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Chapter Twenty-one
A Duo of Dreams
Ididn’thavework the next day, and the boys were bundles of energy after all the volcanic activity. I wanted to see Lori, and if the timing was right, talk to her about what I saw.
She already suspected what Dean was growing. She had the seeds in her walk-in and knew he had nefarious intentions with them. She may even agree with Dean to an extent. Lori was practical in that way. This dangerous world always had and would always have drugs.
I made her jump when I rushed into the kitchen and announced I planned to stay. She had just picked up her boys and the pack of them rushed off somewhere to see what else they could blow up.
“I could use the help,” she admitted. “I got behind today with some things, but I still plan to visit the lower decks tomorrow. Three kids are having birthdays down there this month, and I want to see if I can get away with a cake. You’re coming tomorrow, right?”
“I told Sam I would,” I blushed.
Lori fluttered her hand against her chest and made a swoon sound. “You two lovebirds picked up where you left off.”
I gave her a grin and nodded. “Is it just us tomorrow? Is Luke coming?”
“Not sure yet. He may join us in the fun later. The man loves sweets, but he’s been so busy lately.”
“I bet,” I mumbled under my breath. “Did you tell him about Sam and me? About yesterday? Does he know I’m seeing Sam again?”
Lori raised her hands to her hips and gave me a sideways look. “How many ways can you ask the same question, Row? And no, I made a point not to tell him. It’s your business. But he wants what’s best for you, just like I do.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You kept it from him? That’s good and please don’t tell anyone, but why? Is there something going on there?”
Lori shrugged and stepped over to the dry goods. “Come help me with rolls. I love you, but it’s all you’ve got.” She took a step stool to a high stack of flour and lifted bags from the top, dropping them to the floor. “Luke is great at a lot of things. Being a medic, being sexy, making me come until I pass out, but there is something weird with him. Maybe he’s not that into me. I don’t know.”
I dragged the flour over to the mixers, remaining quiet. Lori lowered from the ladder with a solemn expression. “It’s not like I’m the woman of his dreams, and I get that. It’s not love, it’s lack of options, but he’s always a million miles away. Sometimes I feel like he’s ticking a box with me. Like, go to work, eat, fuck Lori. We don’t talk about anything real.”
“What do you talk about?” She felt something was off with Luke. That meant she would believe me.
“Bullshit lately. Nothing of substance. What I plan on cooking or what the boys are doing in school. It’s a lot about me which I was into at first, but he never opens up about anything. He gave me this watch, like yours. That was sweet.”
I took her wrist and ran my thumb over the face of the watch, an identical copy of mine. “That was nice and thoughtful.”
“Yes and no,” Lori chuckled. “I’m a chef. It’s not comfortable to wear a watch all day when my hands are getting dirty and drenched. He didn’t think that part through. When he came by earlier today and I didn’t have it on, he got all shitty about it.”
“Right, when I gave mine to BeLew Dean was…” I trailed off.
“He was what?” Lori asked.
My mind ticked through the sequence of events. Anytime I walked around the deck, a drone found us. For the past month, Dean knew my every move. It upset him when the boys had the watch when I went to the lower decks.
He’s tracking me through the watch. Now he has one on Lori.
“Lori, I need to tell you some things. You won’t like it.”
“Worse than the apocalyptic nightmare we are currently in? Or on par with it?”
“Depends on your opinion on the loss of orgasms. Where would that be on a scale of, things are fine and another apocalypse?”
Lori chucked the last bag of flour by the mixer and sucked in her cheeks. “Well, shit.”
As we talked, Lori came to realize how much Luke pumped her for information. He veiled every conversation with intel about me. He asked her if I was having nightmares and what I dreamed about. Dean had trusted Luke to tell him that much. Or, Luke was such a lackey that he didn’t know why he was asking the questions.
What were the chances I would see Luke again on this ship? How insane were the odds that the man that was at gate forty-six the day we arrived onboard would connect with Lori to help the two-hundred? Lori — the only friend I made on the boat. He weaseled his way inside our lives.
Was he in medical the day they fixed up Sam? How did he find us on deck the day the helicopters arrived? The day no one else was working, and he waltzed up to us to question our day. Did he see us run into the agriculture department?
