Page 47 of Wait for Me

“So can we go to your room?” Logan sounded pleading.

“You want to see my cabin.”

“Because it’s bound to be cleaner than mine.” Logan lowered his voice. “We can’t talk about things on the top deck or in any open area. I’ve been doing some investigating…”

Investigating?“No, Logan.”

“I meant research. Okay, I googled. Some things didn’t make sense.”

“The whole world doesn’t make sense sometimes.”

“Just give me an hour. If you still don’t think I’m onto something, then kick me out and I’ll be out of your way.”

The elevator door opened to their floor. Standing there, about to enter it, was Zaid, one of Aliyah’s bodyguards. He was dressed in a long-sleeved charcoal shirt, buttoned up to his neck. He had on a pair of slacks.

And military boots.

Marie made eye contact with him. He nodded to her. There was a hint of respect in his nod, as if…

No. Nobody knows who I am.

Zaid held the door, and waited for Marie and Logan to step out of the elevator.

“Thank you, Zaid,” Marie said quietly.

His eyebrows rose.

Yes, I know your name.

When the elevator door closed, Logan said, “Hmm. You know his name.”

“They mentioned it in the playroom.”

“The playroom, huh?”

“Yeah. We should take turns accompanying Jonas there. I’m not the only one on parent duty onboard the ship.” Marie led the way toward her stateroom.

“What’s Abdul’s mother’s name?”

Marie didn’t answer Logan until they were safely inside her stateroom. She kicked off her heels, and placed her purse in the safe.

“Aliyah,” she finally answered. “She introduced herself to me as such, but her assistant called her Your Highness.”

“No kidding. The plot thickens.” Logan sat down on the sofa, untied his shoelace, and pulled out his phone.

“There’s no plot.” Marie asked him if he wanted some water. He shook his head.

“Isn’t there?” Logan motioned for Marie to sit down. “I made a list.”

“I thought you were working all afternoon on your merger issues.”

“That, too, but this was bothering me, so I thought about it. I didn’t finish because I fell asleep.”

“At least you had a nap. I was watching Jonas the entire time, praying for God’s protection for us.” Marie sat down on the other side of the coffee table in a small armchair.

“I should pray more,” Logan said.

“To be honest, I’m trying not to read too much into what happened this morning in Ketchikan. So I turned around for a split second, and our five-year-old wandered out of the store with his new friend Abdul and his family.”

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