AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was about to cry out that she really shouldn’t disrobe, but she did it before I could say anything.
Luckily she was wearing a long nightshirt underneath. The cotton was a little sheer, but at least she wasn’t naked.
Corey grimaced but offered me the robe. He shared a look with me, silently asking me to go ahead and talk to Liam.
I shrugged. I’d judge whether or not what Liam thought had any relevance.
Liam joined Corey in the hallway while I put on the robe. Once I was out of the bed, Fancy got into it, and I hated to tell her about Axel and me last night in the same space.
Before I could think of what to say, she spread herself out under the blanket. I think she was asleep before I managed to cross the room. I double-tied the robe to my body and then gently knocked at the door to let them know they could come back.
Liam came back in, looked at Fancy and then motioned to the bathroom. “I don’t think you should leave the area wearing that robe. There’s not a secure place to talk on this floor except here.”
I shrugged. Since Fancy was trying to sleep, I went into the bathroom to keep things quiet for her.
Liam followed me inside and closed the door. He stood by it and took an earpiece out from his ear, closing his hand around it and then folding his arms over his chest. “I don’t mean to embarrass you,” he said quickly.
“Could have fooled me,” I said. I sat down on the closed toilet. “What do you want from me?”
“The truth about you and Axel’s team. And Blake,” he said, his deep blue eyes steady on me.
I pressed my lips together, glaring at him. Like hell I was going to tell a complete stranger anything. “That’s between them and me.”
“At this point, it isn’t, and if you continue this way, it’ll be the police asking the questions, not me.”
One look in his eyes told me he knew exactly what was going on. Was it so obvious to anyone else? Or had he been listening in on Axel’s earpiece last night and heard? How had he figured it out? I sucked in a breath, pushing a lock of my hair out of my eyes. “You’d say something to the police about my personal life?”
“I won’t be able to lie to them if they ask me why anyone might want to throw both you and Blake over, because right now, it’s looking like a four-way lovers’ quarrel.”
I winced.
His head tilted toward me, eyes studying my expression. “It’s not just four, is it?”
I said nothing.
He held up a hand, and as he said the names, he counted on his fingers. “Blake, Axel, Corey, and Raven. Who am I missing?”
“Not Corey,” I said. “He’s not involved.”
He harrumphed. “Could have fooled me.”
I stood, hands clenched to my sides. “You don’t know anything about him, or us.”
“I know what I see,” he said. He pushed a palm toward his own chest. “And I know what I heard. He told me.”
I blinked at him, stunned. “What?”
“Last night, when he called me for help, he said, and I quote, ‘Please help my girlfriend.’ Are you saying he lied to me?”
My heart warmed a little hearing that. My mouth opened but no words came out. It couldn’t be. Corey? Maybe he hadn’t said it exactly like that. Or maybe he’d said…I didn’t know.
Still, I wasn’t about to tell him that Corey was gay when Corey had yet to admit it even to me. It was too complicated. So instead of explaining it, I just lumped Corey in with the rest. What’s one more?
“Blake, Axel, Corey,” I said pointedly, paused and then continued, “Raven…Brandon, and Marc.” Even as I said the names, it was clear to me how this probably looked to anyone else. If he was from the Academy, then what would that say about some girl who got involved with practically the entire team?
“Not Kevin?” he asked.
I raised an eyebrow. “No. He’s got a girlfriend…fiancée, actually. Honestly, I don’t know much about him. He’s hardly ever around the others.”
He frowned. “And this makes it much more complicated.”
I blinked, drawing a blank. “What? Why would it?”
He moved from the door, toward the sink. He placed his hands on the top of the counter, facing the mirror, and leaned on it. “Is this personal? Is this more than sex?”
Heat flooded my face. My fingers twitched. A year ago, if I’d looked at myself with so many…essentially boyfriends, I would have said I must have gone insane. “Yes,” I murmured. “I think.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, gazing at the sink. “I’m not judging. I’m the last person to tell you what to do. What you’re telling me is very, very important right now, and it could mean a whole lot of trouble if you aren’t completely honest. Do you feel more…or rather, do you want more than just sexual satisfaction from them? Is this a love interest in all of them?”
I made an O shape with my lips and let a breath out slowly. How could I explain? “They’ve all shown interest in me,” I said. “In their own ways. At first, I allowed it, because…honestly, a lot of reasons. I thought I would eventually pick just one. But there were circumstances—”
“There’s always circumstances,” he said bowing his head and closing his eyes. “Do they all know about each other?”
“They all knew, as of yesterday, that I didn’t want to be exclusive. I sort of surprised them before dinner. They’ve all gotten close, and I wasn’t sure where I was emotionally, I told them I couldn’t date anyone steady right now.
“Blake has since said he’s still interested. Axel has too. As far as I know, those two are willing to work with me and wait as I sort out things. I haven’t had a chance to talk to the others since I broke the news.”
Despite being put in the middle of this, Corey didn’t know everything going on yet. His loyalty to his team, and even his own brother might change his feelings about me—one of my biggest fears, since I considered him my best friend in all of this.
Liam’s face tightened and he clenched his teeth. “Damn it.” He slapped a palm against the counter, causing Fancy’s things to jump with a clatter.
“It doesn’t matter,” I cried out. “This doesn’t have anything to do with—”
He turned toward me, standing straight. “It does matter, Kayli,” he said loudly and then grunted. He looked me square in the face. “This puts all of them on the suspect list for throwing you and Blake overboard last night.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I said and I pointed toward the door. “You saw the footage of Axel and the others. They weren’t anywhere near me.”
“Not so with Raven,” he said. “And worse, he’s refusing to talk to anyone. We haven’t gotten a location on him since I’ve been on this ship. We think he’s here but no one can confirm. He could have been thrown over.” He took a step toward me and bent at the waist, angling his steady stare at my face. “But as of last night, he’s got a very solid motive, which would give him ample reason to hide from his own team.”
My blood boiled. I could have raked his face with my fingernails. “He would never…”
“I can’t prove it,” he said and pointed his hand toward his chest. “But what am I supposed to do, Kayli? Ignore the obvious? If I were a cop, it seems like a simple answer. If it’s totally obvious, most likely, that’s what happened. Raven got angry finding out his girlfriend was interested in someone else, so he tossed Blake over, and then you, before disappearing. He knows how to avoid people. He’s been trained. Because the others were involved, they’ll all be questioned, and every single one of them are witnesses, if not accessories.”
“Raven could have been thrown over, too,” I said, finally standing. I reached up to the robe, pulling it tightly closed over my chest. “You just said—”
“Wouldn’t he have made it to shore by now?” he asked. “If you made it, wouldn’t he? And wouldn’t he have called someone? Do you think Raven would have stayed on shore if you were coming back?”
My heart rattled me where I stood. No. Impossible. What if he didn’t make it to shore…
But I couldn’t get myself to say the words. I wouldn’t ever entertain the idea that his body could be floating at sea, or had washed up, lifeless, on a beach somewhere. Not Raven. He was too strong. He was too young.
