Churning Seas

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Of course I’m here.” Quinn pulled her into his arms, exhaling on a shaky breath as he buried his face in her hair. “You scared the crap out of me, Ro. I could barely understand what you were saying on the phone.”

  “That’s nothing compared to how badly I frightened myself.”

  “I bet.” Quinn rubbed her back as he exchanged a quick look with Fred. “The glass is completely shattered.”

  “Yeah.” Fred bobbed his head as he moved closer to the broken window. “I think that means the shot came from that direction. He pointed in a straight line. “That makes the most sense.”

  “That’s where it came from,” Rowan confirmed, her eyes puffy from crying. “I saw movement right before it happened.”

  “You saw movement?” Quinn was confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “Right there.” Rowan pointed toward the spot between two palm trees. “It happened really fast. I saw the omen and then I saw the shadow. I just reacted.”

  “Omen?” Fred furrowed his brow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing,” Quinn replied hurriedly, keeping one arm around Rowan as he grabbed the nearest camera. He managed to touch the view screen without releasing his girlfriend, and his eye was immediately drawn to a photograph of Sally. He searched the image for the telltale symbol Rowan had taught him to identify but came up empty. “You took this right here.”

  Rowan nodded, her body still plastered against Quinn’s as she buried her face in the hollow between his head and shoulder. “I was testing the camera. I wasn’t going to buy anything, but Sally convinced me I should. That’s basically the same camera I had before, only newer and with a few enhancements.

  “I told her to dance a bit so I could test the blurry edge and that’s what she did,” she continued. “When I looked at the photos I saw it. I mean ... it was right there.”

  “I know, sweetie.” Quinn purposely avoided Fred’s steady gaze as he pressed his lips to Rowan’s forehead. “Did you see the shadow with the gun right away?”

  Rowan nodded. “It was like I was stuck in slow motion or something. I was trying to figure out what to say and then I saw the shadow and I just reacted. I tackled her and the window exploded at the same time. I thought for sure we were dead but, after a few seconds and a lot of screaming from outside, I realized we were alive.”

  Quinn was thankful for that. “I can’t believe you jumped in front of her like that.”

  “It was more like we were side by side.”

  “It still freaks me out.” Quinn pulled back slightly so he could show the camera to Rowan. “It’s not here any longer.”

  Rowan widened her eyes. “It was there before. I swear it.”

  “I believe you.” Quinn was calm. He felt he had to be if he wanted to keep Rowan from going off the rails. “It’s not there now, though. That means she’s safe, right?”

  Realization dawned on Rowan. “Right.” She let out a shaky breath. “That’s right. I forgot.”

  “I remembered, though. It’s okay.” Quinn swayed back and forth as he ran his tongue over his teeth. “You’re okay.” He shifted his gaze to Fred. “Do you still think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill?”

  “I don’t believe I used those exact words,” Fred hedged. “If you need validation, though, you can have it. Clearly something is going on here.”

  “Thank you.”

  “That’s on top of this omen you’re desperately trying to refrain from mentioning in front of me,” Fred added. “Don’t think I missed that part of the conversation.”

  Quinn’s protective urges surged. “Don’t mention that word in front of the detective when he comes over here. Do you understand me?”

  Fred widened his eyes. “Yes. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  Quinn lightly stroked the back of Rowan’s head. “Maybe. We need to get out of this situation before then, though. I’m going to need your help.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  “Okay. Follow my lead.”

  “THAT WAS AN INTERESTING experience,” Fred drawled forty minutes later as he watched Quinn pay for a camera with a company credit card. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you lie to a cop like that before. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I’ve seen you lie once or twice to protect us after a night of drunken debauchery. This was different, though.”

  “I didn’t lie.” Quinn avoided eye contact. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

  “You also avoided mention of an omen.”

  Quinn narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits as he forced a smile for the sales clerk’s benefit and accepted a receipt from her before collecting the bag. “How many times do I have to tell you not to say that word?”

  “Just until I understand what you were talking about.”

  Quinn grabbed his friend’s arm and dragged him through the door. He could see Rowan and Sally sitting inside the coffee shop next door, their heads bent together as they whispered, and he heaved out a sigh of relief. “Forget about the omen.”

  “I can’t do that. Your girlfriend obviously let something slip when she was upset.”

  That was an understatement, Quinn internally cursed. Rowan, who was usually so diligent that she never faltered when protecting her own secret, opened her mouth in front of a person who wasn’t about to be dissuaded by a handy lie.

  “Let it go.” Quinn was firm. “It doesn’t matter. I swear, it has nothing to do with anything we’ve talked about. It has nothing to do with the person who went after her either.”

  Fred opened his mouth to argue but, perhaps sensing the turmoil threatening to crush his friend, he changed course. “I’m going to let it go for now because you seem to have a lot on your mind. What do you think happened here?”

  “I think someone followed Rowan to the mall.”

  “Oh, really?” Fred rolled his eyes. “I never would’ve guessed that. Your girlfriend was ridiculously lucky that she saw that shadow when she did. Your friend Sally would be dead otherwise.”

  The simple statement floored Quinn. “I know. It’s unbelievable.”

  “It is unbelievable,” Fred agreed. “That is either the best luck ever or some real-life magic, my friend.”

  Quinn’s face remained impassive. He knew Fred was fishing for information about the omen. It was information he couldn’t give, though. He needed to calm Rowan and get Sally to safety before he could wrap his head around anything else. “I’m just glad she looked up when she did. This is getting serious, though. Trying to shoot two women at the mall in the middle of the day is even ballsier than breaking into cruise ship quarters to steal a camera.”

  “No, it’s definitely brazen,” Fred agreed. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “You need to at least figure out how you’re going to keep your girlfriend safe for the evening,” Fred pressed. “I’m not sure taking her back to that ship is a good idea.”

  Quinn was already ahead of him. “No, but we need to stop there long enough to drop off Sally with Demarcus and pack a few things.”

  Fred cocked an eyebrow. “Pack? Are you going to quit your job?”

  “No. We’re docked for at least a few more days. I can do most of my work remotely. I’ll have to return to the ship, but that doesn’t mean Rowan has to. She doesn’t need to be there overnight, that’s for sure.”

  “So ... what? Are you getting a hotel room or something?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Something on the beach with a great view of the sunset. Something that has room service and a nice restaurant. Something that can be construed as romantic with one of those heart-shaped tubs and chocolates on the pillows.”

  Fred smirked. “It sounds like you’ve given this some thought.”

  “The idea honestly just occurred to me.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you.”

  Quinn didn’t blame him. That didn’t change the fact that they had work to do.
“I need your help getting Sally back to the ship. I was hoping you could drive Rowan and me to the hotel.”

  “I’m sure that can be arranged.”

  “Great. I owe you.”

  “Enough to tell me what the omen is when things settle down?”

  Quinn worked his jaw. “Maybe,” he said finally. “It’s not my secret to tell.”

  “Rowan’s secret, right?”

  Quinn nodded.

  “I knew there was something different about her from the first moment you mentioned her,” Fred said. “I’m starting to think there’s even more to the story than I initially realized.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “That’s what I figured.”

  ROWAN WAS EXHAUSTED by the time Quinn led her into the honeymoon suite at The Matador. The hotel was within walking distance to the ship (less than half a mile) and it faced the ocean, so they had a fantastic view. Quinn wanted a hot tub in their room and since all the normal suites were sold out, that left them with the honeymoon suite.

  At first Quinn was reticent to the idea. It seemed a bit cheesy. The more he thought about it, though, the more he liked it. The honeymoon suite was on the top floor along with three penthouses. That meant he only had three other rooms to watch, and residents needed a security pass to get to the floor. There was a private elevator and everything. It made security easier, something Quinn desperately needed.

  “This isn’t too bad, huh?” Quinn smiled at Rowan as he dropped their bags on the floor. “I was expecting a passion pit. This looks normal.”

  “Except for the heart-shaped tub,” Rowan noted as she poked her head into the bathroom. She’d managed to bounce back some since leaving the mall, although Quinn had a feeling that she wouldn’t entirely be herself again until this investigation was in the rearview mirror.

  “Hey, I like the idea of that tub.” Quinn kissed Rowan’s cheek before staring into the bathroom. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing when he saw the tub. “That thing is huge. We can swim in it.”

  “Yeah.” Rowan’s lips curved. “Can we take a bath together?”

  “Absolutely.” Quinn bobbed his head. “Why do you think I insisted on a room with a jetted tub?”

  “Because you want to get frisky in a Jacuzzi,” Rowan answered automatically.

  “True enough.” Quinn gave her another kiss. “I was thinking that we could order room service, eat in bed, and then take a bath together. I think it would do us both good to head to bed early tonight. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

  Rowan forced a smile, although it took some effort. It was one of those tight-lipped ones that felt more fake than real. “I’m fine. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  “You terrified me,” Quinn corrected. “I mean ... terrified me. I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest when Fred was driving us to the mall. I had all these horrific scenarios going through my mind and I couldn’t stand it.”

  Rowan’s eyes pricked with tears. “I thought about you when the window exploded. I thought that you would blame yourself if I died and I didn’t want that.”

  To his utter surprise, Quinn found his own eyes burning at the matter-of-fact way she delivered the statement. “I don’t want you talking about dying. I can’t take that.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just the weird thought that went through my mind.”

  “I know.” Quinn tucked a strand of hair behind Rowan’s ear. “You’re okay, though. You’re going to be okay no matter what. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  “Is that why we’re in a hotel? Are you worried someone can get to us on the ship?”

  “I want to be in a hotel for several reasons,” Quinn admitted. “The first is that we deserve some privacy. We’ve been living under a microscope for weeks. This is a nice change of pace.”

  Rowan wasn’t convinced. “That’s not why.”

  “Hey, you don’t know that.” Quinn extended a warning finger. “I’ve been planning for a hotel stay for a bit. I wasn’t sure when I would get around to it, but I’m not sorry it’s happening sooner rather than later.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I’m also not going to deny that I’m nervous about the fact that someone got into your room on the ship,” Quinn admitted. “I still don’t know how it happened. The cameras magically went blank for ten minutes yesterday. It was about an hour after we left for dinner. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”

  “Do you think they have someone on The Bounding Storm helping them?”

  “I don’t know. Not necessarily. There are digital scramblers out there that can screw camera feeds via remote. It’s possible that’s what we’re dealing with. Fred is going to look into it.”

  “He’s looking into a lot for us right now.”

  “He’s a good friend.”

  “He heard me mention the omens.”

  Quinn chewed on his bottom lip. “He did, sweetie, but I asked him to mind his own business and he agreed. He’s curious, but he’s not going to say anything. I don’t want you worrying about that.”

  “I feel as if I’m worrying about everything right now,” Rowan admitted, rueful. “Mostly I feel as if I’m worried about you because you’re so worried about me. I don’t want you to worry about me. I’ll be okay ... even if I looked like a bit of a weakling today.”

  “You never look like a weakling.” Quinn was serious as he hugged her. “You’ve been through so much the past few days. I mean ... so much. It feels like a blur.”

  “I still don’t want you to worry.”

  “It’s too late for that, Ro. We’re a unit. I’m always going to worry about you because it feels as if you’re the other half of me. I can’t stop simply because you want me to do it.”

  “I know.” Rowan rubbed her nose against his cheek. “It’s been a really hard couple of days. Do you think we can just forget about it for the rest of the night? I know we have to get back to reality tomorrow, but for tonight, can we do that room service thing and swim in the tub? I just want to forget about everything else.”

  “That sounds like the best way to spend an evening. What do you want for room service?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Crab legs?”

  “And chocolate cake.”

  Quinn snickered, delighted with her. “That sounds like a plan. I’ll order the meal. You change out of those clothes and get comfortable.”

  “Did you pack pajamas?”

  “I packed a robe that you can take on and off when the room service arrives. Other than that, I thought we would spend our time up here naked.”

  “Ah, you really did have a plan for this.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “I guess I can get behind that.” This time the smile Rowan offered was real and it caused Quinn’s heart to warm. “I’ve never eaten crab legs naked before. I’m guessing that’s going to get messy.”

  “Why do you think I insisted on the tub?”

  “Good point.”

  12

  Twelve

  Quinn quietly ordered breakfast the next morning, allowing Rowan to sleep as long as she could. He instructed room service not to knock and waited until he saw movement at the bottom of the door before opening it and collecting the food. It was covered, so he left it that way.

  Rowan woke five minutes later.

  “What is that smell?” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and struggled to a sitting position. “Why are you wearing clothes?”

  “Because I didn’t want to shock anyone while collecting the food,” Quinn replied, sitting on the edge of the bed so he could study her face. She looked well-rested, better than the previous day. Her color wasn’t completely back, however, and that concerned him. “How does breakfast in bed sound?”

  “Fun but messy.” Rowan tossed off the covers and grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed. “Let’s eat at the table. I’m assuming you’re up early because you’ve been checking on things.”

  Her
assumption was spot on so Quinn merely smiled and shrugged. “I’m a slave to the grind. What can I say?”

  “I smell eggs.”

  “I know how you like your omelets. Tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and light cheese.”

  “You’re a good provider.”

  Quinn beamed. “And you are my favorite person ever.” He gave her a soft kiss. “How are you feeling?”

  Rowan let loose a sigh as she shuffled to the table and yanked the top off one of the breakfast trays. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I think we talked about this last night. Worrying is part of the job.”

  “Yeah, well, it makes me feel guilty. Do you want to worry about making me feel guilty?”

  “That’s not high on my priority list, no.”

  “Then let’s agree that I’m better, and I’ll promise not to fall apart again,” Rowan suggested. “It’s not fair to you, and it’s not going to help me in the least.”

  “It’s okay to be upset.” Quinn took the seat across from her at the table and uncovered his pancakes. “That camera meant a lot to you. I don’t blame you for being upset.”

  “It’s gone, though.” Rowan was pragmatic. “We might luck out and find it down the line, but I can’t hold out hope for that. I need to move forward. I have a job to do, which means I need a camera. I don’t particularly like the ones supplied by the cruise line so I’m going to have to buy something else.”

  Quinn shifted on his seat. “I took care of that yesterday. I bought the camera you were looking at before it happened. I understand it’s the same thing you had before, although slightly updated, so I purchased that.”

  Rowan made a face. “You didn’t have to do that. I want to buy the camera myself, so it’s mine.”

  “I used the company credit card.”

  “I should still be the one to purchase it,” Rowan pressed. “I want something of my own.”

  Quinn hadn’t even considered that. “How about we compromise?”