Baited

by Crystal Green

  “Let’s face it,” she said, “I don’t fit into your upwardly mobile plans. I never will. That one moment made everything obvious.”

  “Kat,” he said gently, “that’s not true. You’ve got the potential to outshine any society woman.”

  Duke would say the same thing. The realization unsettled her. “If I would just change, right? But I can’t. I’ll never be some diamond come out of the rough. Say it—this scatter-blood smart mouth complicated your big goals.”

  “Okay, yeah, you complicated a lot of things, but only because you’d never let me forget about your race or your damned station in life. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love you.”

  The breath left her. It was the last thing she’d wanted him to bring up. And the first thing. The only thing. “I loved you, too, but I can’t forget that little peek into how you really felt about us. It made me doubt you every day after that.”

  “This is all behind us, Kat.” He offered a hopeful grin. “Can’t I make you trust me again?”

  What…did he think it was all that easy? Trust was just the tip of the iceberg. But it was also everything.

  A flash of Will putting suntan lotion on Alexandra swept over her, flooding away all hope of trust ever happening for her again. There’d always be reminders of his priorities, his all-consuming ambitions.

  So afraid of the damage, the inevitability of repeating the past, she drew back into herself. “Why don’t you save your sweet nothings for Alexandra Delacroix?”

  She regretted the words even as they left her mouth.

  Devastation—and realization—washed over him. He’d been caught “networking,” making nice with the rich girl.

  “Kat.” Will shook his head. “I’m the captain. You know it’s my job to make my guests feel welcome.”

  But Kat had seen her ex-boyfriend in action before, kissing up to “connections,” trying hard to become someone again. She couldn’t stand it, especially since she suspected that the Delacroixs thought the same thing about her, too.

  The boat was lifted by another, more aggressive wave. The lights flickered then burned on again.

  Without another word, Will sent her an indecipherable look, then left for the bridge, his shoulders stiff with wounded pride. The sight almost knocked Kat to her knees.

  Was he upset because she’d misinterpreted what he’d been doing with Alexandra today, or because she called him on it?

  She sank into the chair, cursing Duke for reintroducing Will into her life and throwing her emotions around like so much debris, cursing herself for letting Will past the cracks in her heart.

  But she didn’t have long to recover because, soon, she was joined by the other passengers, one by one. Scared people who had been brought to the salon by the shift in weather, by the need for comfort from the mild storm.

  Or from whatever was lying beneath their own skins.

  Eloise Delacroix, dressed in a silk robe, was holding a paper bag over her mouth as the bobbing waves shook the boat. Alexandra was dressed similarly, watching her mother closely while Duffy looked on from the spot where he was standing, back to the corner of the salon, seemingly immune to the roiling ocean. Even Louis looked a little yellow as he attempted to pour himself a glass of sloshing water. Kat and Dr. Janelle Hopkins were silk-less in their wardrobe, slumming in T-shirts and shorts and Dramamine patches.

  Nestor and Chris, wearing spiffy robes over their own wake-me-for-champagne-brunch pajamas, were occupied arm wrestling at one of the tables. Nestor’s dimples were at full salute as he strained to beat his teen cousin. But Chris was methodically gaining ground and forcing Nestor’s arm to give way.

  Dr. Hopkins winked at Kat, then said, “Nestor, you can’t possibly be this weak.”

  That’s what you get from a boy-band-type guy, Kat thought, noting Nestor’s designer-gym-honed physique. Surprisingly, Chris had some real oomph to him. He was a deceptively wiry kid with the constitution of a steel clamp. Kat couldn’t help getting into the contest; it beat thinking about the waves and the nausea. It also trumped thinking about Will.

  “And Rocky faces Apollo Creed in the ring,” Kat said, refusing to dwell on her issues. “Can. He. Do. It. Folks?”

  “Wait,” the doctor said. “Is this Rocky One or Rocky Two? Because we’re talking about different finales here.”

  Duffy wandered over and took a seat next to Dr. Hopkins. Even though he and his black eye were studiously avoiding Kat, she could tell he wanted to be a part of the group. “Since it looks like Chris is about to make Nestor into a girly-man, I think we need to go with the sequel, where the underdog pulls it out.”

  Chris slammed Nestor’s arm to the table and whooped in glee, raising his arms over his head. “Gotcha!”

  Nestor shook out his arm, laughing. “Two out of three?”

  Just as Chris was about to accept, Duke came into the room, shrouded in a thick robe, his pallor and slow gait halting all conversation. After an awkward moment, everyone greeted him heartily, save Eloise and her paper bag.

  “Ah, parties,” Duke said, folding himself into a chair and leaning on the table.

  Louis crossed one leg over the other, facing away from his wife as she dry heaved. “It was rather impromptu, Edward. Welcome to Misery Loves Company. Care for a Dramamine?”

  “I’ve had my fill of pills, thank you.”

  “I pulled a Rocky on Nestor,” Chris said, giving Duke a play-by-play of the victory.

  “Well done.” Duke lit up at his grandson’s joy. But as the boat listed to the side again, he closed his eyes.

  Worried, Kat watched him, even though she was still smarting from what Duffy had said this afternoon.

  Am I a project? she wondered. A refurbished building?

  A lie. Duffy was lying.

  “I remember,” Duke said through clenched teeth, clearly fighting his stomach, “when Rocky came out. Most of you are too young to recall it, I’m sure.”

  “Nineteen seventy-six,” Kat said, offering a smile to her mentor after he opened his eyes. Even though she was wounded, she wasn’t about to let Duffy’s comments sabotage Duke’s last voyage. Besides, she’d give him the benefit of the doubt before discussing this with him later when he felt better.

  “That’s when disco was popular,” Chris added.

  Duke sat up a little straighter, and Kat realized that engaging him in a conversation he’d love—pop culture trivia—would go a long way toward diverting his attention from his pain. They frequently spent hours chatting about movies, TV, music. They were both media nuts, especially Duke. Of course, he’d once owned a syndicated television outlet.

  Another wave moaned under the boat, so Kat rushed to distract Duke. “Best sequel ever, Harrington?”

  He didn’t even have to think. “Godfather, Part Two.”

  “Man,” she said, “according to Scream Two, G-Two is part of a trilogy, not an actual sequel. You know that.”

  Chris had already plopped his butt on the table in his exuberance, clearly wanting to be in the thick of the topic. “Favorite scary movie…?”

  “Bambi,” Duffy said dryly.

  Everyone laughed as Nestor added, “Friday the Thirteenth.”

  “Sequel number?” Kat asked. “One, two, three…?”

  “Part two. Boy, you people are sticklers.”

  “You got a thing for hockey masks?” Dr. Hopkins asked. “I like my killers to have the guts to show their faces.”

  Nestor leaned on his elbows and aimed his body toward the dark-skinned beauty. “Jason Voorhees didn’t get the mask until part three. And, aside from the pillowcase he wears, you do see his gorgeous puss at the end of Part Two.”

  “Well, touché then.”

  As the rest of them offered more titles, the doctor and Nestor just grinned at each other.

  Hold up, Kat thought. More flirting.

  And—much to her shock—everyone was getting along. Even Louis and Alexandra were listening while Eloise weaned herself away from her thankfully
empty paper bag.

  Soon, they were all laughing with each other, totally at ease, the touchstone subject of movies providing neutral ground. While they tested each other about Academy Award winners, favorite movie scores and worst actors, no one seemed to notice that the weather had calmed.

  Until Will walked into the room.

  Kat could feel the change in temperature immediately—lukewarm to burning. But maybe that was just her skin, which had blushed to flame the minute she’d sensed him.

  When he leveled a meaningful glance at her, Kat looked away to find Larry flanking their captain. Larry looked as ready to rumble as ever.

  “How’s tricks, Captain?” Nestor asked.

  “We’re past the tossing and turning.”

  “Hey, can the boat run by itself?” Chris asked, ever curious. “Why aren’t you driving it?”

  Will grinned at him. “One of my guys, Shaw, is monitoring the radar while the M. Falcon is on autopilot. I just wanted to see how everyone was doing.”

  Kat noticed that Alexandra was busy devouring Will with her gaze. A junkyard-dog instinct bristled inside Kat, making her want to claim him again, apologize to him, even. With effort, Kat tuned in to the conversation, trying hard to distance herself from jealousy. And…good luck. She’d need it.

  “Captain Will?” Chris asked. “Favorite…TV theme!”

  Louis piped up. “Trivia, Captain. We’ve been whiling away the time with a bunch of silly talk.”

  Wait, Kat thought. Silly talk is awesome. She caught Duke’s wan, knowing smile. He was thinking the same exact thing. Trivia had gotten them through the worst moments of the trip so far, so thank heaven for it.

  Will leaned back against the wall, his pose thoughtful. “I’ve never really considered this before.”

  Bull. She should’ve called him on his coyness. He loved the theme from Wild, Wild West. Just remembering the endearing, dorky dance he’d done when they’d watch repeats sent another bittersweet memory through her.

  “I like the Alias song,” Chris said. “It rocks.”

  This brought up a renewed burst of answers. Hawaii Five-O. Cheers. Magnum P.I. Twilight Zone.

  “Ah,” Dr. Hopkins said. “The best. Twilight Zone.”

  “Ooooh.” Nestor lifted up a finger. “Name the episode. The one where they’ve captured the devil and some dumb backpacker guy gets talked into letting him go, thus unleashing evil upon the earth?”

  “‘The Howling Man,’” Duke and Kat said at the same time. They pointed at each other. “Jinx!”

  It was on: a competition between her and Duke. Damn, it felt good to see him perk up a bit.

  Louis even joined in. “The one where the woman is in bandages in a clinic. Everyone is making a point of how ugly she is, and when the bandages are taken off—”

  “I know this one,” Eloise said, fanning herself while Alexandra yawned.

  “—we see that she’s beautiful and the doctors look like pigs…”

  “‘Eye of the Beholder’!” Kat got it just a split second before Duke could.

  “These are before your time,” he added. “How…?”

  “Wasted days in front of the TV after school,” Kat laughed. “I’ve seen them a hundred times each.”

  Will laughed, too, knowing her well enough to appreciate the comment. He’d often teased her about watching too much of the tube, but he’d also known why she was in the habit. When she wasn’t with dear old dad, she’d often stayed indoors when she was young, avoiding certain kids who liked to pick on her.

  Recovering from the intimate moment, she tried to ignore the flutter in her tummy.

  A little less energetic by now, Duke offered a tidbit. “The one where the aliens manipulate a neighborhood into thinking—”

  Kat was still distracted, so Duffy beat her to it. “‘The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.’”

  Flushed and in the moment, Nestor blurted out another. “The one where the dying old man makes his family wear masks that show their true natures in order to get their inheritance, and at the stroke of midnight, when they take off the masks, their faces reveal what’s in their souls…”

  The room had come to a terrible standstill.

  “‘The Masks,’” Duke finally said.

  Only the howl of the wind, a cold keening that breathed through Kat’s bones, kept her from shouting to break the thickening in the air.

  Dr. Hopkins tried to improve the atmosphere. “The one where the tiny man with the glasses—”

  Duke interrupted. “Let’s cut the bullshit. I’m dying.”

  It was like he’d gently taken out a sledgehammer and knocked them all in the heads with one swing. Kat’s ears rung, her heart beat in her throat.

  “Father,” a pale Eloise said, gingerly rising to her feet to come over to Duke, “let’s not—”

  “Eloise,” he continued, voice trembling, “why are you and the family finally with me?”

  Everyone sat in silence.

  “Gramps…” Duffy began.

  But Duke stopped him with one lift of a finger. “No excuses. It’s too late for that. I’d just like to know—”

  He cut himself off with a bout of coughing. Kat poured a glass of water, setting it in front of him.

  “Before the diagnosis, there were never any family dinners.” Another cough. Duke’s face grew uncomfortably red. He took a sip of water and collected himself enough for his skin to turn a hard-boiled pink. “There were never even Christmas cards until you saw the light at the end of the tunnel for me.”

  “Now, Edward.” Louis was on his feet. “Let’s talk about this in private.”

  He motioned toward Will and the crew, who took the hint and started to withdraw from the room. Dr. Hopkins followed. Yet when Louis gestured toward Kat and Chris, he received no such response. Kat wasn’t going anywhere. Duke was like family. He was all she had.

  “Why not in front of us?” she asked.

  Louis raised his chin, but Kat could tell he wasn’t brave enough to take her on.

  Duke was smiling—and it was no longer the soft, lighthearted grin of the man Kat thought she knew.

  “It fascinates me,” he said, sighing, “to see how people act when faced with the possibility of great wealth. From an aging businessman who’s been waiting out his father-in-law’s decomposing body—” he nodded to Louis “—to a daughter who’s shown complete apathy until recently—” a salute to Eloise, who held a hand to her chest and looked like she was on the verge of getting sick “—to the grandchildren who’ve spent a fortune they’ve never had and need a new one to keep themselves proficient in all types of debauchery.”

  Nestor shifted in his seat. Alexandra straightened her spine and her eyes got watery. Duffy, however, was heating up by the moment, knuckles going white as he fisted his hands on the table.

  “And,” Duke added, “let’s not forget the upwardly mobile class who might have good reason to give in to the temptation of money.”

  He slid a glance to Kat, then toward the door where Will had disappeared. Her stomach dropped. This trip hadn’t been about allowing her to reconcile her feelings about her ex, after all, had it?

  She flinched. Was Duke planning to set up Will by putting him in the middle of money, just to prove that Will would always choose family pride and money over her? Was he giving her just cause to shut the book on her ex?

  Or…No way. Duke would never think she wanted his cash.

  Hell, she wouldn’t believe the worst until she saw proof. She wasn’t even sure why this had all crossed her mind, but the fact that it had scared her. Duffy’s rash comments had apparently eaten away at her faith in her friend, hadn’t they?

  Kat walked over to Chris. His eyes were wide. Confused? Surprised?

  When she took his hand to lead him out of the room, he pulled her back to his chair, indicating he wanted to stay.

  Maybe he’s more mature than other kids.

  Okay. It was time to give him a little credit.

 
; Duke paused to rub his temples. “So, really, I didn’t invite you here for adventure as much as honesty.”

  Louis braced his hands on the table, attempting to seem intimidating. “What are you saying?”

  Duke faced him in that gentle yet firm way of his. “I want to know how much my family actually loves me. I want you to deserve an inheritance.”

  “We do,” Nestor said. “Love you, I mean.”

  All the Delacroixs nodded, backing Nestor up.

  “Good.” Duke sighed, smiled. “Then you won’t care if I’ve decided to make a few changes to my will.”

  “Changes,” Louis echoed.

  Duffy’s voice was tight when he finally spoke. “Like what, Grandfather?”

  “Ah. Honesty in his tone. I like that.” Duke slowly, painfully, got up and made his way over to Kat and Chris, resting his hands on their shoulders. “When I get back to land, I’ll be making arrangements to leave ninety-five percent of my holdings to Chris.”

  Eloise sucked in a loud breath while Chris sat quietly. Stunned?

  “And five percent to someone else who has proven that they love me unconditionally.”

  Don’t say it, don’t say it, Kat thought, dreading it, craving it all at the same time.

  “My good friend, Katsu Espinoza.”

  And with that, Duke started to shuffle toward the door, amidst the rising protests of his family. Springing out of her chair, Kat went with him, ready to fend off anyone who confronted Duke, ready to talk some sense into him, too. Or maybe she needed some sense talked into her.

  Either way, that night changed everything.

  Chapter 5

  Lesson one: It’s dumb to wear flashing objects in the water, Kat thought the next day as she removed her earrings after dressing in her wet suit.

  And lesson two, among so many more: Never go into the water without realizing that you are out of your element and in something else’s world.

  As she stood on the starboard side of the deck next to a similarly suited-up Chris, waiting for the moment they could go back to the boat’s stern and climb into the shark-observation cage, she knew that caution was the most important lesson of all.