I shot her a look of gratitude and then caught myself. How did I end up on the same side as Paige? That was horrifying to think about. Still, I doubled down. “See. She sees the problem.”
“I know no one has asked for my opinion,” Nick offered from his spot behind the concierge’s desk. “But I think it sounds like a fabulous idea. I’ve always wanted to traumatize a group of women to the point they become catatonic. I think this is my best shot.”
“You would want something like that,” Hadley shot back, her eyes dark. “That’s what happens when you’re a douche nozzle. Oh, yeah, I said it. You’re a douche nozzle. What do you think of that?”
I had to swallow an ill-timed chuckle. “Let’s focus on the problem at hand,” I suggested.
Nick ignored me. “You know what? You are an evil witch. I’m on Paige’s side — although that’s something I never thought I would say — and someone needs to track down an ax. It’s time for a beheading.”
“Stop saying things like that,” Galen warned, jabbing a finger in Nick’s direction so the man would know he meant business. “No one is beheading my girlfriend.”
“I think you’re missing the bigger picture, Galen.” Paige sounded as if she had more patience than the average person and she was willing to bestow it upon Galen if it meant he would see her side of things. “You only think you would miss her if we cut her head off. As soon as she dies, the spell will be eradicated. You’ll probably be happier.”
“That did it.” Hadley made a move that suggested she was about to hurl herself over the desk. Galen caught her before she could make the leap.
“Save it for later, killer,” he suggested, smiling. He obviously thought the situation was funny ... which made one of us. “If you want to jump on someone, make it me ... and make it later.”
“Ugh. Seriously. You two are just too much sometimes,” I said.
“Word,” Paige agreed, causing me to roll my eyes.
“I’ve had it with side discussions,” I announced, opting to take the ridiculous conversation by the horns. “We’re here because of Mrs. Seaver. I think we all agree that we want to help her, make sure this opportunity doesn’t fall through the cracks. Does anyone disagree?”
Galen, Hadley and Paige solemnly shook their heads. When I turned toward Nick, I found he was merely staring at me with an empty expression.
“Are you saying you want her to lose the hotel?” I was spoiling for a fight and Nick made an enticing target. Galen and I were fairly well matched and I didn’t want to end up in the hospital. There was every chance Hadley could actually beat me, although I would never go after a woman. Nick, however, was begging for a smackdown.
“Of course not.” Nick looked upset that I would even ask the question. “What a ridiculous thing to say. I love June. Who doesn’t? She has the best stories. I love the ones about Captain Seaver the best, but even the ones after his time are fascinating.
“For example, did you know that her father actually moved the hotel when she was a child?” he continued, babbling on about a subject that absolutely no one cared about. “The foundation of the current hotel and the previous hotel are slightly off. There’s a secret room somewhere on the premises, but she seems to have forgotten where it is. She says there’s an access door through one of the rooms – her father showed her, but can’t remember which one.”
I furrowed my brow. “What does that have to do with anything? I mean ... how does that help us with the shoot today?”
“I didn’t say it helped us. I just said that I was fond of her. I absolutely love her stories more than anything. I’ve always been fascinated with pirates.”
Galen stirred. “That’s right. Didn’t you dress up like a pirate and recite poetry at one of the festivals a few years ago?”
Nick shot Galen a frustrated look. “Not poetry. They were odes to Captain Seaver. They were written by island writers through the centuries.”
“Is an ode different from a poem?” Galen looked to Hadley.
“Why are you asking me?” she complained. “Do I look like I read poetry?”
Nick’s cheeks flushed. “They were odes. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with poetry. It’s the most beautiful of the written forms.”
“Yes, I love poetry,” I drawled. “This is one of my favorites. Roses are red. Violets are blue. Can you guess who I’m going to kill? Oh, hey, it’s you.”
Hadley’s mouth dropped open as Galen’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.
“Focus!” I demanded, shaking my fist. “Do you really think we’ll be able to make this work with Jareth? I mean ... it’s dangerous. He could catch fire in the middle of the day.”
“Would you die if you caught fire?” Hadley asked. She looked legitimately curious.
Jareth shrugged, seemingly unbothered. “Probably not,” he replied. “It’s unlikely. I’m quite old, which means I’m practically indestructible. There’s only one true way to kill me.”
“And what’s that?”
“Beheading,” Paige supplied. She shrank back when four sets of eyes landed on her. “What? I’ve done a lot of research on how to kill horrible monsters. Sue me. I won’t be one of those cautionary tales where people say, ‘It’s too bad she didn’t recognize the monster in front of her.’ I’ll behead first and ask questions later.”
“Keep her away from me,” Hadley instructed, increasing the distance between her and Paige. “I’m serious.”
“We’re not going to let her hurt you,” Galen reassured her. “I promise you that she’s all talk.”
“That’s not how I remember it.” Paige’s smile was smug. “In fact, if I remember things correctly, I was all action that time we took the walk under the stars on the beach. I never did get those panties back.”
Galen worked his jaw as Hadley stared holes into the side of his face. “We need to focus on June,” he announced, much to my relief.
“Finally.” I rubbed my forehead. “Are you guys absolutely sure this is our only shot of keeping this deal intact?”
Hadley solemnly nodded. “It is. Jareth is the only professional photographer we know. We have to do it this way. I don’t see another path.”
“Then we’ll do it this way.” I saw no way around it. “I put the props back in the storeroom last night before the models showed up drunk. I’ll get them and we’ll head outside to scout the beach. We’ll do our best to keep you covered, Jareth.”
“We should probably take a fire extinguisher with us,” Galen added. “You know ... just to be on the safe side.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” I acquiesced. “We’ll gather the supplies, Jareth. For now, just sit tight inside. We’ll tell you when we have everything set up.”
“That sounds fine.” Jareth maneuvered toward one of the chairs and sat, patting the armrest enticingly for Hadley to join him. “That will give Ms. Hunter and me a chance to get to know one another better. I’ve been looking forward to that for weeks now.”
Hadley didn’t miss a beat. “Awesome. But if Paige comes after us with an ax I’m using you as a human shield. You’ve officially been warned.”
He chuckled. “You are an absolute delight. I’ve got you covered. She won’t get near us.”
Paige looked as if she wanted to test that theory, but she wisely kept her mouth shut.
Galen didn’t speak again until we were in the hallway heading toward the storeroom. “Is it just me or is Paige off her rocker? We might want to get her on some meds or something. I think she might be a legitimate threat.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” I countered. “Jareth has Hadley covered. There’s no way Paige can move on him without him sensing it. They’ll be fine.”
“I guess. She’s just ... crazy.”
I paused with my hand on the door. “Did you really get her naked on the beach and steal her panties?”
“I didn’t steal her panties. They just ... disappeared.”
“If that’s your story.” I was amuse
d ... until I opened the door and found the storeroom had been ransacked again. I viciously swore under my breath. “You have got to be kidding me! Again? What is it with the security at this place? This cannot be normal.”
Nine
Galen tried to talk me down from the precipitous ledge I was dancing on, but he gave up after two minutes of effort and instead focused on the storeroom.
“I don’t understand,” he muttered – probably more to himself than me – as he prowled the room and lifted his nose to the air. He was obviously trying to ascertain if he could identify a scent. “At least ten people have been in this room since we put it together yesterday.”
I fixed him with the most obnoxious look in my repertoire. “Oh, really? I never would’ve guessed that people would go into the storage room at a hotel. I mean … what are the odds that they would need any of this stuff? Oh, wait … I’m thinking the odds are fairly solid.”
His glare was pointed. “Don’t take out your frustrations on me.”
“Who should I take them out on?”
“May I suggest Paige or Nick? They’re both jerks of the highest order. I think they could both use a dose of your sarcasm.”
“Don’t think I haven’t considered it. The thing is, I’m afraid they’ll quit.” And that was the truth in a nutshell. “I’m afraid they’ll walk out the door and leave me with even more work I don’t know how to complete. Then what will Mrs. Seaver do when her surgery is over and she can’t get around?”
Galen’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t considered that. It’s a possibility.”
We lapsed into silence a moment and studied the items on the storeroom floor.
“It still might be worth it,” I said finally. “I’m sure there are enough people on the island who love June to fill in for a few weeks until new people can be hired.”
He clapped me on the shoulder in a show of support. “Now you’re thinking.”
I sighed. “I forgot to ask June about the storeroom when we were there last night. I’m wondering if this is an everyday occurrence.”
“We had other things on our minds,” Galen reminded me. “We had a photographer down and no idea what happened to him.”
“Yeah. That’s been bothering me, too. Who hit him? He was obviously struck with that bookend. We didn’t really ask around to see if anyone had any insight into what happened.”
“No, we fell down on that.”
“You fell down on that,” I stressed. “I’m not the sheriff. It’s not my job.”
“You’re running the hotel. That means you’re head of security.”
“I disagree.”
“Well, that’s the simple truth.” He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “I’ll be on the beach with you guys for most of the afternoon. I’ll start questioning the models there. You’re right about him being attacked. I really should try to figure out who did it instead of worrying about June and her money problems.”
“Not instead of. Just … as well as.”
He smirked. “Thank you for the grammar lesson. What do you want to do about this storeroom?”
“Just grab the stuff we need for now. We’ll worry about cleaning it later. The photo shoot is the most important thing.”
“That and the criminal investigation.”
“Oh, now you’re just saying that because you want to act as if you’re a diligent guy doing his job. It’s too late for that, pal.”
“You’re so surly.” He bent over to start collecting items. “Let’s get this stuff outside. Then we need to get the umbrellas positioned so we can get Jareth outside and working. Judging by the list of necessary shots, we’re going to be out there most of the day.”
“And we haven’t even seen the models yet.” My mind went to a dark place. “They’re probably all hungover and will be ridiculously demanding.” When Galen didn’t immediately respond, I turned and found him staring at me. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged and clutched a beach ball close to his chest. “In my head that went to a sexy place. The demanding thing. Even I don’t get turned on by hangovers.”
“I bet you would if Hadley had one.”
“She’s the exception to the rule.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can let your imagination wander to that when you’re on your own later. For now, we need to make sure this happens … and well.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” He was matter-of-fact. “June will be okay. No matter what, I won’t let her lose this place.”
“How will you stop it?” I was genuinely curious. “You saw St. Pierre. He’s sniffing around the hotel for a reason. He seems to think he’s going to take it from her.”
“Yeah. That’s bothering me a lot … and I can’t put my finger on why. There’s something off about him.”
“You’re just figuring this out? I knew the day I met him he was crazy and I’m pretty sure I was three at the time.”
“You were obviously gifted. I didn’t realize until I was in middle school and caught him terrifying the principal.”
“Bernadette Smulders?” I screwed up my face. “Why would he terrorize her?”
“I have no idea. But I’ve never trusted him, and I’m not about to start now.”
“I’m right there with you, buddy. We’ll worry about him when the time comes..”
IT TOOK US FORTY-FIVE minutes to set up an area outside appropriate to Jareth’s safety needs. By the time we returned to the lobby, the models were up and hovering around their new photographer. They barely glanced in our direction when we entered the room, they were so enamored with him.
“I see introductions have already been made,” I noted, searching through the school of giggly girls – all of whom were jiggling their bottoms as if auditioning for an episode of Baywatch – and coming up short when I tried to find Hadley. “Where is my assistant?”
Galen craned his neck and shook his head. “I don’t see her.” He pushed his way through the women to make sure that Hadley wasn’t somehow hiding among them, earning a few dirty looks for his efforts. It appeared he was no longer the darling of the modeling world. “Where is Hadley?” he demanded of Jareth.
“She said she was going to find you,” the vampire replied, chuckling gaily as one of the models said something inane that was clearly meant to entertain him. “That’s quite the story, Cherry. You might’ve missed your calling. Perhaps you should’ve been a comedienne. You have the delivery chops for it. Timing is a real quality in comedy and you have it in spades.”
The blonde in question straightened her shoulders and pressed her hand to the spot above her heart. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so.”
That was the biggest load of crap I’d ever heard. I’d seen all of these women in action a time or two and none of them were intentionally funny. I’d laughed at a few things they’d said, of course, but that’s because I was laughing at them, not with them.
“Where is Hadley?” Galen repeated. No one could mistake the edge in his voice for anything other than irritation. Even the bubbling models finally took notice.
“Is that the chick with the dark hair?” Tami asked, seemingly put out that she had to even address the situation. “She was talking to that guy who sits at the desk over there and glares at us all the time. I don’t know where they went.”
I frowned as I followed her finger. Sure enough, Nick’s desk was empty. “Did they say where they were going?”
“They said they were going to find you,” Jareth answered, his attention completely on us now rather than his gaggle of new girlfriends. “Is something wrong?”
“It’s probably nothing,” I automatically answered.
“I’m going to find her,” Galen announced, turning on his heel and stalking toward the hallway.
“I’m going with him,” I muttered. “Apparently he doesn’t think it’s nothing.”
“That’s fine.” Jareth was unflappable under the most trying of circumstan
ces. He obviously wasn’t bothered by the attention the models were heaping on him. “Is the outdoor area set?”
“It is,” I confirmed. “We put you in a spot where you have quite a bit of room to move around and still stay in the shade. We can move you out there as soon as we find Hadley.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can find the area myself.”
That didn’t sound safe. “What about the umbrellas you need to walk under while we’re heading out?”
“I’ve already told the girls about my particular ailment,” he replied. “They’re very sensitive to my plight and I’m sure they’ll happily hold umbrellas so I can get to the spot you’ve set up for us. I think it’s best I get to the photos as quickly as possible. We have quite the list to get through.”
We did. That didn’t mean I wanted to leave an ancient vampire with a bunch of young twenty-somethings who wouldn’t know how to help him should he burst into flames. “Just … wait.”
“I’ll be fine.” He sounded sure of himself. “We need to get this handled. I’ve known June for a long time and I’m fond of her, too.”
”Okay. If you need something, you can get me on my phone. As soon as Galen and I find Hadley, we’ll be out there.”
“I have the shoot list. We’ll be fine.”
IT TOOK ME TEN MINUTES TO track down Galen. He could move when he was motivated, and apparently his agitation was motivating him to lengths I hadn’t seen since the last time we’d played beach volleyball against one another.
“You can’t find her?” I asked when I caught up, doing my best to pretend I wasn’t out of breath.
“If I’d found her, do you think I’d still be running all over this place looking for her?”
“Rowr.” I made a sound like a hissing cat. “Someone is crabby today. I thought your life was all candy and flowers now that you have Hadley.”
“Oh, don’t make it sound gross,” he complained, stalking toward the end of the hallway and throwing open the exit door to peer outside. “I know you’re trying to needle me – that’s what you do best – but it bothers me when you put her down like that.”
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