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Axel said nothing to me, but he, too, seemed to be thinking deeply about what had happened. Part of me wished I could have taken it back, but then, I couldn’t, and maybe it was for the best. He’d said there was a separation between us, and there was. I didn’t want to make it worse. I wanted to work with him to get rid of it.
We just didn’t have the time right now.
THE THIEF AMONG US
We found Tara Wayward with Mr. Hill and Mr. Kroner next to the large central swimming pool. The beach bunnies and Fancy were splashing their feet in the water and talking amongst themselves. They really were there just for eye candy. There were several men around, talking to each other, but they all watched the girls every once in a while.
Axel and I found another bench overlooking the parking lot and close to where Ms. Wayward was.
My lower abdomen started cramping. I covered it with my arms. I sat as still as I could.
“What’s wrong?” Axel asked.
“The cramps,” I said. “They’re back.”
“Do you need medicine?”
“I don’t know. I’m not nauseated. Just cramping.” I didn’t want to admit that I’d felt nauseated prior to the day room incident. The cramps now weren’t as bad as last time, just really achy. If I stayed still, they seemed to ease. “Just ignore it for now.”
“Let me know if you need to see the doctor.”
I stared out at the parking lot while Axel kept an eye on our target. I was uncomfortable after my conversation with Axel and worried about Blake since I hadn’t heard from him. To distract myself from thinking about relationships, I considered who might have hit him. What had his attacker not wanted him to see? Or was it revenge for something I wasn’t aware of?
Blake said the blond crewman had been walking out of the spa. At the very least, we should check that spa out and find out what Mr. Smith was paying for.
Axel sat next to me. He smiled, although I could tell from his eyes that he was faking it. “We should probably look into the cruise schedule. There’s several public events,” he said. “If Ms. Tara and the others are going to hit the amenities, we should set ourselves up for those, too.”
“Okay,” I said with no real enthusiasm. I thought he was just talking to look like he was talking. No one appeared to be within hearing range.
“Smile, sweetheart. You’re here on vacation.”
I forced a smile.
“Now that is scary.”
I didn’t know what a non-scary smile was so I went for easy-going look rather than an attempt at another smile. I wasn’t really in the mood and being forced to interact with him after such an awkward moment made it hard to concentrate, not to mention the achy cramps. “What do we do now?”
“Wait for everyone else to board,” he said. “At this point, let’s try to make introductions to the right people. Nothing big. Just friendly. Let’s get them to recognize your face.”
“Shouldn’t we find whoever hit Blake?”
“Trust me, the team is already working on it. Right now, you and I can’t do anything. We have to look like we’re here on vacation. You shouldn’t let anyone know that you know what happened to Blake. You have to be available, visible.”
I leaned back against the seat, folding my arms over my stomach. The sleepy feeling from the pill was returning. I wanted to stretch out in the room and nap. “How do you socialize with complete strangers?”
“If we approach people too quickly, it’ll look desperate.”
“Maybe I should be desperate?”
Axel turned his head, looming over me as he sat there. He was supposed to be my boyfriend so he did need to look like it. “What do you mean?”
“Old Mr. Murdock isn’t around,” I said. “Shouldn’t I be more worried about that situation? If I report directly to him as the manager, I should be wanting to find him. Badly.”
His dark eyes scanned the deck of the ship. As I listened to the upbeat music playing from the speakers, I followed his gaze to the pool and the beach bunnies splashing their feet and playing around. Then he looked to another couple coming from inside the ship and heading to the rail to look out.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” he said finally. “We just need to be social and make friends.”
“I don’t make friends,” I said.
He touched his ear. “And we need to change up a little bit.”
“Why?”
“I need to go.” He looked up, his gaze focused.
I turned my head, following to see Brandon approaching. He was smiling, looking fresh, and carrying a bottle of water. “Hey,” he said, waving. He had changed into a red polo and tan slacks. The polo was tight in the shoulders and slimmer at the waist, and made him appear taller. “I thought I recognized you.”
“Talk to Brandon,” Axel said as he stood, still forcing a smile. “I need to go for a little walk.”
“Alone?” I asked.
“Marc’s going to meet me. Kevin’s trying to make friends with the crew and find out what he can about them. Raven is going to have to join him so he’s not alone. I meant what I said before, but now it’s critical. No one is to be left alone on this ship.”
“Not even Blake?”
Axel pressed his lips together, but nodded shortly and then walked away. At the corner, right before he turned, Marc appeared. They said hello, shook hands, and then walked out of my view.
I sat back. I had to pretend to be okay, but I was worried about Blake. I wanted to tell Axel to be careful. I wished it was Corey and not Brandon, as I was sure he’d fight with me over not telling him about Blake.
Brandon kept his eyes on Axel until he disappeared. “We should walk around,” he said. “Somewhere closer to Fancy. We need to appear approachable, not secretive and off by ourselves.”
I got up quietly, compliant. I fiddled with the earpiece and pulled it out and put it in my dress pocket. It was dead anyway, or Blake had gotten rid of his. The ones I’d gotten from the guys in the past had always had a short battery life. Would we have to swap these out every once in a while? I wondered if I’d get another one soon.
Brandon escorted me the long way to circle the far side of the pool so we could look out over the rails at the river. Some guests were already in bathing suits and taking advantage of the nearly empty pool while others were still boarding. Some guests walked around, toward other parts of the ship, taking tours.
Walking did do me some good. It woke me up a little. Not much but enough that I didn’t feel like crawling back into bed. I shoved my hands into my dress pockets, trying to push it down to make the skirt longer. After exposing myself to a crew woman, I felt like everyone could see right through the dress. I wanted to change into something else, but didn’t dare ask Fancy. And I definitely didn’t want to bug Brandon about it and have to explain why.
I slid along in the loafers. Brandon walked quietly beside me for a while, studying our surroundings, the people. He looked down at his feet and then at mine. “Those are some ugly shoes,” he said.
“Not my favorite.”
“Do you need different shoes? Are they hurting your feet?”
“No,” I said. Since he wasn’t yelling at me, I found myself slipping into how he and I had talked prior to getting on the boat. It was similar to the older brother mode he fell into with Corey. I confided in him a lot, more than I would the others. He was the one person I felt I could ask for things from and not feel weird. He knew where I stood with wanting to pay him back. I only ever asked out of necessity. “I do want new shoes, though, but I don’t know how much those cost and Axel said not to buy anything with a card.”
“I might have enough cash,” Brandon said.
I thought about asking him about new clothes, but Fancy did want me to wear a certain style. I’d have to consult with her as to what. I didn’t want to throw off her game plan. It did make sense, anyway. If her over-the-top style wasn’t going to win someone over, I’d have to play a nice girl, approachable.
