Murder on the High Seas - The Devereaux CaseFiles Book 3

Chapter 25

The next day, things started happening for the better. Everyone knew that it was the twenty-first day of their cruise and that they would, if Griffin kept his promise, be getting off the ship and away from their captivity that day. Most of the passengers were in a joyous bliss at knowing they would soon be free to enjoy the luxuries of hot showers, privacy, enough food for an entire kingdom, and the best of all...a soft mattress in a cosy bed all of their own. It was beyond good news.

Of course, for some people on board, it wasn't as great as it could have been. Questions still needed answered, things needed to be sorted in a way that they wouldn't come undone later, and frankly, Ayah was a little afraid of never seeing certain people again. She liked Brigit when she wasn't being cruel or vindictive, and she liked Griffin, but she didn't yet know the reality of whether or not she would see them again in the future. She hoped she would and to convince herself that things would work out as they were supposed to, she decided to take a little walk and find out for herself.

"I'm just going for a little walk, just to stretch my legs." She thought aloud to herself, making sure that Reed could hear her as he finished packing away the last of their things for going home.

"I'll come with you." He offered, but that would have ruined all her plans, so she turned to him and smiled, letting him know that she was perfectly safe, walking on board alone.

"No it's alright. You're busy. I'll not be long." She promised, turning back from the door and blowing him a kiss as she left the room. Reed didn't buy it for a second.

"Where have I heard that before?" He asked himself with a knowing smile. He knew she was up to something. She always was, but for now he would let her go off on her own and wait to find out the results of her 'little walk' later. The last time hadn't turned out too badly, and so he had to trust that she knew what she was doing.

Typically, Ayah did have other plans for her walk. She arrived at Griffin's cabin around the same time that Cuthbert was leaving, passing him in the corridor. Just as she put her hand on the door handle, she was surprised to find that it opened before she had turned her wrist. Griffin appeared to be leaving, smiling at her before passing by, without a word and following Cuthbert down the corridor. He looked like a man on a mission so she didn't bother speaking or attempting to stop him. Going inside, she found Brigit alone, packing her bags for the departure from the cruise ship that afternoon.

"Brigit, can we talk for a minute?" She wondered as she ventured into the room, surprising Brigit with her appearance. But also making her glad because she wanted to apologize for her previous behavior It wasn't her and she wanted to make sure that Ayah knew that and didn't hold it against her. She wanted them to stay friends. "I don't want you to think this is a lecture but I just want to warn you about men like Griffin...and Reed. They live dangerous lives, and one day, I hope you'll know the joy of hearing Griffin vow to give up this life for you. I don't want you to spend your life worrying that something's going to happen to him and that you'll lose him." Ayah confessed gently, not giving Brigit a chance to comment until she was finished explaining the purpose of her visit. She could already see her looking surprised and a little defensive when she mentioned 'men like Griffin', but she wanted her to know the truth and have the chance of making an educated decision.

"But I thought... Griffin said you were trying to get us together." She wondered, surprised to hear Ayah speaking as if she regretted being with Reed, who she found utterly charming and the perfect husband for her friend. It didn't seem to make much sense that she was warning her off now that it was too late.

"I was. I don't want to make you think it's not worth being with him, I just want you to know what your life is going to be like from now on. If you know, then you're going in with your eyes wide open." Ayah shrugged, not wanting to go into details about how she and Reed had met and fallen in love. She rather thought that if she had at least been forewarned about his life and his true identity, she would have had more time to come to terms with it and accept it. Instead, she was constantly worried about him, especially now that she knew they could get wrapped up in the agency's business without him being involved with the agency any more.