Page 56 of Silk Shadow

"Yeah, she's his goddaughter," Viper told him.

"Shit, really? He kept that quiet. Anyway, they've managed to trace the registered owners of the Pacific Pride to a shell company in El Salvador. Get this, the shell company is registered to a man affiliated with La Sombra Roja."

"Thought so," muttered Viper. "I recognized them from the hotel in San Diego.”

"Emily’s friends?" gasped Izzy, emerging from the bathroom.

Viper gave a slim nod. “Seems so. I’m sorry. That’s how they knew you were going to be on the yacht.”

“Em told them?” Her eyes were huge.

“Inadvertently,” Viper said, hastily.

Izzy sank down onto the bed. “I didn’t suspect them for a moment.”

Viper ground his jaw. “Nobody did.” Including him.

"What if we stayed here for a while?" Izzy said, softly.

Viper and Phoenix both looked at her.

"It's not a bad idea," Phoenix said, after a pause.

Viper felt a knot tighten in his stomach. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Exactly. Nobody knows I’m here," Izzy insisted, warming to her plan. "I didn't tell Robert, Pat won't mention anything, not even the police or FBI knows where we are. If the guys who kidnapped me are all dead, they can’t tell the cartel where we are. Even when they realize what's happened, they'll assume we're long gone."

"They might check the coastal hotels," Viper said, thinking that’s what he’d do.

"They won't expect you to stick around," Phoenix pointed out. "I think Izzy's right. The longer you stay holed up here the better. I'll go back to D.C., and we'll keep looking into who's behind this. In the meantime, you two sit tight."

"We'll have to run it by Pat," Viper said. He couldn't look at Izzy. He didn't want to see her wide eyes staring up at him.

Will you hold me?

Christ.

"I don't want this on my credit card,” he muttered.

Phoenix chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll sort that out. In the meantime, I need some decent clothes to wear before I leave for the airport. I can't catch a flight like this."

"That I can help you with." Izzy reached for the phone. "There's a vacation shop downstairs in the lobby. It looks like it sells clothes."

"You noticed that last night?" said Phoenix, astonished. "And here I thought I was observant."

"You're trained to notice terrorist threats and men with guns. I'm trained to notice retail."

Viper chortled.

She turned to the phone. "This is Victoria Granger, Room 202. Could you please put me through to the shop in the hotel lobby?"

The men listened as she reeled off their sizes and told the shop manager what they required.

Izzy grinned at them. "She'll be up in fifteen minutes with some samples."

"Good guess." Viper was impressed by how easily she'd sized them up.

"Well, that's sorted then," grinned Phoenix. "I know who to get to do my shopping for me, in future."