Mong swallows. Hard. I can see it across his face as he turns over my words, drawing his own conclusions. “Right, uh, but couldn’t you have just explained that instead of knocking me out and tying me up?”
I nod and smile. “Yes, but as I said already, the nature of this mission is very sensitive. One wrong step and all the progress we’ve made will be lost.” Turning to Hex, I cross my arms. “My partner is new and, evidently, still needs guidance regarding certain procedures.”
Hex’s frown is adorable. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,agent. Next time, no inviting civilians to drink and play board games, gotcha.”
Mong continues to look perplexed, but at least he’s no longer on the brink of a freak-out. Now for the tricky part.
I let go of the chain and lean in. “I’ll remove the restraints now, but before that I would like to ask for you cooperation in our investigation. No one must know why we are here, and I would like you to stay in our cabin for the time being. We’ll provide food, drinks, entertainment and anything you might require in the meantime. You are also not to make contact with anyone.”
Mong’s expression transitions back to cautious. “Right, but I have work. I can’t just skip.”
“Don’t worry about that!” Hex pipes up with a smile. “Aran can do that instead of you while you stuff your face with ice-cream and marathon our favorite series or anime. And you can call in sick too.”
“I don’t know. No offense, but this is really suspicious.”
Batting his eyelashes, Hex gasps. “No way! You think I’d be lying about this? I’m sorry about this misunderstanding, but we need your help, Mong. You think it wouldn’t have been easier for us to drug you and keep you sedated instead of apologizing and explaining what happened? C’mon.” He hooks a finger at me. “And Aran… He just pretends to be scary because he’s super awkward with people.”
I flex my hand so hard I feel my nails dig into my palm. I swear that Hex and his big mouth will get us killed one of these days. But as I observe comprehension dawn on Mong while a smile slowly curves his lips, I am also fascinated by my troublemaker’s craziness.
“Yeah, okay. You are right. You couldn’t hurt a fly and…” He smiles wryly at me. “I used to be shy around others, too. Found it easier to play the scary badass and keep them away, but if you want some pointers on how to overcome that, just tell me. I’ll be happy to help.”
Hex snatches the scissors from me and undoes the restraints as I watch the two joke at my expense. I can’t believe this actually worked. Mong shakes his arms and legs, getting blood circulating. His stomach churns and both he and Hex laugh.
“Oh, I bet you are hungry. We got some stuff in the fridge.” Hex rips the tape he put around the counters’ edges so that Mong wouldn’t hurt himself. “Ham and cheese toastie okay with you?”
Cracking his neck, Mong sits at the devices-riddled dining table. “Sure.”
Two minutes later, all three of us are eating slightly burned sandwiches, courtesy of Hex. Normally, I wouldn’t allow something like this, but it seems to put Mong at ease, which makes he more likely to answer my questions.
“Sorry, um, Aran is usually the one cooking,” Hex chirps, not sounding sorry at all.
I have the urge to cradle his face and squish his cheeks.
“It’s no problem, really.” Mong chuckles, a flirtatious note accompanying his laughter.
It grates on my nerves and before I think better of it, I pull Hex’s chair to me and throw an arm around his waist so I can plaster him to my side. He squeals in surprise, but recovers quickly, aiming a blinding grin my way that gets my heart pumping like mad.
“Are you two… together?” Mong tosses, winking at Hex.
“No—”
“Yes! Aran is not only my partner, but also my fiancé!”
Mong’s eyes go wide, a smile stretching his lips a moment later. “Shit, I knew something was up. I’ve never been glared at the way your man does it. Should’ve realized a cutie like you would already be taken,” he muses, wiggling his eyebrows at Hex. Then, bringing his hands together in an apologetic gesture, he looks at me. “Sorry for flirting with your fiancé.”
Something settles in my chest, and I decide to let Hex’s lie slide. It seems like it will also deter Mong from any further attempts to hit on my troublemaker, so I take that as a win.
“Apology accepted, but make sure it doesn’t happen again,” I say and take a bite from my burned toastie. This is enough small talk, so I think we are ready to move onto the interrogating part.
Just as I decide which question to start with, Mong says, “So, this might sound weird, but since we cleared the air and I am already kind of dragged into this, I was wondering if maybe you could tell me in more detail what this is about so I could maybe help you with your investigation?”
I bristle the moment Hex’s eyes light up in excitement. A momentary foreboding feeling surges through me, but as Hex aims a hopeful glance my way and tangles our fingers together under the table, I take a few seconds to consider Mong’s suggestion.
I had Hex check the guy. He came back with nothing suspicious—he’s just a hardworking waiter who got lucky landing this gig. He doesn’t know any of the bigshots and neither has he worked for them. He also has a younger sister who needs surgery, which is the reason he even applied for a staff position on this cruise.
He’s trustworthy. And besides, somehow, Hex has him completely wrapped around his finger. I am still baffled that he bought our story, but then again, mixing a half-truth with some very convincing bluffing while having a friendly guy like Hex on my side makes the possibility of us being the bad guys very hard to swallow.
“We are hunting down a drug ring,” I say, propping my elbows on the table. “And we have reason to believe that a number of the VIP guests are involved in it.”
