Misfits, Inc.

by Holly Copella

  “I don’t know what’s keeping Lucinda,” Hailey apologetically said to Brody. “It’s not like her to be so late.”

  Brody casually waved off the comment while maintaining his grin. “She was in the middle of some crisis and sent her regrets,” he announced without care. “I thought you knew that. She gave your briefcase to Rafe. It’s in my suite whenever you’re ready to go over the proposal.”

  Hailey’s mouth fell open as she stared at Brody across the table from her. She was screaming inside, secretly cursing Lucinda. How could Lucinda do that to her? It took every ounce of strength Hailey had to keep from exploding. She shifted in her chair and attempted a polite response.

  “We were supposed to discuss business over brunch,” she informed him.

  “I know, but I thought my suite would be more private,” he replied while grinning slyly as he boldly placed his hand on Hailey’s thigh.

  Hailey smacked his hand, which possibly stung her own hand as much as it did his. The crack was heard by those at nearby tables. Hailey abruptly stood, nearly knocking the chair to the stone floor. If smacking his hand didn’t get the attention of other guests, her shooting up from the table certainly did.

  “I’m not part of the deal,” she lashed out while feeling her cheeks become hot and red. Everyone was now staring at them. “We’ll talk when you’re ready to act professional.”

  Hailey turned away from the table and nearly collided with Rafe, who was now standing directly in her path. Hailey met his gaze with hostility. She wasn’t in the mood and didn’t mind making a scene with the handsome, hired goon. To her surprise, Rafe’s lips curled in a strange, twisted sort of smile. He politely stepped out of her way. She swore his look almost praised her hostile outburst. Hailey tried not to smile, but she was secretly grateful for the tiny glimmer of encouragement he showed her. Maybe there was a human heart beating inside him after all. She stormed across the terrace without looking back.

  Chapter Ten

  Hailey spent a better part of the afternoon on the beach with Mel and two of her three new friends, Desi and Penny. Hailey was hoping to avoid her boss after her meeting with Brody. She knew the incident with Nevin Brody was a deal killer and possibly a career killer for her as well. It only seemed natural to enjoy what might be her last day at the tropical island resort. All four lie on their lounge chairs soaking up sun while sipping on strong, fruity drinks. Hailey, like Desi and Mel, wore a conservative bikini. Penny wore yet another ‘barely there’ bikini. Her ample breasts were attempting to break free from the tiny material barely containing them. Despite the perfect afternoon, Hailey just couldn’t relax. Her mind continually strayed to her earlier altercation with Brody and the thought of losing her job because of it. She knew she was in the right, but it didn’t ease the sting of potentially being unemployed.

  Her mind occasionally strayed from her self-pity, allowing her eyes to shift to the path in the woods. She couldn’t shake the image of Amy on the path. Her condition was alarming, yet it seemed inconceivable she’d disappeared so easily. Hailey wasn’t above citing her overactive imagination for what she’d seen that morning. If Amy had truly been injured or in danger, she would have walked toward Hailey, not away from potential help.

  “Where is Amy anyway?” Penny finally demanded while looking around.

  Hailey felt uncomfortable by the question, but she wasn’t about to admit to what she may or may not have seen, especially if it had been all her imagination.

  Desi grinned and raised her brows with suggestion. “She was getting pretty hot and heavy with that cute guy from the club last night. I’m thinking they’re sleeping in after a full night of extracurricular activity.”

  “Please!” Penny loudly protested. “Amy doesn’t do that sort of thing.”

  “I don’t know,” Mel swiftly interjected. “She did just dump her boyfriend. Revenge sex is a powerful motivator.”

  “She had a lot to drink too,” Desi informed her friend. “After that many drinks, morals take a backseat to a guy with a great ass. And that guy had a great ass.”

  Penny considered both comments, conveyed her defeat, and groaned softly. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  “Maybe someone should check on her,” Hailey suggested and shifted uncomfortably on her lounge chair.

  If she knew Amy was in her room sleeping, she might be able to enjoy her afternoon a little more. Personally, Hailey didn’t know Amy well enough to be knocking on her guestroom door. What if she was sleeping off a night of great sex? Hailey would feel quite foolish.

  “And interrupt something kinky?” Desi remarked while casting a look at Hailey from over her sunglasses. It was almost as if she read Hailey’s mind. “No, thanks!”

  “She’s your friend,” Hailey remarked while shifting. “Someone should make sure she’s okay.”

  “If she’s still not around before dinner, I’ll check on her,” Penny announced. “She could be nursing the world’s worst hangover. I know I’ve been there before.”

  Desi laughed softly. “Yeah, you’ve been there a lot since you started college.”

  Hailey felt a little better that Penny would check on her friend. It was getting close to dinnertime anyway. If Hailey didn’t get something to eat soon, the alcohol would start hitting her harder than she’d like. She had no intention of getting drunk anywhere near Lucinda. She didn’t trust the barracuda not to sacrifice her drunken body to Nevin Brody.

  †

  The lobby seemed fairly empty a little before dinnertime, as it usually was at that hour. Hailey stepped out of the elevator a little after five that evening now freshly showered and changed for a casual dinner. She knew she couldn’t avoid Lucinda forever and would probably run into her around dinnertime. There were only so many places to eat at the resort. Guests could get bar food in the lounge and at the poolside cabana or have dinner in the dining room. Room service was an option, but Hailey didn’t need to add additional expenses to her room, in case Lucinda decided to play hardball with her and make her pay for her tab. As she walked across the lobby, she was immediately greeted by Skyler, who was just getting off work. The look on his face and his spastic movements conveyed deep concern.

  “Where have you been all afternoon?” Skyler suddenly asked while fidgeting more than usual.

  He appeared unable to stand still, telling her something had gotten him worked up beyond his usual issues.

  “I was on the beach with Mel and her friends cooling off in the hot, tropical sun,” she informed him.

  Skyler appeared baffled by her comment, causing him briefly to stand still. The moment was short lived. His baffled look almost humored her, causing her to hold back her own laugh.

  “I’ll tell you all about it later.” She studied his expression and wondered what had him riled into a state of constant movement. “Is something wrong?”

  “I saw a woman killed in my dream,” he informed her in rushed speech, barely able to contain the news. “I know I’d seen her at the hotel.”

  Hailey stared at him as her mind reeled from his announcement. She didn’t know why, but she was getting a strange image in her head, and it troubled her.

  “A short, blonde girl around my age?”

  “How did you know?” he suddenly asked as his eyes widened with alarm.

  Something seemed strange about his premonition, which oddly coincided with what she’d seen earlier. She didn’t like the thoughts going through her mind.

  “I followed her into the woods this morning,” Hailey announced as her heart rate increased at the thought that Skyler had a vision involving Amy. “She’d been injured. I tried to talk to her, but she kept walking and then disappeared.”

  “The woods?” Skyler suddenly gasped louder than anticipated and nearly jumped out of his skin. “That’s where I saw the woman killed in my dream.”

  She shouldn’t have believed him. Everything indicated their reasoning was insane, but she couldn’t help feeling something was terribly wrong. Wha
t if Skyler had foreseen Amy’s death after she’d wondered off into the woods? Hailey suddenly felt terrible for not pursuing the injured woman. If something unfortunate happened to Amy and she could have prevented it, she’d never be able to live with that guilt.

  “We have to find her, Skyler,” Hailey suddenly announced, feeling overwhelming concern. “I should have gone after her. I should have made sure she was okay.”

  “Show me where you last saw her.”

  Hailey hurried across the lobby toward the main entrance with Skyler on her heels.

  †

  Hailey and Skyler entered the clearing in the woods and looked around the knee-deep grass covering several acres, which was surrounded by more woods. It seemed almost impossible they’d find her beyond the thick grass and with so many adjoining trails. Hailey couldn’t help wonder how she disappeared so quickly. Where did she go so fast? The better question almost seemed to be, why would the injured woman return to the woods rather than seek help? She’d seen Hailey, and she was sure she’d heard her calling to her. Why not let her help? Skyler touched a thick blade of the tall grass and stared at what was possibly dried blood. He appeared alarmed while looking around and released the blade of grass.

  “That’s blood,” Skyler gasped with concern. He then indicated more blood on some grass a few feet away. “There’s more this way.”

  Hailey scanned the area and saw some blood in the opposite direction. “It goes this way too,” she announced.

  Skyler gently parted the tall grass with a stick and followed the blood trail. Hailey walked in the opposite direction, following her own trail.

  “She can’t be dead, Skyler,” Hailey insisted as they drifted further apart. “She was alive when I saw her, which was after your dream.”

  “My visions aren’t an exact science,” he announced without looking back at her. “In my dreams, dead could just mean injured or missing.”

  Hailey straightened and looked toward the nearby woods. Something darted into the shadows and growled at her. Hailey gasped while taking a quick step sideways, stumbled over a rock, and fell to the ground, landing in the thick grass. From where she lie, she stared at the decomposing body of a young woman only inches from her. The woman’s eyes were open and there was a large amount of dried blood from several scratches along her shoulder to her chest, slicing her tattered dress. Her right arm was missing, having been seemingly ripped from her body. Hailey cried out and scrambled to her feet, unable to take her eyes off the butchered woman. To her surprise, it wasn’t Amy, but she somehow looked familiar.

  Skyler ran toward her, saw the body, and immediately clung to Hailey from his own fright. Hailey stared helplessly at the dead woman, and was suddenly aware that she was missing the lower half of her body as well as her arm. It looked as if something had been feeding on her decaying corpse. Skyler also stared at the body and alternated clutching Hailey’s arm and pulling on her shoulder. She was almost certain he wanted to jump into her arms, so she’d carry him. There was more growling from the nearby woods, causing them to freeze in place and stare at the woods’ edge.

  “Did you, uh, hear something?” Skyler asked without taking his eyes off the woods.

  It was possibly the first time he remained motionless for more than a second. Something large and black jumped from the dark shadows for them. Before either could get a good look at it or even react to the animal leaping for them, it was tackled into the tall grass by a black panther. Skyler grabbed Hailey’s arm and pulled her to his side, possibly due to his own fright more than attempting to protect her. They could hear loud, vicious snarls as the panther and creature fought in a massive, black ball mostly hidden within the tall grass. Hailey had no idea what she’d just witnessed, but she was certain the creature wasn’t any animal she’d ever seen before.

  Both watched the grass sway beneath their fighting bodies. Hailey was almost unable to move, wanting to know what sort of creature had come close to attacking them and the fear of it chasing them if they ran. Skyler had ideas of his own. He grabbed Hailey’s hand and nearly pulled her off her feet while hurrying her back for the path. She had little choice but run behind him with his hand nearly crushing hers. She found it difficult to keep up with his long, fast strides, but he wasn’t about to release her hand. She could hear the vicious sounds from the fighting animals in the clearing growing faint the further they ran.

  Chapter Eleven

  The lounge was practically empty and void of life during the popular dinner hours as most guests were in the dining room. Logan played a soft ballet on the piano while keeping his attention focused on the small group, who had collected at the bar. Tam leaned on the bar, listening intently, with her mouth partially opened. She watched Hailey and Skyler, who sat across from her. They attempted to hold their drinks in trembling hands while they recounted what happened to them in the woods. Lucinda sat on the other side of Hailey and stared as well.

  “What sort of wild animal was it?” Tam asked.

  “It wasn’t any wild animal I’d ever seen,” Hailey insisted while glancing at the bartender. “It was hideous; some sort of beast.” She shook her head defiantly, not believing her own words. “I didn’t get a real good look at it, but it sounded nasty.”

  “All I saw was a black blur, but I heard it,” Skyler quickly interjected, talking almost too fast to be understood. “Whatever it was, it was larger than that panther that attacked it.”

  “And you think either this creature or the panther killed the girl?” Tam asked.

  “I don’t know,” Hailey replied while taking another swallow of the special cocktail Tam created for her. Despite its potency, she took large swallows. “She had slash marks across her chest. Something had been eating her body.”

  Tam and Lucinda stared with horror in their eyes then simultaneously made faces. Marcus, Delaney, and Talbert entered the lounge and approached them at the bar. Rafe followed in less of a hurry. Skyler saw them, appeared panic riddled, and jumped up from his bar stool. His eyes were so wide, they were about to bulge out of their sockets.

  “Did you see it? What was it?” Skyler demanded.

  “We didn’t find anything,” Marcus informed him in a low, firm tone while staring him down. “No creature, no panther, and no dead, half eaten girl.”

  Delaney and Talbert wore looks of annoyance on their faces and withheld comment. Hailey could tell they doubted her story of the creature killing that woman. Hailey jumped up from her seat to defend what she saw. Lucinda gently pulled her back down to her seat by her shoulder. Skyler was clearly wound enough for both of them.

  “Did you look by the ravine?” Skyler demanded while throwing his hands around in frantic gesture.

  “We searched the entire area including several paths and the ravine,” Marcus informed him while folding his arms across his broad chest. His look was cold and disbelieving. “We didn’t find anything.”

  “We didn’t imagine this, Marcus,” Hailey firmly insisted, despite Lucinda attempting to keep her from reacting.

  Hailey hesitated briefly and considered her comment. She was almost positive they hadn’t imagined it, but she knew how ridiculous they sounded. The strong drink was going to her head, and she was having a difficult time collecting her thoughts. Marcus turned his attention on Hailey and showed more compassion than he had for Skyler. She was grateful that he wasn’t playing the tough guy act on her after what she’d been through that afternoon. Just another reason to like the hardened man.

  “I’m sure you saw something, we’re just not sure what,” Marcus replied with a sympathetic look.

  Lucinda glared her disapproval at the imposing head of security. It was the first she offered an opinion of the incident, and Hailey feared what that opinion might be.

  “If there’s something out there killing and eating my guests, you’d better damn well figure out what it is,” Lucinda growled in a tone that surprised Hailey.

  Marcus fidgeted slightly to her comment then held up his
head proudly, not wanting to disappoint her. Despite Lucinda being his boss, Hailey was surprised he submitted to her. She expected a little more fight out of the tough man.

  “It’s too dark to see anything more tonight,” he announced reassuringly, attempting to please the barracuda. “We’ll go back out when it’s light and have another look around. If there’s something out there, we’ll find it.”

  Lucinda remained displeased, but she accepted his assurances. Hailey was grateful Lucinda was at least willing to believe her story even if she had to berate Marcus to prove it. Marcus attempted to regain his tough guy act then turned and indicated for Delaney to follow him. Hailey watched them leave and could almost hear them mocking her on their way out of the lounge. Hailey couldn’t believe they didn’t find the woman’s body. They couldn’t have looked very hard. They had to have missed her somehow. The dead woman didn’t get up and walk away, considering her legs had been eaten along with the rest of her lower body. Could the creature have dragged her body away to finish its meal?

  She suddenly recalled her nightmare on the helicopter ride the day they arrived. Something pulled a woman back into the woods by her ankles. Hailey could almost hear the woman in her dream screaming. Images of the dead woman’s face were burned into Hailey’s mind. Could it have been the woman from her dream? Was that even possible? Was her nightmare actually a premonition? She was starting to think she’d been hanging around Skyler too long. As if reading her mind, Talbert glared at Skyler and shook his head with irritation.

  “No more scenic tours, okay?” Talbert announced in a civil tone, although it was obvious he wanted to berate the man, but he was too professional to do it in front of guests.

  Skyler reluctantly nodded while frowning. There wasn’t much he could say in his defense. They already thought he was crazy. Talbert didn’t even bother looking at Hailey. He’d already formed his opinion of her as well. He left the lounge almost as quickly as he’d entered. Lucinda gently patted Hailey on the shoulder then quickly stood and hurried after Talbert. Hailey saw Lucinda’s stone pendant necklace on the floor by her stool. She picked it up and hurried after Lucinda.