Chapter 242: Going On A Vacation 3 [Edited]

The main villa of the Sovereign Crest Compound stretched across the cliffside in polished cedar, dark slate, and floor-to-ceiling glass, its open-air corridors facing the endless turquoise horizon.

Warm sea air moved through the estate, carrying the scent of saltwater and tropical flowers, while sunlight reflected off the private pools below and turned the entire western atoll into something that looked almost unreal.

To Marina and Katie, it was paradise.

To Selena, it was three weeks without paperwork.

To Julie, it was apparently the greatest content opportunity of her career. But to Nicholas, standing alone in the middle of the estate with his eyes quietly measuring every doorway and window, it was a structural liability with seventeen unmonitored entry points.

’How is security so poor here?’

While Marina and Katie were busy choosing bedrooms on the lower tier, and Nectron was effortlessly carrying Julie’s mountain of metal equipment cases up the grand spiral staircase, Nicholas was on a clock.

He moved through the multi-level estate with silent, measured steps. In his hands, he carried a compact set of non-reflective field binoculars, a pocket laser rangefinder, and a roll of heavy adhesive dampening tape.

"Target distance to eastern reef: four hundred and twenty yards," Nicholas murmured under his breath, adjusting the focus ring. "Elevated sniper nest on the ridge line provides an eighty-degree kill zone covering the private dock. If an assault team drops from high altitude, secondary egress requires a hard sprint through the palm grove..."

A hand reached over his shoulder and snatched the binoculars straight out of his grip.

Nicholas didn’t flinch; he turned with a raised brow.

Selena stood behind him, holding the confiscated field glasses in one hand and a tall, frosty glass filled with crushed ice, layered mango juice, and a tiny pink paper umbrella in the other. She had kicked off her sandals, leaving her bare feet against the sun-warmed cedar deck. Her dark blue sundress moved gently in the ocean breeze, her hair falling loosely past her shoulders instead of being pinned back into the severe style she wore around the Association.

"You have been on this island for exactly fifty-four minutes," Selena said, her voice flat with exasperation. "And in that time, you’ve done nothing but inspect everything."

"The floorboard had an acoustic flex," Nicholas replied smoothly, looking at her without blinking. "An intruder crossing that hall would have had an auditory warning before I could clear the doorway."

"Nicholas, there are no intruders," Selena said, stepping forward and practically shoving the cold tropical drink into his chest. "We are on a private atoll three hundred miles away from the continental coast. There are no strike teams, no assassins, and no council mandates. Drink the juice."

Nicholas looked down at the bright orange liquid and the absurd paper umbrella. "Won’t be surprised if you’re the one trying to kill me."

"It is a mango smoothie, you absolute maniac," Selena scoffed, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him toward the cushioned outdoor lounge sectional in the corner of the balcony.

"Sit down, before I have Nectron make you."

Nicholas allowed himself to be pushed into the plush, deep cushions. He set the drink on the teak table, though his gaze immediately drifted back to the ridge line across the cove.

Selena leaned against the balcony rail, crossing her arms as she looked down at him with an amused, shaking head.

"Look at you," Selena remarked, a smirk playing on her lips. "You look physically uncomfortable just sitting on a soft chair. Have you ever had a vacation in your life?"

"Well, I once went to the beach... to clean up and get paid," Nicholas stated calmly.

"That is not a vacation; that is pre-meditated maintenance," Selena retorted, rolling her eyes.

"You are officially off the clock. No contracts and no surveillance. For the next three weeks, your only objective is to relax."

Nicholas leaned back, his eyes moving over her casual sundress and bare shoulders.

"You’re not doing a very good job of being a supervisor right now," Nicholas noted. "Without the sharp suit and the clipboard, you look almost human for once."

Selena froze, a sudden flare of warmth catching the curve of her neck. Her eyes narrowed, trying to maintain her authoritative glare, though the faint pink creeping into her cheeks ruined the effect entirely.

"I am always human, brat," Selena snapped, looking away toward the ocean. "Some of us just know how to dress for the occasion."

"The suit makes you look like you’re about to audit someone’s tax returns," Nicholas said, picking up the glass and taking a tiny sip through the straw. He paused. "...The mango is acceptable."

"High praise coming from a culinary critic who eats instant noodles cold," Selena muttered, though the satisfaction in her smile was unmistakable.

Before Nicholas could answer, a loud, deliberate scuffle echoed from inside the suite behind them.

"Operation Sandbox is go!" Katie’s high-pitched, childish whisper carried clearly through the open glass doors.

"Shh! Katie, keep your voice down, you’re ruining the audio!" Julie’s muffled hiss followed immediately.

"Katie is a master of stealth!" Katie proclaimed loudly.

A heavy mechanical clack echoed from the outer hallway, followed by the solid, definitive sound of a brass deadbolt locking firmly into place from the outside.

Selena’s posture stiffened instantly. "What was that?"

Nicholas was off the couch in a fraction of a second. He crossed the master bedroom in three silent strides, reaching the heavy double oak doors that led to the central living pavilion. He turned the solid brass handle.

It didn’t budge.

He tested the latch with calculated upward pressure. "The door is locked."

Selena walked up behind him, rattling the handle in frustration. "Katie! Unlock this door right now!"

From the other side of the heavy wood, Katie’s voice came through, sounding entirely innocent and profoundly proud of herself.

"Katie cannot hear you! Katie is going to the beach with Marina to build a sand fortress! Big brother and Selena need to stay in the room and talk about their feelings until they are ready to get married!"

"KATHERINE MARO!" Selena gasped, her entire face turning a brilliant shade of scarlet. "Open this door this instant, or I am taking all of your colouring books for the rest of the summer!"

"Aunt Julie said that empty threats carry zero weight!" Katie shouted back cheerfully. "Goodbye! Have a romantic afternoon!"

Selena rubbed her forehead, "So Julie put her up to this, what do they want to achieve!"

Small footsteps raced down the hallway, followed by Julie’s muffled giggles and Marina’s unmistakable laughter as the villa’s front door finally clicked shut behind them.

Selena leaned her forehead against the cool wood of the door, letting out a long, groaning sigh into the oak.

"I am going to throw your sister into the ocean," Selena muttered into the wood. "And then I am going to feed Julie’s camera to a shark."

"Julie’s camera contains lithium batteries," Nicholas said, examining the door frame with analytical detachment. "It would give the shark indigestion."

"Nicholas, not the time." Selena spun around, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as she paced the bedroom.

The master suite was expansive enough to make the situation feel absurd; an enormous canopy bed occupied one side of the room, while the opposite wall opened toward the private balcony overlooking the cove.

Afternoon sunlight spilled across the white linen and polished floorboards, and the steady sound of waves below should have made the room feel peaceful.

Instead, with the doors locked from the outside, Nicholas found himself acutely aware that there were only two people inside it. He examined the brass mechanism one final time before looking toward the balcony.

Nicholas inspected the lock mechanism. "The exterior deadbolt is solid brass. I could kick the door off its frame, but the replacement fee from the Association’s executive deposit would be roughly twelve thousand."

"Do not destroy the door," Selena said, pressing a hand to her burning temple. "There has to be another way out."

"The balcony drops seventy feet onto the rocks," Nicholas noted, walking back out toward the sunlit terrace.

Selena walked out onto the balcony, looking over the railing at the dizzying drop below, then back at Nicholas.

He stood barely two feet away from her, the ocean wind ruffling his dark hair. Without the heavy leather coat and tactical harness that usually concealed most of him, Nicholas looked strangely unfamiliar in the simple linen shirt, the faint scars from their recent battles visible along his arms and collar.

Selena had spent months watching him walk into danger, wearing layers of black armour and treating injuries like minor inconveniences, but seeing him here, barefoot on a private island with nothing between him and the afternoon sun except a thin shirt, made it suddenly easier to remember that there was a man underneath all that discipline. A very annoying man, admittedly, but still a man.

Selena leaned back against the rail, looking up at him, the frustration slowly melting into a quiet, resigned amusement.

"So we’re stuck here until they decide to let us out," Selena said softly.

"Approximately three hours," Nicholas calculated, checking his watch. "With all the chocolates Katie’s been having, it won’t be long till she has to use the bathroom."

"Three hours," Selena repeated, her eyes meeting his dark blue gaze under the bright island sky. A small, genuine smile touched the corner of her lips. "Then I guess you have no choice."

"No choice about what?"

"You’re going to have to sit down on that couch," Selena said, stepping past him with an easy, relaxed grace, "and actually hold a proper conversation, or we’d die from boredom."

Nicholas looked at the empty balcony, then at the woman sitting comfortably on the lounge cushion, patting the space beside her.

He walked over, took his seat beside her, and picked up the mango smoothie with the tiny pink umbrella.

"Fine," Nicholas said quietly. "Talk."