Chapter 24
Vanessa softened and took a seat next to me.
She put a comforting hand on my back. "I'm sorry about what I said.
I didn't mean to attack you. I know you're on edge. My God, I’d be totally freaked out right now if my regulator failed. But nobody's trying to kill you. Nobody killed a woman named Kate on this boat. Just put all that stuff out of your mind. I think once you let all this stress go, you’re going to feel a lot better.”
I nodded.
"I’m no psychologist. I don't know what's going on with you. But it's like your brain needs chaos. It's been conditioned to be overstimulated. And without that stimulation, you don't feel normal. Like a crackhead."
I gave her a flat look. "Thank you. That's a wonderful comparison.”
"I'm not calling you a crackhead. But you know what I mean.”
I sighed and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Look, take a minute and pull yourself together, then meet us on the deck for lunch. Afterward, we’re going to go explore the ruins. It will be a fun afternoon. I promise. No diving."
"I’m just going to stay here.”
"No. Unacceptable. The last thing you need is to stay in this room, ruminating on all your problems. Ruminating makes it worse, you know."
She had a point.
"I'll talk to Declan and tell him to be a little more understanding. Besides, I think Luciano likes you.”
"Luciano wants to sleep with me."
"Well, yes, but Luciano wants to sleep with every woman, so don’t feel special. But I think he genuinely finds you fascinating. That could be to our advantage,” she sang.
"I'm not sleeping with him.”
Vanessa feigned offense. "I'm not asking you to sleep with him. I'm just saying, flirt back. At least until the deal is inked.”
"That's not my style. I don't flirt with married men.”
"You don't have to flirt. Just stay on his good side. Schmooze. After all, we’re talking about billions of dollars here.” She paused. "I promise you, if this deal goes through, I'll take care of you.”
"What does that mean?"
"I'm sure you've got rent, bills, credit card debt, and a car note. What if all of that went away?”
I did a double-take. "Are you saying you're going to pay me to flirt with Luciano so he does the deal with Declan?"
"Financial stress is a major component of your problem. Maybe all these things combined are why you're having such a hard time. I'm just trying to take some of that stress off your plate. I mean, how can a person truly relax on vacation, knowing they have to come back to a mountain of bills?"
"I don’t have financial stress. I make a good living.”
“At a bar?” she sneered.
“Why do I feel like you're trying to pimp me out?”
She laughed. "I'm not trying to pimp you out. I'm trying to help you out. I'm just giving you a stake in the outcome of this deal so you don't screw it up."
My jaw tightened, and my eyes narrowed at her. "Did Declan put you up to this?"
"No. Of course not. It was just something that popped into my head. Nobody put me up to anything.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t share every thought that pops into your head,” I said, jabbing her back.
She smirked. “Fair enough. I'll see you on deck for lunch. I promise, the fun starts now.”
She left my stateroom, and I flopped back onto the bed and exhaled. I just shook my head. What had I gotten myself into? I wished I was back in Coconut Key.
I finally got up, did my makeup, and made myself presentable. Then I headed up to the bridge deck aft for lunch. They all looked at me with sympathetic eyes when I took a seat at the table.
"How are you feeling?" Luciano asked.
"Good," I said with a nod, forcing myself to believe it. "I was a little shaken up there for a while, but that's all in the past. Onward and upward."
Luciano smiled. "That's the spirit. We must move forward in the world, unencumbered by the challenges of the past. We must keep our minds fresh and open to new experiences. I hope that experience hasn't turned you off of diving.”
"No. I'm just not in any hurry to put myself in that position again."
"Understandable. I recommend doing it soon. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get back into the water.”
"I feel partially responsible," Declan said. It was a surprise coming from his mouth. "I booked the dive master. I had used him before. I always thought he kept up with maintenance. But perhaps not."
"It's not your fault," I said, hiding my suspicions.
I'm sure Vanessa had spoken to him. It seemed, for now at least, we were going to be nice to each other on the surface. Friendly faces, but enemies at heart.
For lunch, we chowed down on grilled spiny lobster, and for dessert, mango coconut sorbet.
It took my mind off everything for a moment, but then I began to wonder.
If someone really wanted me dead, how hard would it be to poison my food?
It was the kind of thing that could drive a person mad, worrying about it all the time. Every little thing seemed deadly.
After lunch, Declan’s head of security, Silas, sent Kyle ashore for recon and threat assessment. Along with Julie, Silas handled all transportation and logistics.
I grabbed a handbag and loaded it with sunscreen, a few protein bars, and bottled water. I took my wide-brimmed hat and oversized sunglasses and rejoined the others.
We boarded the tender and headed to shore.