Chapter 275

The team leader didn’t react. "No."

Noah’s uncle looked at him more carefully. "Where’s Martin?"

"Couldn’t make it."

"Couldn’t make it?"

"He sent us instead."

A long silence followed.

Christian kept his head lowered.

He could feel the man studying them, searching for the smallest inconsistency. The room seemed to grow quieter with every second that passed.

Noah’s uncle walked around the table.

"Martin knows better than to send strangers without telling me first."

The team leader shrugged. "Take it up with him."

The man’s expression hardened. "Do you think I’m stupid?"

"No."

"Then explain why I should let five men I don’t recognise walk onto my ship in the middle of the night."

Christian’s pulse beat once, hard.

He did not move.

The team leader glanced toward the equipment on the table.

"Because the shipment you’re expecting is here, and because you were told it would arrive tonight."

Noah’s uncle’s eyes narrowed. "That’s not an answer."

The man stared at him with cold silence.

Christian could almost admire the performance.

His attention remained on the floor, but he was listening to every word, every shift in tone, and every pause that might indicate the man had noticed something wrong.

Noah’s uncle walked past the team leader and stopped in front of Christian. "Look at me."

Christian lifted his head.

Their eyes met.

For one terrible second, Christian wondered whether the man would recognise him. Not because they had met before. They hadn’t.

But Christian’s face had appeared in enough newspapers, business magazines, and online articles that recognition was possible.

He was wealthy, public, and his relationship with Kylie had become a topic of gossip that people seemed unable to leave alone.

Noah’s uncle looked at him.

Christian kept his expression blank. "What’s your name?"

The question had not been part of the plan.

Christian felt the danger in that immediately. He could not use his own name. He could not hesitate long enough to make the lie obvious.

He needed something ordinary.

Something forgettable.

But before he could answer, the team leader spoke. "He’s new."

Noah’s uncle did not look away from Christian. "I didn’t ask you."

Christian lowered his gaze slightly. "James."

"James what?"

Christian’s mind moved quickly. "James Cole."

The man studied him. "You don’t talk much, James Cole."

"Not when I’m being paid to move boxes."

A small silence followed. Then the man laughed. It was brief and unpleasant, but it was a laugh.

"At least you understand your job."

Christian gave a slight shrug. "I understand the part I’m being paid for."

Noah’s uncle continued to watch him.

"Where did you work before this?"

Christian didn’t answer immediately.

Not because he didn’t know what to say, but because he had to make sure his answer matched the man he was pretending to be.

He let a trace of irritation enter his voice. "Warehouse work. Mostly."

"Where?"

"Different places."

"That’s not an answer."

"Then I guess you should have asked for my employment history before I got on your boat."

The team leader shifted almost imperceptibly.

Christian knew he had pushed the line.

But a man who was too eager to please would have looked suspicious. Irritation, if delivered carefully, could be more convincing than obedience.

Noah’s uncle stared at him.

Christian held his gaze for another second, then looked away.

"Listen," he said, keeping his tone flat. "I was told to show up, move what needed moving, and get paid. I don’t know Martin personally, and I don’t particularly care about your business. If you don’t want me here, tell the other guy to give me my money and I’ll go back the way I came."

The room fell silent.

Christian could hear the blood moving through his ears.

He had spoken enough. Too much, perhaps.

He had no idea whether Noah’s uncle would believe the irritation or recognise it as a performance.

The man finally stepped away. "You’re an interesting one."

Christian said nothing.

Noah’s uncle turned to the team leader. "Next time, I want to know who you’re bringing aboard before they arrive."

"Understood."

"And if Martin has a problem with that, he can tell me himself."

"He will."

Noah’s uncle waved a hand.

"Get them downstairs. I want the shipment checked before we move."

The team leader nodded.

They turned toward the door.

Christian walked behind the others, keeping his movements unhurried. He did not allow himself to look around again until they were out of the room.

Only then did he release the breath he had been holding. One of the men beside him murmured, "That was close."

Christian barely moved his lips. "Don’t talk."

They continued down the passageway.

At the next junction, the team leader stopped beside a stack of equipment.

"Listen carefully," he whispered. "We split here. Two men go toward the lower storage area. Two of you stays close to the engine room and watches the movement between decks. I want eyes on the stairs and every exit we can cover without drawing attention."

His gaze shifted to Christian.

"You stay with me until we have a better idea of the layout."

Christian looked down the corridor. "How long?"

"As long as it takes."

"That isn’t good enough."

The team leader’s expression hardened. "Neither is getting yourself caught."

Christian stepped closer. "My girlfriend is somewhere on this ship."

"And we are going to find her."

"Then don’t ask me to waste time."

The man studied him.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then the team leader lowered his voice.

"You think I don’t understand what this is doing to you? I understand perfectly. But if you go charging through those doors, the first person who sees you will raise the alarm. The second will find your girlfriend. And the third will put a bullet in both of you."

Christian’s jaw tightened.

The man continued.

"We’ve got one chance to do this properly. Don’t throw it away because you’re frightened and desperate."

Christian looked at him.

He could have argued.

He could have reminded the man who was paying for the operation, who had assembled the resources, and who had spent the last several hours watching footage of the woman he loved being taken away.

Instead, he looked down the corridor again. "Give me five minutes."

The team leader frowned. "For what?"

"To look around. I’ll stay within the lower deck and come back."

"Christain—"

"Five minutes."

The man’s mouth tightened. Then he nodded once.

"Five. If anything feels wrong, you return immediately."

Christian was already moving. He walked past the equipment stack and took the first available corridor.