by Rickie Blair
“Hey, stop that.” She tried to sit up and push her dress down at the same time.
But Dimitri wasn’t listening. He was staring at her crotch with a puzzled look.
“Who is … Dan?”
“Dan?”
Ruby bent to look at the sparkly crystals that read, by Dan.
“Oh, that.” She made a face. “That was supposed to say something else, but I was so tired of the waxing and hair pulling and gluing and—” She looked up at the sound of laughter.
Dimitri leaned back on his ankles and wiped tears from his eyes, still chuckling.
“Is very nice. Let me take closer look.”
“I don’t think so.” She pulled down her dress, tried to stand again, wobbled, and slumped back onto the bed. Then she burst into tears.
Dimitri retrieved a tissue box from the nightstand and crouched on the floor beside her, holding out the box.
“You have problem. Tell me what it is.”
Sniffling, she took a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. “You won’t be able to help.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“All right.” She pointed at the other side of the room. “But you stay over there.”
Dimitri walked to the bureau, leaned against it, and smiled. “Far enough?”
She nodded, blowing her nose.
“Now, tell me.”
Ruby didn’t tell him about the money or the fake passports or the bonds. She didn’t tell him much, really, other than the one fact that seemed indisputable. Her husband planned to leave her.
“He is a fool,” Dimitri said, shaking his head and stepping closer.
“Maybe. But he’s my fool, at least for now.” Ducking past him to the door, she pressed her ear against it and listened. Nothing. “Looks as if the coast is clear,” she whispered, turning the handle.
She hustled along the corridor on her way to the steward’s office. A quick glance behind revealed Dimitri leaning against the doorframe, watching her. He winked before disappearing back into the stateroom.
* * *
Ruby emerged from the elevator with her replacement key card and walked to the Emperor Suite. At the far of the corridor, Mila disappeared through an open door. Ruby paused, her eyebrows gathered, watching the door close. Mila hadn’t been kidding about those fourteen-hour shifts.
Swiping her new card through the Emperor Suite’s lock, Ruby quietly opened the door. She slipped off her shoes and started down the darkened hall to the master bedroom. The hall filled with light and she froze.
“Honey, you’re home. Why didn’t you call? The meatloaf is ruined.”
She turned, her shoes dangling from one hand.
Antony stood by the light switch in the foyer. He lifted his glass in a mock toast, but his eyes were cold.
“I hear you’ve been busy.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ruby shaded her eyes against the bright light.
“I’m tired. We can talk in the morning.”
She turned to walk away. Antony grabbed her arm with one hand, swinging her around. Liquid sloshed from his glass and the astringent odor of Scotch stung her nostrils.
“You think I’ll forget about it, don’t you?”
“Let me go.” She yanked her arm free. “There’s nothing to forget about.”
“Where have you been?”
“You locked me out of our suite, remember? What did you expect me to do?”
“That was hours ago.”
“I was at the casino.”
“Try again.”
“You’re upset. I’m sorry. We’ll discuss it in the morning. Please, Antony.”
His eyebrows lowered and pinched together as he stared at her.
“You stupid woman. You have no idea how much trouble you’re in.”
“Well, why don’t you tell me then? And while you’re at it, why don’t you tell me where you went on those business trips?” She stomped into the bedroom and dropped her shoes on the floor. Tugging open a bureau drawer, she pulled out a silk nightgown and mumbled under her breath, “and why you’ve got three fake passports.”
“What did you say?”
She turned, clutching the pink silk against her chest. Antony stood in the doorway.
“Nothing,” she said.
“No, I want to know. What did you say?”
“It was nothing, Antony. Please, I’m tired.” She backed into the ensuite bathroom with a twist of unease, locked the door and drew a deep breath. Then she unhooked her sapphire earrings with trembling fingers and dropped them on the counter by the sink. After listening for noises from the other room—no sound of Antony, thank goodness—she stepped out of the blue silk dress and hung it on a hook by the door. Tugging the nightgown on over her head, she turned on the tap and soaked a washcloth with cold water. Ruby sat on the rim of the tub, pressing the cool washcloth to her eyes, and listened to the drip, drip, drip of the tap. She tried to relax.
A crash jarred the bathroom wall and sent her earrings across the room.
With a loud crack, Antony burst open the door. Ruby screamed and dropped the washcloth, then clapped a hand over her mouth and froze, staring at him.
He stood, swaying slightly, in the doorway. A jagged piece of splintered wood jutted out from the frame.
“Antony, what are you doing?” she said with a quaver in her voice.
“We didn’t finish our talk. I have a few things to add.”
She felt trapped in the bathroom, pinned down. Her hands shook.
“We’ll talk, okay? But let’s do it in the other room.” She held her breath as she slid past him into the bedroom. Her heart pounded as she walked down the hall with Antony following. When they reached the living room, she turned to face him.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked, keeping her voice as calm as she could.
“Where were you tonight?”
“At the casino. And later, I had a drink with a friend.”
“A very good friend, I heard.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
He smirked and took a step closer. “Did he like your dress?”
She shook her head. “Antony—”
“I bet he did.” He scowled, clenching his teeth. “I paid for that dress. I paid for those earrings, too. I paid for everything.” His voice rose. “So you can do who knows what in them.”
“Antony, please—”
“All you ever wanted was my money.”
“That’s not true.”
“You were nobody before I married you.” He spit out the words. “Nobody.”
Heat surged through her body as she glared at him.
“I was an actor. I still am.”
“You were nothing.”
She stared at him, feeling surprisingly calm.
“You son of a bitch,” she said. “I’m going to bed.” She turned to walk away.
In two rapid steps he caught up to her and grabbed her arm, pinning it behind her back.
“You’re not walking away from me.” He spun her around and shoved her into an armchair. “You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing?”
Her jaw dropped.
“What I’ve been doing?” She thought of the passports, and the bonds, and the blonde, and her rage finally bubbled over.
“I’ll tell you what I’m not doing.” Her voice rose. “I’m not pumping shareholders’ money into offshore accounts to create a house of cards that will flame up and burn me in the ass. You’re a fraud, Antony, and soon everyone will know it.”
Thrusting out her chin, she glared up at him.
He stared at her, his eyes cold.
“You know nothing,” he said, bending over her. He reeked of alcohol and stale cologne. “Your name is on those companies and your name is on the offshore transfers. You’re the one who’s going to get burned. You and your dumb-ass brother-in-law.” Antony straightened up, crossing his arms, and glared at her.
Ruby’s stomach dropped. “What are you talking about? A
re you saying you’ve implicated Quentin in some scheme?”
“Not just him. You, too.”
She stared at him. Dear God. So it was true.
“Antony, what have you done?”
He shrugged. “The real question is what have you and your brother-in-law done? Apparently my money wasn’t enough for you two. You went after the company’s funds, too.”
“No,” she whispered. “Antony, answer me. What have you done?”
He shrugged and looked away.
Ruby placed a hand over her mouth and glanced around the room. She felt sick. How could this be happening? Her gaze returned to Antony. His eyes were clouded and he was swaying. It can’t be true. He must be making it up.
“You’re drunk,” she said. “We’ll straighten this out tomorrow.”
He glared at her as she stood and turned to walk to the hall.
“I’m not finished,” he said.
She flicked a hand without turning around.
“I don’t care.”
Without warning, he tackled her and they crashed to the floor. Ruby’s palms and forearms burned as she skidded along the carpet before slamming to a halt, air whooshing from her lungs. Gulping for breath, she tried to scrabble to her feet. Antony grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down. He flipped her onto her back and straddled her, pinning both arms above her head with one hand. With his other hand, he grabbed her throat.
She struggled to breathe as he tightened his grip. Wrenching one arm free, she flailed it against his head with no effect. Then she poked a finger, hard, into his eye.
“Shit,” he bellowed, rolling off her and clamping a hand to his face.
Choking, Ruby pushed up from the floor with a hand clasped to her throat. She staggered into the master bedroom on trembling legs and turned to close the door.
Antony raced after her and slammed his weight against it.
Pinpoints of light exploded before her eyes as the door smashed into her, knocking her onto the floor. She lay there motionless for a few seconds, stunned, then groaned and opened her eyes. A blurry figure stood in the doorway.
Sitting up on her elbows, Ruby swiped a hand across her face, held out her fingers and stared at the dripping blood. She pressed her hand against her nose to staunch the flow and looked up at Antony through splayed fingers. Her head throbbed in painful stabs.
Antony stared at her, his mouth falling open. He scraped a hand through his hair, mumbled something inaudible, and then turned and walked away. A few seconds later, footsteps echoed on the foyer’s marble floor and the door to the Emperor suite opened and closed.
Ruby slumped back against the floor.
Chapter Sixteen
Ruby staggered into the bathroom. Her nose had stopped bleeding, but her nightgown was drenched in blood. She pulled it over her head, stuffed it in the wastebasket, and turned on the shower.
Wincing as the cold water hit her face, she braced her hands against the sides of the shower stall and lowered her head. She stayed under the buffeting stream until the pain in her nose had dulled and her wrenching sobs had become soft hiccups.
She left the bathroom with her hair still wet, tossed her leather tote bag onto the bed, and opened the bureau drawers. Grabbing handfuls of clothing, she stuffed them into the bag. Antony would return, but not for hours. He might be apologetic by then, but she didn’t care. She had to get off this ship.
Maybe Pete Osler would help her.
She picked up the ship’s phone to call his room, paused, and replaced it without dialing. Pete was retired, but he was still a cop. If she and Quentin were implicated in Antony’s scam, he might report them both. She shuddered at the thought of leaving the ship in handcuffs. Especially with a paparazzo on hand. So much for the big career comeback.
Ruby pulled on khakis that had a silk scarf threaded through the belt loops, twisted the scarf in a loose knot, and tugged a T-shirt over her head. Her wallet was on the bed, but as she bent to pick it up the movement made the pounding in her head worse. She waited for the dizziness to ease. Then she pulled her credit cards from the wallet, tossing them one by one onto the bed, and riffled through her cash. She had less than a hundred dollars. The cards were linked to Antony’s accounts, so she couldn’t use them, which meant money would be a problem.
Fortunately, she knew where to find some.
In the den, she opened the safe and pulled out the leather box. The tiny gold key was missing. Perhaps she could find something in the bedroom to jimmy the lock. As she reached up with her left hand to close the safe door, the light from an overhead spot sparkled on her engagement ring. Ruby stared at the solitaire diamond.
All you ever wanted was my money.
Yanking off the ring, she threw it into the safe, slammed the door, and pushed the lock button.
Back in the bedroom, she bashed at the leather box with a nail file until the lock broke open. Then she packed the wrapped bundles of hundred-dollar bills into an empty makeup bag.
Three knocks boomed on the suite’s door, and she froze. Another knock sounded, followed by the lock’s electronic beep. The door into the hall opened and closed. Ruby looked frantically around.
Antony must be back.
She shoved the cash and the leather box into her tote bag and zipped it shut with trembling fingers. When she looked up, Mila stood in the bedroom door. Ruby stared at her.
“What are you—”
“Is that your bag?” Mila picked up the tote bag and headed for the door. “Your husband is on his way back,” she said over her shoulder.
“Wait. How did you know—?”
“That you had a fight?” Mila turned, lifting her eyebrows. “Everyone on two decks knows. We must hurry, he’s in the elevator.”
“Then he’ll be here in seconds. There’s no point. He’ll see us.”
Mila sprinted down the hall to the foyer and ducked out the Emperor Suite’s door with the leather tote bag slapping against her back.
“Wait,” Ruby called as she ran after her. Her head pounded with every step and she pressed both hands to her face, fearful her nose would bleed again.
Mila ran down the hall to the service elevator and inserted her key card. The elevator doors opened and she stepped in.
“Come on, hurry,” she hissed.
Ruby paused and then stumbled in after her. She couldn’t return the leather box as long as Antony was in the suite.
After traveling down several decks, Mila hurried down a carpeted corridor, past dozens of stateroom doors, with Ruby struggling to keep up. Mila stopped and inserted her card again, opening the door into a darkened stateroom. Ruby followed her in. Twin beds, separated by a night table, lined one wall and a small bureau hugged the opposite wall. A narrow passage between the beds and the bureau led to a sliding glass door, which opened onto a moonlit balcony.
“You can stay here for now,” Mila said, heaving the tote bag off her shoulder and dropping it on the floor. “This room is empty.”
Stumbling through the gloom, Ruby sank onto the nearest bed and held her throbbing head in her hands. Mila went into the bathroom and returned with a glass of water and a pill bottle. Handing Ruby the glass, she shook three tablets out of the bottle onto her palm and held them out to her.
“Take these.”
“What are they?”
“For pain.”
Ruby swallowed the tablets and lay down. Her side ached where Antony had tackled her and her face and arms burned. Mila took the ice bucket into the bathroom and emerged with a damp washcloth filled with ice. Ruby took it gratefully and put it over her face. Her mind drifted while she waited for the pills to work. She needed to sleep. Just … sleep.
* * *
Groaning, Ruby opened her eyes. The stateroom was in darkness except for moonlight glimmering through the balcony door. For a few seconds, she struggled to remember why her head throbbed so badly. Then she rolled over and put her feet on the floor, groaned again, and stumbled into the bathroom. She f
lipped on the light switch next to the mirror and recoiled at the sight of her swollen nose. Antony had been angry before, but never like that. Wincing, Ruby gently prodded her puffy face. Why had she let Mila talk her into this? Running away was not the answer.
She looked at her watch. Five a.m. Antony would be apologetic by now and he might tell her what was going on. She had to go back and sort things out. And the first thing she needed to sort out was that leather box. It had to be returned, pronto.
After splashing cold water on her face, she returned to the stateroom and zipped open her tote bag to retrieve the box. She took out her wallet and phone and then pulled out a sundress, her wigs, and several T-shirts. She tugged out the makeup bag stuffed with hundred-dollar bills. She yanked out items faster and faster, until the tote bag was empty and the floor littered with clothing, cash, and toiletries.
The leather box was gone. Along with twenty million dollars in bearer bonds.
Ruby slumped on the floor with her back against the bed, breathing raggedly and staring at the empty tote bag. Panic rose in her throat. Even if she told ship security that Mila took the bonds while she was sleeping, how would she prove it? No one had seen them leave the Emperor Suite together. Mila had already had plenty of time to hide the leather box. If Ruby accused her and Mila didn’t have it, Ruby would only brand herself as the thief. After all, she was the one who took it from the safe in the first place.
Not only that, but no one other than Antony knew the bonds even existed. He could dismiss Ruby’s allegations as a wild story concocted for publicity, and then confront her privately to demand she return the bonds. She flinched at the thought, slumping over with her head in her hands. Why did Antony have those bonds, anyway? It always came back to that.
She reached for the bag and began to stuff everything back in. As she picked up a red T-shirt, Pete’s photo of the woman in the red dress flashed through her mind. It had been blood, not dye, that made that dress red. Ruby paused with the T-shirt still in her hand, shuddering at the voices in her head.