Page 106 of What Doesn't Kill You…

The first woman gestured to the dead guard. "He takes them until morning, so we can't hide drugs and steal from the boss. We don't know where he puts them."

Well, there was nothing he could do about getting them dressed.

Abasi took out his phone and gestured to the woman nearest him. "Take this and film everything. Start at the end of the table nearest the door and finish with what's inside the boxes."

She nodded and hurried to obey. As she did so, a familiar voice came over the radio attached to the dead man's belt.

"Anybody out there? This is Lake's friend. I'm all alone in this storm and looking for someone to talk to. If you're one of Lake's friends too, maybe you could answer and let me know if you're okay. I was outside earlier and took a beating from the weather. It's wild tonight. You hear me?"

Abasi smiled. Guess Max was still alive. Good for him.

He gestured to the dead man. "You with the red bra, get the radio and hand it to me."

The woman rushed to do as she was told and gave it to him with trembling fingers. Abasi didn't bother smiling to reassure her. They'd gotten themselves into this mess. They knew exactly what they were doing for their money and what the risks would be.

"Now, ladies," he said. "We have a problem. I can't let you tell Damien's crew about my visit here tonight, which means I'm not sure what to do with you. Any ideas?"

They shared a look before one of them piped up. "There's the ladies bathroom. It's big and has a lock, and the men don't use it. It's outside the building to the left. You could lock us in there and nobody will open it until morning."

Abasi was impressed. "Works for me. Lead the way."

It took no more than a couple of minutes to herd them outside and secure them in the little concrete room. Abasi wasn't worried about them. There was a window for air, and they had water and a toilet. Someone could deal with them in the morning. Hopefully by then the team would be long gone from the island.

He took out the radio he'd gotten from the dead guy and turned the dial to channel seven.

"Hey Ginger," he said. "This is the Englishman. I need you to pass a message on to your aunty." He grinned, Rochelle would hate being called Evan's aunt. "She might want to tell her friends to hurry up and pay their respects over that dead relative of theirs. They should know he's done a lot of good for his other family, looks like they've been very grateful too. But I'm worried if your friends don't turn up soon, his legacy will have disappeared." Yeah, that wasn't very subtle, but talking in code had never been his thing. All he could do was hope none of Damien's men were listening in.

"Aunty says she'll let them know," Evan said.

"I strongly advise they visit tonight," Abasi said. "Tell them to bring flowers. Their friend's family loves flowers. You could say they're addicted to them."

"Got it," Evan said. "Aunty said maybe you should go help Lake's friends look for the storm chaser. All hands on deck.”

"I'm on it," Abasi said.

He switched off the radio and started running towards the estate house as the rain bit at his face. He hoped like hell his not-so-subtle message got through to the DEA, because he suspected that after tonight, Damien would clean up shop and get rid of his drug smuggling sideline.

That's exactly what Abasi would have done in his position.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

"This isn't going to work," Violet whispered to her stalker.

They were hiding around the corner from the sitting room, out of sight of the men guarding the doors. There were four heavily armed men in the hallway, and no way to get past them without alerting their boss.

"We could kill them," Alan said.

"We can't hide our approach, and as soon as they see us, they'll shoot. We need to find another way inside." She closed her eyes and brought up a mental image of the map she'd found. "If we go out through the dining room, we can sneak along the veranda and get a look through the sitting room windows."

"There will be guards positioned there too."

"Yeah, but at least they won't hear us coming in this weather. We should be able to take them out without raising the alarm."

He inclined his head, deferring to her.

Violet gestured back along the corridor to the dining room. They hurried into it and made their way past the grand dining table to the doors. Alan held one of them open as Violet slipped outside.

Horizontal rain blasted along the veranda, which had been transformed into a wind tunnel. The white wooden boards beneath their feet were sodden and it felt like they were walking on a slip-and-slide. Violet crouched low, weapon up, and hugged the wall as they made their way to the corner of the house that led to the sitting room.