“You still haven’t answered my question regarding Clark Savage,” I prodded. “Why isn’t he attending this little shindig with you guys?”
“Because he’s not welcome.”
“He’s welcome around the tiki bar with you.”
She sighed, the sound long and pronounced. “He’s technically not welcome there either, but he doesn’t pick up on social cues. He’s an obnoxious man who happens to be friends with a friend. We all like Carter despite some of his rather ridiculous beliefs. I mean ... the man purposely bought a camper from the seventies so it could survive an EMP attack. No running air conditioner and the cupboards look like disco threw up in them, but he’s convinced he’ll survive an EMP attack and makes his family go through drills because he loves them. That’s all that counts, right?”
I had no idea what an EMP attack was. “Why isn’t Clark here? Is he off with another prostitute? Now that you told me that first woman was a prostitute, that’s all I can think about.”
Lily snickered, shaking her head. “I know why you’re asking about Clark. You don’t have to hide it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You found out about Shayne’s past. That means you found out about Clark.”
I did my best to hide my surprise. “I can’t say either way if we found any ties between Clark and Shayne.” I was purposely trying to be vague. “I’m sorry. I’m not allowed to talk about specific aspects of our investigation.”
“Don’t bother.” Lily waved off my lie. “You found out that Clark and Shayne used to date in high school and they broke up under very bitter circumstances. I’m not surprised you stumbled over the truth. The only reason I didn’t tell you was because Carter didn’t want anyone to jump to conclusions and we promised to stay out of that aspect of the investigation.”
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from calling out to Jack. “I don’t blame you. It’s fine. We found out through our own methods.”
“I’m glad. I felt bad lying.”
“Yeah. Um ... .” I wasn’t sure what to say. Thankfully, Jack picked that moment to track me down, and he was just tipsy enough to draw Lily’s full attention. “You didn’t sing, did you?” I was horrified at the prospect.
Jack’s chuckle was warm as he shook his head and extended his hand. “No. You conveniently got out of singing, too. But I am cutting myself off. I’ll have a hangover if I’m not careful and I don’t like hangovers when I’m on the job.”
I wasn’t a fan of hangovers at any time, but this seemed the perfect opening to make our escape. “Okay. We can head back to the condo.” I took his hand and ignored the way Lily smirked. She found our relationship amusing, which was mildly embarrassing. “You’re not so drunk you can’t walk back, are you?”
He shook his head. “Just drunk enough to make sure our walk takes three times as long as it should.”
I was confused. “Why?”
“Because he wants to spend time with you,” Lily answered, laughing as she shook her head. “Geez! You’re smart on some things and dumb on others. Ah, well. You’ll learn.” She gave me a half-wave. “If you want more information, I’ll be around tomorrow. Just be warned, if you try to question Clark he won’t take it well. Watch your step around him.”
“I will.” I waited until she was gone to speak again, turning to Jack with excitement. “I have big news.”
“Great.” Jack’s smile was lazy. “You can tell me tomorrow. I don’t want to focus on work right now.”
“What do you want to focus on?”
“Well, I have you, a beach and the moon. I’m pretty sure I want to focus on that.”
My belly warmed with pleasure. “I guess that’s okay. I can tell you my news tomorrow.”
“Good. Come on.” He tugged on my hand. “The night awaits ... and I have grand beach plans running through my head.”
I had no idea what he meant by that, but I was keen to find out.
Twenty
I piled Jack into the spare bedroom when we got back to the condo. Bernard’s things were missing, so I figured he followed through on the plan to move in with Millie. Jack wasn’t drunk so much as happy, which was funny. I wasn’t used to being the responsible one, but I poured him into bed, yanked off his shoes and then took a long shower to wash away the dried sweat and grime of the day.
When I returned to the bedroom he was fast asleep. He’d removed his shirt and jeans, and was resting on top of the comforter in nothing but boxer shorts. For a moment I considered heading to the living room to sleep on the couch. If I were a man and him a woman, that would be the considerate thing to do.
I knew nothing would happen — no hanky-panky, so to speak — so I slipped into a T-shirt and knit shorts, and slid in next to him. I was out within minutes, and unlike the previous evening, bad dreams didn’t threaten to chase me.
When I woke, I found he’d shifted beneath the covers during the night and was spooned behind me. It was a nice feeling until I realized he was awake and waiting for me to join him in the real world.
“Do you have a hangover?” I murmured sleepily, stretching as I rolled to my back and faced him.
He shook his head, his morning stubble making him all the more attractive ... if that was even possible. Seriously, it was criminal how good he looked after a night of drinking. “I’m okay. I didn’t get that drunk.”
“You were kind of drunk.”
“Not really, but I did have a good time.”
“I did, too.” I stared at him because he was too pretty to look away from. “I kind of wish you’d gotten drunk enough to sing.”
“That will never happen.” He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Having a room to ourselves is nice, huh? We don’t have to worry about anyone barreling in on us.”
“It is nice,” I agreed. And awkward, I silently added. Everything was still new between us, so new we weren’t quite comfortable in our surroundings. “So ... um ... Lily let something interesting slip last night.”
I thought it was best to turn the conversation to our investigation.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Apparently Clark Savage and Shayne Rivers — or Elsie May Haymark, whatever you want to call her — dated when they were younger. They knew each other from the real world before they both joined the author world.”
Romance vacated Jack’s eyes, replaced by keen interest. “Well, that is interesting.”
“She thought I already knew, which I let her believe, but she didn’t say anything earlier because Carter asked her not to. He didn’t want attention unfairly pointed in Clark’s direction.”
“Except it’s fair attention.” Jack dragged a hand through his morning-mussed hair. “Well, that is definitely interesting. We need to pull information from that time period.”
“Can you do that?”
“Yeah. The thing is, we need to talk to someone who knew them back then. I doubt we’ll find that person at this resort. We need to do some digging.”
“Maybe we’ll luck out and find they were locals.”
“I don’t think we’re going to get that lucky. Although ... it does paint an interesting picture, doesn’t it? I have to wonder if Shayne’s husband was aware that she was hanging in the same location with an ex-boyfriend.”
“Have you been able to confirm that he didn’t get on a plane and head here?”
“Yeah. He’s still in Louisiana.”
“Is that where they live?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not too far away to drive.”
“No, but I’ve run checks on his credit cards. He didn’t pay for gas in the days leading up to her death,” he said. “It’s not impossible that he paid cash, but with the price of gas that seems unlikely.”
“What about Clark? Maybe he was irritated enough with Shayne that he killed her. Maybe that’s why he had a prostitute the night we arrived. He was feeling guilty about what he did and needed someone to take away the pain.”
Jack
chuckled. “I guess that’s possible. I find it interesting that Clark’s entire persona is anti-women. He says women should stay at home and take care of kids while men go out and earn a living. In hindsight, that seems to be a direct response to Shayne’s relationship with her husband.
“I mean, he stayed home, watched the kids and let Shayne fund their entire lifestyle,” he continued. “That had to be hard for a guy like Clark, who wants to be in charge. Maybe they broke up because both of them wanted to be in charge and there was no compromise to be made.”
“Or maybe high school came to an end and they came to the realization that their union wasn’t sustainable.”
Jack steepled his fingers on his abdomen and stared at the ceiling fan. “Clark and Shayne’s shared past feels too important to be a coincidence. I think we definitely need to delve deeper there.”
“Yeah. I didn’t see any emails from him in her inbox. That would’ve stood out.”
“We’re still going to look.” He rolled back to face me, amusement lining his face. “We have an hour before breakfast. What do you want to do?”
My cheeks burned as panic wrapped around my heart. “Oh, well ... .”
As if reading my mind, Jack’s smile slipped. “Not that, you pervert. We’re not there yet and I have no intention of going there until you’re ready. Calm yourself.”
I relaxed, but the embarrassment remained. “It’s not that I’m opposed to that,” I said hurriedly. “It’s just ... we’re sharing a condo with Bernard and Millie. It seems disrespectful.”
He snorted. “That’s a private thing,” he agreed. “That’s something that will come about when it’s time. It’s not time. Not yet.”
I was secretly glad he was willing to wait. “Um ... if that’s not what you were talking about, I’m kind of lost.”
“I thought we could simply do this.” He slipped his arm around my waist and tugged so that I was facing him, his mouth inches from mine. “I think we can spare ten minutes.”
I remained confused. “For what?”
“This.” He gave me a soft kiss and then pulled me close, wrapping his arms tightly around my back as he rested his cheek on my forehead. “See. Not scary at all.”
Then why was my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst through my chest? “Not scary at all,” I agreed.
Jack could read the lie on my lips. He simply chuckled. “You’ll get used to it.”
We lapsed into silence, the two of us laying close but not moving. After a few minutes my heart rate returned to normal and I thought there was a chance I might drift off. Instead, I found myself scrambling when the bedroom door burst open to grant Laura entrance.
“Hah!” She strolled to the center of the room and pointed at us, her eyes filled with fire. “Hah!”
Jack barely shifted. “Why are you making that noise?” He ran his hand up and down my back in a reassuring manner. “By the way ... have you ever heard of knocking?”
“I shouldn’t have to knock.” Laura was full of anger, and it spilled forth like lava from her lips. “We’re on the job. This is business. That means you shouldn’t be doing something in here I can’t see.”
“Does it look like we’re doing something nefarious?” Jack challenged.
“You’re in bed together!”
“So what? We’re not naked.”
“But ... you’re in bed together!” She was spitting mad, her cheeks so red I thought she might pass out. My cheeks were red, too, but for an entirely different reason. “You’re together!”
“So what?” Jack released me and rolled to his feet, glaring at her as she stomped her foot. “You’re not supposed to be in here, Laura. We didn’t invite you. Get out.”
“You can’t kick me out.”
“I just did.”
“Well, I refuse,” Laura snapped. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing? You could get fired for this. Fraternization is frowned upon. In fact ... Charlie could get fired for this.” The notion caused Laura’s eyes to sparkle as she brightened. “Wait ... Charlie could get fired for this.” She seemed thrilled at the prospect.
“Charlie isn’t getting fired,” Jack barked, his hands landing on his narrow hips. “It’s not happening. Not now, not ever.”
“You’re not in control of that. All I have to do is make one little complaint. You’re much more valuable to the team than she is.”
Jack growled as I rubbed my cheeks. I couldn’t believe this was happening. In an odd way it made sense, though. Laura was never going to give us a chance to get to know one another if she could wedge herself between us. It was inevitable she would find a way to end things.
“What’s going on?” Millie asked, her eyes sleepy as she appeared in the doorway. Bernard, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, shuffled behind her. He seemed more confused than anything else.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Laura snapped. “I came in here to rouse everyone for breakfast and I found these two ... in bed together.” She waved a derisive hand in my direction. “They were on top of each other.”
“Really?” Millie’s eyebrows migrated north as she focused on my face. “It’s about time. Good for you. I was hoping a change of sleeping arrangements would cause that to happen.”
Jack scowled. “We were not on top of each other. We were simply ... you know what?” He changed course quickly. “It’s none of your business what we were doing, Laura. The door was closed. You knock on a closed bedroom door. You have no right being in here.”
“I have every right,” Laura hissed. “Fraternization isn’t allowed. You know that. All I have to do is place one call and she’s out of here.”
My heart rolled. This was getting out of hand.
“You don’t want to do that, Laura.” Jack lowered his voice to a dangerous level, iciness washing over him so fast he reminded me of an iceberg. “If you push me on this you won’t like the outcome.”
“You’re not in charge.” Laura was haughty. “You’re breaking the rules. It’s ... disgusting. She’s practically an intern.”
“You’re just jealous because Jack wants to be with Charlie and not you,” Millie argued. “Don’t bother denying it, you little guttersnipe. You’ve been after Jack since you joined the group. You’re not bothered that two members of the team are involved. You’re bothered that you’re not one of them.”
“Don’t talk to me as if I’m ten,” Laura snapped. “I am not jealous. I don’t get jealous.”
In general, I hated that term. Jealousy was one of those things that served absolutely no purpose. This one time, I had to agree with Millie, though. Laura was very clearly jealous ... and not taking it well.
“What do you want from us?” I asked, finding my voice. “What do you expect to happen here?”
“I expect you to lose your job and Jack to come to his senses,” Laura replied. “And don’t you worry, I’ll make sure that happens.” She turned on her heel and flounced from the bedroom, leaving me with a mountain of doubt on my shoulders.
“Am I going to get fired?” I asked, hating how pitiful I sounded.
“No,” Jack answered. “That won’t happen.”
“Definitely not,” Millie agreed, determination ticking in her set jaw. “Leave this to me. I’ve got everything under control.”
BY THE TIME WE MET in the dining room for breakfast I’d managed to shower and dress. I wasn’t exactly talkative for the walk to the main building and Jack’s mood wasn’t improved by my silence.
“And there they are,” Laura crowed when we walked into the dining room. Hannah and Chris were already seated, but Millie and Bernard were absent. “The Legacy Foundation’s newest super couple. Er, well, for at least the next five minutes. After that, we’re going to have a super security chief and an opening for an intern.”
“I’m not an intern,” I reminded her, weariness threatening to overtake me as Jack pulled out a chair so I could sit. I didn’t understand why Laura insisted on being the most annoying person i
n the room. She was horrible ... and seemed to derive power from it.
“You’re not an intern,” Jack agreed, taking his seat next to me. “You’re pretty freaking far from an intern. In fact, you’ve contributed more in the few months you’ve been with us than Laura has in the years she’s been part of the team.”
Laura narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “I’ll let that go because I recognize that you’re upset about losing your little girlfriend. Don’t dwell on it. You’ll get over it faster than you realize.”
“Laura, you should be aware of something,” Jack noted as he grabbed two menus from the center of the table, handing me one as he glared holes into Laura’s pretty but twisted face. “If it comes down to it, I will leave the group. Charlie will stay. We’ve already talked about it.”
Laura’s mouth dropped open. “What? You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am.”
“No one is leaving the group,” Chris said hurriedly, taking control of the conversation. “The group is not changing ... unless you want to leave, that is, Laura.”
The huffy woman made an exaggerated face. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“No.” Chris was grave as he shook his head. “I’ve been on the phone with my uncle this morning. It seems Laura’s complaint went straight to the top.”
Instead of being embarrassed, Laura preened. “Well, when you break company rules you have to expect swift action.”
“Definitely,” Chris agreed, his voice taking on an edge. “My uncle and I had a long talk. He asked if Laura’s charges were true. I responded that I didn’t know because that’s the truth. I explained that if Jack and Charlie were together — which was a private matter — that I had no idea because they were so adept at their jobs they didn’t let on.”
Sensing a change in the wind, Laura straightened her shoulders. “But ... .”
“I also pointed out that I was involved with Hannah, which was also against the rules,” Chris continued, ignoring the worry flitting through Laura’s eyes. “My uncle was curious as to why you would report Charlie and Jack, but not Hannah and me. You were aware of both relationships, after all.”
The Megalodon Mix-Up Page 19