Accessory: The Scarab Beetle Series: #4 (The Academy) (33 page)

I looked at Marc quickly, knowing I was wide-eyed and wild.
What in the world are we doing here? Why didn’t you warn me?

Marc was in the bath, but his elbows were up on the ledge out of the water, taking in sun on his chest while keep in his waist in the water. His arms bulged, as did his shoulders. He was broader than Blake, more meat on his bones. His hair was wet and had been brushed to the side, half hanging over his blue eye. “Hi,” he said, smiling at me.

No help from him. He was enjoying this.

The man with them was middle-aged, with salt and pepper hair, and a long nose and otherwise uninteresting features. He looked over his shoulder at me and shrugged absently. He stood in the water, a hairy chest sticking out over middle-aged flab. I didn’t spot a wedding ring but that didn’t mean he wasn’t married. He seemed at ease and his shoulders were looking a little pink. “There’s hardly ever women on that side. Not a lot of them like the hot baths. It’s not like the real Japanese
onsens
, you know. In Japan, the
onsen
is an actual hot spring. The water is different.”

He seemed like a rambler. The guys wanted to drag me into this? I waded toward the wall, planning to stand right next to it until they left and I could get back. I was masked by the water but still felt incredibly uncomfortable. I forced a smile, reaching up from the water to adjust the glasses, only to get droplets of water on them, making it harder to see. No way to clean them off. Now I really felt like a dork. “How...is the water different?” I asked, hoping to get him to start again and distract the others.

The man turned, addressing me, but not really looking at me, but at the fence, the flowers, the sky—maybe he didn’t want to embarrass me. Maybe this was what happened in Japan and he was familiar with the protocol. “Hot spring water has a smell. Sometimes it’s like sulfur like they try to do here, but it’s way stronger. They perfume the water to mask the scent. Or they have lots of flowers around so you smell flowers instead of sulfur. They did a decent job trying to mimic here, but it’s still fake.”

Marc slid deeper into the water and waded over to the short wall and me. He hung his arms over, splashing his hands on the women’s side of the bath. “I like this place,” he said. “I could get used to this.”

I tightened my arms around my chest and made a face at him. Get used to this? Why not just go skinny dipping with Fancy in the big pool? I checked and rechecked to see if I was showing any body parts but I didn’t see anything.

There was a splash and I turned my head. Blake had slid into the water. They were all in the water now, walking around. The older man leaned back as though he was going to float on his back, but just before his belly breached the water, he righted himself and continued wading.

I let out a breath, relieved to know I wouldn’t have to observe old man junk while I was here.

Blake kept himself between us and the man, obviously trying to keep the older man in a conversation. “So you go to Japan often? I’ve only been twice. I keep meaning to go back.”

“I go whenever I can,” the older man said. “The women are much nicer there. I prefer Japan to South Korea. Or China. I think because the women have to be nice to you there. No offense of course.”

My first instinct was to make a face, and I turned my head away so he wouldn’t notice. He liked women who had to be nice to him? Maybe because he didn’t have much personality or the body to attract a wife.

I supposed with the way the wall was and with the water being colored, they couldn’t see more of me than I could see of them. I had my arms wrapped around my chest, holding onto my shoulders to cover myself. I went closer to the wall, and faced it, trying to hang my elbows over, standing near Marc.

When I let go of my breasts, to my horror, they floated, becoming perkier than usual. I covered them again with one arm, feeling awkward exposing them. I kept one arm on the wall, trying to look normal for the old man’s sake. Being this close to the wall made me feel like I had more cover.

Blake and Marc watched me, smiling. Were they getting along now? Or were they just laughing at me?

“I didn’t know you were coming onboard, Kitty,” Blake said with a mocking grin.

“Do you know her?” Marc said, turning his head toward Blake although he kept his body leaning on the wall near me. He didn’t touch, only smiled at my face. I got a hint they had a plan. This might be why they wanted me here. They wanted to talk about me.

“We’re in some of the same circles,” Blake said. When the man walked around the large rock formation and came back, Blake addressed him. “Did you say something about your work and having to travel?”

“International real estate is big business,” the man said. “Why? Are you looking to invest?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said and then he looked directly at me. “Last time, I trusted Kitty to manage my investing, and, well, let’s just say I got less than I put in.”

“Investing is risky business,” Marc said. “There’s never a guarantee. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like losing.” Blake swam toward the middle wall now, but he kept his body aimed toward the older man. “Mr. Cline, do you lose in your investments?”

Mr. Cline waded closer, until he was on the edge of the rock formation and sat on it, facing us. “Never.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Blake said. “Although she said the same thing.”

“It really depends on what you’re investing,” Marc said. “Kitty usually never loses. That’s why Mr. Murdock hired her.”

This was a script, part of the rumor Blake was trying to spread. I waited to see where they were going to take it.

“Mr. Murdock doesn’t like to lose, either,” Mr. Cline said. He smacked his lips together. He squinted his eyes, too, and I wondered if he normally wore glasses. “I’m sure if Kitty was hired by him, that there’s really little risk. Truthfully, I never heard him talk about the investments.”

Blake harrumphed. “He tried to get me to put in money with him. Then I learned it was Kitty, and had to decline. I hated to do that. He was really eager. Said it was the best investment he’d ever made. I was about to throw in a good chunk from some foreign investments.” He winked at me. “No offense, Kitty. It’s just business.”

Mr. Cline angled his head at Blake. “You should have trusted him.”

“Would you have if you were in my shoes?”

“I have,” he said. “On occasion. I might have a few hundred thousand, give or take, with Murdock. These days, I have an assistant who keeps track of it all. It’s always good to diversify.”

“I hear you,” Blake said. He turned his head, looking right at my eyes. “Like I said, I don’t like losing.”

“How
is
business, Kitty?” Marc asked, a small smile on the side of his mouth. He was trying not to laugh, probably at calling me Kitty.

I reached under his forearm hanging in the water on the women’s side. “Fine,” I said as I pinched. Hard.

He moved his arm away, splashing at me but not saying anything.

“Can’t be too fine,” Blake said. “I haven’t even seen Mr. Murdock for a while. I heard there was a bit of trouble.”

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. I looked at Marc, who stared at me with his mismatched eyes. I waded by the wall, settling onto my feet on the slick bottom of the bath, stirring up sand. I still didn’t like it, but I was bobbing around and the movement of the water was pushing me away from the wall. “I...uh...haven’t really heard from Mr. Murdock in a while. I had to stop what I was doing, no taking in anymore investments. So if you’re looking to do something, I’m afraid I have to wait to hear from him.”

Mr. Cline looked at me now, the first time he really addressed me directly. “How do you stop when he’s gone?”

“He was my contact,” I said. “I have a list of account numbers and amounts. He comes to me with new account numbers and tells me to do...what I do. I don’t know what belongs to who. He kept things private like that.”

“He was always over-cautious,” Mr. Cline said. “He was the only one you spoke to?”

I nodded. “I think he likes it like that. More control and little risk if he kept such information separate. I was hoping he’d show up on this cruise to give me some direction.”

“I don’t think he will,” Mr. Cline said. “Things aren’t exactly good. But I wouldn’t worry about it. He wouldn’t let investors hang in the dark for long.” He kicked his legs out, swishing them in the water.

I shared a look with Blake and then with Marc. I got the feeling Mr. Cline knew more about Mr. Murdock and his investments than we did. He seemed sure Mr. Murdock would be back. Had he heard something?

Blake stretched his arms out and then licked his lips. “Boy, I tell you what. These warm baths make me mighty thirsty.”

“How long have we been in here?” Mr. Cline asked.

Blake shifted his arm to check out the Rolex on his wrist. “Whoops. Almost forty minutes.” I didn’t think it had really been that long but he might have been lying to get things rolling.

“Already?” Mr. Cline sunk into the water again. “We should step out. Take a break. That’s a bit long. Your insides are going to cook.”

“No wonder I’m thirsty,” Blake said. He waded next to Mr. Cline, and then clapped his hand on his shoulder in a friendly move. “Are you a Scotch or a bourbon man?”

“Scotch,” he said. He nodded in my direction without looking at me. “Have a good bath, Miss Lane.”

“See ya, Kitty,” Blake said.

I did a short wave, but then gripped the wall again.

They moved on around the bend and out of my view. I blew out a breath between my lips, releasing my chest to cover my face with both hands. That had been both terrifying and nerve-wracking. I wasn’t cut out for this, lying to people about who I was for the long term, trying to keep up with a fake me. Maybe I needed to learn computer hacking like Corey or stick to listening like Doyle.

ONSEN ROMANCE

M
arc stayed by the wall, still hanging his hands into the women’s side. “Hey,” he said after Mr. Cline and Blake left and I had to assume they weren’t coming back. “You okay?”

I pressed my palms to my cheeks, shaking my head. I relaxed a bit more now that Blake and Mr. Cline was gone. My breasts floated in the water but I was still covered by the wall and the colored water. “Was this really necessary?”

“You wanted to start a rumor about you. We’re just doing what you said you wanted.”

“We’re nowhere closer to finding out the truth about Nightingale than we were this morning,” I said. “We’ve only got five days onboard.”

“And we’re just getting started.” He reached for me, for my wrist, pulling me until he and I were face to face. Our chests were pressed against the wall as he held onto my shoulders. I held on to him. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You look...angry.”

I wondered if Marc had heard what happened with Axel and me. Maybe he’d been involved with Blake and hadn’t had a chance to check in with what had been going on. “A lot of things are just happening all at once,” I said, shaking my head and looking down at the smooth black wall between us. It was odd having that separation, but still felt really intimate. Probably because we were naked and outside, which was strange in the first place.

If he didn’t know yet about what had happened, either they didn’t feel the need to tell him, or he just hadn’t spoken to them yet.

“Aw, Bambi,” he said. He tugged at my shoulders, trying to draw me in for a hug, but the wall cut into my breasts.

I pulled from him, holding an arm over my chest. “Ugh,” I said. “Squished.”

He grinned. “Whoops. Hang on.” He pushed me back a little and then put his palms on the top of the wall. He pulled himself up.

Oh no. “Don’t...”

Too late. I caught only a glimpse of his naked body before he splashed down into the women’s side of the pool. I turned my head and covered my eyes at the splash.

“Marc!” I sputtered, wiping at my face. My glasses had more droplets on them. I was going to be blind wearing these things at this rate. “You’re on the wrong side.”

“I’m supposed to stick next to you anyway,” he said. He wadded up to me, standing uncomfortably close, considering we were both naked.

I groaned and pushed at his arm, covering my chest with my other arm. I couldn’t help but look down, seeing how much I could actually see. Just shoulders and part of his chest through the color.

He reached for my elbows, drawing me into him. “Come on,” he said. “This place is really cool. We should find one of these around Charleston.”

“I don’t think they have stuff like this,” I said, and kept myself at a distance. My body, though, floating in the water, kept wanting to collide into him. Stupid water. Made it feel like I was flirting with him by bumping into him. His toe nudged mine, and since the bottom was slick and felt weird with the soft sand, and I was creeped out, I edged forward, stepping on his feet.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, looking down and reaching for my waist to hold on to me. It made it easier to stand on the tops of his feet, but that much more difficult to keep myself at a distance.

I ended up just letting go of my boobs, sinking lower into the water so that it was up to my neck, holding onto his shoulders. “I don’t like the floor of this thing,” I said. “It’s slimy. And this place looks too much like a pond. I keep thinking there’s going to be a fish swimming by, and then I think there is one and that sand at the bottom...ugh.” I tiptoed higher onto the top of his feet, grossed out.

He laughed, hanging onto my waist and drawing me into him. My boobs and stomach met with his body, chest to chest. “It’s okay. Just hang onto me.” He started to turn, floating with the water, taking me with him. “That slick feeling at the bottom is probably just the color settling down. Once it gets kicked back up again by more people coming in, it’ll be fine. Just relax.”

I couldn’t. Once I was stuck against him, I clung to him. I’d been okay before, but now that I had the opportunity to step on his feet and let him touch the ground, I didn’t want to touch it again. I hung onto his shoulders, putting my cheek next to his. “Do we have to be here? Can we just go?”