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“Still in the room,” she says, her tone shrill and filled with worry. “Did you find something?”
“No. Er, maybe. Do you know where Patton is right now?”
“Yeah, he’s still in line to board. Why?”
The sentence is a gut punch. “Because I was just staring at him. On board. At the bar. With Mae’s mystery man.”
“Wait,what?”
I pick up my pace, more determined than ever to reach them. “Yeah. I was searching around on the fifth deck, and from there, you can see down into the bar and they were there.”
“Well, are you sure it was them? You were so far away. I’m literally texting Patton now. He’s not on the ship.”
“He is.” I round the corner and come to the bottom of the stairs. “He’s right…” I stop.No. No.“He was right there.”
“What?”
I shake my head, taking in the empty bar. “I saw him. They… They tapped their glasses together. They were talking.” I spin around. “They were right there.”
“It must’ve been someone else, Blake,” she says gently. “You were so far away. It could’ve been anyone. Have you had anything to drink? That heat is brutal.”
She thinks I’m hallucinating. That I’ve made it all up. I spin around again. I know what I saw. They were right…
There.
“Gotta go.”
Every hair on my body stands on end at the look on his smug face. I end the call and slip the phone into my pocket.
There’s nothing about him that screamsmurderer. No evidence of what he may have done. No scratches on his neck, no black eyes, no bloody lips. Mae would’ve fought. I know she would’ve.
He’s exited the bar and is moving, alone, across the casino. I have no idea where Patton is, but I don’t care. This man is my priority. My only target. I have to talk to him. I move forward toward him in a hurry. A waitress walks by with a tray of dirty glasses, and he stops her. Whatever he says must be funny because she throws her head back with a laugh that has him lighting up.
I take several more steps in their direction before he spots me. When he does, he freezes. The smile on his face disappears in an instant.
For half a second, that’s all that’s happening. The world around us is still moving, but it’s as if everything has frozen and we’re the only two in the room. I see the moment he realizes who I am, watch it register on his face.
Then he bolts.
He darts away from the confused-looking waitress in a hurry, and I take off after him, my feet smacking onto the floor with quick steps. My muscles burn as I move; my lungs scream for air as I push forward with more exertion than my body has seen in years. The heat and lack of food or water don’t help either. A woman rushes after her child, cutting me off, and I don’t have enough time to stop. I slam into her, sending her tumbling sideways.
Shit.
“Sorry! Sorry!” I cry, bending down to be sure she’s okay.
She laughs, waving me off. “You’re good. I’m okay. Do you see my daughter?”
I quickly help her locate the toddler, then spin around, sure I’ve lost the man.
Where’d you go?
Where’d you go?
When I catch sight of him disappearing farther into the casino, I set off into a run, but I’m stopped almost instantly by a security guard.
“No running,” he says firmly, his arm held out to keep me from moving past him. He’s several inches taller than me with a thick chest and large, ropy arms. I’m not inclined to argue with him, but I don’t have time for this.
The man is getting away.
