Lost in Magic (Night Shadows Book 4) (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Allison balked at the abrupt question. Mick moved in behind her and she found her voice. “Excuse me,” she said firmly. “This is my room. Who are
you
?”

The man’s attention shifted briefly to Mick, who was taller than him, and he frowned. “Your room?” he repeated. He tugged his wallet from his pocket and glanced at a scrap of paper inside. He looked back up. “You’re … sure?” He shook his head and lowered his arm. “I’m sorry. I thought this was my mom’s room. I must’ve written it down wrong.”

“You sounded urgent,” Mick said, the animosity Allison might have expected already gone. “Is something wrong?”

The man sighed and tucked his wallet away. “I don’t know. I hope not. You heard they’re looking for a woman, right?”

Ali sucked in a breath. She’d just assumed the missing passenger was younger! “Your mother—?”

“God I hope not,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s just, it got me worried. She was supposed to meet me for brunch right before the lockdown. She could’ve just been running late, but she didn’t answer her phone.” He paused and met Allison’s gaze. “That was probably you I called, though. Sorry.”

Ali smiled. “I did miss a call earlier.” While she’d been dealing with Warner. She’d assumed it was Mick.

“What’s your mother’s name?” Mick asked, voice serious. “Maybe we can help you look for her.”

Allison blinked up at him, genuinely surprised by his offer. Surprised and impressed. Most men would only be interested in chasing off the interruption and getting back to what they’d been doing.

Releasing a breath, the man said, “Amanda. Amanda Michaels. I’m Jude, by the way.” He held out his hand to Mick, who shook it calmly. Mick introduced himself and Jude offered his hand to her.

“Allison Drake,” she said with a smile. “And we’re happy to help. I don’t suppose you have a picture? Maybe the staff could help you figure out which room is hers?”

“Maybe,” Jude said with a sigh. He re-extracted his wallet and flipped to a picture before turning it around. “This was last year. She has more silver in her hair now.”

The image was of a woman in her late fifties with short, dark hair in a popular pixie cut. She was smiling and wearing a simple golden cross necklace. It was just a headshot, so it gave no information about the woman’s height or even body type. But at least it was a face.

As Jude put away his wallet again he said, “Thank you. Really. This cruise was supposed to be relaxing, you know?”

I hear that.
Aloud all Allison offered was a sympathetic smile and a brief, “Yes it was.”

****

Mick ground his teeth as he and Allison exited the diner Jude had asked them to check. It was sparsely occupied, not seeming to have recovered from the impromptu lockdown, and no Amanda Michaels in sight.
This would’ve been easier if security were more helpful.
But apparently being able to prove one’s relationship to another passenger wasn’t enough for them to divulge room numbers. In a better mood Mick might be able to understand, even respect, that policy. But he wasn’t in a better mood.

And not just because this search had temporarily destroyed his chances of making love to Allison. Although he was sure that was in there, somewhere. It’d been over an hour and he could still taste her skin on his tongue.

“Maybe we should check the shopping level,” Ali suggested. “Or have you heard from Jude?”

Mick obligingly tugged his phone from his pocket. But he had no texts and Jude had sworn he’d send one if or when he found his mother. “Nothing,” he said.

Sighing, Allison said, “Then let’s find an elevator.”

“We’ll never be able to properly search this entire ship,” Mick reminded as he followed her. “It’s too big and we’re three people.”

“But we have to try,” Ali argued. “I would want us to try if it were my mom.”

Mick reached out and wrapped his hand around her nearest one. “So would I,” he assured her. Another thought struck him, then. “Let’s detour to the medical wing. Even if she’s not there, it would be good to put her name on a list for them to keep an eye out for.”

Ali turned a smile up to him as they rounded the corner to the elevator wall. “That’s a great idea. We’ll do that first.”

In truth he didn’t know if it would get them anywhere, but he hadn’t been raised to believe in coincidences. First someone was completely missing and now another woman—another woman staying alone, no less—might be missing, too. And that woman’s son had landed almost literally in their laps.
It’s connected.
Unfortunately, he was equally sure it was connected to something supernatural.

He really didn’t want to have work on this trip.

The elevator settled and the doors slid open, releasing them onto the floor with the infirmary and pharmacy. Mick noted with interest that Allison straightened her spine as they stepped into the infirmary. Not in alarm, but in … preparation. He scanned the space but couldn’t figure out why. Nothing seemed unusual to him.

“Can I help you?” a smiling woman in a nurse’s outfit asked politely.

Ali pulled her hand from his in order to dig out the picture of Amanda Michaels that they’d been lent. “Hi,” she said simultaneously. “I know you can’t tell us much, but we’re looking for this woman. Amanda Michaels. Her son can’t find her and he’s very worried.”

The nurse took the photograph and studied it.

“If it’s possible, could you put her name on a list of some sort? Just in case she comes in,” Ali said. “Maybe ask her to reach out to her son. He wrote her room number down wrong and can’t find her now.”

Handing the picture back the nurse said, “Wait here a moment. I’ll see what I can do.”

Mick arched a brow as she turned and disappeared behind a curtain. Voice lowered respectfully, he asked, “Did that seem weird to you?”

Allison was frowning. “Yes. I think she knows something.”

Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.

What he wasn’t expecting, however, was for the nurse to ask them to follow her further into the infirmary when she returned.

“Did we do something wrong?” Ali asked as she fell in behind the nurse. Mick trailed behind them, keeping silent. He didn’t know if it was her medical school training or some sort of sign of fate, but Allison seemed quite comfortable taking charge in this space.

“No, ma’am,” the nurse assured them. “Here we go.” She stopped in front of a closed curtain and parted it, stepping to the side so they could see in. “Mrs. Michaels.”

Mick doubted he was the only one who was surprised to see the very woman they were searching for, sitting up in a hospital bed with an IV attached to her arm. But she was awake, and other than looking a little pale, she seemed fine. At least at first glance. As he got closer, stepping into the space and letting the curtain swish shut behind him, he noticed something more familiar. Something that made his stomach lurch in frustration.

Bite marks.

Vampire.

There was a vampire on this ship, then. And it had gotten to Amanda Michaels, but it hadn’t killed her for whatever reason.

“Mrs. Michaels?” Ali asked as Mick frowned and forced his stare away before the older woman noticed.

“Yes,” the other woman said with a tired smile. “The nurse said you’d come asking for me. What’s that about my son?”

Allison held out the picture with a gentle smile. “He lent us this to help find you. He’s worried for you. Were you in here during the room check?”

Amanda Michaels took the photo, her smile faltering. “Yes, I was. I just … didn’t feel too good,” she said. But her hesitation assured Mick she knew more than she was comfortable saying.

Because most people would be comfortable telling strangers about a vampire attack.

“Of course,” Ali said. “We’re happy to tell Jude where you are so he can breathe a little easier. Is everything okay, if you don’t mind my asking? Is there anything we can do to help?”

Amanda shook her head. “If you could find Jude, that would be great. But the nurses here are taking good care of me. They said I should be released soon and ordered me to go straight to dinner.”

“Ma’am,” Mick interrupted, moving closer to Allison’s side and keeping his voice low. “Forgive my asking, but, did the doctors figure out why you weren’t feeling well?”

At his question she looked away. “Not really,” she said quietly. “Just that I seemed malnourished, which is silly, but that’s what they said.” She looked back at him and shrugged. “Maybe I ate some bad seafood last night.”

Judging from her reaction, and lack of panic, Mick suspected she wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to her. What she remembered she likely chalked up to a dream or a nightmare. And most people were happier leaving it that way. So he smiled and said, “Sorry, I just figured Jude would ask. Thank you.”

Amanda thanked them for their efforts, even offering to buy them dinner, and Mick politely refused the invitation before leading Ali from the infirmary. He texted Jude from the hallway, his other hand wrapped around Allison’s.

There was a vampire—or perhaps there were multiple vampires—aboard the
Euphoria
. They were all sitting ducks if he didn’t do something. But he himself wasn’t in much of a position to fight back with his limited resources.

“Mick?” Allison asked as the elevator doors closed behind them, leaving them alone in the box. “You seem tense. And quiet. What’s wrong?”

The woman had amazing intuition.

He offered her a weak smile and tightened his hand around hers. “Honestly, Ali, I wish I could lie about this. But I think there’s something I need to tell you. Just not here.”

She frowned and narrowed her eyes at him. “Then where?”

“My room,” he said. “Or yours. Whichever is more comfortable for you. Just somewhere we won’t be interrupted.” He didn’t relish having to tell her anything at all about his job. But then again, he was surprisingly attracted to her for how briefly he’d known her. Did he really think he could just walk away when the boat docked back in Baltimore?

No, he didn’t. So he might as well bite the bullet while it was relevant.

And I’ll probably lose her immediately after.
But such was the risk of his life. Anyone he wanted to be serious with he had to also be honest with, and his brand of honesty was often near impossible for most people to swallow.

****

Ali breathed a sigh of relief when they made it all the way back to her room without running into Warner. She was on-edge enough with the way Mick had been behaving since their encounter with Mrs. Michaels. Something was obviously wrong and it scared her to try and think of what.

Then again, how bad could it be?
Unless vampires liked to be trapped on boats she figured she already knew it could be worse. That was something.

But what if he has someone—
No, Mick wasn’t that kind of man. She felt certain of it. So it had to be something else. And there was only one way to find out what.

“Okay,” she said once the door was shut and she’d stepped from her sandals. “What’s this important thing we need to talk about?”

Mick studied her for a beat, released a breath, and dragged a hand down his face. He couldn’t have made it more obvious how badly he didn’t want to have this conversation. And that worried her. “Sit, please,” he said finally as he claimed a seat for himself on the sofa. He patted the cushion beside him.

Allison hesitated. “Mick,” she started, “what’s going on?”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and said, “This will be a lot to take in, Ali. You might not even believe me, but please know I wouldn’t be mentioning this stuff if it wasn’t relevant.”

Allison felt her stomach clench apprehensively. She took the seat beside Mick and rested her palm lightly over his bicep. “I’ve come to terms with some pretty crazy things,” she said, a flare of guilt in her chest. Maybe the things she knew were things she should share, too. Didn’t everyone have a right to know what kind of dangers lived among them? She refrained from voicing those thoughts, though. “I can take it,” she offered instead.

He met her gaze for a long, silent moment. She could see in his eyes he still hadn’t figured out the best way to say whatever he had to say.

Please don’t let me be wrong about him.

Before that fear could take hold, however, he opened his mouth.

“There’s something dangerous on this boat, Ali,” he said. “I knew it as soon as I saw Mrs. Michaels. Did you notice a wound on her neck?”

Allison blinked up at him.
Wound on her neck…?
No, she didn’t recall anything like that. But she hadn’t been looking for an injury. Ali frowned. “She said she hadn’t been feeling well.”

Mick inclined his head and took her hand in his. “And she probably isn’t,” he agreed. “But I don’t think she fully remembers the real reason. It happens a lot, actually. When something crazy happens, and it happens so fast, the brain usually thinks of it like a strange dream.”

Thoroughly confused now, Allison said, “Mick, you’re talking around something. I’m a big girl, you can tell me whatever it is.”