by C. L. Stone
Plus, after all this effort I put in to keep him onboard, I wasn’t going to just bow my head and walk away.
“Good idea,” Colt said. “And maybe some clean water.”
Brandon flashed a displeased look at me and I shrugged. Brandon put the kit on a side table next to the door and walked back into the kitchen, slower this time. I had no doubt he’d stick near the door and listen if he could get away with it.
Colt held my elbow in one hand and the tweezers in the other. He focused on the pieces of glass and fiddled with one, angling to pull it out. “I don’t really need the water, but that guy looked like he wanted to beat me up.”
“I think that’s just the way he looks,” I said, not wanting to admit it wasn’t him that Brandon was mad at.
Colt used the tweezers and started pulling a bit at the glass. I winced. It stung more when he plucked.
“I need you to stay still,” he said.
“It hurts,” I said through clenched teeth, trying not to sound angry. This wasn’t his fault. Now that the chaos was over, the glass was hurting more.
“Maybe if we sat down,” he said. He looked around and then noticed a door down the hall, a workout room. “In there.”
He picked up the kit and then tugged me toward the room before I could say anything in protest. I wasn’t sure about getting out of hearing range of Brandon, but I wasn’t going far. Colt was slim, even if he was taller than me. I had a feeling I could beat him up if I wanted if he got frisky. Or weird.
I followed him to the workout room. No one was inside. The room was supplied with treadmills and weight benches and a wide window overlooking the river side of the ship.
My loafers squeaked a bit as I walked, wet with juice and water and coffee mix. I didn’t smell very nice, and the scent mixed with the cleaners in the room.
There were benches along the side of the wall facing into the workout room. There was a table nearby with fresh towels, a water cooler and mini paper cups. Colt moved to the benches and sat the kit on the table. “Turn on the light?”
I hadn’t noticed the lack of light with the big window, but I looked for a switch, hit it, and florescent bulbs flickered to life overhead. It did brighten up a lot.
I sat down next to Colt, and he picked up the tweezers again, holding my elbow steady. He plucked out bits of glass and examined my cuts. “So whoever stole your tablet,” he said as he aimed the tweezers at my skin again, “you didn’t see him at all?”
“I’m trying to remember,” I said. “I heard that commotion in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure if I should continue getting myself a coffee or not. I was just going to finish making my coffee and leave, and then someone entered the room while I was pouring.”
“Why didn’t you ask the lady at the bar for coffee?” he asked.
Did he think I was lying? I was, but that was beside the point. “I don’t know,” I said. “She seemed to only have booze, and that horrible orange juice.”
“The mimosas?”
Oh yeah. I’d heard of those. At least I sounded more innocent now. “I guess,” I said. “I’m not much of a drinker. I came inside, saw the dining room, and was just poking around, exploring the ship. I’ve never been on a cruise. I smelled coffee, and I just thought I’d get a quick cup. It was an early morning and I needed to get my head together and wake up.” He pulled a tiny piece of glass from my skin and a sting radiated through me. I yanked my arm back. “Ouch.”
“Sorry,” he said. He dropped the piece of glass in one of the paper cups on the table and came back. “Bring your arm back. I thought I saw one more.”
I didn’t really want to, but I wanted my arm to stop hurting. My pain tolerance was pretty low at this point.
There was one more piece. This time, he plucked it out gently and I hardly felt it. “So, you’re a doctor of some sort?” I asked. “You’re pretty good at that.”
He dropped the piece of glass and the tweezers into the cup and then checked the kit again, finding some disinfectant wipes. “No,” he said. “Almost thought to become one, but then there’s not a lot of money in being a doctor. Not unless you’re a specialist or a surgeon. And then you work all the time.” He shook the wipe package and ripped it open. He brought it to my arm and held firmly to my elbow once again. “This is going to sting worse than the glass. Just try not to jerk your arm again.”
He pressed the wipe to my skin at first and then got a fresh one to wash the cuts clean. I did my best not to move, but couldn’t help making fists once the solution started to burn at my cuts. Yes, I was a big baby when it came to antiseptic and bandages. I usually just wiped a cut down with water and a cloth and hoped it healed. I hated the sting. “So, what do you do?”
“A little bit of everything,” he said. “You’re not bleeding too badly.”
“I think I’ll live,” I said. This was going to be a disappointing conversation if he wasn’t going to give up much information. Maybe if I divulged a bit of info myself, he’d stick around. I looked down at my dress, stained and sticky and pressed up against my body. With the cool air blowing in from the vents, it was getting chilly. I wiped at the stains. “I’m going to have to find another outfit.”
He tossed the wipes into another cup and then started opening bandages. “Should I bring you down to your stateroom?”
I wanted to play up some more sympathy. I sighed. “Maybe. I might just go home after this, though.”
“Why?” he asked, applying the bandage to my skin and then pressing the edges so it stuck.
“I was hoping to find Mr. Murdock. I haven’t caught him onboard. I might just be wasting time being here,” I said.
His eyes widened but he focused on my arm. “You haven’t been able to talk to him?”
A reaction. He was curious. I got the feeling he was digging for information as much as I was. “I haven’t seen him in a few weeks. No one here seems to know where he is. The younger Mr. Ethan doesn’t seem to know I worked for his father so he must have never told him about me. And I’m...” I pressed my lips together, trying to summon some heat to my cheeks to make a blush and then turned my gaze away. “Sorry. I really shouldn’t be talking.”
“No, go on.”
I batted eyelashes as I looked up, trying for sheepish and shy, peering at him through some of my long brown hair that shifted over the glasses. “I was hoping he’d be here on this ship so I could talk to him personally. Some said he was here every year, so I was taking a chance. I was going to try talking to different people onboard, and see if they know what’s happened to him.”
“Why do you need to find him so badly?”
“The information he has me deal in is rather sensitive. If he’s missing, I don’t know what else to do. I only worked directly under him.”
Colt released my elbow and then peered at me. The lights above reflected off of his glasses, hiding his eyes. “What’s your name again?”
“M...me?” I asked, suddenly wishing Brandon was still here. I should have known this was going to come up. I considered giving a fake name, but I wasn’t sure.
Colt made a small smile. “There’s no one else here to ask.”
“Sorry,” I said. I considered going with something that sounded like a nickname. I pressed a palm to my cheek. I tried to stall so I could think up something. I stood up, shaking my head. “I’m just a mess. I should go look for the tablet.”
“We can go talk to security,” Colt said. He stood, walking toward me, giving me a warm smile as his green eyes softened. “They’ll want to know your name so they can help you find your tablet.”
He wasn’t going to let that go. And I was going to lose him if I tried to run away now. “I...”
There was a soft knock at the door and it opened. Raven appeared. He looked at Colt and then back at me. He made his voice deep and rumbly. “Miss Kitty Lane?”
I was going to kill Corey. Or Axel, Raven... or even Blake, whoever came up with that name. Kitty? Seriously? I forced a smile. “Yes?”
/>
“You scheduled an appointment at the spa,” he said. “They’re waiting for you.”
“What?” I asked, and then side-glanced Colt, who appeared amused. “Okay...”
“Would you like to follow me?” Raven asked. He wore all black, like one of the crew.
No. “I don’t remember scheduling a spa treatment.”
“Your name is on the list.”
“Sounds like you’ve got plans,” Colt said. He motioned to my arm. “You’re all fixed up now. I should get going.”
I could have thrown fireballs at Raven for this. I was losing my target. “Will I see you onboard later?” I asked Colt.
“Actually, I hadn’t planned on staying...”
“Oh,” I said, pouting and trying to look really disappointed. Probably going way too far. “I just thought I’d ask you to dinner or something. To thank you.’
“No thanks needed,” he said. “It was nice to meet you, Miss Kitty.” He winked and then headed for the door.
Raven stepped aside, looking placid, compliant. Colt nodded to him as he walked past and was gone.
When I was sure he was out of earshot, I squeaked-stomped my way toward Raven. “Why’d you interrupt us?” I asked. “I was going to get him to stay.”
“He’ll stay,” Raven said. He closed the door, leaving us alone in the weight room. He looked over my dress, focusing on the stains.
“He said he was leaving.”
“He’ll stay,” he said. “You got his phone. He won’t leave without it.”
“He hasn’t checked to see if it was still there. I was trying to stall him.”
“Avery said to come get you,” he said. “And to take you to the spa.”
“I don’t want to go to the spa.”
“Marc’s waiting for you. With Blake. And one of the guys from Nightingale. Not Mr. Smith. The other one.”
It wasn’t Colt, so it had to be one of the other two coming onboard. I sighed, dropping my shoulders. I gave up. Colt was either going to leave or look for his phone. Hopefully Raven was right and he’d stay. I couldn’t just go chase him down and sit on him at this point. “What are we doing? Why am I going? I’m hopping from one to another.”
“There’s a hot spring bath. It’s a Japanese...I don’t know the word. I don’t know Japanese. Hot bath.”
“Like a hot tub?”
Raven shrugged. “Marc is there.”
I realized Raven might not really know, and was just told to fetch me. “Okay, fine,” I said. I waved a hand, indicating we should go.
Raven stayed by the door. He pulled the ear bud out of his ear and put it in his palm, making a fist around it. He was cutting himself off so whoever was talking to him wouldn’t hear. “I want to say something first.”
“What?”
He pressed his lips together, his dark eyes steady on me. “Corey told me about what happened with Axel.”
“What?”
“He tried to come onto you. You turned him down.”
My lips parted, jaw slackened. I struggled to recall what had happened with Axel in the children’s play room and everything I’d said. We had been arguing. If they weren’t watching what we were doing, how much did they hear and assume what was going on?
Had my earpiece still worked then, too? Where had I put mine? Did Blake hear what happened with Axel?
Was he listening now?
I didn’t know what to say to Raven. My pulse quickened, until my heartbeats were loud in my ears. My face burned, really embarrassed. Maybe they’d all know that Axel and I had been more than just friends, something they all tried to do with me. For some reason, I couldn’t recall anything I’d said, and worried I’d reveal everything I was really feeling.
I wanted to run. Maybe even off of the boat. My heart hurt. Raven just looked at me, not saying anything. Had I hurt him? Did he hate me? If Corey knew...is that why Brandon was mad? Because they knew? Did he feel rejected and worried he couldn’t talk to me about it?
“Raven,” I said, my heart crumpling into a thousand pieces. I didn’t want to beg but my lip trembled and I was scared to death of losing him.
“I love Axel,” he said quietly. “It’s the only reason he isn’t dead right now.”
I closed my eyes, shaking my head. “Don’t say that.”
“Has he pressured you before?”
My head shot up, surprised. “Huh?”
“I didn’t hear what he said, but Corey told me it sounded like Axel was over...over-bear-ning.”
“Overbearing?”
“Same. He said you cried.”
Axel probably did sound pretty aggressive. And if they thought he’d made me cry, then...oh god. Maybe that’s why Axel had to get away from me. The boys had overheard. They ganged up on him to leave me alone.
What a mess. What had I done?
I breathed out slowly, folding my arms across my stomach, simply trying to hold myself together. “Raven...”
Raven marched forward, away from the door. His arms went around my waist, hugging me to him. He ignored the juice and coffee mess and simply held on. “You turned him down, but you didn’t say anything about me. I understand. Too soon. I knew Marc liked you. I didn’t know about Axel. But Axel shouldn’t use his position to put you in a relationship with him.”
I didn’t have an answer for him. I don’t know what the boys talked about and what they thought had happened. I needed to fix this but I didn’t know what Corey said to them about what he heard. “Don’t blame Axel. Please. It’s really a misunderstanding. Where is Axel now?”
“He’s doing his job. Brandon’s going to follow him for now since we switched.”
“We can’t just avoid Axel. I can’t. He’s my boyfriend for this trip.” I didn’t know what to do. Raven had isolated us to talk about it. I needed to talk to Corey and clear things up with him. I didn’t want to make things worse by talking about Axel before I had that chance.
“Right now you need to go help Marc.” He hugged me tighter and then released me, kissed my cheek and then guided me to the door. “I have to cover Kevin.”
I sighed, letting him show me the way. I didn’t want to leave anyone alone. I couldn’t believe what they were thinking and how they all must have been in crazy turmoil over it. There was nothing I or Axel could do to explain it yet.
I should have said I’d stay at home instead of going on this trip. The problems were piling up around me. The boat hadn’t even taken off yet.
HOT BATH
Raven guided me to the spa. It had a frosted glass front door, with a single line of Japanese characters etched into the middle. There was nothing else on that side of the hallway. Whatever this spa was, it took up a lot of space. It was oddly cut off from the rest of the ship, and seemed isolated even just in the hallway.
When Raven opened the door, we were immediately greeted by a woman who had been standing just inside, as if expecting us. She wore a blue kimono, the print had pink cranes and a water lily garden. She held on to a woven sweetgrass basket, like the ones they sold in downtown Charleston. She was Asian, and her dark hair was combed back and pinned with hair sticks. She bowed. “Yes? May I help you?”
“Kitty Lane,” Raven said. “She has an appointment for a hot bath.”
“Kitty Lane,” the woman said and bowed her head again, holding out the basket. Inside was a selection of gold wrapped candies. I took one, mostly to be polite. “Please,” she said. “Women to the right.”
The room had a large rock face fountain built into the floor, looking like a pond. There was a man-made brook that trickled down the rocks in the wall. The large feature divided the space. The rest of the walls and floor were the same pale wood, making the pond the one and only focal point. There were open hallways to the left and right. No desk. There were short benches near the door on either side, and near those were racks of shoe shelves. Three pairs on the men’s side. None on the women’s.
I went to the women’s side, taking off my shoes and
then removing my socks, too, since those were wet and I didn’t want to mess up the floor. I balled them up, with the tape still inside them, and put them in the shoes. I passed them to Raven. “I can’t wear these,” I said. “Will you let Fancy know that I am in need of more clothes?”
He nodded and took the shoes. “I’ll have some brought up for you.”
I shared a look with Raven: I’m so sorry for this mess. I wish I could talk.
He didn’t say anything, and gave no indication as to his mood.
“Would you like to follow me?” The woman in the kimono said. She made sweeping hand movements. “Please?”
I did, looking back longingly to Raven. I was totally not wanting a bath right now. I needed one and was a mess, but whatever this was, I suspected there was more to it than a tub for washing my body.
Raven stood by the door, looking solemn. We both had jobs to do, though. We didn’t have the time. He couldn’t escort me through the women’s side, and Marc was probably already in this hot bath.
The Asian woman escorted me, motioning with her hand over and over again to continue. She had me walk ahead of her and we and ended up in locker room. The woman then jumped ahead of me and stopped me before I stepped on the white tiles. Everything in the room was white and tiled, if it wasn’t a bench or locker. The walls were tiled, which was weird. Maybe it was easier to clean.
I didn’t know why she stopped me until she pointed down. There was a bucket filled with flip flops, all the same size right near the entryway. She selected a pair and held them at my feet for me to step into. “We wear these in the shower room,” she said.
I stepped into the shoes, and she adjusted them on my feet. Awkward. They were flimsy and pink, a disposable, one size fits all type. Why did they have me take off my shoes just to put on new ones?
The lockers were painted white. There were low benches near the lockers. Nothing fancy. Where was this bath?
“Wear these everywhere in here,” she said. She pointed to the far side of the locker room to a basket by the door. Deposit them over there.” She motioned to a row of showers. “Get undressed, wash and shower and then there are towels to wrap yourself in before you go outside. I’ll get you kimono if you like.”