Barbara Silkstone - Wendy Darlin 01 - Wendy and the Lost Boys Read Free Page B

36,000 horsepower engines the Predator can outrun anything on the high seas.”
    I stood on tiptoe and whispered in Kit’s ear, “I think he’s about to have an orgasm.”
    “One of the best tricks we have is a contraption called an LRAD or Long Range Acoustic Device. It vibrates at decibels high enough to do permanent ear damage and cause vision problems. We just aim it at the pirates and knock their eyeballs out.”
    “What about your own eyeballs?” Kit asked.
    “We put plugs in our ears.”
    “What are the earplugs made of?”
    Hook turned on Kit. His expression reminded me of a lion about to pounce on a lamb. I elbowed Kit as a warning.
    “Marni, join me in the salon. I’d like to show you my antiquities,” Hook said.
    “Bet they’re between his legs,” Kit whispered.
    Jaxbee appeared to have heard him as she covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.
    The three of us walked to the stern and watched the crew go about their work. They were a fine collection of young studs. My buddy had an expression of complete bliss on his face as he watched the boys in white do their thing.
    Jaxbee smiled at him. “The crewmen are all school dropouts of one sort or another. Not the brightest stars, not overly brave, but they’re sweet and they take directions well.”
    “Perfect,” Kit said with a smile.
    “So the ship is new?” I asked.
    She nodded. “Four years from concept to completion. We’re getting ready to take her on her maiden voyage.”
    “No offense but it’s kind of overkill with all the contraptions,” I said.
    “Hook is sure we’re in for a financial rapture and that all the good billionaires will take to their super-yachts and live at sea while the rest of us drown.”
    Although I smiled as if she made a joke, I wondered if that was her reason for being onboard.
    “Must be a comforting feeling to know you’re impervious to pirate attacks. The way things are going these days,” I said.
    Jaxbee looked over her shoulder and then back at me. “Except for the damn swim platform.”
    “Swim platform?”
    “On Deck 2, there’s a Water Sports Marina with a swim platform. When that’s down, we’re vulnerable. Hook wouldn’t listen to me or the security experts when we were in the design stage.”
    “Another phallic thingie?” Kit asked.
    Jaxbee shrugged. “It’s for the mini-submarine, tender, and the water toys. I probably shouldn’t have shared that information, but you two don’t look like pirates.”
    “The only thing I’ve ever pirated is nail-art,” Kit said. “What’s a tender?”
    “It’s a small boat about thirty-feet long. We use it to run to shore. It tends to our needs. We call our tender Nibs .”
    The helicopter was in my line of sight beyond Jaxbee. “How did you happen to become a chopper pilot?”
    “When I was a kid I thought pixie dust helped you fly. I sprinkled some glitter on my head and leaped from a big oak tree in the park. After that, I realized lessons were a smarter way to go.”
    The three of us laughed.
    “I wish I had your guts. When I was eighteen I crash-landed a Cessna. My flight instructor told me I didn’t have what it takes. I never tried to fly again.”
    “I could teach you to fly the chopper. It’s more difficult than a plane, but a lot more fun. A couple of weeks and you’d be flitting around like a dragonfly.”
    “Warn me so I can duck,” Kit said.
    A thirty-something man with a Hugh Grant haircut, slight build, and a military bearing approached with a scowl on his face. “Jaxbee, we’ve been trying to reach you.”
    “I left my pager in my room. This is Dale, the ship’s quartermaster.”
    Not the politest quartermaster or human I’d ever met. He barely nodded exposing a tattoo of a spider on the right side of his neck. His eyes were the color of ice and just as warm. “We’re waiting for you in the chartroom.” He turned and left without so much as a nice meeting you.
    Jaxbee glared at the back of Dale’s head.
    Marni and