“Yea.”
“It’s not gross—I mean, to you?”
Parker shook his head. Maybe he should feel like it should be, but, “It’s part of you, Bray.”
“You’re making a mess, Park.”
“You’re already a mess, Bray.”
“I like being a mess next to you.”
“Yea. That makes two of us.”
Brayden’s fingers were moving again over Parker’s rock-solid spire. Brayden moved himself over the top of Parker and began kissing him around his neck and chest.
“What are you doing?” Parker watched him as his kisses moved down to his abs.
“I’ve never had a guy in my mouth before.”
10
H ey Parker.” Christie finally found him eating a late lunch. “What time did you leave? I missed you this morning.”
He nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep. I was up late surfing and reading.”
“Night owls. I don’t get you guys.” She sat down across from him at the small lunch table. The cafeteria wasn’t exactly busy at 2:00 in the afternoon.
“Where is everyone?”
“Ashore. Doing the tourist thing.”
He nodded.
“There’s a concert tonight in town by the square. Interested?”
“A Christmas concert?”
“I know, right? I just thought it would be fun.”
“I’ve been to Leavenworth when they do the tree lighting thing. I think I’ll pass. Tourist towns give me hives.”
“Me too, but, it would be better with you.”
“That’s a nice thing to say.”
“You’re kind of growing on me, Parker.”
“Christie,” he met eyes with her. “Do you think we’re kind of moving fast—I mean, too fast?”
“Are we?” She raised a brow.
“I don’t know. I was thinking about it last night.”
“We’re kind of awesome under the covers, Parker.”
“We are. I’m just—I mean it’s really fast. For me.”
“Is this the ‘I don’t want to sleep with you anymore’ talk?” She suddenly didn’t look happy.
“Honestly, Christie, I don’t know what it is. I’m just thinking about it.”
She got up from the table. “Well, let me know when you figure it out, Parker.” He watched her turn and storm out of the room.
* * * * *
The night air wasn’t nearly as cold as Parker thought it should be. Brayden walked right beside him, both bundled warmly for the chilly weather. Snow was everywhere, but the town had done a really good job of keeping it cleared from the sidewalks and streets. Both moved along the walk looking into shop windows decorated with festive lights and natural Pine-fir garlands.
“That’s all she said?” Brayden asked after Parker had finished telling him the story.
“Yea. I guess she was a lot more into me than I was into her.”
“She’s really cute.”
“You don’t fall in love with cute.”
“I did.” Brayden grinned at him while playfully nudging his shoulder into Parker’s.
“Knock it off.” Parker glared at him with a half smile, then returning the gesture. He really wanted to be holding Brayden’s hand, but the public display of their affection was something that was still a little new with him. Besides, Braden had already mentioned that cruise staff were forbidden to fraternize with the passengers. He didn’t want to out his new friend to other crew who might be lingering in the crowds.
“So what do you think about the two of us?” Brayden asked.
“I know you’re not going to be sleeping alone tonight, that’s for sure.” Parker assured him.
Brayden chuckled. “Seriously though. Be honest.”
“I am being honest.”
“Parker,” Brayden groaned.
“I don’t know, Bray. I just came off of a really long,” he sighed, “and rather dark time in my life. I don’t want to push anything. If it happens it happens.”
“I was thinking the same. About you. All day today.”
“It’s a little surreal. Sleeping with another guy, I mean.”
“It is surreal. Let’s just enjoy the time and wait and see what happens.”
“I think that’s a good plan.”
Both walked together, mulling through shops with overpriced Christmas knick-knacks and totem-pole souvenirs.
Back out on the street they were making their way toward where the music was playing.
“Are you going to see her again?” Brayden asked.
“You mean am I going to sleep with her again?”
“I know. I’m being nosy.”
“No. Even if I hadn’t met you, I don’t think it was going to last. Christie’s hot, but she’s a little intense with the type-A.”
“You’re type-A, Parker. That’s why it won’t work.”
“I’m type-A? I don’t think so.”
Brayden chuckled. “Thank you for proving my point.”
Both exchanged grins.
“Hey, did you find out anything about your ring last night,” Brayden pointed into the window of a jewelry store they were passing on the sidewalk.
“Some. Other people have seen these. Someone said in a post that you have to be on the dark web to find out more about them. I’m not even sure I know how to get onto the dark web.”
“You have to know people. And have the right access credentials.”
“You’ve been there?”
Brayden nodded. “I—sort of used the darknet to learn how to take the money I needed from the cruise line.”
“You’re quite the underworld kingpin, Bray.”
“Not really. I got caught.”
“Can you get us on it again?”
He nodded. “I still have my codes. If they still work.”
“Do you want to stay for the concert?”
Brayden grinned. He could see Parker was really interested in what he could find out about the ring. “No. It sounds like a high school band anyway. Let’s go see what we can dig up on your ring.”
11
B oth guys sat close to each other by one of the fireplaces. Not even midnight yet, the lounging area was a bit more populated with people quietly talking here and there. The amorous couple was even back from the night before last, but they hadn’t started making out yet.
Parker had loaded a Tor client onto his MacBook and logged into some site called ‘Blackbook’ with Brayden’s old username and key.
“What the hell is Blackbook?” Parker watched as a list of screen names and destinations began filling the Tor browser.
“Darknet social media. Like Facebook, only this is the dark side. Facebook makes you use your real name,” Brayden was shaking his head. “These are all anonymous, aliases of different people all over the world,” Brayden pointed. “They could be underworld hackers, kids, or FBI agents.”
“FBI?”
Brayden nodded. “The feds haunt the darknets looking for illegal activity, mostly money launderers and kiddie porn.”
“Great,” Parker frowned. “Now I’m going to get arrested.”
“You’re not doing anything illegal. Do an image search for your ring again.”
“Why wouldn’t it have shown up before?” Parker found the folder where he’d stored the images of his ring. “Doesn’t Google know everything already?”
“No, Google doesn’t know everything, only places it’s allowed to index. With this client we’re searching the deepweb now. Places Google doesn’t know about and usually isn’t allowed to go.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
Both watched as the software uploaded the image and then began searching, returning results almost immediately.
“That was fast,” Parker mused. Clicking through the links the search returned he found images of stolen jewelry for sale at really good prices.
“Jesus, we are going to get arrested.”
“Not.” Brayden assure
d. “The client anonymizes our IP and client signature. No one even knows where you are.”
“That’s convenient.” Parker clicked on another link.
“Otherwise, no one would bother to use the darknets.”
“Hey, look at this.” Parker enlarged the next image.
“Yep. That’s your ring all right. I told you there was more than one of those.”
“Who owns that pic?”
“How do I find that out?”
“It’s like Facebook. Just click on it and see if anyone claims ownership.”
“Uploaded by someone named HermesV,” Parker mused.
“See if they’re in chat,” Brayden pointed.
Parker clicked over the chat window. “It says they’re live.”
“That never means anything. Type something to them. Better yet, just upload your pic to them. See what they say.”
Parker dragged the image into the chat window. Almost immediately, they got a reply.
“Nice”
“Can you tell me what this is?” Parker typed.
“Ring”
“Great.” Parker rolled his eyes. I’m chatting with a nine-year old.
“I know it’s a ring. I want to know more about it. Where do they come from?” he typed.
“Is it yours? Or someone else’s?”
Parker looked at Brayden.
“Mine. It was given to me by someone who died.”
There was a long pause before another message popped up. “Who?”
“Uh-uh,” Brayden warned Parker. “We don’t give out personal info on the darknet.”
Parker nodded. “My fiancé.”
“Do you still have the ring?”
“Yes.” Parker typed.
“With you?” Came the reply.
“Always.” He typed.
There was a long pause. Parker looked at Brayden. Waiting.
“Look, they’re typing again,” Brayden pointed to the screen message. Parker’s eyes grew wide as he read the message.
“She’s not dead.”
12
P arker visibly shook with emotion sitting on the side of the bed back in his state room. His stomach twisted in knots.
Brayden watched him carefully. “It’s just a cruel joke, Parker. They don’t know who you are. It’s completely anonymous. They’re just jerking around your emotions. Or they were trying to be nice. Like she’s in Heaven.”
“No. It’s more than that. I know it is.”
“You’re upset. This whole cruise has been an emotional roller-coaster for you.”
“She’s not dead, Brayden.”
“You went to her funeral. That’s when her brother gave you the ring. You told me that.”
“And where is her brother, Bray? Her mom and dad?”
“I don’t know, you said they disappeared.”
“Isn’t that a little strange?”
Brayden nodded. “It is.”
“This is my way back to her.” He held up the band.
Brayden sighed. “I’ll see you around, Parker.”
“Bray—don’t—” Parker stood up from the bed.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t leave me. Not now.”
“You’re a wreck, Parker. You’re chasing ghosts. And even if you do find out what happened to her, where does that leave me? You’re more than just still in love with her; anyone can see that. You’re never going to get over her.”
“It’s not like that, Bray.”
“Use your head, Parker. If she’s not dead, where’d she go? Why’d she just all of as sudden leave? A week before she’s about to propose to you? Your fiancé wasn’t treating you very well—and her brother was obviously in on it. Maybe he was just trying to make you feel better with the engagement thing?”
“Denton Dark worked for somebody, Brayden. Somebody in the government, I think. Somebody important. He never actually told me, but he and Carissa would talk sometimes. She wasn’t exactly an open book to me.”
“You dated a woman for two years and you never found out what she did or what her family did?”
“I know. You’re right.” He nodded. “It sounds stupid. She said she worked in media. I visited her office a lot in the Columbia Tower. I never really saw what she actually did. Or Denton. She said she worked in HR, but, it did seem more like she was running the place half the time. The truth is, I’m not exactly sure what she did there.”
“And you think her brother is like some kind of spook—CIA or FBI maybe?”
“Or maybe Secret Service. I don’t know. But think about it. You said it yourself. She dies and then the whole family just vanishes.” He snapped his fingers. “Gone. Her parent’s home is cleaned out, abandoned; no one’s cellphone numbers work anymore. Like they never even existed after the funeral.”
Brayden nodded. “Yea. I have to admit, that’s more than a little strange.”
“And—there’s more. You’re probably not going to believe this, but—”
“But what?”
“Sometimes, when I’m wearing this.” He held up the band on his finger. “It’s like I can feel her. All around me.”
Brayden offered him a polite smile.
“I know. You think I’m imagining things.”
Brayden said nothing.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight. I need someone to hold on to.”
Parker looked pathetic. Brayden stared at him for long moments. Then shook his head walking up to the guy. “Jesus.” He took Parker into his arms. The guy was still trembling as both tightly embraced. “I’ll hold you, Park.”
Brayden felt Parker exhale softly; then heard him whimper quietly. He could feel him weeping as both held each other tightly. “Don’t worry, Park. I’ll stay with you. I’m not going anywhere.”
13
T he loud knock on the door of their state room jarred both guys from sleep. This time Brayden was spooned behind Parker most of the night.
“Uhhh,” Parker groaned quietly. “Not again. Go away.”
“Your ex-girlfriend is persistent.” Brayden mumbled, lightly kissing his shoulder.
But then suddenly both guys heard the door of the cabin unlock and watched as two uniformed police officers entered along with a ship’s officer. Both guys sat up onto their elbows with astonished looks.
Brayden met eyes with the porter. She didn’t look all that happy seeing him in bed with a passenger. But Parker’s eyes were focused on Christie pushing past the officers. Her hand went immediately to her mouth as a look of shock and horror washed over her face.
“Oh my God!” fell out of her mouth. The color was draining from her face. She quickly turned and ran out of the cabin.
* * * * *
“What’s going on, Jeff?” Parker found himself in a small business conference room the police had setup in the executive part of the ship, away from the general population. “The police asked me all kinds of questions about Mauri and your family. Then they wanted to know where I was all night. I asked what was going on but they won’t tell me anything.”
Jeff didn’t look happy. “Then I’ll tell you. Mauri’s dead, Parker.”
Parker just blinked at him. “Huh?!”
“We took all of the kids for a sleepover in our cabins last night after the concert, so she could have a break. She died last night in her sleep.”
“Oh my God. Jeff—I—I don’t know what say?”
“I don’t think there’s anything anyone can say at this point. The police are keeping it quiet for obvious reasons.”
“Yea, who wants to be on a ship where someone just died.”
“Not just died, Parker. Mauri was murdered.”
“WHAT?! What happened? How?!”
“The police won’t say. But it sounds like someone was in her cabin last night. I don’t know what happened or how. But all of us are on their ‘persons of interest’ list now.”
“You mean we’re all suspects.”
Jeff nodded. “None of us are
going to be allowed off the ship until the Canadian authorities have more information.”
“Jesus, Jeff. You’re sister was one of the nicest people I think I’ve ever met. Who’d want to kill Mauri?”
“I don’t know the answer to that, Parker. I have no idea. The police are trying to sort all of that out.”
“So that’s why they wanted to know where I’d been all night.”
“They said you were with another guy all night. I saw the ship’s video.”
Parker nodded. “Mauri wanted me to meet someone on the cruise; I guess did.”
“I’m happy for you, Parker. Really,” Jeff half smiled. “Mostly I’m happy because now I know you didn’t do it.”
Parker nodded.
“Christie’s been pretty upset all morning though. About her sister and now this thing with you and this other guy. I think she really likes you.”
Parker rolled his eyes with a sigh; then nodded. “I’ve been trying to let her down easy, Jeff. Your sister doesn’t let down very easy.”
“She’ll get over it,” he half smiled. “But with Mauri gone, we’re going to need someone to keep things going back in Seattle. Please don’t let Christie run you off, Parker. I have a feeling our family is going to really need you to keep things going smoothly at Signature. A lot of people will be depending us. Please tell me you won’t be leaving.”
Parker nodded.
* * * * *
“I should bust your ass back to housekeeping, Mr. Michaels.” The Captain glared at Brayden in his office. “Fraternizing with passengers is not just against the rules, it’s bad for business.”
“I’m sorry, Captain. It won’t happen again.”
“Damn right it won’t happen again. I’m terminating your employment, Mr. Michaels. As of now. The minute the police are through with their investigation, you are off my ship the moment we hit a Canadian port. Understand?”
“Yes sir.” Brayden pursed his lips.
The captain ended the recording device on his desk; then sighed.
“At ease, Brayden.”
Brayden took a more relaxed stand but still stood at half attention.
Prism (Awakened Chronicles Book 3) Page 5