Stormy Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 3)

by Lily Harper Hart

  The duo was happy and conversing when Callisto made her grand entrance a few minutes later. She was dressed in a floor-length evening gown, her ample assets on display and her face caked with so much makeup Rowan thought she resembled a doll rather than a human.

  Callisto took a moment to scan the room, her eyes landing on Rowan for a beat before traveling to Quinn. For his part, he didn’t look away, but he was careful to keep his expression neutral. That didn’t stop her from making a beeline toward their table.

  “Oh, well, this isn’t going to be good,” Rowan muttered, hating the way her cheeks burned as the woman closed the distance. “If she yells at me, I don’t want you to be alarmed. I might start crying. I’m not good when people yell.”

  Quinn arched a challenging eyebrow. “You cry when yelled at? I’ve yelled at you a few times and you didn’t cry. You yelled back.”

  “Yes, well, you bring out the worst in me.”

  “I happen to like it.” Quinn made a show of cracking his lobster shell as Callisto strode to the spot right next to the table. He was doing his best to pretend he didn’t notice her, but Callisto obviously wasn’t falling for it.

  “Hi.” Rowan’s voice was squeaky as she greeted the horror movie siren. “How are you? That’s a fabulous dress.”

  “It’s Brita Barton,” Callisto offered, never moving her eyes from Quinn’s face. “It’s designer. You probably can’t afford an original, but you might get lucky and have someone make a knockoff that doesn’t look cheap and terrible.”

  “Oh, well … .” Rowan had no idea how to respond. “Thanks for the tip.”

  Quinn wasn’t happy with Callisto’s attitude, but he was hardly in the position to say what was on his mind. If they wanted to remain close to the women he had to at least pretend to be friendly. “You don’t need a dress like that, Ro. It would be impractical for work.”

  Rowan flashed a thankful smile. “Probably.”

  “Yeah, that’s the reason she doesn’t need a dress like this.” Callisto rolled her eyes, not stopping until they landed on Rowan. “How come you’re not taking photographs? This is a big dinner. Shouldn’t you be doing your job?”

  Rowan kept her smile in place, but it was hardly genuine. “I’m taking a dinner break before heading back to work.” She tapped her camera for emphasis. “I’ll go back and work some more as soon as I’m done.”

  “Are you even supposed to be here?”

  “We’re allowed to eat wherever we want,” Quinn replied. “It’s in our contracts.”

  “So you’re a photographer, too?” Callisto scanned Quinn in his entirety, her eyes flashing as she apparently liked what she saw. “You don’t look like any photographer I’ve ever seen. You do look like you’d fit right in on a movie set, though.”

  “That’s possibly very flattering.” Quinn was uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. “I’m not a photographer, though. I’m head of security on The Bounding Storm.”

  Whatever she was expecting, that wasn’t it. The news, however, brightened Callisto’s mood considerably. “Do you carry a gun? Wait, I bet a guy like you is always cocked and ready for bear.”

  The double entendre wasn’t lost on Quinn, but he didn’t engage in the flirty banter like Callisto clearly wanted. “How is your lobster, Ro?”

  Rowan was caught off guard but answered because she sensed Quinn needed to take control of the situation. “It’s very good. The steak is good, too.”

  “The steak is very good,” Quinn agreed.

  “Oh, geez.” Callisto rolled her neck, sparing a glance for the women she spent the afternoon with on the deck before locking gazes with Quinn. “You’re underdressed, but if you want to join us at the central table, you’re more than welcome.”

  Quinn managed to keep his expression calm, but just barely. “I think that table looks full.”

  “I can find room for you. You can be my date.”

  “I already have a date.” Quinn’s tone was firm. “You should probably get over there, though. It looks as if they’re expecting you. You don’t want to let your fans down, do you?”

  Callisto looked as if she was going to offer up an argument, but instead she merely shook her head and glared at Rowan. “Don’t forget what I said about my photos.”

  “I won’t.”

  Rowan remained quiet as she watched Callisto saunter away. The woman put on a heck of a show, because when she arrived at the table she said something that caused the women waiting for her to cackle with delight. They all looked in Quinn’s direction at the same time, dissolving into giggles and whispers. Rowan didn’t like the snarky reaction one bit.

  “Do you exude some musk I’m not aware of?” Rowan asked, throwing Quinn for a loop with the question. “Seriously, all you have to do is look at a woman and she’s ready to strip naked for you.”

  “I’m not aware of any musk, but I’ll ask my doctor the next time I’m in for a check-up.” Quinn was embarrassed by the show and he wasn’t sure how far to push things with Rowan to get her to ease up. “She’s just trying to agitate you. You know that, right? That whole little display was for your benefit, not mine.”

  “If you think she doesn’t find you attractive, you’re kidding yourself.”

  “Yes, but you’re the one who ticked her off. This room is full of hot guys … and they’re guys who are a lot more famous than I am. They probably have more money, too.”

  “I still don’t know how I ticked her off that bad,” Rowan admitted. “She was fine when she thought I was a tabloid reporter. She turned cold and rude after. As for the hot guys being rich, I’m starting to think that might not be true.”

  Quinn handed Rowan one of his lobster claws because he knew they were her favorite part. It was a peace offering of sorts, even though he hadn’t done anything to warrant brokering peace. “Why?”

  Rowan smiled as she accepted the claw. She recognized what he was doing and appreciated the effort. “Rebecca mentioned something to me this afternoon that I guess I didn’t take into account before. All of these movies they’re honoring here are low-budget movies.”

  “You’re just figuring that out?” Quinn had his doubts. “Ro, I saw some of the clips they were showing on the screen during checkin. If they spent a hundred bucks on some of these movies I would be surprised.”

  Rowan offered up a wry expression. “I think you’re being a bit of a movie snob, but there’s no reason to focus on that. I just assumed the people who acted in these things were making good money. I mentioned a movie Rebecca was in – it was about an alien and she had this cool tentacle thing that came out of her eye, although that’s not really important to the conversation.”

  “Thank God,” Quinn muttered under his breath.

  Rowan murdered him with a pointed look but kept talking. “Anyway, Rebecca said she was embarrassed to be in the movie and that it failed miserably at the box office, which meant she got less money than she expected because her fee was tied to the back end.”

  “I get what you’re saying,” Quinn said after a beat. “You think that most of these actors are doing these movies because they’re hoping to use them as a springboard to bigger things. It’s their way to get a foot in the door.”

  “Exactly.” Rowan bobbed her head. “Every once in awhile someone does one of these movies and gets discovered by Hollywood. This isn’t Hollywood. As much as I enjoy it, it’s like the junior varsity of Hollywood.”

  “Okay, but how does that help us figure out what is going to happen to Callisto?”

  “She’s pretty much the top actress in this field,” Rowan replied. “That means she gets paid more than most. Maybe someone wants to knock her off her perch so he or she can take her spot.”

  “Like Rebecca?”

  Rowan tilted her head to the side, considering. “I didn’t get that vibe off her. Granted, I didn’t talk to her very long, but she seemed to understand the industry and her place in it. She wasn’t bitter or anything.”

  “
My understanding is that she hasn’t been around as long as the others,” Quinn noted. “I like where your head is going on this, though. You’re thinking this is the closest thing we’ve had to a motive. Maybe it’s one of the women competing against her in the best actress category.”

  “What will that get them, though?”

  “Callisto’s spot. Maybe she has a lot of enemies that we don’t realize. We’ve witnessed her being a real … um … b-i-t-c-h. You can’t be the first person she’s been mean, too. Didn’t Rebecca pretty much tell you that?”

  Rowan glanced over her shoulder, confused. “Who are you spelling for?”

  Quinn shrugged. “I have no idea. I feel a little stupid for doing it in the first place. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen.”

  Rowan grinned. “Done.”

  “Good.” Quinn handed her his second lobster claw. “I think we need to make an effort to learn more about this business and exactly what will happen if Callisto dies. I think that’s the only thing that makes sense given our current situation.”

  “I don’t think that will be too hard,” Rowan said. “I can try talking to Rebecca again. You can use that world-famous charm of yours to schmooze the other women. They’ll probably trip over themselves while drooling over you.”

  “That sounds tedious, but I don’t see where we have another option,” Quinn said. “We’ll start right after dinner. You have to take photos, right? You can use that as an opening.”

  “What will you use an opening?”

  “My charm.”

  Rowan rolled her eyes at his mischievous smile. “I’m glad you’re very obviously spoken for because otherwise I might be worried.”

  “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “I know … and it makes me feel warm and gooey inside.”

  “And that made me feel warm and gooey inside. I didn’t see that coming.”

  “Is that a good or bad thing?” Rowan was genuinely curious.

  “It’s the best thing. I have no doubt about that.”

  9

  Nine

  “Okay, you hit Rebecca and I’ll see what I can find out from that one.”

  An hour later, Quinn stood next to Rowan in the dining room entryway, his shoulders slumping a bit from weariness. All he really wanted to do was take Rowan back to her room, crawl into bed and … strip her naked and do what came naturally. Crap! His mind was really starting to wander these days. He couldn’t focus on much else but her. He didn’t consider it healthy and yet fixing it at the present time seemed an unachievable goal.

  He honestly had no idea what he was going to do.

  “What are you thinking?” Rowan’s expression reflected curiosity, and when Quinn let his eyes lock with hers he found an odd vulnerability there.

  “I was thinking about you,” Quinn admitted, refusing to lie.

  “Me?” Rowan’s eyebrows hopped up. “Why me?”

  “Because I happen to like thinking about you.” Quinn heaved out a sigh and squeezed her hand before taking a step back. “It doesn’t matter. I think I’m just tired.”

  “You and me both,” Rowan admitted. “I feel as if I could sleep for days. I don’t know why I’m so exhausted.”

  Quinn had a feeling he knew why – they were both expending so much energy not thinking about sex that they were taxing their minds. It would be easier if they could talk about it, table the expectations for a bit, but neither of them were up for that challenge. They would have to suffer through.

  “We’ll go to bed as soon as we get some information,” Quinn suggested. “I’ll see what I can find out in here. You handle Rebecca. You’ve already made first contact with her and she’s the one most likely to have the information we need.”

  “Okay.” Rowan forced a tight smile. “After that we’ll go to bed, right?”

  Her words held a double meaning that caused Quinn’s heart rate to heat up a bit. “Definitely.” He swallowed hard. “We’ll be fast.”

  “Going to bed?”

  Quinn realized his words had a double meaning, too. In fact, almost everything they said to one another at this point could be misconstrued in some way. He didn’t like it. Sure, some of the banter was flirty and fun. The rest was starting to wear on him, though. “Talking to people,” he croaked out. “We’ll be fast talking to people.”

  “Oh, right.” Rowan’s cheeks flushed with color. “I knew you meant that.”

  “Sure you did.” Quinn cupped her chin and gave her a soft kiss. “We’ll get through this. It’s going to be okay.”

  “I know.”

  “Good. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  ROWAN SPENT the next twenty minutes trying to get Rebecca alone because she was uncomfortable talking to the young woman in front of an audience. In between attempts, she snapped a bevy of photographs – including a handful of Callisto so she could make sure the omen was still there (it was) – and then an opportunity arose when Rebecca ducked through the main doorway and disappeared from the room.

  She was alone.

  Rowan cast a panicked glance over her shoulder looking for Quinn. He was at the far end of the room, a pretty woman with a pair of the biggest breasts Rowan had ever seen chatted him up, twirling a strand of her bright purple hair around her finger. The woman was obviously flirting … and Quinn didn’t look as if he minded. Rowan knew she should tell Quinn where she was going but there was no way she intended on interrupting the duo. Instead she made up her mind on the spot, sucking in a deep breath and plunging through the door in an attempt to follow Rebecca.

  Rowan was more familiar with The Bounding Storm than she had been when first landing on the ship. She still didn’t know all of its ins and outs, though, so she was glad when she hit the main deck and found Rebecca staring out at the sea. The younger woman stood at the railing, a far-off expression on her face, and Rowan almost felt guilty about interrupting her.

  Almost. She still had a job to do.

  “Nice night, huh?”

  Rowan jolted at the question. She had no idea Rebecca knew she was close. “It’s going to storm.”

  “It is?” Rebecca arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow as she stared out at the rolling ocean waves. They were barely visible in the limited light. “How do you know that?”

  “The air, for one thing,” Rowan replied, moving to the woman’s side. “Do you feel how wet it is? Your skin probably feels damp because of the humidity.”

  “I thought that was because we were on the ocean.”

  “Not really.” Rowan forced a smile, hoping she looked friendly rather than intense. “The clouds are pretty thick, too. You can’t see the moon. The atmosphere seems to hang heavy over us, kind of like a coat almost. The storm will be here soon.”

  Rebecca couldn’t help being impressed. “Wow. You seem to know a lot about living on a ship, huh? I guess you would have to know things like that.”

  “I haven’t been here that long,” Rowan replied, resting her elbows on the railing as she stared out at the ocean. “I’ve always had a thing for storms, though. I grew up in Michigan and we had a lot of thunderstorms in the summer. I learned how to recognize the signs.”

  “Michigan, huh? That’s a long way from here.”

  “It is.”

  “How did you end up here?” Rebecca seemed genuinely curious. “I mean … I know it’s none of my business, but this seems like an odd job to have. It seems cool, don’t get me wrong, but when I was thinking about what I wanted to be as a kid, I never once considered sailing around the ocean on a cruise ship.”

  “I didn’t either,” Rowan admitted. “I always wanted to be a photojournalist. I imagined myself landing in war-torn countries and taking really important photographs, the kind of photographs that win prizes.”

  “So how did you end up here?”

  “The industry changed,” Rowan replied, opting for honesty. She figured that sharing a part of her history might be a good way
to get Rebecca to open up about her work environment. “Journalism isn’t what it once was. Newspapers are going out of business and owners care more about bottom lines than sharing truth. People don’t want to pay for news any longer. They want to read it on the internet for free instead … whether it’s true or not.”

  “I guess I never considered that.” Rebecca was thoughtful. “You couldn’t find a job in journalism?”

  “I found one, but it was for a Detroit newspaper and it didn’t last all that long,” Rowan explained. “They laid off all of the photographers and decided the reporters could take their own pictures. I was kind of at a loss and had no idea what to do when this fell into my lap.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “I do.”

  “Is that because it’s a cool job or because of that guy I saw you sitting with in the dining room?” Rebecca’s eyes lit with mirth as Rowan uncomfortably shifted from one foot to the other. “If it’s none of my business, you can tell me.”

  “No, it’s fine.” Rowan waved off Rebecca’s concern. “I guess I’m just not sure how to answer. I think it’s honestly a mixture of both.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that.” Rebecca’s smile was mischievous. “He’s a handsome guy. What’s his name?”

  “Quinn. He’s head of security on the ship.”

  “Oh, you know what? He kind of looks like a security guy. I thought he was an actor the first time I saw him on deck. He had a standoffish air about him, though, so then I thought he might be a director and I simply hadn’t met him yet.”

  Rowan pursed her lips to keep from laughing. She had a feeling Quinn would be offended that Rebecca mistook him for a director. “No, he’s head of security. He’s not really a fan of horror movies either, so I don’t think being mistaken for an actor would make him very happy.”

  “It’s not always a fun job,” Rebecca agreed, her eyes clouding. “I’ll bet working on a ship like this is definitely a fun job.”

  Rowan sensed a shift in the woman’s mood and decided to take advantage of the rather obvious opportunity. “I would think working on horror movies is a fun job. I mean … you get to pretend to be someone else for money. Isn’t that fun?”