SAM
At first, with the sea calm and the sky clear, he’d thought the captain was worrying about rough weather for nothing – she’d been pissed off about casting off late, though she’d bowed to Rory’s pressure in the end, as people usually did.
Now, as the clouds clustered into one dark mass, he realized she’d been right.
But then he caught some of their words:
‘Nah, I’ll be pleased to see the back of this lot, mate,’ Noah was saying. ‘Don’t blame the girls for being pissed off. Only another day after today, and we’re done.’
‘Thank God. I just hope no more shit goes down later,’ said Kai. ‘Did Michaela tell you how bad it got over dinner last night?’
‘Oh yeah, she did, mate. What a fucking shitshow.’
‘Yup. I’m telling you, we’ve all seen way too much for one charter. We’re going to need therapy after this, I swear.’
‘Ha,’ Noah snorted. ‘Nah, we’ll never be able to breathe a word about it. Not even to a therapist. Captain will lose her mind if one of her charters ends up in the gossip columns.’
‘Fair. But seriously, I’m going to need help,’ Kai said. ‘The accidents, the fights, the tears, those two messing around … we should be charging extra for emotional labour, bro.’
Messing around? A flicker of heat ran through Sam’s body, as if someone had just lit a match inside his stomach. He leaned further against the railing and tried to tune in so he could hear their voices over the gathering wind.
‘Tell me about it.’ Noah was almost yelling now, trying to be audible over the increasingly violent waves. ‘If their other halves find out what’s going on, someone’s going overboard before we drop anchor in Raiatea.’
‘Keep your voice down, mate,’ Kai warned.
‘Yeah, I know, I know,’ said Noah. ‘They’re all in the salon, though. We’re good.’ The yacht lurched violently to the left. Sam almost lost his grip on the railing; he scrambled to stay upright.
‘Shit, dude, this is really picking up – come on, let’s get this done and hole up in the crew mess,’ shouted Noah.
The two men went quiet and focused on their tasks for a moment, then Noah picked up the thread: ‘Still, two guests having an affair? Getting it on, right here on the yacht, when they think no one’s watching? It’s nuts. We’ve not had that on a charter before, have we?’
‘Not that I can remember. But it’s not just what’s going on – it’s who’s doing it …’ And then Kai said them: two names of his fellow passengers.
Sam’s heart leapt into his mouth. For a moment he just stood there, clinging to the railing, the wind buffeting his face, replaying what he’d heard.
He stayed frozen, thinking. What if they’d been caught in the act?
His eyes flickered upwards to the centre of the superstructure, facing the awning and the bow of the main deck.
Yes – there it is. This could be the answer to everything.
There was CCTV everywhere on this boat. If the cameras had been facing the right direction … if there was footage of them on CCTV …
He could picture it in his mind: a grainy, late-night video of two figures moving towards each other, pulling each other into an embrace …
Claire’s face flashed in front of his eyes: the reason she left him.
You’re not who I thought you were. He flinched and forced the memory away, then tried to tune back into the voices of the deck crew – perhaps there was something else they’d found out on this charter that Sam needed to know about.
But they’d headed inside the tender garage now; his time for eavesdropping was over.
‘Sam – you shouldn’t still be out here!’ Shit.
It was Johanna, shielding her eyes from the rain, calling out to him from near the bow.
‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Come inside right away, please.
We’re on high alert because of the approaching squall – we need everyone inside now – in the salon, life jacket on. ’
Sam stumbled towards her, being buffeted by the wind, holding onto the edges of the railings to stop himself from tumbling over as the main deck rose and lowered beneath his feet.
He reached the door to the salon and stepped inside.
Everyone else was sitting on the sofas in the area furthest from the exterior doors now, life jackets strapped around their waists and holding onto the edges of their seats.
A selection of plastic bowls sat in the gaps between them.
Oh, for Christ’s sake.
He turned to Johanna. ‘Can’t I just go down to my cabin?’
The stewardess answered him with a firm shake of her head.
‘I’m afraid not. It’s Captain’s orders – we need to keep everyone together so we’re got sight of you all.
I’m sorry, but it’s protocol.’ She shrugged apologetically.
‘Captain Taylor is expecting us to be through the squall in about the next twenty minutes, or maybe a little longer – so you should be able to go below deck soon. Here.’
She helped Sam towards a space at the end of the sofa next to Mark and Lucy – Lucy’s head already dipped over a bowl. Sam held his arms out, feeling stupidly like a small child as Johanna reached the life jacket around his body and fastened it round his front.
Health and safety requirements met, Sam’s eyes – still stinging and sore from the salt water – moved around the room to study his companions.
On the sofa opposite him, Rory was sitting next to Talia; beside her was Nick, and Eleni sat next to her husband at the sofa’s other end.
Talia had turned her back to Rory; her eyes were fixed on the floor, her complexion grey.
Nick was drumming his fingers against the edge of the sofa, staring into space.
Eleni’s face was pale and she looked uncomfortable; she was twiddling strands of hair between her fingers.
As Sam watched, she looked up and met his gaze: there was an open hostility in her expression that forced him to look away. Christ, what’s her problem?
Next to Sam, Lucy glanced up and offered him something between a smile and a grimace.
Mark had one arm draped around her shoulders; Lucy reached up to his hand and gave it a squeeze.
Whatever had been causing tension between them, they’d clearly worked through it.
Watching them, something dropped heavily in Sam’s chest.
Jesus, what’s wrong with me? He got his phone out of his pocket and scrolled down his WhatsApp messages.
He wanted to read Claire’s old texts – he still did that sometimes, though he wasn’t sure why – it only made him feel worse.
But then, he supposed, Claire was the reason he’d started all this.
She was still the ghost that haunted him, forcing him to see his plans through.
Forcing Sam to give his boss what he deserved for destroying his relationship – and all the other terrible things Rory had done.
A deep calm descended suddenly on the yacht – the crashing of the waves against the hull stopped, and the rocking underneath them stilled.
‘Hold on tight,’ said Johanna, from a seat at the furthest end of the salon, near the galley. ‘I’m afraid things are about to get very bumpy.’
Sam tried to steel himself – and not just for the squall. He needed to think positive – and there was still plenty to be optimistic about, especially after what he’d just overhead.
He wasn’t out of options – nowhere close. One way or another, he’d make use of the crew’s eagle-eyed observations.
He glanced at Talia again across the salon; tried to catch her eye. Even pale and seasick, she was luminous.
Sam smiled to himself, the thrill of his secret making his chest puff outwards, making him sit up a little straighter.
After all, his mission was almost complete.
He could destroy Rory’s entire life now, the minute he chose to.