“It’s not that,” Quinn said, inhaling deeply and looking at Rowan’s pretty face. “It’s you. What is that perfume?”
“Oh.” Now it was Rowan’s turn to blush. “It’s called Adrift. I found it in a store the other day and thought it was fitting for my new job. It reminded me of the ocean.”
That’s exactly what it reminded Quinn of, too. She smelled like salty water and sunshine. It was an appealing combination. “It’s nice,” Quinn said, his eyes contemplative as he locked gazes with her. “It’s … pleasant.”
“Well, thank you for sniffing me,” Rowan said brightly.
Her reaction was enough to make Quinn scowl. That was another reason she intrigued him. Ever since joining the Bounding Storm’s crew he’d been inundated with fake women throwing themselves at him. Rowan Gray, on the other hand, was as snarky as she was pretty and she refused to cater to Quinn’s pouty demeanor. He found that refreshing, although he had no intention of admitting it.
“You’re welcome,” Quinn said, smirking. “Tell me what you found on the photos.”
“Oh, well, it’s not much,” Rowan said. “I have two Daniels who would be in the right age group to attract attention from the girls.” She pulled up the photos on the screen. “Neither one of them is with a Jordan. Of the Jordans I’ve found, only one is in the right age group and he looks a little young to me.”
Quinn studied the photographs, thoughtful. “Do you think you could put headshots together of everyone with those names and email them to me?”
“Of course. Why?”
“I need to show the photos to the other three girls,” Quinn replied, the corners of his mouth tipping down. “I’m really not looking forward to it either.”
Rowan found herself overwhelmed with sympathy given Quinn’s sad expression. “Do you think they’re going to freak out when they realize she really is missing?”
Quinn’s smile was mischievous when he flashed it in Rowan’s direction, the change in his demeanor taking her by surprise. “No. I’m afraid Kylie will try to smother me with her boobs and I’ll never find out the truth.”
Rowan didn’t want to laugh, but she couldn’t help herself. “I’m sorry for saying that. It just sort of … slipped out.”
“Yes, well, I’m guessing that’s the status quo where you’re concerned,” Quinn said, pushing himself to a standing position.
“If you’re saying I’m rude … .”
Rowan didn’t get a chance to finish her statement because Quinn cut her off with the shake of his head. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” he whispered, his lips close to the ridge of her ear as he bent over. “In fact, I find it entertaining.”
Rowan remained rooted to her spot, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Quinn’s proximity caused a small thrill to course through her body. “I’m glad to be of service.”
“I’m sure you are,” Quinn said, inhaling her perfume one more time before standing. “Email me those photos, please. I need to show them to the girls. They’re our only clue right now.”
Rowan sucked in a breath to steady herself. “I’ll do it right away.”
Quinn’s lips twitched as he watched her. “Thank you, Miss Gray.”
Rowan watched him go, her heart thudding. “You’re welcome, Mr. Davenport,” she muttered under her breath, her stomach twisting. She was in over her head. She could feel it.
8
Eight
“Are you sure?”
Quinn couldn’t help being a bit disappointed when Kara, Kylie, and Hayley all shook their heads in unison. The photographs Rowan sent him were cropped well, which he was thankful for, and the individuals in question were easy to identify. None of the girls showed a spark of recognition upon seeing the images, though.
“I don’t recognize them,” Kara said. “We had a few drinks at the tiki bar – I’m not going to lie – but I think I would recognize the guys if I saw photos of them.”
“I didn’t drink as much as the rest and I’m sure that I don’t recognize these guys,” Hayley said, thumbing through the photo gallery on Quinn’s iPad. “It’s definitely not them.”
Quinn worked overtime to tamp down his disappointment. “That’s okay,” he said. “What can you tell me about the guys you were with?”
Hayley shrugged. “One guy was blond and the other had brown hair.”
“What about their eyes?”
“They had two of them. That’s all that I know.”
Quinn pursed his lips as he turned his attention to Kylie. He’d been careful not to get too close in case she felt the need to touch him. His standoffish nature wasn’t lost on the girl, that was for sure, and she was cool as she regarded him.
“What about you?” Quinn asked.
“What about me?” Kylie shot back.
“Do you remember anything about the guys?”
“Why would I remember more than anyone else?” Kylie’s voice was laced with ice.
“Maybe because you were sitting on the one guy’s lap,” Kara suggested.
Kylie made an exaggerated face. “Oh, get over it,” she snapped. “He liked me better than you. It’s not the end of the world. I’m cuter than you. You should be used to it by now. It’s been that way since we became friends.”
Kara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Whatever.”
Quinn ignored the building strife. “I need you guys to think really hard,” he prodded. “There has to be something about these guys that you remember. It’s important.”
“We know it’s important,” Hayley said. “We understand how serious this is. Jessica is our friend. She’s been our friend for as long as any of us can remember. We’re not trying to be difficult. We honestly don’t remember much about last night.”
Quinn pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “Okay, well, I still need you to think hard,” he said. “Right now we have no idea what happened to Jessica. If we expect to find her, we’re going to need clues.”
“I thought you were convinced that she took off and spent the night with some guy,” Kara challenged.
“We still haven’t ruled that out,” Quinn said. “It’s entirely possible that she’s holed up with someone. It’s also possible something else happened to her.”
“Like what?” Kylie prodded. “Do you think she fell overboard?”
“The odds of that are slim.”
“But you don’t know that it didn’t happen,” Kylie pressed. “She could’ve fallen overboard and yet you guys aren’t doing anything to look for her. She could be out there in the ocean treading water and waiting for help to come.”
Quinn didn’t have the stomach to tell Kylie that the odds of Jessica still being alive if she fell overboard were slim to none. If she did fall overboard, it was far more likely she struck her head against the side of the ship and died within minutes of hitting the water. If she did survive the initial fall, she would’ve tired quickly in the cold water and drowned. That was on top of the possibility of marine predators. Now was not the time to panic the girls.
“We don’t know where she is,” Quinn said. “We’re doing our best to figure it out. While I’m here, though, I need to take a look at your balcony.”
“How come?” Kara asked, furrowing her brow. “Do you really think she went overboard?”
“I really think that I want to find her,” Quinn clarified. “I have no reason to believe she went overboard. I also have no reason to believe something terrible has happened to her. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s missing and we need to find her.”
“Go ahead,” Hayley said, gesturing toward the sliding glass door. “We’ve been on the balcony several times today, though. I didn’t see anything that looked out of the ordinary.”
“That’s good,” Quinn said, getting to his feet. “That probably means that nothing is out of the ordinary.” He shuffled toward the door. “I’m going to check out here and then get in contact with the search groups. They’re still work
ing. If she’s on this ship, we’ll find her.”
“What if she’s not on this ship?” Kara asked pointedly.
“Then we’ll figure out what happened,” Quinn replied. “I can’t answer your questions in the manner you want right now because I don’t know how to respond. We can only take this one step at a time.”
“I guess that’s all we can ask,” Kara said, her tone bitter. “Do what you have to do.”
“THERE YOU are,” Sally announced, causing Rowan to swivel so she was looking over her shoulder. “I’ve been searching for you everywhere. I thought you would be in your office.”
“I was there for an hour or so,” Rowan answered, snapping a photograph of the pool’s volleyball players before turning her full attention to Sally. “It felt a little claustrophobic, though, so I decided to come up here and get some work done.”
“Michael said you were helping Quinn.”
It was a simple statement and yet it made Rowan feel uncomfortable all the same. “I got some photos for him. I don’t think I was much help.”
“That’s not what Michael said,” Sally countered. “He said you two were working as a team.”
Rowan’s mouth opened slightly and she worked her jaw, taking a moment to think before speaking – which wasn’t the normal way she approached things. “I’m not sure what Michael thought we were doing, but we only talked for a few minutes.”
“Uh-huh.” Sally didn’t look convinced. Her gaze was appraising as she looked Rowan up and down. “Michael said something else, too. Do you want to know what that was?”
Rowan was pretty sure she didn’t want to know what Michael was thinking … or spreading around about her, for that matter. She hadn’t missed the devilish glint in the man’s eyes when he zeroed in on her legs while they were standing next to each other in the food line the previous evening. “Does it have something to do with going to port with me?”
It took Sally a moment to realize what Rowan was referring to, and when she did she barked out a hearty laugh. “I’m glad you’ve figured out he’s something of a horndog on your own. I was wondering how I was going to break it to you.”
“Why would you need to break it to me?”
“Because a lot of newcomers are wowed by the idea of getting the captain’s eye,” Sally replied. “They think they’re going to get an actual relationship out of the dalliance, but it rarely happens.
“Don’t get me wrong, Michael is a great guy,” she continued. “I’ve known him for years and he’s a good friend. He’s also a perverted dude and he likes rolling in the hay with everyone … and generally only for a few days or weeks until he gets bored.”
“Oh, well, you don’t have to worry about that with me,” Rowan said, hating how prim she sounded. “I’m not here to make a romantic match.”
Sally snorted. “That’s not what Michael says.”
Rowan rubbed her thumb over her bottom lip, confused. “I think I’m missing something,” she said finally. “What did Michael say?”
“Michael says that you and Quinn are hot to trot for each other and he plans on starting a pool for when you hook up,” Sally answered, not missing a beat.
This time when Rowan’s mouth dropped open it was for a completely different reason. “You cannot be serious. Why would he possibly say that? Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Even as she said the words, Rowan wasn’t sure she meant them. She would be lying – even to herself – if she pretended she didn’t feel a strange pull when she was close to Quinn. That was sexual attraction, though, and nothing more. She wasn’t interested in a relationship and she could pretty much guarantee that Quinn felt the same way.
Sally’s eyes were keen as she studied Rowan’s face. “I think he might be right,” she said after a beat. “I rarely think Michael is right when it comes to relationships, mind you, but I think he might be right in this case. I’m not sure how I didn’t notice it before.”
Rowan felt strangely self-conscious. “What are you talking about?”
“That,” Sally replied, extending a finger. “Your voice goes really high and fluttery when you’re trying to cover up something. I’ll bet you were a terrible liar when you were a kid.”
“I never saw much reason to lie,” Rowan said. “I would lie about getting in the cookie jar and stuff sometimes, but otherwise I was a pretty mellow kid.”
“Boring?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, you’re definitely not boring,” Sally said, shaking her head. “You’re also freaked out about the Quinn situation. It’s written all over your face.”
“There is no Quinn situation,” Rowan gritted out. “I don’t know why you think that. Heck, I don’t know why Michael thinks that. He spent the entire duration over dinner last night hitting on me.”
“That’s what he does,” Sally said, seemingly unbothered by the accusation. “He says he’s not going to do it any longer because he thinks Quinn is attracted to you and he’s one of the few people Quinn has bothered to spend time with since arriving on the Bounding Storm.”
“Quinn doesn’t like me,” Rowan said. She was almost positive that was true. “He’s merely working with me to solve a disappearance.”
“Yes, because the head of security often needs the ship photographer to investigate with him,” Sally deadpanned.
“He needed photos!” This time Rowan heard it. Her voice definitely jumped an octave.
“Well, if that’s all you think it is, I’ll let it go.” Sally said the words but she didn’t particularly look as if she believed them. “I’m sorry to have offended you.”
“You haven’t offended me,” Rowan clarified, adjusting her tone to a more normal level. “I simply don’t want anyone spreading rumors. I don’t like that.”
“Well, that’s all anyone does on this ship,” Sally said. “We spread gossip and innuendo. It’s like a second job for most of us.”
“Well, I’m not going to do that,” Rowan said, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.
“We’ll do it for you. Don’t worry.” Sally’s eyes twinkled as she pressed her lips together. “I’m glad you’re not interested in Quinn, though. That will make what comes next so much easier.”
“And what’s that?” Rowan was confused, but she didn’t get a chance to listen to Sally’s response because she felt someone moving in directly behind her. She swiveled quickly, instinct taking over, and her camera flew out from her chest. The lens of the camera smacked into someone’s face, and Rowan recognized the grunt before she fully focused on the man standing behind her. “Quinn?”
“Seriously? Are you trying to kill me?” Quinn rubbed his nose as he glared at her.
“I don’t see how you can blame me for this one,” Rowan argued. “You snuck up on me.”
“I walked up behind you.”
“Snuck.”
“Walked.”
“Snuck.”
Sally chuckled at the interplay. She recognized Michael was correct about Rowan and Quinn’s mutual attraction within seconds of watching them stare at each other. “Oh, cute.”
Rowan scowled at Sally as she collected her frayed nerves. “Did you need something, Mr. Davenport?”
“I do,” Quinn answered, taking Rowan by surprise.
“You do?”
“I need your help,” Quinn said, sobering. “Can you spare five minutes to help me?”
Rowan exchanged an unreadable look with Sally before squaring her shoulders. He was asking for help, not a date. She didn’t care what people thought anyway. They could spread whatever gossip they wanted. They would lose interest in her – and her lack of interest in Quinn – soon enough.
“I would love to help you,” Rowan said. “That’s what I’m here for.”
An odd look washed over Quinn’s face as he lifted his eyebrows. “Great. Come with me. I need you right now.”
ROWAN was nervous as she followed Quinn toward a set of rooms at the back of the ship.
She had no idea what he needed from her, but for some reason the fact that he admitted he had need of her services gave her a perverse thrill.
That feeling lasted all of four minutes, until the duo stood on a small balcony off a conference room and stare upward.
“You want me to do what?” Rowan was confused.
“I want you to let me boost you up there so you can take a sample of that red spot on the corner of the balcony,” Quinn replied, moving his hands to her narrow hips.
Rowan was flustered, but she didn’t move to put distance between them. “You want to lift me up?”
Quinn nodded. “Is that a problem? There’re three Q-tips right there. I need you to dip them in the red spot and then put them in separate baggies.”
“But … why?”
“Because that balcony belongs to Jessica and the other girls,” Quinn answered. “I’m also pretty sure that spot of red on the bottom corner is fresh blood.”
The color drained from Rowan’s face as the reality of Quinn’s words washed over her. “Oh. Do you think … ?” She broke off, unsure how to finish the question.
“I’m not sure what to think yet,” Quinn said. “I need to know if that’s blood, though.”
Rowan bobbed her head and sucked in a breath. “Okay. I’m ready to help.”
Quinn smirked at her determined stance. “Just out of curiosity’s sake, what did you think I was doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seemed surprised that I wanted to lift you up,” Quinn said. “That was before I showed you the blood, though. Why did you think I wanted to do it?”
“Oh, well, I figured you were looking for clues,” Rowan lied.
“Uh-huh.” Quinn was understandably dubious as he rested his hands on Rowan’s waist. “Are you ready?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then let’s do this,” Quinn said, hoisting her up. He had to press his eyes shut to ignore the scent of her perfume … and how warm her body felt against his. “Work as fast as you can.”
Welcoming Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 1) Page 7
