by Becky Wicks
Sara laid her hand on her arm. Thank God she’d admitted it. Tears were glistening in Jasmine’s eyes now; she was clearly terrified.
‘He won’t hit you any more,’ she said resolutely, ‘whether he stays on the ship or not. We can help you out of this.’
‘Don’t tell him I told you anything. Please, don’t tell anyone—not on the cruise.’
Sara’s heart was breaking for her. ‘Why? What do you think he would do?’
The thunder crashed outside again. Jasmine clammed up and refused to say anything else.
It worried her, and so did this storm.
CHAPTER TWENTY
ON THE TOP DECK, Sara found a few merry passengers vacating the outer decks, carrying plates of food inside. She assumed the others were already far too seasick. There was no escaping the rain either—not even under the deck’s huge umbrellas. Through the windows in the corridor she saw a giant potted plant slide right across the deck in the lingering twilight.
Where was Fraser? She had to tell him what Jasmine had said so they could figure out what to do together. She’d said nothing to Renee when she’d arrived, reading the pleading look in Jasmine’s eyes, but she couldn’t risk another act of violence on Trevor’s part.
Renee had slipped Sara an all-access key card before she left. Everyone knew anyway.
They had to alert someone. Fraser had gone to find Trevor, so maybe they were in Trevor and Jasmine’s cabin. What was it Jasmine had told her for the charts? Cabin 202.
Knocking on the door, she had trouble standing up. ‘Fraser, are you in there?’
She clutched at the doorframe, hoping Esme was still OK downstairs, watching cartoons with Marcus and his mum.
‘Fraser? Trevor?’
There was no answer. She swiped the key card, but the room was empty. Curiosity got the better of her and she stepped into the bathroom. It was clean, with no sign of blood. But that didn’t mean anything.
She headed for Fraser’s suite. Security had ordered everyone to stay in their cabins, so she couldn’t imagine where else he would have gone. Besides, Fraser’s cabin was big, and he likely had Security in there with him, figuring out what to do with Trevor in private. With Jasmine’s confession they could get the law involved more easily.
She let herself in, feeling strange as she did so. ‘Are you in here?’
His cologne lingered in the air. A pang of longing struck her core as she saw the bed. There was no one here.
She stumbled to the bathroom just as another lightning bolt struck the ocean outside the circular windows. ‘Fraser?’
Maybe he’d come back alone.
No, he definitely hadn’t.
On the way out she saw it—something she hadn’t noticed before on the table by his laptop. She crossed to the couch and picked up the pile of photos.
The sight of Fraser’s mother in one picture took her by surprise. She looked older than Sara remembered, by more than six years. Grief would do that to you, she thought sadly. Dropping to the couch at another lurch of the ship, she flicked quickly through the rest.
She knew what she was looking for even before she found it.
Holding up the photo of her and Fraser, she couldn’t help smiling at the memory. They’d been at a gala ball, a month after they’d started dating. She was wearing the butterfly necklace he’d given her. He’d always said this was his favourite photo of her. It was slightly ruffled round the edges now.
He probably missed that old Sara, who’d had nothing to worry about but books and stupid butterflies.
Something else caught her eye. An official-looking document, sticking out from beneath the laptop. The heading was in big black and red type: Florida Transplant Institute.
Her pulse quickened as she gripped the table-top. What the hell was she doing? This was Fraser’s private stuff and she had no business going through it—and besides she had to find him.
On second thoughts...a transplant institute?
Pulling the paper from beneath the laptop, she realised she was shaking. Something deep in her bones was telling her this concerned her and Esme, so much so that she could barely read beyond the address of the institute...
Beep-beep.
The door to the room sprang open. Sara’s heart almost crashed through her ribcage. She leapt up from the couch, holding the piece of paper behind her back quickly, feeling it flapping against her under the ceiling fan.
‘What are you doing in here?’ Fraser stood stock still in surprise in the doorway. His broad frame almost filled the corridor.
‘Looking for you.’ Her voice was strangled as he moved towards her, his eyes narrowed now. He’d seen the photos, no doubt laid in a different place than he’d left them.
Sara moved away from the coffee table. ‘Jasmine told me,’ she managed. ‘She just told me. Trevor hits her.’
Fraser was still looking at the photos. ‘I thought as much. Trevor needs to get off this ship ASAP. He’s downstairs with Security. Jasmine’s safe with Renee now, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good...good job.’ He crossed to the fridge, grabbing a can of Coke.
Her fingers trembled around the document. She knew beyond all shadow of a doubt that whatever she was holding behind her back was what Fraser had been hiding, and what he had shut her out from. She gripped the arm of the couch with her other hand and sat down again. It was hard to stand upright.
‘They’re probably going to be ready for him in Puerto Rico, as soon as this storm’s over.’
She swallowed. ‘To do what?’
He held out the Coke. ‘To arrest him, Sara—what do you think? What’s wrong?’
He stepped closer to her, suspicion written all over his face now. She was acting weird, and she knew it. She stood and made to step away, around the table, but a jolt from the ship made her stumble against him.
The piece of paper drifted to the patterned carpet and Fraser’s eyes followed it.
‘I didn’t mean to see it,’ she said quickly as he slammed down the can and picked it up. ‘I didn’t read it—just the header. But, Fraser, why do you have a letter from the Florida Transplant Institute?’
The rain was pounding at the window. He held the paper in his hands and seemed to look straight through it to the floor. His voice was strained when he spoke.
‘I wanted to wait till we were off the job to talk about this,’ he said, dropping it to his side. ‘I told you that. I wasn’t planning to hide anything from you.’
‘Wait for what? Fraser, is this about Esme? Did you find a donor?’ She couldn’t disguise the hope from her voice. Her heart was thrumming.
Outside, the wind was howling.
‘Maybe.’
‘Maybe?’
‘I just thought that there might be few things you need to tell me first.’
His voice was different now—not angry, just loaded, filling her with fear at the fact that she couldn’t quite read him.
He put the paper back down on the table. She racked her brains. ‘I don’t know what you mean, honestly. What do I need to tell you?’
‘You honestly can’t think of anything?’
‘No, Fraser—stop being so cryptic and just tell me!’
Pain flashed in his eyes as he looked at her, and it made her feel ill.
‘I went to the Florida Transplant Institute to see about donating a kidney myself,’ he said.
Her hand flew over her mouth.
‘I didn’t want to tell you unless I knew I could do it, Cohen. I know you said Esme has a rare blood type, for a start, and that the chances are slim. I wanted to be sure I was eligible before giving you anything else to worry about.’
She was silent as his words sank in. The swaying of the ship and his news were both making her queasy now.
‘Esme is my daughter, Fraser—did yo
u not think I had a right to know?’
‘Of course I think you have a right to know. I just didn’t want to put any more pressure on you while you were working. I wanted Esme to have a good time while you were here...’
‘Esme? Fraser, I asked you where you were that morning.’ She felt light-headed. ‘You should have just told me then.’
‘I know, and I’m sorry.’ He sat down next to her. ‘This hasn’t been easy. I was trying to do the right thing, believe me. But, like I said, if there’s anything you need to tell me, please just do it now.’
She shook her head at him. The Coke can slid across the table. There was only one thing she could possibly need to tell him, and she couldn’t think how he’d found out. Why did it even matter now, anyway?
He was looking at her imploringly.
‘OK,’ she said. ‘OK, Fraser—yes, I broke up with you because I overheard what your dad said to you, and I had to do it first. You didn’t even defend me, or us, and I didn’t want you to hurt me any more than I was already hurting over Mum.’
‘What are you talking about?’ He got down on his haunches in front of her, put a hand to her knee. His hair was falling into his eyes.
‘I broke up with you because I knew you were about to do the same thing to me. Fraser, you have to admit you would have done it eventually. Is that why you didn’t try and talk to me when you saw me with someone else in London? You knew I was better off without you while you worked to get your career on track?’
Fraser dragged his hands through his hair, shaking his head. He looked genuinely perplexed.
‘I heard your dad say I was no good for you,’ she continued, more warily now. ‘He said you were in danger of screwing everything up, everything you’d worked so hard for before I came along.’
‘You overheard my father talking to me?’ Fraser’s eyes were incredulous spheres.
‘Yes, after that dinner. And I heard you say absolutely nothing in my defence.’
‘Sara, you only heard half of it!’ He stood up and the ship swayed, making him crouch back down and grip the table. ‘They wanted me to finish my studies with no distractions, so I could release the money my grandfather left for me in the family trust fund as quickly as possible and pump it all into the surgery. They were going broke!’
‘Broke?’ She didn’t understand. The Breckenridge family had always seemed extraordinarily wealthy.
‘I was completely backed into a corner. I had to do what they asked. I was too ashamed to tell you what the situation was really like... I was young and too proud maybe. I don’t know.’
‘Too proud? To tell me your family were in financial trouble?’
‘Yes, and to tell you I was in trouble with my studies. I was juggling it all fine for a while. Until I wasn’t. I would have told you—maybe even that night. I tried to talk to you, remember?’
‘I only remember being confused...’
‘We should have talked to each other. I wanted to work something out, so I could be there for you, and get back on track, and fix the family mess too. But you broke things off before I had the chance. And then you slept with him, Sara.’
Sara just stared at him, speechless. All this time and she’d never known. She could feel a headache coming on. It was both their faults, then, their break-up: the doomed result of a series of grief-related bad decisions and general miscommunication. They’d been so young, and so much had been going on all at once.
‘Cohen,’ he said now. ‘Whatever you heard, whatever was said, none of it meant you had to hide Esme from me.’
She blinked at him, her mind a carousel. What on earth did Esme have to do with anything that had happened back then?
‘You had no reason to get involved with Esme,’ she managed. ‘Fraser, I appreciate what you’ve done, trying to help me, but you don’t need to be getting involved with Esme’s battles—at least not without talking to me first. Esme is my number one priority—you know that. She’s my daughter, after all.’
She saw his jaw twitching, as if he wanted to say so much more than he was saying. Then the thunder cracked again and he got to his feet.
‘Listen,’ he said. ‘Go to your cabin, please, where it’s safe. When the storm passes I’ll come and get you.’
She panicked, sensing a gap wider than ever opening up between them. If it wasn’t this that he thought she needed to tell him, what was it?
‘You need to talk to me now.’
‘We’ll talk later. I need to go downstairs and tell them what Jasmine has said.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
‘No, I don’t want you around Trevor.’
‘I can handle myself.’
‘Please,’ he said, softer now. ‘Sara, I’m saying this because, despite everything, I still love you.’
He was already reaching for his jacket.
His words had stunned her. Despite everything?
‘Go and find Esme,’ he said. ‘Stay with her.’
‘She’s with Marcus and his mum...she’s safe,’ she heard herself say. Her ears were roaring at his words—all of them. ‘Wait, Fraser, I don’t want you to think I’m not grateful for what you’re trying to do.’
‘We don’t know for sure yet if I’m eligible. I’m just waiting on one more test result that’s got delayed.’
‘I can’t believe you’re doing this. Why?’
‘If you don’t already know,’ he said, pulling on his jacket, ‘now is really not the time for me to tell you—trust me.’
The Coke can rolled completely off the table.
Fraser paused in his exit, seeming to compose himself. He strode back over, leaned down with his arms either side of her on the couch’s back, and kissed her.
‘You’re scaring me now,’ she said, bringing her palms to his cheeks.
‘I love you,’ he said again. ‘You know I do.’
He pulled away, then headed for the door.
‘We’ll talk later, I promise. Just stay where it’s safe.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
‘WHAT’S HAPPENING?’ FRASER walked into the medical room to find several items on the floor. Renee looked flustered and Jasmine was in tears.
His head was reeling the more he ran over everything, and he didn’t have it in him to think straight, let alone get into the issue of Esme being his biological child with Sara.
Another fact was slowly sinking in: the fact that she had broken up with him in Edinburgh as a result of overhearing half of a stupid conversation. If she hadn’t... If she’d only spoken to him, and he to her... They’d both messed things up.
But he couldn’t think about it now. The ship was bucking wildly.
‘Grab that!’
Renee called to him to catch the X-ray machine as it slid quickly in his direction. He stepped over a rolling pill bottle and fixed the machine back in place behind a steel counter.
Renee walked to him unsteadily even on flat shoes. ‘Fraser, there’s a situation on deck.’
‘What kind of situation?’
She lowered her voice as he stood on a rolling plastic cup. It crunched under his foot before he picked it up.
‘Someone’s up on deck in the storm and they’re refusing to come inside. Security are on to it.’ She flicked her eyes to Jasmine and back. ‘I’m not sure, but I think...’
‘Trevor.’ He cursed under his breath. He’d left him with Security, while he’d rushed to attend to a kid who’d been struck by his overzealous brother wielding a tennis racket. The boy had needed nothing more than an ice-pack, but everyone was going nuts, cooped up inside.
‘When was the last time you saw Trevor?’ Renee asked.
‘Ten minutes ago. He was with Security. They’re meant to be watching him till we get to port, but he kept on saying he needed to do something, and we don’t technically have any right to keep
him in one room.’
‘What did you say to him?’
‘I told him Jasmine had confirmed he’d been hitting her.’
Fraser’s jaw was clenched. He’d also told the staff not to let him out of their sight, so Trevor must have used some grand excuse. Or demanded to use the bathroom and slipped off somehow.
There was a loud crash, just outside the room. Jasmine shrieked. Fraser yanked the door open to find a painting from the wall face-down on the floor. An ashen-looking woman in a purple robe was staggering down the hallway towards him.
‘Come in here,’ he said, hurrying towards her, gripping the railing as he went.
The woman was moaning and tripping over her robe, clearly in agony. Sara appeared just as he was helping her.
‘I told you to stay in your cabin,’ he said. ‘I said I would come and get you later.’
‘Don’t tell me what to do—I want to help,’ Sara said, bristling.
‘Get her a bedpan,’ he told her, too busy to argue.
He swiped the rolling pill bottle from the floor and Sara took the woman from him and led her to a bed—just as she threw up on the floor.
‘Stay in here,’ he said now, to everyone in the room. ‘Don’t come out until you hear it’s safe. I’m serious, all of you.’
‘Where are you going?’ Sara looked up, her eyes narrowed as she held the woman’s hair back.
Their new patient’s purple robe was trailing in vomit. Jasmine was still crying.
‘To the deck,’ he said. He didn’t wait for any protests. He didn’t have time, and he wouldn’t have listened anyway.
* * *
‘Dr Breckenridge—you can’t go out there!’
A security guy tried to stop him on the top deck. He recognised him from before.
‘I’m medical staff and this is an emergency—I need to go out there. You weren’t supposed to let him go.’
A crowd of people were gathered around the windows with cameras, ignoring the command to stay in their cabins. Did anyone follow orders on this ship?
‘The ship was tipping. I only took my eye off him for a moment and he made a run for it,’ the security guard explained.
