Claire
Chapter Twenty-Five
We stood together in silence, watching the fog slowly lift, revealing the villa in the distance.
The once heavy clouds, dense fog, and rain were gradually giving way to the bright, beautiful sunset, a stark contrast to the turmoil churning inside me.
It was breathtaking, but the awe of the scene only seemed to amplify the uncertainty and fear that lingered in the air between us.
“I feel like that wasn’t helpful at all.”
Arik sighed, his brow furrowed in frustration. The tension in his voice made my heart ache. His whole being felt sensitive and broken. I had the overwhelming feeling that I had seen more of him than he intended to show me.
I reached out and gently rubbed his forearm, trying to soothe him. “It was helpful if you think about it,” I said, hoping to calm him. “He said you’ll know what to do…if we really are meant for each other.”
Arik turned to me, his eyes dark and intense.
“We are meant for each other,” he stated firmly, as if I had somehow questioned his love.
The look he gave me was wounded, almost pained, as if he couldn’t believe I didn’t understand.
“He knew you were my soulmate the second he saw you. It is not a question. It is a definitive confirmation.” His words were laced with angst, each syllable a testament to the depth of his feelings.
As the boat neared the shore, I noticed Sam sprinting down the stairs from the upper terrace, his feet barely touching the ground as he made his way to the dock.
“I feel like you’re angry at me,” I stammered, the words escaping before I could stop them. Arik slowed the vessel to a crawl; his movements deliberate as he prepared to dock.
“Angry at you?” Arik repeated, closing his eyes for a moment as if to gather his thoughts.
I watched as his fists clenched, his knuckles whitening with the force of his grip.
Without warning, he jerked the boat into a hard stop against the dock, the sudden movement jolting me slightly.
Sam was quick to act, grabbing the ropes and securing the boat to the dock as Arik released the anchor with a heavy sigh.
“I am the furthest thing from angry at you,” he admitted, his voice low and filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite place. “I’m frustrated and I’m scared.”
He sat down heavily, as if the weight of his own words had finally caught up to him. My heart skipped a beat.
“What are you scared of?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the answer.
“You,” he said simply, his deep eyes bored into mine, filled with a vulnerability I had never seen before.
“I am afraid this will all be too much for you, and you will leave me. I am afraid I will not be able to control myself long enough to change you. I am afraid of many things at the present moment, and that is a feeling I have not had for an exceptionally long time.”
My breath caught in my throat as he reached out and grabbed my hand, the warmth of his touch grounding me in that moment.
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze before pulling me down onto his lap.
The way he held me, the way his lips brushed my shoulder so tenderly before resting his cheek against my arm, it broke my heart to see him like this. He was so strong, yet so vulnerable.
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with both love and pain. “I love you, Claire,” he whispered, his voice cracking ever so slightly.
The sound of his voice, so raw and real, hit me like a punch to the gut.
All the air was suddenly sucked from my lungs, leaving me gasping.
My eyes locked with his, and the world around us faded into nothing.
My heartbeat quickened, and I felt a heat spread through my body as I struggled to breathe.
Fuck. I’m in love with him.
And I may die.
As my eyes locked into his, something pulled my gaze to the shoreline behind the cliffs just beyond the dock. “Arik…what is that?” I stammered as I raised my hand to point toward the red mass floating along the shoreline.
Arik turned to look as Sam jumped from the boat into the water that crept up against the sand toward the object. His pace slowed as he neared it, until he finally took a knee, and his head dropped into his hands.
“Stay right here,” Arik demanded as he lifted me from his lap. Our beautiful moment was now gone and replaced, again, with mystery. Maybe even disaster.
You would think I would be used to these kinds of surprises by now.
I watched as Arik and Sam circled the object.
Waves crashed up against it, tossing it back and forth as if held tightly against the warm sand.
All I could make out was tattered, wet red fabric that was rolling in and out with the tide.
I lifted myself from the chair and made my way to the side of the boat until I was planted firmly on the creaking wooden dock.
I stood, hands on my hips as the sun began to set in the distance. My cold skin was beginning to warm again and my clothes were finally dry…enough. I took a deep breath letting the sea air filled with salt fill my lungs, hopefully cleansing all the smoke I inhaled at Ambrogio’s.
Arik suddenly appeared before me on the dock, shocking me as I backed up in fear. He gripped my waist and pulled me in to keep me from falling backward off the dock and into the sea. I grasped my chest.
“Arik. I don’t like that. It reminded me of that night,” I said through deep breaths as his face remained cold and serious.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sam hovering a few feet from the mass of fabric and who knows what else. He was on the phone, his hand rubbing against his face as he paced.
“What the fuck is going on?” I questioned as I stared intently at the scene.
“Claire. You need to go inside. The authorities are on their way,” Arik answered calmly as he rubbed my shoulders and dropped his head to meet my eyes.
“Are you trying to trance me or something, Mr. Medici? Is that something you can do?” I asked with a laugh.
“No, Claire. But I do need you to go inside. You do not need to be out here,” Arik said firmly as he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the dock swiftly.
“Arik! What is going on?” I yelled as I pulled my hand from him.
“There is a body that has washed ashore,” Arik replied as his eyes broke from mine, and he watched the distance.
My head turned as I heard sirens getting closer. He was not kidding. A body?
“A body? On the beach? Your beach? Is it…one of yours?” I said, whispering as if someone could hear us.
Arik’s face looked puzzled. “Why would I call the authorities over a body…never mind. You do not need to see this, Claire. Please, let me take you inside,” he pleaded as he grabbed my arm firmly to the point where I wondered if a bruise would form.
“Mr. Medici, Sir,” an officer yelled as another conti led him down the terrace steps and onto the beach.
“Fuck,” Arik hissed as his eyes darted between me and the officer.
“Yes, officer. Over here,” he shouted as he waved his arm and released me from his grip.
“Hello, Miss,” the officer greeted me, his thick accent settling on his words like molasses.
I nodded toward the officer as anger seeped across my face when I turned back to Arik. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but his hands on me like that was not okay.
“Officer. Sam is the one who called. He is with the body. Claire and I just returned from a boat ride and discovered it,” Arik said smoothly, his voice cut through the tension like silk.
“Can you make out who it is, Mr. Medici?” the officer asked as three more officers approached us on the beach from the villa above.
“Yes, I can,” Arik stammered as his eyes reached for mine.
He looked pained in a way I had never seen him before. My pulse quickened as I waited for what felt like an eternity for his response.
“It is a guest of the hotel. Miss Jennifer Mora.”
The sorrow in his voice whipped through my ears as disbelief and shock curled their fingers around my thoughts. My stomach flipped and my vision narrowed as ringing in my ears drowned out everything around me.
“What?” I screamed as I turned from Arik and ran toward the shore, making my way through the warm water to the stretch of sand beyond the cliff.
“Claire! Stop! Please!” Arik screamed behind me. He certainly couldn’t use his speed to stop me in front of the officer.
As I made my way toward the body, Sam stretched his arms out, his shoulders casting a broad shadow that obscured the scene. “Claire. Really…do not look,” he pleaded with a dominance I had not seen from him before.
When my feet stopped in front of Sam, my eyes lowered.
There she was. Jennifer. Face up, eyes open, and turned to a haunting shade of gray.
Her body was bloated and pale, no longer warm with life, as seaweed and sand gathered around her neck.
Her long, straight black hair was now curly and wet, framing her face like a crown of death.
Her red dress tattered across her body; the neckline ripped into shreds exposing her nude lace bra over one breast. Bruises wrapped around her arm, collarbone, and neck like purple tattoos sunk deep into her.
She had been alive. I had seen her alive. And now she was dead. Here. On Arik’s beach.
“Please, Claire. No more,” Arik whispered into my ear as he pulled me around and pulled me into his chest. His fingers brushed through my hair as an arm wrapped around me, keeping me tight against his body. I was starting to fear that he may never let me go.
I stood silently, my arms at my side, unable to move.
“Miss. We really can’t have you at the crime scene,” the officer said, pulling me back into reality.
Arik’s voice cut through the ringing that filled my ears. “Officer. Is it okay if Sam takes it from here? I really should get her inside.”
The officer must have nodded because suddenly, Arik had me in his arms again.
Except this time, instead of wrapping my arms around his neck, I found myself limp.
I didn’t know Jennifer well. She certainly wasn’t the nicest person I had ever met.
But she certainly wasn’t a monster. She didn’t deserve to die.
As Arik’s footsteps moved across the sand, my mind began to race. She washed up on Arik’s beach. At the same beach I witnessed his bloodshed. Women have been going missing from the hotel, now Jennifer is dead on Arik’s doorstep.
I lifted my head up and made eye contact with another officer walking down the stairs from the terrace above.
“Officer?” I called.
Arik’s brow rose as he looked toward me. I felt his gaze burning into my face, but I couldn’t look at him. Looking at him would take every single cell of strength I had at this moment.
The officer nodded in my direction, raising his eyebrows as he used his fingers to comb his sleek hair back into place. “Yes, Miss?”
Arik stopped carrying me and looked at the officer, panic filling his eyes.
I had to run.
“You have to go back to the hotel to investigate more, right? Since she was a guest?” I asked, my expression still twisted with confusion and sorrow.
“Yes, Miss.” He nodded back, giving me the impression he was struggling with my English.
This is it.
“Would you mind taking me back with you? I am staying there. I could answer questions and tell you about the last time I saw her,” I said firmly.
“What’s your name?” the officer said as he pulled a spiral pocket notebook from his chest pocket and pulled the pen clipped to it.
“Claire Bailey. I would love to help. This is a heinous disregard for human life,” I quipped as Arik released me from his grasp and set me on the beach.
“Come with me, Miss Bailey,” the officer replied as he nodded to Arik and led the way up the staircase, back to the villa above.
I could feel Arik’s glare sinking into my back. I imagined him standing there, jaw tight, fists clenched, eyes filled with either sadness or anger.
With each step it became harder to hold in the tears.
My heart and head were officially in an all-out war. But I was done staying neutral.