Christmas Is for Lovers: 6 Hot Holiday Romances

by Box Set

  Rider never really thought about how dangerous traveling alone could be before. Then again, he’d never been on a trip where people went missing.

  If Trish’s behavior upset Patrick, the man didn’t show it. “I heard some people talking earlier about that Malcolm guy. They said his woman didn’t leave him, but that something happened to her.”

  “Who told them that?” Rider asked, trying not to be too eager.

  Only Rider, Trish, and Barry knew Sara had run into foul play. The only other person who could have spread the story would have been her attacker.

  Unfortunately, Patrick shrugged. “Who knows where it started? It’s just a rumor going around. That’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you guys. I heard you were there. What happened to her? Did someone stab her or something?” Rather than seeming repulsed, Patrick actually smiled as though that was something he’d like to see.

  Rider reminded himself that even if the guy was a jerk, that didn’t make him a killer. Some people were just sick. Patrick was definitely one of those types.

  Trish waved her hand through the air as though waving that ridiculous idea away. “Sara’s fine. I don’t even know if she intended to leave poor Malcolm, but she missed the boat this afternoon. She’s stranded on the Dominican Republic until she can get a flight out to meet us at another port.”

  The lie came smoothly from her lips, and Rider figured she must not like Patrick either. She normally had a hard time keeping her feelings from showing. Until this moment, she had been completely against lying to the other passengers. She might have been wrong about her hunch with Bill and Carl, but he wondered what she sensed about Patrick. Could they be talking to the killer?

  “We should really mingle more,” Trish said after the silence went on for a beat too long. “Rider and I have been so wrapped up in each other that we’ve missed group activities. We want to make the most out of this vacation.”

  Carrie rolled her eyes. “Group activities are overrated. You’re wasting time. I think Patrick and I will head back to my room. You’ve totally ruined the mystery of the night by telling me what happened to Sara. I’m no longer in the mood to socialize.” She grabbed Patrick’s hand. “At least, not with a group.”

  Patrick chuckled. “I like the way you think. Let’s go.”

  After they walked off, Trish turned around, face completely motionless.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, stroking her cheek lightly.

  She shook her head. “I can’t do this. What if he’s the guy, and we let Carrie walk off with him?”

  “So you got that feeling about him too, huh?”

  “Everyone seems like a killer right now,” she whispered, blinking rapidly as though trying to hold back tears. “I think we need to convince Barry to get the FBI here right now. When it was just Carl, I could see keeping quiet. I figured Bill killed him in a fit of rage over Carrie. But now...”

  He knew what she meant. Now, someone had turned crazy. It was no longer a random act in a moment of passion. “It’s time to go over Barry’s head, I think.”

  “But how?”

  “The ship’s captain is the one with final say about everything. He can make the decision to stop the cruise and get everyone away safely.”

  That would greatly complicate Rider’s life, however. If he returned to Sayle with Trish now, there was no way Stacy Baker would believe Trish was head over hills for him and not interested in Thomas.

  That could spell disaster. Not only would Stacy ruin Trish’s career and life, but she’d also hinted that she knew his secret and would let it out. If people found out about his past, there was no way they’d trust him again. A PI without a client’s trust didn’t have clients.

  Not that it mattered. People’s lives were at risk, and Trish was right. Stopping another death from happening was worth more than either of their jobs.

  Rider looked at the head of the room. Although the captain normally left directly after dinner, tonight he had lingered with his guests. “Come on. He’s still at the Captain’s Table. We can tell him we need to talk.”

  Trish kept pace as they hurried toward him.

  “Excuse me, sir,” Rider called out as soon as they were within earshot. “Can we have a word with you?”

  The man glanced up, giving them the same smile Rider had seen on the brochure. This was definitely Fredrick Constable, Captain of the Charming Sunbeam. He looked every inch as dignified as his photo had. “Are you enjoying your trip?” he asked, sounding friendly and congenial.

  “Actually, no,” Trish said bluntly.

  “It seems that duty calls.” Fredrick flashed his dinner companions an apologetic smile before turning back to Trish and Rider. “We can talk in my quarters.”

  The man set off at a brisk pace. All his apparent congeniality dropped as soon as they left the dining room. The second they stepped into a private room and shut the door, he turned a glower toward them. “Barry warned me about you two. Are we going to have problems?”

  Rider snorted. “You already have problems, and it isn’t us.”

  “What are you going to do about Sara?” Trish demanded. “If you’ve talked to Barry, you already know the situation. I don’t feel like it’s right to keep people in the dark about this.”

  “Especially not on a singles’ cruise,” Rider said. “I think the families are safe from whoever is doing this, but people on their own are at risk.”

  The captain crossed the room to perch on the edge of a chair, still staring them down with his death glare. “What would you have me do? Tell everyone what’s happening and scare them to death? We’re in the middle of the ocean. Even if I did the most drastic measure and turned around, we’re two days from Florida.”

  “So don’t turn around.” Trish shrugged. “If people want to leave, it would be up to them to find a flight back. They at least need to know they should be vigilant around strangers.”

  “Yeah,” Rider chimed in, knowing they had to convince this man or nothing would happen, even if he and Trish tried to warn others on their own. “Think of the PR nightmare you’ll have on your hands if word gets out that you knew about two different incidences on board and didn’t tell anyone. What if someone else is attacked?”

  Fredrick blinked slowly, staring Rider down. “I have no clue what you’re talking about, young man. There’s no evidence to suggest anything happened to a passenger on this ship. According to the head of security, we believe the two missing passengers stayed back at the last port.”

  Trish’s mouth dropped open, and Rider knew he must look as shocked as she did.

  “No evidence?” Rider shook his head. “Look, we saw the footage of Carl being pushed overboard, and I went into that room with Barry this afternoon. Someone’s hurting people.”

  “There is no evidence,” he repeated.

  Trish gasped. “Rider, they deleted the footage and cleaned the room. You were right not to trust them!”

  “We wouldn’t delete evidence. Get out of my sight,” the captain grumbled. “And if you even think about spreading your lies around this ship and terrorizing my guests, I’ll lock you up and then turn you over to the police at the next port. My security team is handling things.”

  Cursing himself for thinking they could actually control what the captain did or didn’t do, Rider grabbed Trish’s hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Enjoy the rest of the cruise,” the captain called after them as Rider slammed the door shut.

  Chapter 17

  Trish found herself pacing a lot these days. She glanced at Rider where he lay on his bed. “So, what do we do now? I never thought they’d really make the evidence disappear. Do you think Barry actually called the FBI like he said?”

  “Bastard probably didn’t do anything.” Rider snorted, running a hand roughly through his hair. “Anything besides delete the tapes and cover their tracks, that is.”

  “I always thought cruises were safe.” Trish flopped beside him, not caring that
her fancy dress would get wrinkles. “You sounded crazy when you first told me they weren’t.”

  “It’s a lot better than it used to be,” Rider admitted. “A few years back, legislation was passed to protect cruisers, even on ships registered outside the US. Major cruise lines have complied and had great reviews. I didn’t research the Charming Sunbeam or its owner much, but this is the only ship in the fleet.”

  “So it’s not a big commercial cruise line who might come under more scrutiny.” She grimaced. “The more we look into this, the more it seems like this was the perfect trip for a sociopath to stalk prey.”

  “Prey?” Rider shuddered. “I don’t think you’re wrong, but damn, that’s a horrible thought. The people he’s slaughtering are nothing more than cattle to him, here to satisfy his sick need to kill.”

  “And what if Patrick’s the guy?” Trish’s stomach twisted, sick with the thought that they’d let Carrie go off with him. If another person she’d been friendly with on this cruise died when Trish was the last person to talk to them, she didn’t think she could handle that.

  “The dick of a captain threatened us if we spread the story around, but we can’t help it if we check on Carrie and she figures out something’s going on, right?”

  She raised her eyebrows, wondering if he was serious. “If she turns us in, that man will throw us off the ship.”

  “What choice has he left us with?” Rider asked.

  He made a good point. It was the only thing they could do to ensure Carrie stayed safe. As far as everyone else on the boat... Trish didn’t have any answers for that yet.

  “At least everyone already knows Ryan’s a sick jerk,” she said, standing back up and straightening her dress. “If he’s the one doing this, people will avoid him.”

  “Who else do you think it could be?”

  She shook her head. “We’ve only met a few of the singles here. During that first meet and greet, they said something about over one-hundred people joining the group.”

  Rider sat up, throwing his jacket back on over his dress shirt. “But if you had to guess? Does anyone besides Ryan, Bill, and Patrick strike you as suspicious?”

  “Tyson, the groper from the elevator, is certainly a jerk, but he’s probably harmless. Thin, covered in acne scars, and not all too charming. I can’t see him having the skills needed to pull these murders off.”

  Rider shook his head. “Don’t count him out because he seems weird. Might make him more of a suspect.”

  He had a point. She certainly found him creepy enough. Who else could it be? “Is Malcolm a suspect? I thought he was with Sara that first night the entire time, but now I can’t be sure what I know.”

  “I’m not sure...” Rider walked around the edge of the bed, leading the way to the door. “He seemed sincere this afternoon outside Sara’s room. It felt like he was already falling in love with her. The man seemed devastated.”

  “But a sociopath would seem sincere,” Trish pointed out. “They have no feelings, but are great imitators.”

  “You’re right,” he agreed. “We can’t rule him out either. Let’s go warn Carrie and then get back to the room. The less time we spend with other people right now, the better.”

  “No one’s going to take us both on,” Trish pointed out.

  “Maybe not,” Rider agreed, “but I’ll feel better once we’re locked in my room, some sort of barricade across the doorway, and you’re tucked into my arms where no one can hurt you.”

  Except maybe him—emotionally anyway. Trish didn’t like how fast her heart seemed to tumble toward wanting to be with Rider. Her brain knew it was a bad idea. She should distance herself, slow this down until they knew each other better. But her body and heart were too strong to ignore. She wanted to stay with him—wanted this to be more than a vacation romance.

  Trish stood next to Rider, waiting while he tapped on Carrie’s door. Luckily, it sounded like she and Patrick had finished ‘happy time,’ as no noises reached the hallway.

  After several moments, Carrie opened the door, wrapping a sash around a robe to tie it closed. “Rider? Trish? Is everything okay?”

  Trish hesitated, not sure she should blurt her concerns out.

  Rider shook his head. “Not really. Can we come in?”

  Carrie looked over her shoulder. “Get more clothes on.” After a couple more seconds, she opened the door wide, growing concern on her usually smooth face. “Did someone else go missing?”

  “No,” Trish replied, stepping inside the room. “Not yet, anyway.”

  Relief descended on Trish to find Patrick out of the bed and completely dressed. He was crass enough as it was. She’d been afraid how much worse the man would be if she and Rider had interrupted them.

  “What do you mean, not yet?” Patrick asked, crossing the room to put his arm around Carrie in a protective gesture. “Are we in danger?”

  Trish snuck a glance at Rider, not surprised to see the hardness that came over his face as he obviously tried not to glare at the other man.

  “I’m counting on you,” Rider said instead of making any accusations. “Don’t let Carrie out of your sight the next few days. If anything happens to her, I’m holding you responsible.”

  Patrick gulped audibly. “What’s the deal?”

  Trish sat on the loveseat along the back wall, pulling on Rider’s hand to get him to sit as well. She knew he wanted Patrick too scared to do anything to Carrie if he happened to be the culprit, but they also needed to toe a careful line between threatening him and keeping themselves on the ship.

  Once Rider sat next to her, Trish cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “What we’re about to tell you can go no further than this room.”

  Carrie’s eyes went wide, and she threaded her fingers through Patrick’s, obviously anxious. “Did they find Carl and Sara? Somehow, I don’t believe that they’re okay, no matter what the security team has said.”

  The look she gave Trish clearly showed she remembered the way the team had covered up Ryan trying to slip something in Trish’s drink the first night.

  It was nice to know not everyone on the ship would blindly listen to what Barry reported. Maybe people weren’t in as much danger as Trish feared. Eventually, they would all start asking questions.

  She nodded ever so slightly in answer to Carrie’s questions, but then said, “We’ve been told if we spread rumors, we’re no longer welcome on the ship. Besides, we don’t know much for sure.”

  “Except Carl isn’t anywhere to be found after two days,” Carrie pointed out.

  Patrick nodded in agreement. “And somehow, I doubt Sara missed the port call.”

  Trish wished she had any clue what was actually going on in Patrick’s mind. He seemed sincerely fearful and worried about what might be happening on board, but Trish had to believe whoever was pulling this off was a fantastic actor.

  “That’s what we think too,” Rider said. “I don’t mean to sound like an ass, but anyone on this ship is a suspect at this point.”

  “Including me,” Patrick said, comprehension dawning as he nodded. “I don’t blame you. None of you know a thing about me, just like I have every reason to suspect you, Rider.”

  Well, that was unexpected, but if Patrick were truly innocent of any wrongdoing, it made sense. Rider was definitely tough enough to take out most anyone here.

  “Except he has an alibi for both times people went missing,” Trish said, feeling the need to defend him. “I know for a fact it wasn’t him. Can anyone verify your whereabouts?”

  Patrick shook his head. “I see why you came here. You’re worried about Carrie being alone with me.”

  The man certainly wasn’t stupid.

  Rider leaned forward, clasping his hands together over his knee as he stared at Patrick with such intensity that it was unnerving to Trish. She couldn’t imagine how Patrick could handle it.

  “I see you understand,” Rider all but growled. “If anything happens to Carrie, you’ll move to
the top of the suspect list when I talk to the FBI.”

  Carrie stepped forward, spreading her hands wide. “Dial back the hostility,” she ordered. “Patrick isn’t my keeper. I can take care of myself.”

  Trish raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure Carl and Sara both thought the same thing.”

  All Carrie’s indignation flowed from her, and she plopped onto the edge of the bed. “This is serious, isn’t it?”

  “Very,” Rider said. “We wouldn’t have bothered you otherwise. We don’t know who we can trust, but Trish heard Sara screaming last night and thought it was just wild sex.”

  Trish’s eyes burned as tears tried to gather in them again. “I left her, going to Rider’s room because I was so worried about getting my sleep. If the same sort of thing happens to you, I couldn’t live with it. We had to warn you, even if it means we might get tossed off the ship at the next port.”

  “We won’t tell anyone,” Patrick said, rubbing Carrie’s shoulder as he talked. “As far as you worrying about Carrie while she’s with me, I want to assure you that I have nothing to do with this. Even if you don’t believe me right now, I’ll do whatever I have to in order to help protect her.”

  Rider’s posture relaxed slightly, and Trish figured he must have a reason to believe what Patrick said.

  “I appreciate that,” Rider said. “I didn’t mean to come off like a jerk when we first walked in, but it’s damn hard not knowing who we can trust.”

  “Why aren’t they warning people?” Carrie asked.

  The ten-million dollar question. Trish glanced at Rider, wondering what he wanted to tell them.

  “There’s no proof,” he replied. “Panicking everyone on board isn’t something they are willing to do.”

  “Why tell us?” Patrick asked. After a second, he shook his head. “Never mind. I know why. You think I could be the guy, so you wanted to make sure I knew not to touch your friend.”

  At least they all understood each other. Trish wasn’t sure if this was the smartest thing she and Rider could have done, but it was the only way to protect Carrie and make sure another one of their new friends didn’t end up dead or missing.