Chapter 12
brEAKING: CRAB INCIDENT CAUSES CHAOS ON BOARDWALK Tourists advised to watch their step
Tanner
“Hey! What are you doing here?” Alaia asks when I stroll into Bootlegger.
“Everyone’s busy today. I’m bored.”
“Ah, have you been missing your girlfriend?”
She’s joking, but it’s true. I have missed Alaia. I haven’t seen her for a few days. Since her interview with Coach Knox, she’s been busy working at the bar each evening. And Belinda has banned me from spending time in bars.
I’m not breaking the ban. She specifically said no bars at night. Good thing it’s not nighttime.
“Yep.” I kiss Alaia’s cheek. She picks up her bag and I frown. “Where are you going?”
“Breaking news story. No time to chat.”
I don’t let her go. I capture her hand. “I’ll go with you.”
Her brow wrinkles. “You’ll be bored.”
“I’m never bored when I’m around you.”
She rolls her eyes. “Charmer.”
I’m not trying to be charming. I’m being real. But I don’t correct Alaia. She doesn’t realize how much I want her. How often I think of her while lying in my bed. My cock hard and heavy.
But she thinks this relationship is fake. And I know better than to get involved with a woman. They’ll betray you if you give them the chance.
“I’ll drive. Where are we going?”
“No need to drive. The incident occurred nearby.”
“Let’s go.”
I keep hold of her hand as we walk out of the bar. I don’t usually enjoy holding a woman’s hand. But Alaia’s different. I want to touch her as much as possible. I want to touch more than her hand. But I’ll settle for her hand. For now.
“What’s the incident? I hope no one robbed the bank.”
My heart stutters in my chest. Fuck. Is this dangerous? I can’t let Alaia be in danger. I don’t care how much she wants to be a serious journalist. I’m not allowing her to be in danger.
She snorts. “Rob the bank? No one would dare.”
“Bank robbers dare to rob banks all the time.”
“Not the Smuggler’s Hideaway Savings and Loan.”
“Okay. I’ll bite. Why not?”
“It’s haunted.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Haunted?”
“Yep. During Prohibition, the Savings and Loan was flush with cash. Thanks to all of the smugglers using the island to store their stash and their ill-gotten gains. A few mainlanders decided to rob the bank. Mainlanders never learn.” She rolls her eyes.
“Anyway, they swagger into the bank thinking they’re going to walk away with tons of cash.
Ha! As if the smuggler grapevine hadn’t clocked them the second they arrived on the island.
The members of the police force, who admittedly were mostly actual smugglers at the time, hurried to infiltrate the Savings and Loan posing as clients.
The second the would-be bank robbers arrived, the police captured them. ”
“This is an interesting story but it doesn’t explain why no bank robber would dare to rob the Savings and Loan.”
She holds up a finger. “I’m not finished.”
I motion for her to proceed.
“One of the bank robbers wasn’t immediately captured. He started shooting up the place. One of the bank tellers was hit and died.”
She grins up at me. “Here’s where it gets interesting.
Her husband was a smuggler and he was out to sea at the time.
No one knows what exactly happened, but the legend claims he felt his wife die and threw himself overboard, unwilling to live without her.
He drowned and now he haunts the Savings and Loan – daring anyone to do harm to the bank where his wife died. ”
“A ghost is haunting the local bank?”
She lifts her brow. “You don’t believe me? There are ghost tours. In fact, we should do one for our next date. You might want to wear a diaper, though, since most people piss their pants when Wally shows up.”
I growl. “I’ll go on the ghost tour, but I’m not wearing a diaper.”
She shrugs. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
We turn the corner and reach the boardwalk. “Is it always this crowded?”
She smirks. “Nope. We’ve reached the incident.”
A woman screams and sprints our way. “They’re everywhere. Save yourself.”
I stare after her. “What’s everywhere?”
Alaia points to the ground. A crab scurries by. “Floyd had an accident.”
I scratch the back of my neck. “Is Floyd another seal that lives on the island?”
“Nope. Floyd is a fisherman who’s notorious for forgetting his boat keys.”
“I…I don’t know what to say. I’m confused.”
“Come on. I want to get the story before all of the evidence is cooked. Literally.”
She tries to push her way through the crowd. But it’s impossible since everyone is charging toward us. Good thing I have experience fighting my way through oversized men who want to tackle me to the ground.
I step in front of her. I lower my shoulders and make my way forward. Alaia clings to my hand. I enjoy being her frontman, protecting her.
And protection is needed since none of the tourists are playing any of the boardwalk games or lingering at the booths in the craft fair. They’re either running toward us or standing on tables screaming.
We arrive at the docks at the end of the boardwalk. No one is running away here. But there are small children chasing after the crabs.
In the middle of the chaos is an overturned truck. A man wearing yellow waders stands next to the vehicle, appearing confused.
Alaia tugs her hand out of mine and hurries to the man. “Floyd! What happened?”
His nose wrinkles. “I don’t quite know. I loaded the truck with the crabs I harvested from my traps the same way I do every morning. I was driving to Mariner’s Market to deliver them and the next thing I know the truck is overturned and there are crabs everywhere.”
“Are you injured? Do we need to get you to the hospital?”
He waves away Alaia’s concern. “I’m fine. I’ve hurt myself harder falling off my boat.”
She narrows her eyes at him. “You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
A woman stalks out of the crowd. “Floyd! What the hell have you been doing?”
“I’m sorry, Lana.”
She fists her hands on her hips. “You can’t be causing all this chaos during tourist season. Smuggler’s Hideaway relies on tourism.”
Alaia scowls at the woman. “Mayor Lana, maybe we can check he’s not injured first?”
My eyes widen. This woman is the mayor? She appears older than my grandmother. Although, my grandmother would never wear a skintight dress or yell at a man in public. She’s far too dignified – and boring – for those actions.
Floyd shakes his head. “I’m fine. I need to gather up my crabs before they’re all gone.”
“Too late.” Alaia points to a woman standing over a large pot of water. “Your crabs are now officially lunch for the patrons of the Salty Siren.”
The fisherman groans. “Not again.”
“Don’t say another word.” A woman rushes toward Floyd. Corbin trails after her. And here I thought things couldn’t get more interesting. I love this island.
Alaia scowls at the woman. “What are you doing here, Siena?”
Siena stands next to Floyd. “I’m protecting my client.”
“I’m not the police. I just want a statement about what happened for the newspaper.”
Siena purses her lips. “A statement the police will use to prosecute my client.”
“Since when are you Floyd’s attorney?”
“Since the time the town persecuted him for forgetting to tie down his boat.”
Alaia crosses her arms across her chest. “As I recall, his boat hit the dock and caused a fair bit of damage.”
“Unsubstantiated rumors.”
I sidle up to Corbin. “Is this your landlady?”
He grunts, which is basically a yes in his language.
“Now, I understand why you didn’t want to stay in the resort.”
He growls at me. “Not one bad word about Siena or I’ll let the defense squash you.”
I hold up my hands. “Not saying anything bad. But things are becoming much clearer to me.”
“Don’t you dare start rumors about me when you’re the one who’s in trouble.”
I’m not in trouble. I’m trying to stay out of it for the first time in my life. I thought I’d be bored to death. But nothing is boring with Alaia around.
“I’m cleaning up my act.”
“Do not make me sue you for defamation!” Siena shouts.
My feet carry me to Alaia before I realize I’m moving. I push her behind me. No one shouts at her. I don’t care who they are. “Don’t you dare shout at her.”
Alaia peeks around me. “I can fight my own battles.”
Maybe she can. But it’s my job to protect her.
Siena smirks. “Is this your boyfriend? The goofball player?”
“Who are you calling a player?” Alaia tries to push past me but I wrap an arm around her. As much as I enjoy her defending me, I won’t allow our relationship to ruin her friendships. Especially since our relationship has a time limit. I’ll be gone at the end of the summer.
My stomach drops. I don’t want our relationship to end when summer does. I don’t want this relationship to be fake either.
I like Alaia. She’s smart and serious. But has a whimsical side that makes me laugh. She asks me questions about my life and is interested in my answers. No one besides the press listens to me. And they only listen to sell their next story.
I’ve never wanted a relationship before. Never dared to trust a woman. But Alaia is different.
“Let me go.” Alaia squirms and I release her. “I set out to cover a minor transportation incident involving local seafood distribution. Instead, my friend is now threatening to sue me for words I haven’t even written yet. Let’s go. I suddenly have a craving for a crab sandwich.”
I catch her hand. “I could eat.”