Accessory: The Scarab Beetle Series: #4 (The Academy) (31 page)

A SECRET IDENTITY

T
he kitchen staff started to break up, giving each other things to do. There wasn’t much to save from the table, so it all had to be replaced. I felt bad giving them extra work to do. Someone got a broom out and started to sweep up the big pieces of broken mugs.

Colt pulled me further away. “Maybe we should get out of here and let them work.”

“Yes,” I said, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. When he didn’t protest my touch, I held onto him. Another girl trick. Touch when possible. Makes the connection stronger. “I’m sorry. I...”

“Come on,” he said, keeping his hand on my arm and guiding me out.

Kevin brought out the first aid kit, and we took it with us out into the hallway. I was grateful to be out. We’d done enough damage to the kitchen and dining room.

Kevin had to go back in but Brandon remained with us. He started to open the kit, but I flashed him a stern look. Stop trying to help, I was trying to tell him. Can’t you see I’m working him over?

Brandon gave me a weird look. I wasn’t sure he understood. I know he was supposed to stay nearby me, but this wasn’t going to work if he tried to play the hero, especially if Colt was ticked off at him. He could follow without being within eyesight right this second. I needed him to take the cellphone away. Now. What if it rang while we were all standing here?

I showed my elbow to Colt. He squinted at my skin through his glasses and then held up my arm close to his face, looking it over. There were little droplets of blood, and the glass pieces were embedded into my skin. That was going to sting for a while.

“Tell me there’s tweezers?” Colt asked Brandon without looking at him.

Brandon filed through the packets of items in the kit and plucked out a pair of tweezers. He held them at first and looked at me, like he planned to do it himself.

I gave him the most evil eyes I could muster. Leave this to me. Go away. Send Raven down if he needed someone to babysit. I was trying to protect him. Didn’t he understand? “Maybe you can get some sort of...paper towel or something? To collect the glass so we don’t drop it all over the floor?”

Brandon frowned at me; he clearly didn’t want to leave me alone with this guy. I knew it was his job to stay by me, but I didn’t have much of a choice right now. Either I got Colt to stay on this ship, or we let him leave and I wasn’t sure if or how we could bump into him again. It would be better if he stayed.

Plus, after all this effort I put in to keep him onboard, I wasn’t going to just bow my head and walk away.

“Good idea,” Colt said. “And maybe some clean water.”

Brandon flashed a displeased look at me and I shrugged. Brandon put the kit on a side table next to the door and walked back into the kitchen, slower this time. I had no doubt he’d stick near the door and listen if he could get away with it.

Colt held my elbow in one hand and the tweezers in the other. He focused on the pieces of glass and fiddled with one, angling to pull it out. “I don’t really need the water, but that guy looked like he wanted to beat me up.”

“I think that’s just the way he looks,” I said, not wanting to admit it wasn’t him that Brandon was mad at.

Colt used the tweezers and started pulling a bit at the glass. I winced. It stung more when he plucked.

“I need you to stay still,” he said.

“It hurts,” I said through clenched teeth, trying not to sound angry. This wasn’t his fault. Now that the chaos was over, the glass was hurting more.

“Maybe if we sat down,” he said. He looked around and then noticed a door down the hall, a workout room. “In there.”

He picked up the kit and then tugged me toward the room before I could say anything in protest. I wasn’t sure about getting out of hearing range of Brandon, but I wasn’t going far. Colt was slim, even if he was taller than me. I had a feeling I could beat him up if I wanted if he got frisky. Or weird.

I followed him to the workout room. No one was inside. The room was supplied with treadmills and weight benches and a wide window overlooking the river side of the ship.

My loafers squeaked a bit as I walked, wet with juice and water and coffee mix. I didn’t smell very nice, and the scent mixed with the cleaners in the room.

There were benches along the side of the wall facing into the workout room. There was a table nearby with fresh towels, a water cooler and mini paper cups. Colt moved to the benches and sat the kit on the table. “Turn on the light?”

I hadn’t noticed the lack of light with the big window, but I looked for a switch, hit it, and florescent bulbs flickered to life overhead. It did brighten up a lot.

I sat down next to Colt, and he picked up the tweezers again, holding my elbow steady. He plucked out bits of glass and examined my cuts. “So whoever stole your tablet,” he said as he aimed the tweezers at my skin again, “you didn’t see him at all?”

“I’m trying to remember,” I said. “I heard that commotion in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure if I should continue getting myself a coffee or not. I was just going to finish making my coffee and leave, and then someone entered the room while I was pouring.”

“Why didn’t you ask the lady at the bar for coffee?” he asked.

Did he think I was lying? I was, but that was beside the point. “I don’t know,” I said. “She seemed to only have booze, and that horrible orange juice.”

“The mimosas?”

Oh yeah. I’d heard of those. At least I sounded more innocent now. “I guess,” I said. “I’m not much of a drinker. I came inside, saw the dining room, and was just poking around, exploring the ship. I’ve never been on a cruise. I smelled coffee, and I just thought I’d get a quick cup. It was an early morning and I needed to get my head together and wake up.” He pulled a tiny piece of glass from my skin and a sting radiated through me. I yanked my arm back. “Ouch.”

“Sorry,” he said. He dropped the piece of glass in one of the paper cups on the table and came back. “Bring your arm back. I thought I saw one more.”

I didn’t really want to, but I wanted my arm to stop hurting. My pain tolerance was pretty low at this point.

There was one more piece. This time, he plucked it out gently and I hardly felt it. “So, you’re a doctor of some sort?” I asked. “You’re pretty good at that.”

He dropped the piece of glass and the tweezers into the cup and then checked the kit again, finding some disinfectant wipes. “No,” he said. “Almost thought to become one, but then there’s not a lot of money in being a doctor. Not unless you’re a specialist or a surgeon. And then you work all the time.” He shook the wipe package and ripped it open. He brought it to my arm and held firmly to my elbow once again. “This is going to sting worse than the glass. Just try not to jerk your arm again.”

He pressed the wipe to my skin at first and then got a fresh one to wash the cuts clean. I did my best not to move, but couldn’t help making fists once the solution started to burn at my cuts. Yes, I was a big baby when it came to antiseptic and bandages. I usually just wiped a cut down with water and a cloth and hoped it healed. I hated the sting. “So, what do you do?”

“A little bit of everything,” he said. “You’re not bleeding too badly.”

“I think I’ll live,” I said. This was going to be a disappointing conversation if he wasn’t going to give up much information. Maybe if I divulged a bit of info myself, he’d stick around. I looked down at my dress, stained and sticky and pressed up against my body. With the cool air blowing in from the vents, it was getting chilly. I wiped at the stains. “I’m going to have to find another outfit.”

He tossed the wipes into another cup and then started opening bandages. “Should I bring you down to your stateroom?”

I wanted to play up some more sympathy. I sighed. “Maybe. I might just go home after this, though.”

“Why?” he asked, applying the bandage to my skin and then pressing the edges so it stuck.

“I was hoping to find Mr. Murdock. I haven’t caught him onboard. I might just be wasting time being here,” I said.

His eyes widened but he focused on my arm. “You haven’t been able to talk to him?”

A reaction. He was curious. I got the feeling he was digging for information as much as I was. “I haven’t seen him in a few weeks. No one here seems to know where he is. The younger Mr. Ethan doesn’t seem to know I worked for his father so he must have never told him about me. And I’m...” I pressed my lips together, trying to summon some heat to my cheeks to make a blush and then turned my gaze away. “Sorry. I really shouldn’t be talking.”

“No, go on.”

I batted eyelashes as I looked up, trying for sheepish and shy, peering at him through some of my long brown hair that shifted over the glasses. “I was hoping he’d be here on this ship so I could talk to him personally. Some said he was here every year, so I was taking a chance. I was going to try talking to different people onboard, and see if they know what’s happened to him.”

“Why do you need to find him so badly?”

“The information he has me deal in is rather sensitive. If he’s missing, I don’t know what else to do. I only worked directly under him.”

Colt released my elbow and then peered at me. The lights above reflected off of his glasses, hiding his eyes. “What’s your name again?”

“M...me?” I asked, suddenly wishing Brandon was still here. I should have known this was going to come up. I considered giving a fake name, but I wasn’t sure.

Colt made a small smile. “There’s no one else here to ask.”

“Sorry,” I said. I considered going with something that sounded like a nickname. I pressed a palm to my cheek. I tried to stall so I could think up something. I stood up, shaking my head. “I’m just a mess. I should go look for the tablet.”

“We can go talk to security,” Colt said. He stood, walking toward me, giving me a warm smile as his green eyes softened. “They’ll want to know your name so they can help you find your tablet.”

He wasn’t going to let that go. And I was going to lose him if I tried to run away now. “I...”

There was a soft knock at the door and it opened. Raven appeared. He looked at Colt and then back at me. He made his voice deep and rumbly. “Miss Kitty Lane?”

I was going to kill Corey. Or Axel, Raven... or even Blake, whoever came up with that name. Kitty? Seriously? I forced a smile. “Yes?”

“You scheduled an appointment at the spa,” he said. “They’re waiting for you.”

“What?” I asked, and then side-glanced Colt, who appeared amused. “Okay...”

“Would you like to follow me?” Raven asked. He wore all black, like one of the crew.

No. “I don’t remember scheduling a spa treatment.”

“Your name is on the list.”

“Sounds like you’ve got plans,” Colt said. He motioned to my arm. “You’re all fixed up now. I should get going.”

I could have thrown fireballs at Raven for this. I was losing my target. “Will I see you onboard later?” I asked Colt.

“Actually, I hadn’t planned on staying...”

“Oh,” I said, pouting and trying to look really disappointed. Probably going way too far. “I just thought I’d ask you to dinner or something. To thank you.’

“No thanks needed,” he said. “It was nice to meet you, Miss Kitty.” He winked and then headed for the door.

Raven stepped aside, looking placid, compliant. Colt nodded to him as he walked past and was gone.

When I was sure he was out of earshot, I squeaked-stomped my way toward Raven. “Why’d you interrupt us?” I asked. “I was going to get him to stay.”

“He’ll stay,” Raven said. He closed the door, leaving us alone in the weight room. He looked over my dress, focusing on the stains.

“He said he was leaving.”

“He’ll stay,” he said. “You got his phone. He won’t leave without it.”

“He hasn’t checked to see if it was still there. I was trying to stall him.”

“Avery said to come get you,” he said. “And to take you to the spa.”

“I don’t want to go to the spa.”

“Marc’s waiting for you. With Blake. And one of the guys from Nightingale. Not Mr. Smith. The other one.”

It wasn’t Colt, so it had to be one of the other two coming onboard. I sighed, dropping my shoulders. I gave up. Colt was either going to leave or look for his phone. Hopefully Raven was right and he’d stay. I couldn’t just go chase him down and sit on him at this point. “What are we doing? Why am I going? I’m hopping from one to another.”

“There’s a hot spring bath. It’s a Japanese...I don’t know the word. I don’t know Japanese. Hot bath.”

“Like a hot tub?”

Raven shrugged. “Marc is there.”

I realized Raven might not really know, and was just told to fetch me. “Okay, fine,” I said. I waved a hand, indicating we should go.

Raven stayed by the door. He pulled the ear bud out of his ear and put it in his palm, making a fist around it. He was cutting himself off so whoever was talking to him wouldn’t hear. “I want to say something first.”

“What?”

He pressed his lips together, his dark eyes steady on me. “Corey told me about what happened with Axel.”

“What?”

“He tried to come onto you. You turned him down.”

My lips parted, jaw slackened. I struggled to recall what had happened with Axel in the children’s play room and everything I’d said. We had been arguing. If they weren’t watching what we were doing, how much did they hear and assume what was going on?

Had my earpiece still worked then, too? Where had I put mine? Did Blake hear what happened with Axel?

Was he listening now?

I didn’t know what to say to Raven. My pulse quickened, until my heartbeats were loud in my ears. My face burned, really embarrassed. Maybe they’d all know that Axel and I had been more than just friends, something they all tried to do with me. For some reason, I couldn’t recall anything I’d said, and worried I’d reveal everything I was really feeling.

I wanted to run. Maybe even off of the boat. My heart hurt. Raven just looked at me, not saying anything. Had I hurt him? Did he hate me? If Corey knew...is that why Brandon was mad? Because they knew? Did he feel rejected and worried he couldn’t talk to me about it?