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Corey turned toward me, saying nothing, but silently urging me to speak.
I looked down at my knees, wishing he wouldn’t blame me for being cautious. Corey was the last one I wanted to cross, and I knew how he felt about his team.
“We need proof,” I said, trying to sound confident. Saying it out loud in front of him hurt, and I regretted it. Did I really seriously think any of them could have done it?
“After everything…” He trailed off, and when I lifted my head, it was like looking at his brother, hurt and sadness bubbling just under the surface.
I swallowed, trying to find the right thing to say so he’d understand. I’d made the guys mad at me right before I went overboard. I’d been wearing a black tracker box that had been ripped off last night. They were the only ones who knew I’d worn it. From the outside, it looked awful for them.
If Liam insisted we go to authorities about it, they’d be questioned.
“We all need to know,” Liam said, his voice quieter.
I was surprised when I looked at him that he was staring in my direction. His expression was odd: sympathy?
Liam continued, “No offense, but Henry and I need to make sure no one on this team was involved in an attempted murder. We can’t leave any evidence to the contrary. Legally, we shouldn’t even be conducting this investigation, but it gives us time to at least make sure we clear the team before anyone else asks questions. If anyone else disappears…”
“Let’s stop this before it continues,” Henry said.
“Well, it wasn’t me,” Doyle said, swiveling back and forth in his seat. His eyes hopped from screen to screen. He wore a headset, too. I was surprised he was listening at all. “I didn’t do it.”
“We know that,” Blake said with an eye roll.
“How do you know?” He picked up the cigarette that was on his keyboard and put the butt to his lips. “I could be a killer.”
Blake scoffed. “The only person you’d kill is yourself with all this smoking.”
“Hey, I don’t talk about your bad habits.” He shot a look at me. “One of them is in this room. It’s impolite to point it out, though, so I won’t…Kayli.”
I shot back with a glare, a snarky remark fizzling away before it reached my lips. I personally didn’t care anymore. I was tired, and my head hurt. I just wanted a shower, and some food. I was trying not to kill everyone in the room as it was.
I was showing remarkable self-control, given the circumstances.
“We’re assuming it isn’t anyone in this room, right?” Liam said, coming toward the table now. He rolled up the sleeves of his dark sweater and then pointed to the laptops. “We still need proof of where everyone was at the moment things happened. Let’s prove it as quickly as possible. Let’s see where Axel was. Avery and Corey, I’m going to need your whereabouts. Doyle, can you pull up anything from around that moment they went over? We’ll have to take a look at everything.”
Doyle gave him a dirty look, but complied. He played back what footage he had. He had tapped into the video feeds the security office had. Cameras were only set up in highly populated areas, like the casino, the central atrium, and the restaurants. On the sunning deck where Blake and I went overboard, he had audio on both of us and a timeline set up but no video. The audio was a mess of grunts, clipped words, and the rustle of struggling bodies, barely heard over the noise of the wind. Whoever had thrown us over did so and left quickly, never saying a word.
Hearing that recording, knowing it was me struggling and fighting, put me in a trance. In my head, I relived every second and could almost pinpoint exactly when I splashed down. I felt the cold water all over again.
I shook it off, angrier than ever that I had gotten thrown over. I had tried to fight, but in the end I had done nothing to defend myself. But thank God for that, too, because if I hadn’t gone over, Blake might not have survived on his own.
Security videos with time codes helped determine where most people were at the same time. Axel was still in the dining room when I left during dinner, and got up only when I was involved in the struggle and Doyle had called out for help.
Before we could look for the others within the video, Avery tilted his head slightly and then coughed once to get everyone’s attention. “Ethan is in a conference room, waiting to hear from Blake and Kayli. He’s pretty worried. Axel is asking if she’s on board yet and what’s taking so long.”
“Ethan didn’t do this, either,” Doyle said. He clicked on a video clip and played it. “He and Avery were in the specialty dining room with other guests.”
“We need to talk to Axel,” Corey said, directing his attention to me, his lips tight. “Doyle can show the rest of the videos to Liam and Henry while you go talk to him. He needs to see you.”
My heart started pounding so hard, I was sure it would be visible. I pressed my lips together, not wanting to see Axel. Before dinner last night, I had been honest with him when I’d told him I couldn’t be exclusive. When he had been worried I wasn’t interested at all, I’d kissed him. I could still feel it on my lips.
I both longed to feel that again and feared facing him. What would he think of me insisting on him proving his innocence before agreeing to see him?
Or of what I’d done with Blake?
Part of me worried he’d reject me.
“We need to clean ourselves up,” I said, motioning to my hair. “And we need to eat and maybe have a nap.” They were excuses, but I didn’t want to show up to see Axel being so filthy and with my hair crazy.
“Then you can go see Axel on the way,” Avery said. “Axel needs a break for some sleep. Corey can go with you to the conference room, but after that, I need him to stay with Ethan. He’s as vulnerable as we all are, and none of us should be alone if we can help it. We’ll let Axel know you’re on the way.”
There was no argument for me to make, so I pressed my lips together. As grimy and as tired as I felt, I was only going to roll around in bed agonizing over meeting Axel and the others, so I might as well get it over with.
Meeting the Storm
Corey was given an earpiece so that, with Doyle’s help, he could navigate to the right conference room without running into too many people. The others remained to go over the evidence that had been collected so far and review Blake’s dossiers of passengers who might be likely suspects.
I was given a hoodie that covered my head and face as much as possible. It was black as well, matching the sweat suit. I probably looked like an emo teenager, but it was better than giving away that I was back. It would have to do for now.
We left Doyle’s cave and headed toward the stairs. I was quiet as we started walking, absorbed in thoughts of what I would say to Axel, trying to predict what arguments he’d make.
Corey guided me through carpeted hallways, passing cabins with people sleeping cozily in their beds behind the rows of doors.
I envied them; they were on vacation. Maybe I needed a vacation. I’d never really been on one. Growing up poor, traveling hadn’t been an option.
Though I didn’t think I’d ever willingly get on a cruise ship after this.
As we climbed stairs to avoid the elevators, I began to slow, and by the second level up, I was winded. I had never really been the exercising type, not even at my best. I leaned against the rail, a hand on my chest, wishing I could take off the hoodie, which was making me sweat.
Corey stopped on the steps, allowing me to catch my breath. “I know you’re probably suspicious of everyone at this point,” he muttered.
I jerked my head around, assuming he was talking to someone else, or maybe Doyle in an earpiece, but then was surprised to realize he was talking to me. Was he saying he understood my feelings? I was eager to tell him how I hadn’t wanted to blame anyone.
His lips were tightly pressed together. His eyes shimmered, a depth of sadness in them that I hadn’t seen on his face before.
But was it directed at m
e? There was something in his expression that I didn’t understand. Anger?
His hand tightened on the rail, making the muscle on his arm bulk up and his knuckles turn white. “We’re not the enemy,” he said.
“Corey,” I said, my voice scratchy. “I needed to know.”
“Because you still don’t trust us,” he said, softer still.
I moved up a step so my face was level with his. I was tired and angry, and I was doing my best not to hurt his feelings, but he had to let me explain.
“We all need to be sure,” I said flatly. “Could I ask Blake to trust you or the others to continue without making absolutely certain? Shouldn’t we make sure we could prove it in case the police ask? I don’t want it to be any of you…”
I stopped and scanned the area, realizing anyone could be listening, and I’d just used Blake’s name. We were supposed to be hiding and not letting anyone know we’d returned.
Corey checked over his shoulder, and when it was evident no one was around, he continued up the stairs.
What had gotten into him? Out of everyone on this ship, if I couldn’t get Corey to understand, I wasn’t sure I could get anyone to.
We moved quickly through the ship, passing through the casino. It was the only way through the ship without going through a closed bar or up a floor and past a concierge desk.
There were a few employees wiping down chairs and tables and one guest at the blackjack table, although he looked like he had been up all night and was about to pass out.
I kept my face covered and didn’t look anyone directly in the eye. Corey avoided contact, too. I was surprised the casino was still open, but I imagined Ethan Murdock told his employees to do whatever people wanted. They were all CEOs and influential executives. If they wanted to stay up all night and play blackjack, they were going to be allowed to do just that.
Corey and I found a hallway behind an art gallery. The hall had many doors, with plaques identifying various conference rooms. Corey found the right one, knocked once and opened the door.
