Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
Alani
My mind is in turmoil as I follow Isabelle and Lucas down the steps to the main deck.
We move through a door that’s marked “Private” and Lucas shuts it behind me.
The number of people inside the lounge surprises me; bodies are spread out everywhere, some even into the dining area, sitting with their heads cradled on their arms on the tabletops.
Many of them are snoring, and the smell of stale champagne and old perfume lingers along with a slight undertone of vomit.
I turn to Lucas. “Is it always like this?”
“Most times.” He shrugs. “We have plenty of guest cabins but most of the people seem to party until they drop.” He turns to Isabelle. “I’ll need to alert security if you plan on searching the guest cabins for him.”
“He wouldn’t dare—not when I’m on board.” Isabelle’s eyes flash with anger. “I’ve had my suspicions about him since the last tour.” She turns on Lucas, and her mouth twists into an ugly grimace. “Tell me—is he seeing other women when he’s on tour?”
“It’s none of my business, what Dad does.
” Lucas shakes his head. “Yeah, there are women, tons of them. You know that it’s part of the business but that doesn’t mean he hooks up with them and you know it.
” He pulls out his phone and calls security.
“You need to know if he’s here, so we’ll wake everyone and see if he’s on this deck. ”
My heart beats so fast as the negative replies come from the occupants of the rooms. As the security guard turns with a shake of his head from the final cabin, I’m trembling so much, Lucas slips a hand around my waist. I lean into him, glad of his support. “Where is he?”
“Go and check the bridge.” Lucas waves the security guard away. “If he’s not there, we’ll check the party deck but it’s not somewhere he would crash. Just wait in case he’s on the bridge.”
“Look at you two getting cozy.” Isabelle glares at me. “You can’t have Lucas; he’s not getting involved with a member of my staff. Just because Linc put you in a room on our floor, it doesn’t change your position in my house.”
“Your house?” Lucas pulls me closer and rests his chin on my head.
“The house belongs to Dad and me—not you.” He glares at her.
“Why do you make everything so nasty? Can’t you see she’s upset?
We’re friends, and I’m supporting her is all.
” He turns as the security guard comes down the steps shaking his head.
“Okay, keep searching. We’ll search on this deck.
You head down to the other decks and call me if you find him. ”
The man takes off at a run. My legs shake as I step away from Lucas. I can feel Isabelle’s eyes boring into my back. “We should keep looking.”
Where is Linc? Have I murdered him? Did I have the strength to drag him to the edge and push him into the sea?
He’s a big man, tall and muscular. Do people gain super strength when they’re drugged?
Teeth chattering, I follow Lucas. Like before, the drunken aftermath of the party lies everywhere, falling like ten pins in heaps.
The air stinks and soft and loud snoring fills the room.
I swear I’ll never drink again after seeing these people.
Women lie around with skirts hitched up to display their underwear—or lack of it.
There are so many wardrobe malfunctions going on, the room resembles an outtake from a porno.
“He’s not here. I’ll check the games room.” He heads up a spiral staircase.
My heart thumps as I follow him. I don’t enjoy being the meat in the sandwich, stuck in a domestic argument.
I can see Lucas barely tolerates his mother.
She is clearly a narcissist with coercive control issues.
Seeing people adoring her husband and son eats at her.
She needs to be the center of attention and this can never happen again—unless she does something spectacular.
A shiver crawls over me—what if she murdered Linc and set me up, then she’d be in the spotlight as his grieving widow?
The rancid smell of sweat leaks from the games room as I follow Lucas inside. As before, people lie in a drunken stupor all over. Drinks and food litter every spare space. I cover my nose as the putrid smell of rotting seafood drifts toward me.
“I’ve found Dad.” Lucas indicates toward a pool table near one of the bars.
I breathe a sigh of relief, but beside me Isabelle is radiating anger.
Shirtless, with each arm wrapped around two scantily dressed women, and another lying across his hips, lies Linc.
His hair is spread out around him and long black eyelashes brush his cheeks.
He looks peaceful and very happy. Beside him is an empty bottle of bourbon and a magnum of champagne in an ice bucket dripping condensation across the green felt.
I shrink back behind Lucas as Isabelle swears under her breath and removes the bottle of champagne.
I stare in horror, waiting for her to raise the bottle and hit him but she drops the empty bottle and grabs the bucket.
Most of the ice in the bucket has returned to water but ice cubes still chink against the metal as she lifts it and throws the freezing water over Linc.
The girls scream and scatter like rats deserting a sinking ship. Linc opens his eyes and a slow smile curls his lips. I hold my breath waiting for Isabelle to explode.
“Hello darlin’.” Linc wipes a hand down his dripping face and shakes the water from his hair like a dog.
“Well… that’s one way to cool things off.
” He holds both hands up in surrender. “What a night! It went hard… but not as hard as you’re about to go at me, huh?
Seems I didn’t make it to bed last night. ”
“Now we’re all awake, get this thing turned around.” Isabelle leans close to his face and speaks through clenched teeth. “We’ll deal with this at home.” She turns and storms out.
“Sorry, Alani, you didn’t need to see that.
” Linc pushes dripping hair from his face.
“Like I said, she’s jealous, which means even after all these years, she can’t handle my stage persona.
” He drops from the pool table and grabs a pile of paper towels to dry his face.
He turns to Lucas. “Get the staff roused. We’ll need to clean up this place before we dock and get coffee into these people.
The guys all dropped around one. Wake up Joel and tell him to get everyone organized. I’ll go and face your mom.”
Joel? I stare after him. “Who is Joel?”
“His bodyguard. Mine is Charlie, they stay in the background unless we go out.” Lucas wrinkles his nose and scans the piles of bodies strewn everywhere. “It stinks in here. We have people to deal with this shit and I need coffee.”
I turn to follow him. “What about waking Joel?”
“That’s what phones are for.” Lucas pulls his out of his jeans and makes the call.
My opinion of Linc has changed. I now wonder why he remains with Isabelle.
Seeing their relationship as an outsider, they appear as a couple who stay together for the kids.
I see no affection between them unless they put on a show in front of an audience.
Linc feeds on the adoration from women but seems to remain faithful—well, to some degree.
Yet they share the same bed. I look at Lucas. “Do they fight all the time?”
“Yeah, but Dad knows how to pacify the beast.” He gives me a sidelong glance. “She’s not the only actor in the family. He’s been playing the part of a loving husband since he first climbed on stage.”
I follow him through passageways and downstairs until we reach the galley.
It’s much larger than I expect with stainless steel appliances and worktops.
Men and women in pristine white uniforms are moving around preparing food.
One of the men, who I assume is the chef, greets Lucas as he steps inside the door.
“I want two large mugs of coffee, both with sugar and cream now, please, Chef.” Lucas glances at me and then back. “My usual breakfast but make it for two and I want it served in my cabin, like yesterday. Alani isn’t well and we need to get some food into her ASAP.”
“Yes, sir.” The chef turns around and claps his hands and gives out orders.
Two cups of coffee arrive in seconds.
“Thanks.” Lucas grabs both of them by the handles. “You look like you need to sit down. Stay close and don’t talk to anyone.” He heads back to his cabin.
It’s only a few minutes since Lucas made the call, and signs of activity are evident.
People are rushing from one place to the other, and women try and talk to him but he just brushes past. He passes me a mug of coffee and then uses a code to get through a private door.
I stare at the keypad and shake my head.
I don’t recall seeing him do that before, but the keypad is right there in front of me.
“I don’t remember the keypad being there. I must be losing my mind.”
“So, you don’t recall me giving you the code to get into the suites? Nine, one, one. Remember now?” Lucas leads me to his cabin and we go inside.
Feeling fragile, as if I might break apart at any second, I stand in the middle of the room, my knees shaking. “No, I don’t.”
“Sit down.” He guides me to a padded chair in front of a coffee table.
“There are a few things I need to explain to you.” He sits opposite in a similar chair and after taking a sip of coffee places the mug on the table.
“We’ve tried to prevent people bringing drugs on board but they hide them in all sorts of places.
Even if we did a strip search it would be unlikely that we’d find most of them.
You’re displaying symptoms of being a victim of the date rape drug.
Someone probably slipped it in a drink.” He stares into my eyes.
“The loss of memory, confusion, tiredness and waking up not knowing what happened the night before is typical. The good news is you’ll feel better once you’ve had that coffee and something to eat. ”
I’m holding on to the mug as if it’s a life preserver.
Someone drugged me, but why? Has someone on board discovered who my father is?
I only told one person, Peter Kite, the reporter, and of course my brother Damon knows, but how did they get on board?
I take a few sips and stare at him. “Have you forgotten you found me with a knife in my hand, covered in blood? It might be a good idea if we did find out what happened overnight. What if I’ve murdered someone?
” I try to stop the sob climbing up my throat.
“For one horrible moment I thought it was Linc.”
“We use stage blood in our act sometimes.” Lucas leans back in his chair.
“I figure someone was pranking you and you should put it out of your mind. If we find someone is missing and the cops get involved, we’ll say what we planned to say.
” He looks deep into my eyes and shakes his head slowly.
“If I’d found my mother lying in a pool of blood with a knife in her hand I would immediately suspect she’d murdered someone—but not you.
Whatever’s going on here, it’s a prank or a setup.
Either or, I’ve got your back. You just need to play along.
When we leave, keep your head down and lean toward me.
Let your hair drop down over your face. I’ll put my arm around you and pull you close.
The paparazzi will be all over it but no one will see your face. ”
I nod slowly, glad to have someone in my corner.
I’m so used to being on my own, it feels strange to have someone who cares.
By the time I finish my coffee there’s a knock on the door, and a tall muscular man in his late twenties and wearing a suit stands to one side to allow a waiter to walk inside and place a large tray full of food and coffee on the table.
When the waiter leaves, the man who I assume is Charlie walks into the bedroom and speaks to Lucas in a whisper.
He shows him something on his phone and then leaves.
“Someone has taken photos of Dad asleep with those girls on the pool table and sold them to the media.” Lucas scrubs both hands down his face and peers at me. “It won’t be good at home, when it hits the press. Dad won’t care, he loves that type of bad boy publicity, but Mom will go ballistic.”
I stare at him. “Can it get any worse?”
“Maybe you can add all the times Dad was being a bad boy and how my poor mother suffered to her memoirs. She’d love that.” Lucas chuckles. “Now you have a first-hand account. It would make good reading—the inside scoop of what really happened on the yacht.”
Suddenly hungry, I pour maple syrup over hot cakes and then nibble at the crispy bacon. It is a good idea. “Why doesn’t he care that people think he’s having affairs with young women right under his wife’s nose?”
“I’d tell you but if it ends up in the book or in some of those trashy columns you write for, he’ll sue you.” Lucas narrows his gaze at me. “I only know because he threw it in her face one time when they were arguing. I asked him and it’s true.”
I stare at him for a long moment, not sure if he’s lying to me.
I’m an easy target right now and I think he knows it.
I glance at my hands, still seeing the blood, and my appetite flees.
I look up at him. “I wouldn’t stoop that low, Lucas, not after everything you’re doing to help me.
I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t found me.
” I see him look at me and nod. “So why doesn’t Linc care what anyone thinks of him? ”
“Because my paragon of all that’s right and just, Mother had an affair with her bodyguard, which resulted in Dad catching a nasty disease.
” Lucas digs into a plate of scrambled eggs.
“Luckily a few shots of penicillin fixed him but as he hadn’t cheated on her, he needed to know who’d taken his place the moment he went on tour.
He had private detectives all over them.
This is why she doesn’t have a bodyguard and none of the security guards are allowed inside the house.
She could find herself another lover and he knows that but as far as I know, she hasn’t strayed since—but then I’m not here when we go on tour.
” He sighs. “It cut him up real bad and he left for a time. He often does when she blows up at him, but he comes back. The guys in the band tell me, from that moment on, he flirts. She gives him hell and he just laughs it off.”
I can’t believe my ears. “So why does she stay—why does he?”
“Maybe it’s the devil you know?” Lucas shrugs. “I’m over trying to figure them out.”