Rowan raised her eyebrows. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Nick and I set it up before we left the mainland. We both think having a regular way for you guys to communicate while we’re out and about is important. You don’t have to talk every single day, but you don’t have to be in the dark while we’re at sea either.”
“Wow. I can’t believe you did that for me.” She snuggled closer. “That’s really sweet.”
“I’m a sweet guy. Essentially, I’m the candy corn of men.”
She barked out a laugh, legitimately amused. “I’m going to start calling you ‘candy corn’ when I’m in the mood for romance.”
“I’ve been called worse things.”
“Oh, yeah, Candy Corn?”
Quinn arched an eyebrow. “Ah. It’s romance time. I’m so excited. In fact … .” He was cut off by his ringing cell phone, causing him to swear under his breath. “I swear someone hates me.”
Rowan pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at his hangdog expression. “There, there.”
“No, it seriously sucks.” Quinn pressed his phone to his ear and gritted out a greeting. He listened for a long time before pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead. “You’re kidding. Where?” He waited again. “Give me twenty minutes. Try to cordon off the body so the guests can’t see it. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
All thoughts of romance vacated Rowan’s mind when she recognized the change in his demeanor. “Someone’s dead?”
He nodded. “We don’t know anything other than that right now, so I don’t want you getting worked up.”
Rowan was well beyond that. “I’m going to call my father while you’re up dealing with that situation. As soon as you can share information … .” She left the sentence hanging.
“You’ll be the first person I call.” He gave her a deep kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Candy Corn.”
“Geez. I’m never going to live that down.”
“Not even a little.”
HARPER FELT LIKE A MILLION BUCKS when she woke, Jared wrapped tightly around her. He was shirtless, his face pressed to the back of her neck, and he made adorable purring sounds as he slumbered.
Harper was used to them but still grinned whenever she woke before him and could listen. She had no idea her life would turn out the way it did, but she couldn’t have imagined a better outcome.
“Do you know that your body tenses when you’re smiling?” Jared murmured, tickling her ribs and causing her to squirm.
“I thought you were asleep,” Harper protested, giggling as she shifted in his arms so she could drink in his handsome face and morning stubble. He was criminally attractive on a normal day, but the stubble sent him through the stratosphere. “You’re awake, though.”
“I am.”
“You’re really pretty, too.”
His lips curved. “I’m nowhere near as pretty as you.”
“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.” She brushed her lips against his and snuggled close. “Do you want to know something funny?”
“Always … unless you find clowns funny. If it involves clowns, I don’t want to hear it.”
Harper made a face. “Like I would want to talk about clowns.”
“Then tell me, my future wife.”
Harper’s grin widened. “I slept really well. It was like the waves rocked me all night.”
“Heart, I was the one rocking you.”
She gasped when he tickled her. “You definitely rocked my world. It was a different sort of rocking, though. It reminded me of the hammock. By the way, did you see they have hammocks up on the main deck?”
“Are you serious?” His eyes widened to comical proportions. “We haven’t hammocked since the fall. You have no idea how much I missed it.”
“You know that’s not really a word, right?”
“I know that hammocking is my favorite – er, second favorite – thing to do with you.”
“You’ve such a gutter mind,” Harper complained as she poked his side. “Still, I’m a fan of hammocking. I thought we could spend some time doing just that this afternoon.”
“You had me at hammock.”
“Somehow I know that.” She gave him a soft kiss. “We have to spend time with Zander this morning, though. That means breakfast and doing something he wants to do. I know that’s not high on your list but … .”
He silenced her with another kiss. “Heart, it’s okay. I know we need to spend time with Zander. I’m not going to give you grief over that.”
“You’re not?”
He shook his head. “It’s okay. Let’s get ready and pick up Zander for breakfast. If we do this the right way, he’ll be sick of us by the time lunch rolls around.”
“Just in time to hammock.”
“You read my mind.”
HARPER WAS FLUSTERED BY THE time she reached the deck with Jared. Zander wasn’t in his room, and it wasn’t like him to be up with the sun after a night of drinking. Harper was convinced he spent the first thirty minutes of his solo bar night complaining about her. Once he calmed down, though, he would be more than willing to make friends and play nice with others.
That didn’t explain why he wasn’t in his room.
“I’m sure he’s having breakfast,” Jared reassured her, his hand on the small of her back. “He’s probably hungover and needed the protein.”
Harper wasn’t convinced. “If he went to breakfast, he would’ve knocked on our door to get us. He’s loud and obnoxious. He would’ve wanted to make me feel guilty for leaving him last night.”
“Maybe he’s growing as a person.”
Harper arched a challenging eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Jared held his hands palms out and shrugged. “It was a thought.”
“Well, something is wrong. I know it. I … .” She trailed off when she caught sight of the small group of people milling about on the far side of the deck. They were close to the railing and looking at something on the ground. “What do you think they’re doing?”
“I don’t know.” Jared honestly wasn’t all that interested in what was happening on the other side of the deck. “Let’s head to the dining room. I’m sure Zander is there, ready to pounce on us for being bad friends.”
Harper merely shook her head. “No. There’s something over there.”
“What?”
“I … .” Her heart rolled painfully when she finally made out the object on the ground. “That’s a body.”
“What?” Jared focused on the area more closely, his head moving back and forth. “No, I … .” He trailed off when he realized Harper was right. “Well, crap.”
“We have to go over there.” Harper started moving in that direction, but Jared grabbed her arm. “Stop it.” She slapped at his hand. “What if it’s Zander?” Tears filled her eyes and tore a hole directly through his heart.
“It’s not Zander,” he said automatically.
“You don’t know that.”
He opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. Technically she was right. “Stay here,” he said, collecting himself. “I’ll see what’s going on. You know the odds of that being Zander are astronomical, right?”
A single tear spilled over. “I don’t feel so well.”
“Heart, it’s not him.” Jared was firm. “I’m going to run over there and make sure it’s not him, but I’m telling you, it’s not him. Hold it together.”
Harper scrubbed her cheek as she bent over at the waist. “I’m going to be sick.”
“You’re not going to be sick,” Jared instructed. “You’re making yourself sick, but this is all in your head. That is not Zander – I’m going to prove it very quickly – and we’re going to track him down and have breakfast with him. Just … you’re not sick.”
One of the security guards bending over the body straightened and looked in their direction, his brow furrowing. He immediately started walking toward them.
“
Crap,” Jared muttered. “Harper, you need to pull it together for five minutes. I’m sure we can get to the bottom of this in that amount of time if you just … don’t look at me like that.” He wanted to wrap her in armor to protect her.
“Excuse me, folks,” the security guard said as he approached. “My name is Quinn Davenport. I’m head of security on The Bounding Storm. I’m going to have to ask you to go inside. We have a bit of a situation this morning, but we’ll have everything cleared up relatively quickly.”
He sounded calm, cool, and collected. That didn’t make Harper feel better.
“Who is that?” she asked, her voice cracking. “Is that a man? Does he have dark hair? Was he wearing a pink cardigan around his neck?”
“You need to go inside,” Quinn repeated.
“Just tell us who is over there,” Jared prodded, keeping one hand on Harper’s arm as he stared hard at the body. “Is it a man?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Quinn started.
“I’m definitely going to be sick,” Harper muttered, jerking away from Jared and tripping over one of the loungers to her right. Because of the placement of the piece of furniture, she put her hand on what she thought was a towel. It turned out to be a human, and at the exact moment she lost the coffee she drank in their room on the towel, Zander’s head popped out.
Bleary-eyed, confused, he glared at his best friend. “Oh, that is just … what did I miss?”
Six
Harper threw herself on Zander despite the fact that she’d just vomited on him.
“Oh, this is just disgusting,” Zander complained, trying to dislodge his weeping best friend. “I can’t believe you threw up on me, Harp. We’re having strong words about this later.”
“I thought you were dead,” she cried.
“You thought I was dead?” Confused, Zander flicked his eyes to Jared for an explanation. To his utter surprise, Jared threw his arms around Harper and embraced Zander with almost as much zeal. “Oh, not you, too.”
Zander made a face as Quinn watched the scene with a dispassionate gaze. “I don’t understand what’s happening here,” he complained.
For his part, Quinn merely shook his head. “I would say that you’re loved,” he said finally.
“Well, of course I’m loved.” Zander’s lip curled as he tried to push Harper and Jared back far enough to draw in a breath. “I’m a totally lovely guy, for crying out loud.”
Quinn managed a smirk, but it didn’t last long. Something occurred to him as he glanced between the body on the deck and the man who obviously spent the night sleeping on a lounger. “Were you here the entire night?”
Helpless, Zander held out his hands. “I guess. I don’t really remember.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean ... I don’t really remember. I was a bit drunk. Harp, knock that off.” Fed up, Zander finally grabbed Harper’s wrists and pushed her back. “You’re covered in puke, for crying out loud. What’s worse is I’m covered in puke.”
“Yeah, well, suck it up,” Jared snapped, keeping his arm around Harper’s waist so she couldn’t throw herself on top of her best friend a second time. “We thought you were dead. This is us showing how happy we are that you’re not dead. You should be happy.”
Harper’s gaze was accusatory when it landed on her fiancé. “You said I was making that up in my head, that he was perfectly fine and I was overreacting.”
“Oh, please.” Jared rolled his eyes. “If he wasn’t dead he would’ve been on us with the sun this morning and you know it.”
“So ... you were lying to me?”
“I was trying to protect you,” Jared clarified. “Don’t give me that look. I was trying to figure out how to create another Zander to make things better for you. I was thinking a robot might be fun.”
Zander’s eyes narrowed. “You were going to replace me with a robot?”
Sheepish, Jared shrugged. “I figured I could teach it ten catchphrases and call it a day.”
“Oh, you’re just a funny guy.” Zander moved to stand, but Quinn stopped him with a shake of his head.
“I have some questions for you first.”
Zander furrowed his brow. “Who are you?”
“Quinn Davenport, head of security.”
“Well, I don’t trust people named Quinn so you’re going to have to wait,” Zander said. “I have to shower and get the puke off me before I do anything. Seriously, what did you eat, Harp?”
“Just coffee.” Harper turned rueful. “And some gummy sharks I was hoarding.”
“You ate gummy sharks without me?” Jared shook his head. “I feel so unloved.”
“Yeah, well, no one will be eating gummy sharks for the foreseeable future,” Zander said, making a face. “I really need to shower or I’m going to puke on myself. Trust me when I say that nobody wants to see that.”
“I have questions for you,” Quinn pressed. “I need you to answer them.”
“Can’t they wait until I shower?” Zander wasn’t in the mood to play games. “I’m a sympathetic puker. If I don’t shower right now, I’m going to puke on you.”
Quinn didn’t crack a smile. “I’m willing to let you shower first if you answer one question for me.”
Frustration rolled through him but Zander managed to remain calm. “Okay. What’s the question?”
“Do you know that woman?” Quinn pointed at the body on the deck.
Zander tilted his head to the side and studied the brunette in question. Her body was at an odd angle so it took him a moment to absorb what he was seeing. When he finally did, a horrified realization washed over him. “Oh, geez.”
“Do you know her?” Jared asked, surprised.
Zander nodded. “I had drinks with her at the club last night. I ... can’t exactly remember what she said. We drank a lot of violet gin and told tales about people who annoyed us.”
“I bet I can guess where I landed on that list,” Harper muttered.
“I spent all my time complaining about Jared,” Zander countered, his eyes refusing to move from the woman’s pale face. “Tasha. Her name was Tasha Vale.”
“That’s helpful.” Quinn forced a tight-lipped smile. “Were you two romantic last evening?”
“Romantic?” Zander made a face. “I can guarantee that didn’t happen.”
“We’ll be checking her body, looking for DNA,” Quinn warned. “If you were intimate, now is the time to admit it.”
“Hold up.” Jared raised a hand and straightened. “Is he a suspect in a murder?”
“Nobody is a suspect right now,” Quinn replied. “The thing is, he was asleep mere feet from where our victim was found. That seems a little too coincidental to me. I understand it could’ve been an accident, perhaps things got out of control after some random sex. I need to know the facts, though.”
Zander was horrified. “I didn’t have sex with her.”
“He’s gay,” Jared added, flashing a quick look of apology in Zander’s direction. “I didn’t mean that as a bad thing, by the way. I’m just trying to help.”
Zander rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I didn’t kill her.”
“What do you remember?” Quinn asked.
“I don’t know.” Zander rubbed his chin. “We were at the bar. I was complaining about Jared and Harper abandoning me. I explained how this trip was supposed to be for Harper and me, but Jared invited himself and ruined everything.”
Jared balked. “I did not invite myself.”
“You did so.”
“I did not.”
“You did so.”
Quinn made a growling sound in the back of his throat to squelch the potential fight. “Gentlemen, you can argue about that later. I need to know about the dead woman on my deck. I’m guessing she was killed around three in the morning, but our medical team will have to confirm that. I need a timeline of events from last evening.”
“I don’t really know what time it was.” Zander rubbed his chin, frustrated. �
�Um ... it was late. We had a good time. She was complaining about the psychic. She said he told her she was going to die and she was frustrated.”
“Mark Brady?” Quinn asked, knitting his eyebrows. “The guy putting on the show in the main dining room last night?”
“I think that was the guy. I don’t really remember. All I know is that she was frustrated.”
“Did she tell you which group she was with?” Quinn asked. “Was she a ghost hunter?”
“Oh, um ... huh.” Zander was even more confused now than when he started. “You know what’s weird? That never came up. I don’t know why it didn’t come up, but it didn’t. You would think that would’ve come up.”
“You would think,” Quinn said dryly, shaking his head. “Okay, we have work to do here. You can catch a shower and get something to eat. I’ll be tracking you down later for a more formal interview.”
Jared positioned himself between Quinn and Zander to make sure the security chief caught his gaze. “I’m going to suggest Zander not talk to you until he has a lawyer. It’s nothing personal but ... you’re not a police officer. You don’t have formal investigative training. I’m not going to let you railroad him.”
Quinn’s gaze was speculative as he looked Jared up and down. “And you have formal investigative training, right? Does the ghostbusting help with that?”
Jared’s gaze turned dark. “I’m a police detective in Michigan. I’m on vacation with my girlfriend.”
Quinn flicked his eyes to Harper. “That would mean you’re the ghost hunter, right?”
Harper was defiant. “I am ... and I agree about Zander having an attorney. I don’t like the way you’re talking to him.”
“Well, I don’t really care what you like either way,” Quinn said. “Your friend has every right to ask for an attorney. We have two on staff.”
“No way.” Jared vehemently shook his head. “There’s no way I’m going for that. They’re on your payroll and will say whatever you tell them to say.”
“That’s not how it works, but I understand your worry,” Quinn said. “The thing is, if your friend doesn’t answer questions, we have the right to lock him in a holding cell until we return to the mainland. Since he could very well be the only witness I have to a murder, I will do exactly that.”
Wicked Ghostly Seas: A Rowan Gray, Harper Harlow and Ivy Morgan Mystery Omnibus Page 45