. Turns out it was the cheapest option available for this weekend, so I guess he just took it."

Rochelle rubbed the back of her neck. "Most likely, he never even checked what was involved in the package. He was probably more worried about securing a spot on the island when he needed it."

"Oh crap," Evan said, clasping his hands on top of his head. "Does this mean Max and Violet are really getting married?"

"Yeah," Abasi answered. "The question is, do we tell them?"

Rochelle glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. "The wedding isn’t for a few hours yet. I'll call my contacts and see if I can find a way to force the meeting back onto the island. Until we know for sure the meeting isn't being held where we can’t watch it, we don't say a word to the rest of the team. Am I clear?"

Abasi nodded.

Evan turned a horrible shade of green. "Even if it means they'll have to get married?"

Rochelle nodded grimly. "Even then."

"Oh man," Evan muttered. "Violet is going to kill us all."

Rochelle feared he might be right.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Loud knocking woke Violet from a deep sleep, and she became sharply aware of two things. First, the sun was streaming in through the skylight above the bed, which meant they'd overslept. And secondly, she was back lying on top of Max like he was her own personal body pillow.

Disgusted with herself, she grunted, climbed off him and took a step toward the door. That's when she realized a third thing—she was naked. She retrieved her pajamas from the floor and quickly threw them on.

On the bed, Max stirred. "Is somebody at the door? Must be breakfast." He reached for his phone. "Thanks for ordering it," he said flashing a smile.

Violet stilled. "I didn't order food."

She hurried around the bed to the table where she'd left her gun and removed it from the holster.

"Get dressed," she ordered.

She was pleased when Max did as he was told. He was out of bed and in his pajama bottoms before she made it to the living room.

"You don't think it's Damien's goons, do you?" he said as he followed her, pulling on his T-shirt.

"I know it isn't Rodrigo and Katrina, because they didn't say they were meeting us here this morning." She looked back over her shoulder. "Stay in the bedroom, out of sight. If anything happens, call Rodrigo. Got it?"

He nodded and stepped back, phone at the ready.

Quietly, Violet made her way toward the front door. As she passed the dining table, it thudded again.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"It's your mother," her mum practically sang the response. "We're here to get you ready for your wedding."