Page 30 of Finding Elodie
“I will,” she told him shakily.
She could’ve swore Scott leaned closer, and Elodie held her breath, wondering if he was actually going to kiss her—until the door behind them slammed open.
Scott moved immediately, standing and blocking her from whoever had entered.
“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you!” Manuel said. “I’m here to help Rachel clean up. Everyone’s starving, and I figured if I cleaned, she could get something started so people didn’t start gnawing on their arms.”
Elodie quickly put the paper with Scott’s number in her back pocket as she stood. She put one hand on Scott’s back and felt nothing but hard muscles shifting under her touch. “I was just about to get started,” she said softly, bending the truth a bit.
“I think we’re going to have extra company onboard until we get into port,” Manuel said. “The Navy guys and gals are staying for our protection, and to make sure there are enough people to steer this thing.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” she told her second cook. Mentally, she began to calculate how much food she needed to make. Definitely a larger portion than normal, simply because people were hungry. They’d need protein and carbs, and it would need to be something fast and easy. Maybe chicken parmesan with plenty of noodles.
She’d been so lost in her head, she’d almost forgotten Scott was standing there. Manuel headed for the pantry and the galley, and she looked up at the SEAL in front of her. He had a small smile on his face.
“What?” she asked a little self-consciously.
“You like what you do.”
“I do,” she agreed. “Are you and your team staying, or the other SEAL team?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Scott told her, and Elodie couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “But you’ve got my number. You can talk to me anytime you want,” he reminded her.
Elodie wanted to be able to give him her number in return, but she didn’t have a cell phone. Didn’t even have an email address. She’d found out the hard way how easy that stuff was to track. Besides, she didn’t have anyone she wanted to stay in contact with. No family. No friends. She was truly alone in the world.
“Thank you again for saving my life,” Scott said.
“Thank you for saving mine,” Elodie retorted.
“Be happy,” he told her as he took a step toward the exit.
“You stay safe out there,” Elodie returned.
“Always.”
Then he nodded at her and disappeared through the door.
Elodie stood in the middle of the crew dining area staring at the door for several moments. Her life had been so crazy in the last twenty-four hours, she wouldn’t have believed it was possible if she hadn’t lived through it.
“Rachel! Get a move on!” Manuel called out teasingly.
Closing her eyes for a second, Elodie patted her back pocket, making sure the paper was still there before turning and heading for the galley. She had no idea what her next steps would be, but it was nice to have at least one option, even if that option would put Scott and his team in danger. She didn’t think she’d accept his offer, but it was comforting to have all the same.
Putting thoughts of what she was going to do once the ship arrived at port out of her head, Elodie concentrated on doing what she did best…cooking.
* * *
Days later, Paul Columbus sat in his office in New York City and stewed. He owned the entire fiftieth floor of the apartment complex he lived in. The penthouse. He had more money than he could spend in two lifetimes. People both feared and respected him.
And yet he was deeply unsettled.
Being the head of one of the most powerful mob families in New York meant he had to constantly be on his toes. It wasn’t as easy to escape the scrutiny of the law as it had been in the old days. His grandfather used to pay off the cops, and that left him free to do pretty much whatever he wanted.
Paul’s father had to be more careful, but he’d still had some of the older detectives on his payroll. After he’d died, Paul had done what he could to cultivate friends on the police force—even through coercion and blackmail—but he hadn’t been very successful. That meant he had to run his empire with extreme caution.
He relied heavily on his people. And months ago, after a thorough search, he’d found who he’d thought was the perfect addition to his staff. The damn woman had almost no one. No family. Few friends. She also had no street smarts. She was incredibly naïve…the perfect choice to groom for his organization.
He’d treated her kindly, done his best to make her feel at home, to build her loyalty to the family, and he’d thought he’d succeeded. She’d seemed happy and content. Grateful.
