Chapter 28
At the sound of voices coming onboard, Jack slipped into a storage hatch filled with survival gear. As with all boats, luxury yachts weren’t the easiest places to hide. Space was at a premium even on a boat this size, and the designers didn’t take into account wannabe stowaways.
He could barely hear through the fiberglass door as Celine and her bodyguards stepped into the main cabin.
But he picked up on the urgency in her voice, so he took a chance and inched the hatch open just a crack.
Peering through it, he saw a flash of white pass one direction, then the other.
Celine was pacing. Under stress. On the phone.
“Come on, pick the fuck up,” she was muttering.
In the short moments he’d been able to poke around the yacht, he hadn’t found Jessie or anything to indicate she’d ever been on this boat.
He’d only searched the lower level, since he could hear crew members on the upper floor, where the wheelhouse was located.
He’d avoided the galley as well, darting past the opening while the cook was focused on chopping vegetables.
If Jessie was here, maybe the appearance of a police officer would shake things up, inspire them to move her somewhere else. Maybe Celine was arranging a transfer right now, on the phone.
“Goddamn it,” he heard her say. “Call me back and tell me what the fuck is going on. I just had a Harbortown cop here. I don’t need this right now, you know I’m trying to keep a low profile.
Does this have to do with that wacko doctor?
I warned you to stay away from that fucking hospital.
And what’s with this girl they’re looking for?
Did you seriously kidnap someone? Just call me back right away and tell me what the fuck is going on. ”
His heart sank. Clearly Celine didn’t know anything about Jessie.
But she knew something.
“Ugh.” With an exasperated groan, she threw herself onto what looked, from his tiny slice of a view, like a low couch.
“He’s going to ruin his life. Would someone go get me a drink?
Never mind, I’ll get it, you two go upstairs and keep an eye on that cop.
Don’t let her on this boat. And tell the captain we need to leave asap. ”
Shit. He really didn’t want to get stuck on this craft if Jessie wasn’t here. He calculated quickly what his odds were of sneaking past Celine without her noticing and came up with zero.
He’d have to do something dramatic.
As soon as the bodyguards had left the cabin—he heard their heavy footsteps on the short flight of steps that led to the upper level—he fixed a smile on his face and stepped out of the storage hatch.
Celine jumped to her feet, ready to shout for help. He lifted his open hands to show he wasn’t a threat, then shifted them to a prayer pose and bowed slightly. “Jack Finnegan, at your service,” he said with his best leading-man smile.
“I’m sorry.” She blinked at him. “Jack Finnegan, the actor? That was you out there? From that show…what is it, Dark of Night?”
Great, she’d heard of him. He hoped that was a good thing.
She was a beautiful woman, with slightly tilted eyes that gave her a pixie quality, and white-blond hair cut in a casually sexy crop.
It was hard to imagine her as the stepmother to Luke and Barnaby, since she wasn’t much older than they were “Yes, ma’am. That’s me.”
“What…how…?” The sheer surreal surprise of a TV star popping up on her yacht seemed to have rendered her speechless.
“I’m really sorry to startle you, and I know I’m trespassing on this beautiful yacht of yours, but I promise I mean you no harm. I’m here because of my sister.”
Her expression shifted as she put two and two together. “You’re with Officer Chen?”
He heard the suspicion in her voice, and decided his best bet was to throw Tina under the bus. She had arrested Celine, after all.
“Hell no, that woman is a pain in my ass, that’s why I’m hiding in here. I’m trying to locate Jessie before she does. My sister’s a little unpredictable and there’s a chance she might be doing something not strictly by the book. The last thing I need is cops catching up to her first.”
Would she buy it? He held his breath.
After a long moment of scrutiny, she relaxed and strolled toward the bar set into the teak interior wall of the cabin. “I was about to get myself a drink, how about you join me? It gets a little lonely on this boat sometimes.”
“Does it? Seems like you got a whole crew here to keep you company.”
He nodded when she held up a bottle of premium Tanqueray gin, and watched her pour a healthy splash into two crystal glasses, followed by a scanty amount of tonic. Then came slices of fresh lime perched on the edge, along with a pretty mint garnish.
“I heard they used to give limes to sailors to prevent scurvy,” he said as she handed him the glass. “But I bet their drinks weren’t as pretty as this.”
“I’m a former bartender.” She clinked her glass against his, then took a sip, closing her eyes as the alcohol hit her bloodstream.
He took a drink, then coughed and spluttered. “Not the kind that watered down the drinks, I see.”
“Never. The drunker the customer, the bigger the tips.” She winked at him. “I even got a husband out of it. I was working at a marina when I met him.”
“A rich one, too.” He glanced around the luxurious cabin, with its subtle lighting and teak walls.
“Oh, my ex-husband could never afford this yacht. This belongs to someone else. He very kindly offered me this safe haven when he heard about my divorce. He owns one of the top security firms in the world, among other things.”
“I guess that explains the bodyguards.”
“Those are all mine. Private security is the ultimate status symbol.” She winked at him. “My ex-husband has to pay for it. I found a clause in our prenup that says so.”
He raised his glass to clink it against hers again. “Congrats to your lawyer.”
She giggled, then lowered herself to the couch and crossed one leg over the other. “Now why don’t you sit down and tell me why you think I know anything about your sister?”
He chose an armchair with a direct line of sight to the outside deck in case he had to make a run for it.
This was tricky because he didn’t know what Tina had told her, if anything.
They’d spoken for a while as he’d been sneaking onboard the yacht.
But since he was pretending he wasn’t working with Tina, maybe it didn’t matter.
“I believe that my sister was dating your brother. Since I can’t reach her, I thought you might know where I could find him.
I’m hoping they’re together having the time of their lives.
I don’t want to interfere, but there’s some…
news I need to give her.” He allowed an expression of sadness to come over his face.
Celine could fill in the blanks herself.
“I see.” Her expression was still wary. “My brother and I aren’t especially close. How did you make the connection to me?”
Luckily, he’d already worked out an answer to that.
“Jessie told me. Before she disappeared, she told me her new crush had a sister who was married to a Carmichael. I know the Carmichael family. We used to spend summers on Sea Smoke Island when we were kids. John Carmichael is the only one who’s married, although I wouldn’t be surprised if Luke and Barnaby were next up. ”
Her face tightened at the mention of her stepchildren. “That’s not my business anymore. I told you I’m divorced. ”
He echoed her own words back. “That’s not my business.
All I want is to locate Jessie. Do you have any clue where your brother might be these days?
Jessie didn’t say too much about him. I searched the cottage he was renting, but he didn’t leave anything behind in that cottage when he left.
Where is he based when he’s not vacationing on Sea Smoke? ”
“Oh, all over the place. My brother moves around a lot,” she said lightly. “I hope your sister knows what she’s getting into. He likes to go around helping people, like with their emotional issues. That’s why women love him. But he doesn’t stay in one place much.”
Or stick to one name. He’d noticed that she hadn’t said his name once. She probably wasn’t sure which one he’d used with Jessie. “Yes, I picked that up from what Jessie told me. She likes to help people too. I guess they have that in common. What do they call that, trauma-bonding?”
Her lips tightened, and a worried expression crossed her face.
“Jessie mentioned that Seth had a very difficult childhood,” he said.
“Something about a stalker father and a fire…” He trailed off, hoping she’d take over.
She didn’t. In fact she looked stunned. He searched for another soft spot to probe.
“She said he barely speaks to his mother, but sometimes reaches out to her. Maybe you can give me her number?”
Her eyes went dark and she tossed back the rest of her gin and tonic. “Sorry. Sometimes Seth goes no-contact and resurfaces when he wants to. I don’t interfere.”
“Even if he’s in trouble? That’s what I’m worried about. When’s the last time you talked to him?”
“He’s fine,” she snapped. His mention of her mother had drained all the friendliness from her expression. “I’m sure they both are. Just relax. Let them have their fun and we’ll see them when we see them.”
“Can I at least show you a picture of Jessie in case you see her?”
“Of course,” she said grudgingly.
He pulled up a photo and handed his phone to her. She studied the photo of Jessie and Seth, cheeks pressed together, looking blissful.
“Does she always look this happy?” she finally asked.
“Not really, no. She’s more of an introvert.”
For some reason, her eyebrows drew together in a worried frown. She opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it. He waited patiently, but got nothing more.
“Can I give you my number in case you see her?”
“I really doubt—”
“Please.” He fixed his gaze on her, pulling on every ounce of his magnetism to win her over. “You’re the only real connection I’ve been able to find. I’m getting desperate here.”
Finally, she relented. “Fine. But don’t get your hopes up.” She reached for the expensive Birkin bag she’d dropped onto the couch near her. But before she could reach it, a bodyguard stepped back into the cabin. He drew back at the sight of Jack.
“What the fuck?”
“It’s okay, he’s just looking for his sister. You can stand down.”
“Unless he wants to go for a ride, he better get off. Captain says we’re about to set sail.”
“No problem.” Jack rose to his feet, positioning his body so that he blocked the tote bag. “I’ll step off now. Thanks for not turning me into that crazy cop.”
The engine started up, and the yacht gave a gentle shudder as it shifted into its action mode. Celine jumped to her feet and motioned to the bodyguard. “Go tell them to hold off a second so Jack can get off.”
Jack used the microsecond of her inattention to grab the phone from her bag and slide it into his back pocket. “Looks like I’ll have to jump,” he joked as he strode toward the outside deck. “Where’s the stunt double when you need him? Thanks for the drink, Celine. Next one’s on me.”
Hoping she wasn’t looking too closely at his ass as he hurried toward the exit, he took the short flight of steps in two strides. The prow of the yacht was already a few feet away from the ramp, but the stern was still within jumping distance. Or would have been, if he’d gotten there in time.
Didn’t matter. He had to get off this Jessie-less yacht where he’d have no hope of finding his sister.
Racing toward the stern, he calculated the distance between the deck and the ocean, which was a good twenty feet down.
He reminded himself that people probably jumped off for fun on a sunny day, took a deep breath, and plunged off the side.
At the last minute, he remembered the thing about keeping your body straight like an arrow, and clamped his arms to his sides.
Then his feet hit the surface and all thoughts fled in a rush of swirling harbor water.
It was both warmer and dirtier than ocean water, and it seemed to take forever to rise back up.
He surfaced, spluttering and gasping. He checked behind him on the status of the Swan Song.
Had it left the marina already? No, it had paused and was idling several yards away from the float.
Damnit, he didn’t want it to pause. He wanted to get out of this disgusting water and find Tina and the Salty Gal.
He filled his lungs and dove deep. Forcing his eyes open, he plotted a course under the float, through the murky water.
How much fuel had dripped off the hose and into this water?
He didn’t want to think about it. He swam hard until he reached the other side of the ramp, and chose a pier post as a good place to surface.
Although his lungs were bursting, he took his time lifting his head from the water, staying as low as he possibly could to keep from being spotted.
Stay away, Tina, he silently chanted. The last thing he needed was for Celine’s bodyguards to see him with her.
Hand over hand, he pulled himself along the wet, slimy ramp until he reached the Salty Gal.
He swam around to the outside, pulled himself up using the side rail, then rolled his body over it, landing with a thud on the floorboards.
“Shhh,” he said to anyone who might be onboard, which turned out to be both Tina and Captain Sparrow, who were sitting in the cabin watching the yacht through binoculars. They must have missed him jumping off.
Tina started toward him, but he hissed, “Get down. Out of sight.”
She didn’t argue, just dropped low, crouching next to the padded benches that lined the cabin.
He rolled over onto his stomach and coughed out filthy water. The greasy chemical taste of marine fuel clung to his tongue. Revolting. “Water,” he gasped. “Back pocket. Get it out.”