“I’ll see you in a couple of days.” Evan gave a salute, then set off up the stairs, grinning.

“Wait. You’re not coming?” I called after him.

“He has business to attend for me,” Xavier said, his mouth straightened with concentration as he pulled the choke on the tender.

“Oh. Okay. So, you don’t need a bodyguard in Corsica?” I asked skeptically.

He raised an eyebrow and gunned the engine. “It’s an unplanned visit.”

“But didn’t you say you had a lunch meeting? How is that unplanned?” I raised my voice to be heard.

“You ask a lot of questions.”

I texted Andrea. Don’t be surprised. I’m headed back to the boat.

The afternoon sun was warm on my bare arms and simple white t-shirt. Though the water was slightly rough. A wind had picked up. I slipped my sunglasses over my eyes and focused on our traverse across the water, holding tight to the plastic handles on the tender sides.

Another yacht was in the small bay. A hulking gray monolith that could be military looking if not for the spacecraft-style design elements of curves and reflective glass and the two bikini-clad girls dancing to unheard music on the sun deck. A Russian flag flew from the aft deck. I glanced toward Xavier to see if he’d noticed, but he looked directly ahead to our destination.

“I’m confused,” I blurted, trying to be heard over the wind.

“What about?” He steered toward the stern of our anchored boat.

“Your change of heart. I’d have thought you’d have been glad to be rid of me. You almost were. What changed?”

He slowed the engine and pointed at the rope coiled by my feet. I’d seen him and Evan do this enough times that I knew he needed me to grab the cleat of the swim deck and tie us on when we neared.

I grabbed the rope and focused on getting us secured. “I mean, I know Evan thought it would be nice for me to see Corsica, but you didn’t need to go along with it.”

“It was my idea. Not his.”

My head snapped up to his, but I could read nothing behind his sunglasses.

“Josie! You’re back.” Paco came down the steps, effectively ending the chance of getting any kind of elaboration to that odd statement.

I returned the captain’s grin because it was impossible not to. “Captain Paco. The fates didn’t want me to leave today. There was a strike and I couldn’t get the train.”