AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, before I go on, I have to tell you something.” He pauses. “I, um, I lied to you earlier.”
The impact it should have on me is softened by the reality we find ourselves in. No lie could compare to how bad our situation is. “What do you mean?”
“When you asked me if I was at the bar with Zach when I was supposed to be in line to board at the Cozumel port.”
Blake’s eyes go wide and guilt settles in my gut.He was telling the truth. He really saw them together.Why didn’t I believe him?
“You were there?” Blake demands, looking at me rather than the phone.
“Yeah. To be fair, I didn’tknowit was Zach. I didn’t even know who Zach was. I… When we separated, I left Cozumel and came back to the ship instead of going to the café like I originally told you I was going to. I needed to make a call in private, and I couldn’t do that there.”
“What call? To Zach?” I ask.
“No, to a client. My… My biggest client, frankly. I wasn’t trying to make it a big deal. I knew you had a lot going on, but when I was distracted in Cozumel, it was because I was losing him. One of the big guys offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse and, when we ported, an email came through telling me the news. I was trying to save the deal, to save my company, if I’m being honest. I know it doesn’t compare to Mae being missing, which is why I didn’t tell you, but… I was pretty, um,bummedis putting it lightly. I needed a drink. Something to help me decompress before I saw you again.”
I take in what he’s saying, trying to understand it all. “You didn’t tell me any of that.”
“No, and it’s not important right now. I’m only telling you so you understand why I was there. A guy—thisguy—sat down next to me and ordered a drink. We were both drinking old-fashioneds, so he complimented my drink choice. That was it.”
“I’m sorry, Patton. I wish I’d known.” Guilt settles in my throat, both for Patton’s company and the impatience I had with him, and for not believing Blake.
“I’m sorry I lied. I didn’t want to, I just couldn’t talk about it yet. I was bitter and angry. I just wanted to go home and try to fix this, but I knew you needed me and… Anyway, it doesn’t matter. The point is, I’d honestly forgotten about it until I started looking into him and saw his picture.”
“So, you found something?” I ask, choosing to focus on one revelation at a time.
“Well, not exactly. I didn’t find anything on Zach, but when I pulled up some of his family history, I saw a red flag. A big one.”
“Meaning what?” Blake asks before I have a chance to.
“He has an uncle, Chase, who was arrested several years ago…for human trafficking.”
My body goes numb as if I’m suddenly floating above myself. I have no sensation in my hands or feet. My tongue no longer feels as if it’s in my mouth.
“What?” Blake’s voice quivers, and he clutches his stomach.
“He’s in prison. It was low-level stuff, from what I can tell. Most of the charges are from Tennessee, but there are a few from Florida, too. I guess he was going back and forth between them, running operations in both places before he was caught. My question is…did Zach take over for his uncle?”
“No,” I whisper, though I don’t think either of them hears me. I want to say he wouldn’t. That he loved her. I want to say I believed his every word, but then again, maybe Mae did, too.
Maybe we all believe the ones who look nice. The ones who smile at us in just the right way. The ones who wear the nice cologne.
Villains are supposed to be dirty. Creepy. Ugly.
We’re supposed to see them, to spot them easily.
But that’s never really the case, is it? Most often, the villains are hiding in plain sight.
“What do we do?” I ask, looking at Blake. “We have to do something. Tell someone. We should tell Diego.”
“No,” Patton says quickly. “No.”
“What do you meanno?”
“It’s not safe. This is serious stuff, Florence. If Zach is involved with the same ring his uncle was, we don’t know who else on the ship may be involved as well. If you tell the wrong person, they could take you out. You can’t mess with these people.”
Blake glances down at the purse in his hands. “He’s right. If her purse was found in the staff quarters, one of them could be involved.”
“So, who are we supposed to trust? They couldallbe involved. Everyone’s a suspect here. The stewards. The kitchen staff. Even the guests. This whole ship.”
