Chapter 12
12
The shelves in Trinity Library towered over Dana, stretching into the grand ceiling above. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting a warm glow on the rows of ancient tomes. Each shelf held row upon row of ancient books, their spines worn and faded with age. She walked slowly, taking in as much as she could without stalling the other tourists.
Visiting the library had been on her bucket list for years. The Book of Kells was interesting, but she’d rushed through the last few sections of the audio tour to get to this room filled with knowledge. She snapped a selfie to send to her dad, Brit, and Simone. Had McKay visited this room? What had he thought?
Dana stepped out of the way of a mom pushing a stroller. Where did thoughts about McKay come from? He wasn’t here, and she was unlikely to be able to talk with him long enough to ask a question as trivial as his thoughts on Trinity Library. Yet he was the person she wanted to talk to about the day. The rest of the bridal party wouldn’t care. Normally Cheyanne would, but with only days to the wedding, her time and thoughts were occupied.
When they’d made their excursion plans months ago, Dana was the only one who had wanted to visit the university, so they decided to spend the morning exploring and meet up at the hotel at check in time. Most of the party had opted for a tour of the world-famous brewery and a bus tour of the city, leaving her to enjoy the day alone.
As she left Trinity College and made her way down the cobbled sidewalk, Dana wished she could explore Dublin longer. She stopped at a small café for a quick lunch and continued her stroll through the city. Dana couldn’t resist popping into a few shops along the way, searching for a sweater for her dad. The thought that the next store would have the perfect one and the fact she could return tomorrow kept her from purchasing the grey one she fell half in love with. It would look great on Dad, or McKay. No, the green one for McKay. One store later, the “what if she didn’t make it back” thought won, and she retraced her steps for the sweater for her father.
She wished she could find something more for Dad. After a week dodging Sheila, Dana wondered if there was a way to show more appreciation for the man who gave up his military career to raise her. Nothing she saw on her way to rendezvous with Cheyanne gave her any ideas.
The hotel lobby buzzed with activity as Dana made her way inside. She spotted the rest of the bridal party gathered in a corner, chatting and laughing. Dana wound her way around tourists with roller bags and bell boys with carts.
Cheyanne handed Dana a room key. “Did you have a good time at Trinity?”
“The library was incredible. I wish I could have read one book, just to say I did.” Reading a few paragraphs from the current novel on her phone wasn’t the same thing.
“That’s awesome,” Cheyanne said. “We decided we’re going shopping for matching tacky tourist shirts for the bachelorette party tonight.”
Dana raised an eyebrow. “There is a chain store with plenty of those.”
As they made their way to the shops, they chatted about the wedding. Amy-Kate seemed to be a bit tipsy. From the other bridesmaid’s comments, she finished everyone’s sample drinks on the brewery tour.
As they walked down the street, Amy-Kate tripped and fell on the cobblestone. She winced in pain as she tried to stand up. “I think I twisted my ankle,” she slurred.
Dana helped her sit up against a nearby wall while Renee called for a taxi to take them back to the hotel.
“I’m sorry,” Amy-Kate mumbled, tears in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” Dana reassured her. “Accidents happen. Do we need to go to a hospital?”
“No. I can just go back to the ship. If it gets worse, I’ll see the doctor on board. My travel insurance will cover it.” Amy-Kate rubbed her ankle. “Can I borrow your crutches? I’ll be fine in a day or two.”
“We could just stay in the hotel bar. Then you won’t need to go back,” suggested Lindie.
“If we wanted to stay in one place, we could all go back to the ship. They might refund our fees since we didn’t really use the rooms,” said Erin.
Chey bit her lip. “I don’t think they’ll do that. Our stuff is in our rooms.”
“Don’t cancel your night. Dublin pubs. You can’t miss them.” Amy-Kate used the wall to stand, putting no weight on her injury.
Renee offered a hand. “But you shouldn’t go alone.”
Dana looked at the time on her phone. “There is just enough time, I can take Amy-Kate back to the ship and meet up with you for dinner.”
“Mom and Daddy will be on the ship tonight, so she won’t be
alone...” Chey’s face was a mix of emotions.
“I can go myself,” said Amy-Kate.
“Not through the train station. Remember how many stairs?” Lindie crossed her arms.
Cheyanne looked to Dana. “You don’t mind?”
“Not as long as you get me one of the Celtic design shirts.” Dana gave one of the practiced reassuring smiles she used with her principals when Alan Hastings was shouting in the coms device in her ear about a treat and she didn’t want the principal to know.
The taxi pulled up. Dana helped Amy-Kate in and directed the driver to the nearest train station.
At the station, they called for the lift to take them down to the platform. A woman’s voice came over the speaker, asking why they needed the lift. Dana quickly explained, and the door opened.
The digital sign indicated they had only four minutes for the next train’s arrival for the short trip to the outer harbor where the cruise ship docked.
“Dana!”
Her heart leaped at the voice. She turned to see McKay weaving through the crowd in their direction. As he neared, she saw he had several bags in his hands.
“More souvenirs? I thought you said you had enough.”
“Well...” He shifted his weight from foot to foot, moving the bags to one arm. “I am going to win the best uncle award.”
He smiled brightly and Dana’s heart did a little leprechaun leap of joy. His expression changed.
“I thought you weren’t coming back to the ship.”
“Amy-Kate twisted her ankle. I’m just escorting her back, getting her my crutches...”
The train arrived, ending the conversation. Dana wrapped her arm around Amy-Kate, acting as a human crutch. McKay did the same from the other side, his arm brushing Dana’s, nearly causing her to forget the woman between them.
On board they found a double set of facing seats separated by a table. Amy-Kate sat on one side, her foot up on the bench seat. Dana took the window seat and McKay sat next to her. Amy-Kate looked from Dana to McKay and back, a smile crossed her lips.
Dana’s mind raced. Amy-Kate was the type of woman who would use the information that there was a friendship between Dana and McKay to her advantage. Although she wanted a deep conversation with him, she knew she had already said too much. The fact he’d called her by her first name was a big give away. “Amy-Kate, have you met Mr. Worth? He is a security officer. He had to do a background check on me when we boarded. He was also at the dinner I ate with the captain.”
Amy-Kate’s eyes inspected McKay as if she were deciding which chocolate to purchase in a candy store. She turned back to Dana and her eyebrows rose. “You sound rather defensive to me.”
Dana couldn’t win, so she changed the subject. “Officer Worth, have you ever seen the Book of Kells?”
“Yes, I loved it.” McKay gestured animatedly as he described the intricate designs and vibrant colors of the Book of Kells. He wasn’t speaking in his normal manner. It took Dana a moment to realize he was actually quoting some of the dialogue from the audio tour. Turning the conversation into a monologue.
Amy-Kate rolled her eyes and looked at her foot and moaned.
Dana hid a smile. Her heart warmed at McKay’s obvious attempt to deflect Amy-Kate’s attention from their budding friendship. McKay had understood the assignment perfectly. Amy-Kate would have no reason to think there was an interest there. However, it raised more questions in Dana’s mind. Questions she wanted to be alone to ask him. Just how much did they have in common?
McKay finished his duties, checking and rechecking the passenger count. The two-day stay in Dublin meant many passengers stayed in the city. A few had failed to tell the cruise line their plans, delaying closure of the ship for the night. With fewer passengers on board, McKay took advantage of his officer status to eat in the French-themed restaurant. As he made his way up to dinner, he noticed Dana sitting at a corner table of the promenade deck, gazing out into the vast ocean.
He blinked to be sure before approaching her. “Dana?”
She turned to him, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Hi.”
“How did you miss going back to shore?”
“Long story. I just finished calling Chey to tell her.” She smiled wryly. “Guess I literally missed the boat on this one. At least we’re close enough to shore that I could use my regular phone. Otherwise, I might have broken my promise about using the Hastings app.”
“Then I would have been looking for you.” He tried to make his voice light, but felt he failed. “I’m on my way to dinner. Want to join me?”
Oh, he shouldn’t have asked that. Still, he wanted her to agree.
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Better not. Amy-Kate is suspicious, and she is the person who will pound on the door to the bridge until the Captain himself answers. I don’t want to give anyone else reason to think that there’s something going on—” Dana ended the thought with a little shrug.
“I’ll be off at 2230, I mean 10:30.”
“We use military time at work. No need to translate.”
“We can meet here and talk.” At that time of night, there was very little chance of a passenger coming near the closed buffet, and even if they did, the conversation was in a public place on opposite sides of the table. And in full view of not one, but two cameras. He would have to keep the conversation brief.
“I’d like that.”
McKay nodded and headed off, entering a service area and then the restaurant. He spotted Dana’s mother and stepfather across the room. Dana was wise not to come with him. Amy-Kate might have knocked on the bridge door, but from what he knew of Dana’s mom, she would have pounded on the door to the captain’s private quarters.
He finished his dinner alone, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone as he ate. He studied the video clip the hidden camera took the night before. Although the woman’s face was hidden, McKay felt as if he’d seen her recently. The train earlier. Amy-Kate was the woman with Chandler Fairfax. He checked the other clips. How had he not seen the similarities before?
Thoughts of whether he should tell Dana about what he knew about her sister’s fiancé raced through his mind. If Cheyanne was his sister, he would want her to know. If only someone had warned his sister Jen about the mistake she was making.
As he made his way through the ship, he bumped into Alvaro.
“Hey, Mac. Off shift?”
“Just finished.”
“Anything noteworthy?”
McKay hesitated before responding. “I know who the woman is.”
“Who? How?”
“On my train ride back, I met her. Amy-Kate. She is one of the bridesmaids.”
Alvaro let out a low whistle. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll keep an eye on that situation.”
“I doubt anything will happen on the camera tonight. Amy-Kate hurt her ankle, so she won’t be walking around. The rest of the bridal party, minus Dana—who escorted her back—stayed in Dublin for the night. Which, FYI, I am going to go talk to Dana right now.”
Alvaro pinched his lips together. “I know you want to say something to her about the affair. Wait until the last night. We need to know which crew member is telling passengers about the blind spots. More than one person’s safety could depend on it.”
“If it isn’t discovered by the last night, I need to let her know. I wouldn’t feel right not telling.”
“Understood.”
McKay nodded before continuing on his way to meet with Dana as planned.
He arrived at their designated meeting spot on the promenade deck and found Dana already there, sitting at one of the tables overlooking the ocean.
“Hey,” she greeted him with a small smile.
“Hi.” He took a seat across from her and leaned back in his chair. A message popped up on his phone.
Jen: Gracie spending the night at Grandma’s. No need for a call. Talk tomorrow.
“Do you need to go?” Dana pointed to his phone.
“No. Just my sister telling me to skip my nightly call to my niece.”
“You call every night?”
“Depends on the cruise. European cruises the time difference makes my late night call the right time for bed. Caribbean cruses not so much. My sister uses me for a go to bed bribe. If I can’t because of work, I message her early enough. So, what is your long story?”
“Not that long, really. I asked my mom if she’d check in on Amy-Kate and of course Shelia said no. I don’t think she realizes forcing me to stay onboard to care for her also punishes Cheyanne.”
“I’m sorry you couldn’t go. On the bright side, no hangover tomorrow.”
“I don’t drink. But I wanted to be with my sister and make sure nothing goes wrong. In a group, they aren’t likely to be targeted, but...”
“You’ve seen things?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then you don’t drink so you can be her bodyguard?”
“If only it were that easy.” Dana’s laugh carried a dark tone. “I can’t drink even if I wanted to. I learned in college, to my embarrassment, the second alcohol hits my tongue, my gag reflex takes over. My dad thinks it is psychosomatic.”
McKay searched for a definition of the word and hoped his face didn’t betray his lack of vocabulary.
“When I was about three my Dad was deployed. Mom threw a party. Next morning I woke up, and she was still asleep. I was thirsty and found what I thought was fruit punch like they had at daycare. It wasn’t. I threw up everywhere. Mom and her friend, the ‘daddy’ I didn’t like, were so mad at me.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Nope. Every time I smelled drinks after that, I lost my lunch, dinner, or whatever. I was about ten when Dad put it all together. It played a role in him finally getting full custody of me. I grew out of the smelling it and reacting phase, but last time I checked, I still can’t drink. Which isn’t a bad thing.”
“I agree to that. I don’t drink onboard because I always want to be alert. On my months off, I may drink a toast at a wedding or something, but not much more.”
“Good to know.”
“What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“Find Cheyanne. And have a low-key day sightseeing. Late lunch with her fiancé and likely, her parents.”
McKay’s phone vibrated.
Alvaro: Watching them come from different directions toward the meeting spot. Go down. Send your friend to her room first.
They must have located him talking to Dana on CCTV.
McKay: On my way.
Alvaro: Her first.
Orders were orders. “I need to go. May I escort you down?”
Dana hesitated for a moment before answering, “Sure. That sounds nice.” She stood up and grabbed her phone.
They walked together in comfortable silence to the elevator, only passing one person. When the elevator doors opened, McKay placed his hand in the center of Dana’s back to guide her in. She blushed. He dropped his hand. She stepped away.
McKay took a step back. “Sorry. I shouldn’t?—”
Dana eyed the mirrored elevator ceiling. “The camera is hidden well.”
The doors slid open at her deck and they stepped off. Dana held up her hand. “This is as far as you go. I don’t want you getting into trouble for fraternizing with passengers.”
“I wish I could.”
Her eyes widened. She turned and walked a couple of steps before looking back. “Goodnight McKay. I wish you could too.”
She turned into the corridor, leaving McKay momentarily rooted to the spot. Remembering his duty, he turned into the opposite corridor and entered the crew door. He hoped this worked—he couldn’t send Dana to do this again.