Chapter 19
The ship cruised through the sapphire water, and a gentle breeze swirled.
We watched the sun dip below the horizon, painting the sky in pastel hues.
It was a beautiful evening, but I still felt uncomfortable.
I sat next to Sophia, making sure to put at least one person between myself and Luciano.
I didn’t want to spend another evening fending him off.
"I can't thank you enough for finding my bracelet," Sophia said. "It's so precious to me. Where on earth did you find it?”
"It just caught my eye when I looked down. I picked it up from the deck, but I couldn't figure out who it belonged to. I'm sorry, I must have been pretty far gone to not remember you had shown it to me.”
“Which deck?”
“The sky lounge,” I stammered.
“I know I had it at dinner. I must have lost it during the poker game.” She smiled and whispered, "And don’t worry. We all overindulge from time to time. No shame. In my book, you’ve redeemed yourself.”
The bracelet glimmered on her wrist.
I still had questions, but I told myself I was done with it.
“Do you dive?” Luciano asked me.
“Yes,” I said.
“Are you experienced?”
“I like to think so.”
“Excellent, you must join us for the Devil’s Abyss. Truly remarkable.”
“Devil’s Abyss?”
“It’s a tunnel through a reef,” Sophia said.
“One of my favorite dives,” Luciano added.
“I’m sure she’d love to, but sadly, Teagan will be leaving us when we reach Puerto Maya,” Declan said. “She’s had a family emergency and must return.”
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Luciano said with a concerned face. "I hope everything is okay.”
Vanessa nudged Declan. The two exchanged angry looks.
"False alarm, actually," I said. "It looks like I'll be able to stay after all." I smiled at Declan.
He was not amused.
"Fantastic," Luciano replied. "I do so enjoy having you aboard. It makes it interesting. That is certain.” He shared a look with Sophia and laughed. "It's not often I get accused of murder. What a story I will have to tell when I get home.”
I shrank, feeling small. "I'm sorry."
"No. Don't be sorry, my dear. Revel in it. You made a bold and daring accusation. You stood by what you believed in. You went all in. That's an admirable quality. Then you reevaluated when presented with new evidence. It takes character to admit you were wrong. I admire that."
I hadn't totally admitted I was wrong yet. At least, not in my mind.
Luciano lifted his glass. "To Teagan."
Vanessa was the first to join him, followed by Sophia, then Sebastian and Hannah.
Of course, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to toast myself. I think Luciano did it just to get under Declan’s skin.
Though the deal would be mutually beneficial, he knew he had some leverage.
I think Luciano liked stirring up trouble.
Declan finally caved and lifted his glass. We all clinked and sipped our beverages. I was sticking to bottled water. Some say it's bad luck to toast with water. Given what was soon to happen, I couldn’t disagree.
We chowed down and filled our bellies. For dessert, I went with the Key Lime pie.
As usual, the party moved to the sky lounge after dinner for another round of poker. I thought about trying my hand, then thought better of it. I took a seat at the bar with Vanessa and Hannah.
Jimmy gave me a cautious look.
"Don't worry, I'm not drinking tonight," I said.
"Well, I'm here if you change your mind, but it might be a smart move to abstain."
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you last night."
"Think nothing of it.”
Vanessa ordered a margarita, and Hannah went with a cosmopolitan.
We shot the breeze for a bit while the boys played poker. Sophia joined them and won the first few hands.
Peer pressure took over, and the girls talked me into having a drink. One drink. It was a rather large glass of wine, and it went straight to my head.
Still feeling pretty thin from last night's adventure, I went back to my stateroom at a reasonable hour. I stepped into the compartment, and the window was open again.
I knew I had shut it.
The bed was turned down, and I figured that one of the stews had done it. It was a nice evening, so I left it open.
I stepped into the en suite and went through my nightly routine, brushing my teeth and washing my face. When I looked from the basin to the mirror, Kate was standing behind me in the compartment.
I shrieked in horror.
When I spun around, the hatch to the en suite slammed shut.
My pulse rocketed, and my skin slicked with sweat. The hairs on the back of my neck stood tall.