Chapter 13
13
Why? Why? Why? Had Cupid failed archery? Was she born under some morose cloud? Every time she found a man she wanted to be with, some obstacle stood in their way. For a moment when he touched her back, she wanted to melt into him, experience the hug she craved. Her heart didn’t understand what her mind had been telling it for the past two days—McKay was off limits. Why had his hand lingered in that forbidden touch? Could he be struggling as much as she was?
A sound ahead made her look up from the floor. A woman with red hair walked quickly down the corridor. Amy-Kate? It couldn’t be. She needed crutches, and why would she be down on this deck? Full of curiosity. Dana walked faster.
The woman passed Dana’s room and turned a corner, allowing Dana a glimpse of her profile. It was Amy-Kate. Dana slowed her steps as she reached her room. Should she follow Chey’s friend?
Voices reached her—a man and woman talking in hushed tones—and then she heard her own name. She stuffed her room key back in her pocket and moved closer to the corner.
“I told you, Dana won’t be a problem. She’s down on Deck 8 or somewhere in one of those inner rooms. She won’t find us, and no one else is in our suite. Can’t we just go there?”
“Baby, we can’t risk being seen.” The man spoke with a British accent.
“But I’m tired of hiding in this corner even if no cameras can see us,” Amy-Kate’s sentence ended with a deep throaty moan. “Stop, that, I’m, trying, to?—”
“We can converse in public.” It almost sounded like Cheyanne’s fiancé.
“I’ve orchestrated this event so we could be alone. There’s no one else in our suite. We can just go up there. Dana and her mom?—”
Dana’s stomach churned as the pieces clicked into place. She turned the corner.
The couple leaned in the corner with Amy-Kate pinned against the wall. Chandler’s head buried in Amy-Kate’s neck. His hands. Well, his hands shouldn’t have been touching Cheyanne’s friend anywhere. Amy-Kate noticed first. She pushed Chandler away.
It took a moment for Dana to find words. “Wow, your ankle healed quickly. And Chandler, fancy running into you here.”
Chandler turned. His face red with anger. He glared at Dana. “Where did you come from?”
“That isn’t the question, is it? Why is my sister’s fiancé making out with her good friend and bridesmaid in a corridor?”
He stepped menacingly toward her. “You are going to forget what you saw.”
“And let my sister marry you without all the facts? I don’t think so.”
“Keep! Quiet!” Chandler punctuated each word with a pointed finger.
Dana’s training kicked in automatically as she assessed his body language—he was building toward violence. She stepped back to give herself more room in case he attacked. “How long has this been going on?”
Amy-Kate tugged on Chandler’s arm. He shrugged her off and lunged at Dana.
Dana turned and caught his wrist at the same time. Using his momentum, she pinned him face first against the wall. “How long have you been cheating on my sister?”
As he struggled against her grasp, he cursed in British and American English, showcasing a rather limited and unimaginative vocabulary.
Running footfalls came from both directions.
“Let him go.” McKay didn’t use her name. Dana dropped her hold and stepped back.
Officer Alvaro came from the opposite direction. A female security officer stood behind him. “What is going on here?”
Amy-Kate and Chandler started yelling at once. Dana waited for someone to stop them.
“We are disturbing passengers. Let’s take this into the security office,” said Officer Alvaro.
“Fine, then you can expel this woman from the ship. I’d like to press assault charges.” Chandler pointed at Dana.
Dana fought to keep her expression neutral, though inside she was seething. She assumed there would be video footage of him lunging at her. Technically, she’d acted in self-defense. Although there had been a good dose of anger mixed in, and she used more force than was strictly necessary.
Not surprisingly, once they reached the security offices, the officers separated the three of them. The chief security officer took Chandler into his office, McKay led Amy-Kate into a conference room, and the female officer sat with Dana at a corner table.
“Miss Dana Knight, correct?” The officer opened her tablet.
“Yes.”
“I’m Martina. I’ll save you some time. The video caught him jumping, no there is a better English word…” The officer’s face scrunched up. “Lunging. That’s the word for it. He was lunging at you. I am surprised you to—” She paused for a moment before saying, “You know what I mean. Sorry, I was just speaking Tagalog with my friends in the crew lounge and my brain isn’t back in English mode.”
“Pinned him to the wall?”
“Yes. I have not seen many women do something like that unless they were a superhero in a movie. You work for a security company, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Is that where you learned to defend yourself like that?”
“Yes. The original owner’s wife and her daughter are passionate about women defending themselves. They’ve developed several techniques to help women use her natural structure to their advantage.”
Martina leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “That sounds fascinating. I need a course like that. Even though we have some CCTV footage, I am supposed to ask you what happened.”
It wasn’t a question, but Dana answered anyway. “I was returning to my cabin and saw Amy-Kate. Which struck me as odd as she twisted her ankle earlier today. She turned the corner just beyond my new cabin. I wasn’t going to keep following her, but then I heard her say my name. As soon as I realized she was talking to my sister’s fiancé…” Dana censored out her emotions. “I confronted them.” Saying her reasons out loud, Dana wondered if she was justified in her actions. “Chandler lunged at me with a raised fist, and I defended myself.”
“Understandable—if I caught my sister’s fiancé cheating, I’d be upset, too.” Martina looked down at her tablet. “That seems to be all I have to ask you. You are free to go. You know your way out of here?”
“Yes.” Dana glanced at the two closed doors. It’s odd that Martina didn’t ask her more questions. Wasn’t she the one in trouble? Chandler didn’t actually hit her, he just tried. Why would McKay need to talk to Amy-Kate longer than Martina interrogated her? Not that it was much of an integration. It barely qualified for taking a statement. Not a single follow-up question. They must rely heavily on the CCTV. Amy-Kate hadn’t been aggressive.
McKay responding as quickly as he had made sense. He’d barely left her. But the Chief Security Officer Alvaro and Martina, who was a single bar officer, also being that close? Odd coincidence or something else?
A wave of exhaustion hit her as the adrenaline wore off. She had bigger concerns now. What would she tell Cheyanne?
McKay handed Amy-Kate another tissue and tried to mask his disgust. “Do you know who told Chandler about the meeting place?”
Through her tears, Amy-Kate sniffled, wiping her eyes. “I—I don’t know.”
“It’s okay, take your time.” It had taken long enough to get Amy-Kate to divulge that the meeting place was chosen because Chandler knew there were not security cameras there.
“He told me he paid handsomely for it... I’d complained because I felt cheap sneak—sneak—sneaking around.” She wailed and burst into sobs.
McKay pushed the tissue box in front of her. He’d seen better acting in first day rehearsals.
Between shuddering breaths, Amy-Kate managed to speak. “Dana’s going to tell Chey and ruin everything.”
Maybe she knew more. “Ruin what?”
“He was getting me an apartment in London. Now the wedding will be off, and Chandler’s father will?—”
There were no words. McKay hoped his face remained neutral. Was he hearing correctly? Cheyanne’s fiancé was setting up Amy-Kate to be his mistress, and she was fine with the plan. He couldn’t ask. It had nothing to do with ship security. “Do you know when Chandler paid this person?”
She stopped her fake sobs and looked at him, eyes narrowing. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“As ship’s security, we don’t care what you are doing in your private life as long as it is consensual. However, I am very concerned that someone is selling the location of our CCTV blind spots to Chandler and perhaps others.”
“Oh.” Amy-Kate looked down at her hands. “I don’t know when he arranged it for sure, but he texted me the day before we flew to London that he had found a place for us to meet. I thought he purchased another room.”
“When did he tell you the location?”
“The first night we were on board, he showed me the place. Very disappointing if you ask me. He said he didn’t want the temptation of a suite.”
Not very helpful information, even if it did explain why someone as well off as Chandler would pay someone for just a corner. Apparently, the man had a modicum of honor and didn’t get a room for his mistress the week before the wedding. “Thank you for your help, Amy-Kate. You may return to your suite.”
An odd look came over Amy-Kate’s face. “Chey is going to kick me out. Where will I go? Are there any more rooms on the ship?”
“Sorry, not my department. You can see guest services in the morning.” If she was wise she’d disembark and head to the Dublin Airport.
Amy-Kate stood, talking more to herself than McKay. “Maybe Dana would trade, no I don’t want a dungeon room.”
Interesting. Dana hadn’t told the others, or at least Amy-Kate, about her new room. Still not his problem. He watched until Amy-Kate turned the corner and out of sight. Alvaro’s office door was still closed. Hopefully, Alvaro got the answers he needed. McKay watched the monitors on the walls. A few people still tried their luck in the casino. The bars were mostly empty.
“Anything of interest?” he asked the single security officer watching the monitors.
“No, Sir.” The new security employee still used the honorific term.
The empty chair in front of the other monitors caught McKay’s attention. “Has Ian been gone long?”
“He said he needed to take a break just after you all came in.” McKay checked his watch. Just shy of a half hour. Long for an unscheduled break. Two crew members hurried into the office. One was still tucking his shirt in. “Reporting, Sir.”
Before McKay could ask what they were reporting for Alvaro opened his door. He looked first at McKay, then the empty seat in front of the monitors. The frown on the chief security officer’s face deepened. “Change of plan, you two go find Ian and bring him here. He may resist. Mac escort Mr. Fairfax to his cabin. He will be packing, as he has chosen to disembark in the morning. I’ll send someone to replace you as soon as I am able to and then we can talk.”
Chandler held his head high as he left the room. McKay wondered why he was leaving. Was it to avoid charges? Or his bride-to-be and her family?
Once they were in the elevator, Chandler spoke. “I reported your assignations with Cheyanne’s sister. Expect your comeuppance too.”
McKay ignored him. Once they reached the cabin, McKay stood outside the door. He only had to wait a few minutes for two security crew members to relieve him. They would stay at their posts until Chandler left the ship.
In the brief silence of the corridor, McKay’s thoughts drifted to Dana. She needed an explanation. He pushed them aside—he had a job to finish.
The captain stood in Alvaro’s office. “Any idea how long this has been going on?”
“Ian isn’t talking. The dark web chat post that Mr. Fairfax responded to was two months old. I have to wonder if Ian’s done this before.” Alvaro shook his head. He turned to McKay. “Did the redhead know anything?”
“Only that Mr. Fairfax paid for the information about the space. She seemed more upset about her future than anything.”
The captain stared up at the ceiling. “This could have been so much worse. I can’t say I liked your sting operation, but I am glad it worked. Good idea, Worth.”
The implications hung heavy in the room—a security breach like this could have devastating consequences. Neither Alvaro or McKay put words to what the captain was thinking. It wasn’t necessary.
“It was Martina’s plan. She deserves the credit.” McKay pondered his interactions with the soon to be ex-crew member. “You know Ian doesn’t strike me as being bright enough to come up with this on his own.”
“I had the same thought,” agreed Alvaro. “I’m glad we kept the operation only to the three of us. We might have missed Ian entirely.”
The captain stifled a yawn. “I’ll contact the main office and let them know our suspicions. They will need to consult with legal department to see if there are any laws that have been broken. Between the laws of the US, UK,and the Netherlands, there must be something. I don’t want to be forced to turn Ian loose so he can try this on another cruise line.”
Netherlands? Could the country their ship sailed under do anything? Ninety percent of cruise ships sailed under convenience flags. Meaning they claimed one home country, even though mainly operating out of another. The home country rarely came into play except in docking priority. McKay fought the urge to yawn, too. “Don’t forget Ireland, we discover the issue in their waters.”
The captain shook his head. “So glad I won’t have to figure out this mess. It’s a shame we had an innocent bystander in this. I watched the footage. I’m impressed with how quickly she stopped Mr. Fairfax when he became aggressive. Wasn’t she the one on crutches at dinner?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Alvaro. “She works for Hastings Security.”
The captain closed his eyes for a moment. “Please tell me she isn’t onboard working.”
“I’ve spoken to her on several occasions, and I am convinced that Miss Knight is here only as the sister of the bride,” said McKay.
“Hastings Security, what are the chances of that? Did she knowwhat was going on?” asked the captain.
“Miss Knight had no idea about the hidden camera or the rendezvous spot.” The fact sat like an anchor in McKay’s stomach.
“Well, if it is appropriate, thank her. And if Mr. Fairfax tries to charge her with anything, let her know I am all for testifying against him.” The captain seemed to have aged in the past few moments. If Ian wasn’t working alone the ramifications were enormous.
McKay nodded his reply. He had no intention of telling Dana anything unless it came up. If he did, it wouldn’t take long for her to realize that she’d been manipulated into an awkward position and could ruin any connection they had forged. But keeping the truth from her felt just as wrong as using her had been. Either way, he’d never have a chance to know her better.