Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
My head is aching with the thumping music and my bed is calling me but we’re anchored somewhere off the coast. The stars appear closer than the shore and it’s likely the party will go on all night and maybe into the next day.
Everyone seems to be having a great time.
There’s no place for me to hide as Linc’s entourage fills every corner.
The roadies, the hangers-on and the men dressed in silk suits I don’t recognize and instinctively don’t trust. Everyone is drinking heavily except Lucas.
I haven’t seen him touch a drink all night.
The only thing he lifts to his mouth is bottled water.
The temptation to indulge must be terrible.
A group of men in the corner laugh too loud and watch the girls with eyes that don’t blink.
I’m not prepared for this place. This isn’t just a party, it’s a ritual, where secrets are made and reputations destroyed.
I’m just a ghostwriter. I observe and yet somehow, I’m already part of the story.
I take a drink from one of the waiter’s trays as he goes past. The glass is cold and a too-sweet fruity liquid spills across my tongue as I drink.
The taste sends a strange little shiver through me.
I sigh. I need to relax and blend in and stop feeling like an impostor.
This is a golden opportunity to get information for Isabelle’s book.
I search for her but she seems to be missing.
Maybe she’s retired to one of the many rooms below deck.
Oliver is no longer on deck either, but Mia is still surrounded by her own entourage of young men.
She is glassy-eyed and throwing back shots as if they are water.
I’m so tired and the heat from the crowd presses in on me. The lights seem too bright, the music too loud, and the laughter seems to pierce my skull. I blink hard trying to clear my vision but the edges of everything shimmer as if the air itself is vibrating. Something’s wrong.
I close my eyes and a long moment later, Lucas is beside me. I look at him, through bleary eyes.
“You okay?” Lucas stares at me and frowns.
I try to lift my head. “I think so. How long does this go on for?”
“Everyone will head to the main deck soon, to the guest quarters or collapse somewhere in the lounge and wake up late tomorrow and start again but Dad usually likes to be home before noon. If you head to the upper deck that’s where the family sleeps.
There are spare cabins there. Use nine, one, one to get inside.
Our names are on the doors, if you need to find me.
I’m usually up at daybreak, so you’ll find me in the galley.
” He pushes hair from my face. “You didn’t take anything, did you? ”
I blink at him, trying to keep him in focus. What did he say about a place to sleep? Words seem to be slipping from my mind. “I’ve only had two drinks. I feel dizzy is all. Maybe I should go and lay down.”
“Welcome to a Boswell party.” He leans closer, lowering his voice, and his breath brushes my ear. “Just don’t fall overboard, Dad hates when that happens.”
I stare at him, unsure if he’s joking but he doesn’t clarify, he just wanders off, leaving me with a chill that has nothing to do with the ocean breeze.
Suddenly I’m aware of everything around me—the breeze lifting the hairs on my arms, the roll of the deck at anchor.
The laughter sounds too loud. People dancing appear loose and uncoordinated like puppets on a string.
I tip back my head to see Linc on the upper deck shouting lyrics into the night sky, his entourage cheering like disciples.
It’s as if the party is slipping into something dangerous.
As I set my drink down, the glass topples, spilling bright liquid across the deck.
I blink at it, confused by how slow my reactions are.
People walk by me and their smiles are hideous grins.
Suddenly I need to lie down, and I fall sideways onto the padded bench.
The waterproof fabric is stiff against my cheek.
The world tilts and spins and then everything goes black.
Seconds or maybe hours have passed in the void but searing pain splits my head as bright light forces its way under my eyelashes.
Something hard presses against my palm and an awful metallic smell creeps up my nostrils.
I open my eyes and a shaft of sunlight blinds me.
I try to roll away but my shirt sticks, making a sucking sound as I move.
I stare at my hand and the blood dripping down my arm from a blade clutched in my palm.
Horrified, I drop it and hear it spin across the deck.
I blink rapidly, trying to gain my senses.
The sun is just peeking over the horizon, sending laser beams of light over me.
I gasp. Blood soaks my shirt and forms a sticky pool around me.
I hear footsteps and blink into the dawn.
“Alani.” Lucas is beside me checking me over. “Are you hurt?”
I’m trembling and cold, so cold. “No, I don’t think so.
” I try to focus on his face. “I woke up with a knife in my hand. What have I done?” The fear something triggered my psychopathic side sends my heart racing so fast I can’t breathe.
I stare at the blood covering my hands. “If I’ve stabbed someone, I don’t remember doing it.
You have to believe me. I can’t remember anything after spilling my drink. ”
“Calm down. You didn’t kill anyone. There’s no dead body and I haven’t heard about anyone being injured.
Maybe someone is pranking you and has thrown fake blood all over you.
” He stands and kicks the knife over the edge and into the sea.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.
” He gives me a little shake. “What happens on the yacht stays on the yacht. This never happened, right? It’s our little secret. ”
I look at him. He is so calm and in control, as if he finds blood-soaked women clutching knives all the time. “Lucas, why are you helping me? What if I’ve killed someone?”
“I doubt it. Look, I often get blamed for things I haven’t done and I know what it feels like.
” He meets my gaze and a sadness fills his eyes.
“This… whatever it is, isn’t your fault.
If there is a problem, say you were with me all night.
We jumped in the hot tub and stripped off in the early hours then staggered to my cabin.
Got it? Stick to the story and everything will be fine.
” He helps me to my feet and leads me to the hot tub.
“The water is highly chlorinated because of all the people that get in it. It will help remove the blood.” He turns around and grabs a toweling robe from the back of one of the seats.
“There’s no one around. The galley staff haven’t even woken yet.
Strip off, wash your hair and leave everything in the tub.
Make sure you clean under your nails. You can use the robe when you’re done.
I’ll clean up the blood and then take you to my cabin. ”
I slide into the hot tub fully clothed and watch the water turn red around me.
The water bubbles hot and soothing over my cold flesh but tremors wrack my body.
Did I kill someone? Panic grips me, and the smell of blood still hangs in my nose.
What happened? I can’t remember a thing—it’s like a dark void blocking out reality.
I rub at my clothes and then strip, very conscious of Lucas working close by but he isn’t looking at me.
He’s using a high-powered stream of water to remove the blood from the highly polished deck.
He then empties a bottle of chlorine over the deck and waits for a time before hosing it away.
I hurry to clean myself, washing my hair and checking my nails.
I’m self-conscious as I climb out but his back is to me.
I pull on the robe and walk to his side.
“I found your purse and shoes over there.” He points to a deckchair. “Grab me a robe. They’re on the shelf over there.” He points behind him. “I’ll jump into the hot tub. They’ll find our clothes in there.”
I stare at him. “Who will?”
“If someone is missing, the cops will be all over it.” He jumps into the tub and sinks below the steaming water.
By the time I find a robe, Lucas is out dripping on the deck thankfully wearing underwear. I hand him the robe. He nods and then empties two full bottles of chlorine into the hot tub and tosses the containers overboard. “Why did you do that?”
“It will bleach the blood from your clothes and any spots on mine.” Lucas shrugs and wraps the robe around him.
“Come on, you can take a shower in my cabin. I’ll find you something to wear.
” He gives me a long searching look. “We need to move fast, Alani. Everyone on this yacht has a phone and if they’ve seen us, our faces will be all over the news before we dock. ”