Escape To Sunset - Sharon Hamilton Page 0,61

area below.

But it would never accommodate Jason’s large frame. Probably was too small for Damon even.

“I saw waiters riding one of these down from the dining room when a bunch of us took a San Diego to Mexico cruise last year.”

“Seriously?” Damon whispered; his forehead wrinkled.

“Yup. He even balanced a tray over his head, held on with the other hand. But these are little guys.”

“No wasted space.”

“I’ll bet there’s a maze all over this ship the passengers never see.”

Damon whistled.

“Come on, let’s quickly transfer the dishes and get this cart out to the lobby like Kyle asked.” As Damon began the transfer, Jason checked the hallway in both directions to make sure no one was coming. He could hear the guards just around the bend, their voices bouncing off the slick metal-paneled surfaces of the narrow hallway. He guessed their accent was either Dutch or German.

With a bucket and several rags, along with some rolls of toilet paper, they wheeled the cart to the marble-floored lobby area and began to wipe down handrails, spraying cleaner while they worked. Jason covered the stairway to the half floor while Damon worked the lobby elevator doors and beyond where a glass railing overlooked the interior lobby cathedral.

Uniformed staff passed by and didn’t say a word. Several young waitresses took the elevators down, speaking in some Oriental tongue. There were no passengers coming through, so Jason guessed they were all housed in the bow where he noted the larger suites were located adjacent to the pool and private access to the gym and spa areas.

He joined Damon, looking over the glass balcony at an empty interior. Only the sounds of bottles being stacked, and glasses being stored interrupted the happy music piped in from everywhere that was giving him a headache.

Several floors down, they watched Kyle talking to a ship’s officer, along with three other uniformed personnel. One of them appeared to be the captain. The two smiled warmly and shook hands then separated. Fredo and Cooper headed off with the handsome officer, while Kyle disappeared in the opposite direction, his phone to his ear.

They continued their mock cleaning until Jason felt the rumble of the ship’s engines cranking up. There were sounds of shouting as something was developing at one of the lower levels. Jason ran to the side, the sliding glass doors opening to the outside deck. As they glanced down, they saw the ship actually pushing away from the pier, without the gangway and umbrella covering being removed first. Several armed guards appeared, running down the pier, until they ran into a group of Civil Guards, who had taken a reddish-haired, pink-skinned gentleman in a white suit prisoner and were leading him to a waiting police vehicle just beyond the gates.

The security detail stood down immediately and watched as the man was escorted by them in handcuffs.

“Holy shit, he’s right,” said Jason.

“Is that who I think it is?” asked Damon.

“Fuckin’ Jens Vandershoot.”

“We better get back to the hallways,” barked Damon as they turned to go back to their positions. Just before they left the deck, Jason saw the gangway twisted like soft aluminum and fall into the sea.

“Did you know about this?” asked Damon.

“Fuck no. But he said something about going for a cruise today. Do you suppose everyone got on board? Now what do we do?”

“We each take a hall and don’t let anyone pass,” said Damon.

The two guards on Jason’s side were still there, but they were rapidly speaking into a device that crackled and gave back no instructions. Doors were opening on the floor. Jason could see young women poking their heads out and being ordered to return their rooms. But panic was beginning to take over, and a small crowd had developed behind them.

Jason knew the guards were about to abandon their post and got ready to detain them. He hoped the women stayed out of his way. He surprised the first guard and quickly held his knife to the man’s throat. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye as Fredo, T.J., and several others came barreling down the hallway, giving the assist, tossing the man to his knees and securing his hands with zip ties next to his encumbered teammate. Danny and Trace reassured the girls that they were safe and escorted them back to their rooms.

Jason’s pulse was racing as he leaned against the wall, fumbling for the pocket to stow his knife. T.J. walked up to him and placed his hand