Lost in Magic (Night Shadows Book 4) (4 page)

Chapter Six

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking.” The voice was male, worn down with age, and a bit distorted through the intercom system.

Ali moved up to Mick’s side and he wrapped his hand around hers as they listened. He doubted she knew what was going on any more than he did.

“Unfortunately I have to ask that you cease all activities and return to your quarters for a mandatory passenger check. Any food you’ve not yet eaten will be boxed up for you to take with you. All poker bets in play will be noted and signed to pick up when the passenger check is over.”

Someone started yelling from the basketball court, briefly drawing Mick’s attention. He imagined a lot of people were reacting like that, especially in the on-board casino.

“I repeat, all passengers are to return to their quarters immediately. Staff will be by to verify your identities shortly. I apologize for this inconvenience.”

Tightening her hold of his hand, Ali leaned closer, her voice a whisper. “Could this be connected to that missing woman you heard about?”

He’d actually forgotten about that. Giving her hand a squeeze, Mick said, “I wouldn’t be surprised. Come on, I’ll walk you to your room. Make sure you get there safe.”
And keep Warner off you.

“That’s sweet,” Ali said as they moved to pick up their golf balls. “You don’t have to.”

“You can’t stop me,” Mick said, flashing her a grin. If the crew were taking the missing woman rumor seriously he wasn’t going to risk Ali becoming a victim, too. There were probably plenty of places a person could hide on a large, crowded cruise ship. Not to mention there was the obvious, and easiest, way to dump a body. He cast a glance at the waves crashing against the side of the steadily sailing boat. They were supposed to reach their destination, an island in the Bahamas called Half Moon Cay, by noon the next day. What would they do if the woman wasn’t found by then? Would the ship turn around and risk the ire of roughly two thousand guests?

And what if she’s dead?
If she were dead, and her body hidden or dumped overboard, that would mean she’d been murdered. In which case the murderer was still aboard the boat. The crew likely wouldn’t risk the killer escaping by docking anywhere other than back in Baltimore. And the killer would be trapped with them. Or, rather, they’d be trapped with him.

****

Allison kissed Mick a temporary farewell when he dropped her off at her door. She got him to tell her which room he was in and to promise to call her on the room line when he got there just to ease her mind. He didn’t say it, but she was sure he thought she was overreacting. She probably was.

Alone in her room now, Ali paced the floor around her bed, her ears still ringing with the Captain’s speech. Someone really had gone missing, then. It wasn’t just a rumor. They were doing a room-by-room search for a missing woman.
How could someone go missing on a cruise ship?
There was the obvious way—she could have gone overboard somehow. Was there a different way? She supposed there must have been, even if she couldn’t think of it in the moment.

What would happen if the woman really had vanished?

Or, worse, what if they found her dead?

Allison wasn’t so surprised this time by the image of Mandy that flashed across her mind. She and Veronica hadn’t expected to find anyone’s body that night, let alone their good friend’s. That was the same night—in fact, that was the very reason—Allison learned about the existence of vampires.

Oh, God-!
What if there was a vampire on board? What if vampires had killed the poor woman who was missing?

Allison’s heartrate spiked and she had to take several deep breaths. She didn’t think she could handle that. She didn’t think she could handle being trapped on a boat with even one vampire. She’d come on this cruise to
get away
from all of that.
Please, don’t let it be vampires.
With a little luck the woman was just holed up with a new lover and unaware of the havoc she was causing.

She jumped when the phone rang.

Mick.

Allison hurried to the side of the bed where the phone rested and snatched it from its cradle. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Mick’s voice replied. “Calling as promised. Have they been by there yet?”

“No,” Ali said, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “No, I’ve just been alone with my thoughts since you left. I don’t even hear anything outside.”

There was a beat before Mick asked, “Are your thoughts bothering you? You sound distressed. I can come back if you’d like.”

Smiling a little now, Allison said, “We’re supposed to stay in our assigned rooms, remember?” She let the levity linger for a moment before adding, “I’m okay. I’ve just … had some experiences lately that this situation is making me remember. And I’d rather forget.”

Mick’s voice was somber when he said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Would it help you to talk about?”

“No,” Allison said, too quickly. She cringed. “Although it might help if you kiss me next time I see you.” It certainly couldn’t hurt.

He chuckled, his deep vibrato carrying well over the line. “That can definitely be arranged.”

The not-so-distant sound of a hard knock drew her attention and she glanced toward her door. They’d already started the room searches, then. “I think I’d better go dig out my passport,” she said. “I heard knocking a couple of doors down.”

“Okay. Call me when they’re gone.”

Ali agreed and hung up the phone, striding swiftly toward the purse she’d left in the closet. Murmured voices drew closer outside her room and an odd pressure settled over her. Like she was thrust into the middle of a pop-quiz and hadn’t studied. Time was almost up.

She lifted her new passport out of her purse a moment before someone pounded on her door.

“Room check!”

Taking a deep breath, Ali returned her purse and moved to the door. She pulled the door open with her passport in hand.

“Afternoon, ma’am,” the man said with a nod of his head. “I’m afraid I need to come inside and make sure no one else is here. And I need to see some photo ID.”

“Right, of course,” Allison said, moving to stand aside and holding out her passport. “If you find anyone under the bed they don’t have my permission to be here.”

The man only nodded again as he studied her ID for a long second. Then he handed it back to her and strode into the suite. She watched as he checked under the bed, in the closet, in the bathroom, and even out on the balcony.

As he stepped back in and slid the glass door shut she asked, “What’s going on? I heard there’s a woman missing.”

He finally lifted his eyes to her, a flash of hesitation darkening them. “I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to say.”

Allison frowned. “Come on, you’re searching all our rooms but you can’t say why? I’m a paying customer. I deserve to know if I’m in danger here.”

Scratching the back of his neck, the man said, “Listen, I haven’t heard anything about a threat. Please don’t spread that rumor. I have heard we might be missing a passenger but we’re not done investigating. It’ll just get harder to control if people start freaking out.”

Guilt flaring in her chest, Allison nodded. “I understand that. Thank you.” She wasn’t too surprised that the crew didn’t seem to know much.

The inspector thanked her for her cooperation and let himself out, being sure to shut the door as he went.

Once she could hear him pounding on the next door over, Allison turned and moved back to the phone. She wasn’t sure what was going on with her. Usually she prided herself on being completely capable of standing on her own two feet, but she didn’t feel up to it this time. She could if she had to she was sure. But she had another option, and she wanted to take it. Something about Mick relaxed her, made her feel safe.

She’d just pressed the first button when another knock sounded at her door. Assuming it was the inspector again, for some bizarre reason, she hung up and rushed to answer.

It wasn’t the inspector.

It was Warner.

****

Mick sat, perched on the edge of his bed, as the woman who’d come to inspect his room and verify his identity proceeded to tell him what he wanted to know. Or what she knew of it, at least.

“Don’t go spreading this around, okay? I’m not supposed to talk about it,” she said, hands on her hips. “But what I heard was when the security team went to check her room it was clean. Lived in a little, but nothing obvious. You know, no blood, no big mess, that sort of thing.” Her arms lifted to begin gesturing. “But the balcony door was open a few inches. Prevailing theory is she jumped.”

Mick’s eyebrows lifted. “Into the Atlantic? There has to be a faster way to commit suicide.”

The woman shrugged. “What else could have happened? I mean, she probably didn’t fly off like Superwoman or something.”

“I suppose not,” Mick said.

“Anyway, that’s all I’ve heard,” the woman said. “And remember, you didn’t hear it from me. I’ll get my ass chewed if they find out I said anything.”

Mick lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. “My lips are sealed. You barely said two words to me.”

She nodded sharply and turned for the closed door. “Good. Now be sure to stay put until the Captain releases you.”

Mick didn’t move until she was gone. He turned his gaze to the sliding glass door of his balcony, paused, then strode to it and slid it open. “They think she jumped, huh?” He stepped onto his balcony and braced his hands on the banister as he leaned over. The Atlantic Ocean lapped at the sides of the
Euphoria
, breaking roughly against the steel.
It’s not impossible…
It just didn’t feel right.

Mick turned and leaned his back against the railing. Something was off about this whole thing, he could feel it. He just wasn’t sure
what
.

The inspector had said they’d found no blood, no signs of a fight.

That rules out werewolf.
If a wolf had attacked a passenger there would have been a mess. And blood, lots of blood.

But that didn’t necessarily rule out vampires. Sure, vamps could be messy. But they could also be fast and clean. And the Atlantic would be a great way to dump the body to prevent word from spreading.
But what would a vampire be doing on a cruise to the Bahamas of all places?
He knew Baltimore had an established Family. But cruises had been running out of Baltimore for years without incident, so he doubted the vamp was a local.
Or it might not be a vampire at all.

He just wasn’t sure he believed in that kind of coincidence.

Mick released a breath and stepped back into his room, pulling the sliding door shut behind him. He wasn’t going to figure anything out just by dwelling on it. More importantly, he hadn’t heard back from Ali yet. It’d been too long.

Chapter Seven

Against his better judgment, Mick kept his hand tight around his phone as he stepped from the elevator. He wished he’d given Ali his number. Why had he thought that was unnecessary? What if she’d had to flee her room?

Stupid.
Leaving her unprotected when he
knew
there was a problem on board. His gut insisted the missing woman hadn’t committed suicide. What if the attacker—who or whatever it was—was targeting single women?

It’s not a vampire.
Just because he was there didn’t mean this unrelated problem was his to deal with.

Neither did it mean it wasn’t.

The phone in his hand buzzed twice in quick succession, indicating a call. On reflex he answered immediately. “Yes?” At least he didn’t answer with his work name. Or worse, his real one.

“Thare.” Damn. It was Doon. And that wasn’t his friendly tone.

“Now’s not a good time,” Mick said. He kept moving. He was just a dozen paces from the final corner between himself and Ali’s hall.

“Make time,” Doon replied. “This has gotten out of hand. Where the hell are you?”

“Busy,” Mick snapped. He rounded the corner and nearly bowled over another man. The man was maybe ten years his senior and didn’t look too thrilled about the collision.

“Don’t bullshit me, Thare,” Doon said. “If you don’t report in we’ll have to take action.”

Mick ground his teeth after offering an apologetic wave, and accompanying grimace, to the stranger. With the other man behind him he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was against the law to take a vacation. But I have to go, so report me if you want.” Hell, Doon was probably typing up the report while they spoke.

“Damn it, Thare—”

Mick disconnected. Ali’s room was in view now. He needed his full attention. He couldn’t afford to be worried about who they’d send after him.

Please be okay.

Her door was shut, mocking him in its standard uniformity. As clean and sturdy as any other door in the hallway. Mick shook his head at himself and rapped his knuckles beside the identifying number. If anyone other than Ali opened the door … but they wouldn’t. He had to believe that.

Seconds ticked by and he wondered what he’d do if
no one
opened it. He couldn’t exactly pick an electronic lock, even with the handful of dirt he’d earlier pilfered from a potted plant and shoved into his pocket. Earth and technology weren’t exactly compatible.

He was about to knock again, louder, when he heard the lock slide. Agonizing heartbeats passed before the door pulled open, just enough to peek through, and a sliver of Ali’s beautiful face was looking back at him.

“Mick?”

****

I should call Mick.
He was bound to start worrying. And it wasn’t like she didn’t want to hear his voice. She was just worried the distance of a phone call would actually make her feel worse.
You’re stalling.
But calling herself out on her cowardice didn’t seem to be working this time.

Ali nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked loudly on her door.

She tightened her arms around herself and looked toward the locked door. Would it be Warner again?

“This isn’t over, Ali,”
Warner had said with one hand on the door handle. Whether he’d actually said it as a threat or she’d simply heard it is as one she’d never know. But it’d been nearly half an hour since that conversation and he didn’t strike her as patient.

I wish these doors had peepholes.
She didn’t understand why those things weren’t standard. But sitting alone on her bed wasn’t going to chase away whoever was at the door.
Just answer it, tell them off, and then call Mick.
He was surely waiting. It’d been a few minutes now since the announcement that the impromptu lockdown was over and they were all free to roam about the ship again. There was even the chance, she supposed, that the person at the door
was
Mick.

That was the thought that finally propelled her to her feet.

Still, her stomach clenched as she slid back the deadbolt.
Just a peek.
Mick was probably waiting by his phone. Why would he be worried about her?

It was a long moment before Allison realized she was staring into concerned green eyes. Gorgeous, familiar green eyes. She almost felt like crying.
Almost
.

“Mick?” As if that face could belong to anyone else.

“Ali,” he said on an exhale. There was an echo of fear in that voice. “I was worried.”

Her heart swelled and she opened the door properly, managing a smile. “Come inside,” she said. She didn’t want to be out and about in her hall at the moment.

Mick didn’t need to be asked twice. He stepped in, waited for her to shut the door, and then promptly pulled her by the hips up to his chest. He found her lips hungrily and she moaned as his tongue slipped into her mouth.

Ali curved her arms around his shoulders, letting one hand thread its way into his hair as their tongues danced. There was something in this kiss. Something more than attraction and opportunity. And whatever it was, she liked it. Wanted to lose herself in it.

Which was probably why he released her lips moments later.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice thick and his hands still heavy on her hips. Possessive. Comforting.

Stupid tears threatened her eyes for a moment but she fought them back and rested her head on Mick’s strong shoulder.
Lie. Tell him yes.

“What’s wrong, baby?” This question was soft, washing right through her, punctuated by the arms he wrapped around her waist.

She hadn’t really wanted to lie to him, anyway. “It’s silly,” she said.

“Doubtful,” Mick argued, his lips teasing the shell of her ear. He eased back and gestured to the sofa they were standing beside. “Let’s sit and you can tell me what it is.”

Allison let him guide her to the middle seat, beside him, their hands clasped. He rubbed his thumb along her knuckles and she took a deep breath. She was probably being ridiculous to be so bothered by it, anyway. But in the next moment she had to admit that she wholly expected Mick to be furious. Despite that fury wasn’t an emotion she’d seen in him yet.

Swallowing her useless nerves, Allison lifted her gaze to his and forced out the words. “It’s about Warner. He … showed up earlier.”

Mick’s lips dipped into a frown. His thumb stilled. “During the inspection?”

“Technically,” Ali said. “My inspector had barely moved on when he knocked at the door. He must have been watching.”

Dark brows narrowed and jaw tight, Mick asked, “What did he want?” Ali got the distinct impression there was another question he was biting back.

“If I take him at his word,” she said, “to check on me. But I don’t believe him. He was too forceful about it.”

Mick held tighter to her hand. “Forceful how, Ali? Do I need to have a word with him?”

At his question she smiled. “That would make things worse,” she admitted. “But I appreciate that you would do it.” Remembering his first question she added, “Well, for one thing, he pushed his way inside without being invited. He did everything under the guise of concern, but…” How could she describe his behavior?

“But what?” Mick pushed.

Releasing a breath, Ali said, “It sort of felt like I was being interrogated by an overbearing boyfriend. And the way he said some of the things he said … I guess it freaked me out.”

Mick let go of her hand and cupped her cheeks in his palms. His touch was as gentle as his stare was firm. “What did he say? Did he threaten you, Ali?”

She’d have shaken her head if he hadn’t been holding it. Instead she smiled again, faintly, and lifted one hand to curl it around his. “Not in so many words, no. He said things like how he worries about me as a ‘single woman travelling alone’, and how he ‘wishes I’d let him closer’.” She had to suppress a shiver. The more time she spent in Warner’s very presence the less she wanted to. “But when he left,” she continued, “he said one more thing. He said ‘this isn’t over’.”

Mick tugged her close, pressed his lips to her forehead, and then tucked her into his chest beneath his chin. His strong arms wrapped around her again and she couldn’t help but feel thoroughly shielded. Like he was her armor. “Ali,” he said, his voice careful. “I don’t like the way that sounds. He’s pushing his boundaries—and literally crossing a few.” The last was said tightly, a tension she could feel in his arms.

She couldn’t pretend she didn’t understand.

When Warner had shoved his way into her suite it had really rattled her. Who was this man to think he had the right to treat her like that? More importantly, because she’d let it happen once, would he think he could barge in whenever he liked? What would stop him next time? It wasn’t like she’d brought her mace.

Allison sighed against Mick’s chest. Mick, on other hand, was like a rock holding strong against an angry current. Unyielding, solid, and reliable. And her life had been so much like a raging river lately. She’d thought she needed a life vest and she’d found something better. “Thank you,” she murmured without thought.

The tension in the hold around her eased slightly. “Ali?”

She smiled but didn’t lift her head. “I just feel like I needed this. Needed you. My life has just been overwhelming for a while lately, and you’re … calming. Stabilizing. Does that even make sense?”

There was a smile in his voice when he spoke next. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s nice to hear I’m not the only one who feels like that.”

Allison pushed back in order to look into his eyes. She might even have said something but he didn’t give her a chance before he was kissing her again. He immediately slipped his tongue into her mouth, exploring ravenously. Chasing away her thought process with each stroke as his arms tightened around her.

All she knew in that moment was him.

He kissed her with a drive she’d never experienced. His touch burned through the thin fabric of her shirt. He tangled one hand in her hair, somehow deepening the kiss and drawing a low moan from her. Her chest was pressed wholly into his now, both of her hands buried in his hair as she clung to him. Oh how she wanted this. Wanted him.

Mick trailed a hand down her spine, to her butt, and squeezed firmly.

Allison responded by sliding her tongue along the length of his, into his mouth, as she pulled herself closer. When Mick let his hand follow the curve of her backside until his fingers were hot over her exposed thigh she moaned again and swung her leg around his lap. His touch grew heavier, helping to adjust her as he groaned against her lips. Then she was straddling him, one of his large hands still splayed and curved over her thigh, and his erection was poised just shy of her center. Their bodies were separated more by layers of denim than physical distance.

The hand in her hair uncurled and Mick pulled from her lips to press hot kisses down the side of her throat. He found the small of her back with his touch and she arched into him, her head falling back. Lips and tongue teased her neck and she slipped her fingers beneath the collar of his shirt, desperate to find his skin.

“Mom!” A hurried, unfamiliar voice called in conjunction with sharp pounding on the door.

Mick and Ali startled apart, Allison nearly toppling off his lap in the process. He caught her with an arm around the waist.

The pounding continued and the pair exchanged a look.

Mom?
What the heck?

Scrambling to their feet, Mick made to start for the door but Ali caught his arm. When he turned a curious gaze to her she whispered, “It’s my room.” And just in case that mattered she figured she should be the one to answer. Mick didn’t seem to have an argument for that, so he let her step around him and move to the door.

“Mom!” the muffled male voice called again.

Ali pulled the door open, nearly catching a pounding fist in the face in the process. For a moment the guy, who couldn’t possibly have been more than thirty, just stared at her. “Can I help you?” she asked slowly.

“Who the hell are you?” he finally demanded.