“And probably something that had to be hidden,” Paul noted. “Before you jump all over me, I didn’t say that I thought there was anything wrong with it, Rowan. I’m just pointing out that in these hoity-toity circles, the kids are expected to marry and procreate no matter how they might really feel about the subject.
“You brought up Ben settling down even though he clearly wasn’t ready,” he continued. “He probably was forced into it if he wanted his inheritance. Kids from families like that are expected to extend the limbs on the family tree no matter what. If Barbara was a lesbian, she might’ve had to hide it.”
“She never married, though,” Quinn pointed out.
“No, but she was younger than Ben. These families don’t really start pushing until the kids hit their thirties. Barbara had a little bit of grace time left, although not much.”
“So ... what could’ve possibly happened after that engagement party that resulted in Pat, Barbara, and Carly all being killed?” Rowan mused, her expression thoughtful as she munched on her crab. “It must have been something big.”
“There’s always the possibility that Pat was the intended target, and Barbara and Carly somehow witnessed something they weren’t supposed to,” Nick noted. “They could’ve been casualties of timing. It’s very possible they weren’t targets of whoever carried this out.”
“What about everyone on the yacht, though?” Rowan challenged. “They had to know that something fishy was going on. I mean ... Pat’s hand was found here. That means he was killed close to here, right? Where were they for those two weeks the public believed they were missing?”
“That’s the question we need to answer,” Quinn said. “I have no idea where to start.”
12
Twelve
The informational exchange went on for hours. It was almost five before Quinn decided to call it a day. Rowan was having a good time, her laughter echoing throughout the house as she bandied about theories with her father and uncle. He was loath to drag her away, but it was time to make their escape.
“We should be going.”
Rowan glanced at the clock and immediately jumped to her feet. Fred had left almost two hours before — said he had a hot date — and only family remained. She’d clearly lost track of time. “We should,” she agreed, smoothing down the front of her shirt.
Paul looked momentarily disappointed, but he covered well and flashed Quinn a smile. “You probably have things to do.”
“I don’t want it to be dark when we leave,” Quinn replied simply. “That makes it harder to know if someone is following.”
Paul nodded. “That makes sense.”
“It won’t always be this way,” Quinn added. “It’s just ... it’s better for her to clear out of here before dark.”
“I understand.” Paul flashed him a heartfelt smile. “I’m glad you take such good care of her. You two are obviously happy.”
“We are,” Rowan agreed, grinning. “We’re even talking about taking over this place together when you guys are done with it. It’s just talk right now, but it’s something we’re considering.”
“Really?” Paul arched an eyebrow.
“I thought you were waiting to discuss it with her,” Nick prodded. “That’s the reason I didn’t mention it to Paul.”
“I was going to.” Quinn turned sheepish. “It sort of came up in normal conversation.”
“You two living together out here came up in normal conversation?”
“I ... our future came up in normal conversation,” he corrected. “I’m sorry if you think it was too soon to talk about it, but I wanted to make her aware of what I was thinking. We agreed to share things and ... this is a big thing that involves both of us.”
Instead of chiding him, Nick smirked. “I don’t have a problem with you telling her. I simply thought we were supposed to keep it quiet for a bit.”
“And I happen to think it’s a great idea,” Paul enthused. “I want to know where you guys plan on settling so I can live right next door.”
Quinn narrowed his eyes. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“Oh, no.” Paul’s expression was serene. “I’ve been separated from Rowan far too long. We need to spend time together. I think living next door is the perfect plan. That means I’ll be able to pop in whenever I want.”
“Without knocking,” Nick added, a twinkle in his eyes.
“Definitely without knocking,” Paul agreed.
“You’re messing with me.” Quinn snickered as he moved his hand to Rowan’s back. “I guess I deserved that. We have time to discuss these things. I have specific plans, though, and that includes signing another contract with the company so I can stay on The Bounding Storm for another year. I want a room upgrade so Rowan and I aren’t constantly tripping over each other and I’m in the unique position where I can make demands and they pretty much have to acquiesce.”
Paul’s smile slipped. “You know I’m her father, right?”
Quinn was blasé. “I know.”
“She might be an adult, but she’s still my little girl. I don’t really want to hear how you’re going to maneuver the two of you into a bigger room. It’s ... weird.”
Quinn ignored the dirty look Paul shot him. “We still need to go, Ro. I thought we would stop for something to eat on the way home. Maybe in St. Pete Beach again. There’s a place called Crabby Bill’s and they have bibs. I saw it on the sign.”
Rowan brightened considerably. “That must mean their crab is really good if they have bibs.”
He chuckled, adoration for her washing over him. “Do you think you can handle crab twice in the same day?”
“Oh, you just watch me.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
UPON LEAVING THE HOUSE, Quinn made sure Rowan’s helmet was firmly in place before grabbing his own. The sun was high in the sky, beating down upon him, and he momentarily wished he’d rented a car so they could enjoy air conditioning during the ride back.
He knew the breeze would help once they got going, but a hot breeze was still a hot breeze.
“Look.” Rowan lifted her chin and gestured toward the road, her gaze firmly focused on something only she could see.
Quinn instinctively turned in that direction, ready to fight off an assailant if need be, but there was no masked marauder ready to hop out of the bushes. Instead, a Rolls-Royce was slowly rolling past the driveway ... and the inhabitants of the car were staring directly at them through the gap in the trees.
“Patrice,” Quinn said after a beat as he met her gaze. “Well, this is awkward.”
“Byron is with her,” Rowan noted. “Maybe she won’t recognize you. I mean ... she’s seen a lot of faces over the past few days. Of course, you’re the one who pulled her out of the water so it would be hard to forget you even if you weren’t so pretty.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.” Quinn squeezed her hand as he watched the vehicle speed off. “I don’t think there’s any chance of her not recognizing me. We can only hope that doesn’t mean she’s going to start digging into Nick, since he’s the one listed as the homeowner.”
Rowan balked. “I didn’t even think about that. Should we warn them?”
Quinn shrugged. “I think it’s okay. I mean ... the Sterlings don’t know anything about the Phoenix Society. Why should they? If they run Nick’s name it’s going to overlap with my name. That business with the scavenging crew hit the news hard.
“Nick isn’t using his real name, so he can’t be tied to you,” he continued. “Besides, you were wearing your helmet. There’s no way they can identify you.”
“No, but it wouldn’t take much for them to track you to me,” she pointed out. “All they would have to do is ask someone on the ship who you might be with. Mine is the one name that will always come up.”
“Yeah.” He squeezed her hand. “It doesn’t matter.” He was almost positive that was true. “There’s no way they can tie Nick to you other than what happened on the El Dem
onio dive. It’s impossible. From their perspective, they’ll probably assume we’re just catching up after the previous event.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. It’s going to be fine, Ro.”
Rowan prided herself on not being the sort of person who freaked out over nothing, but she couldn’t shake the idea that they were in more trouble than Quinn wanted to admit to. “I hope so. Let’s get out of here anyway.”
“Definitely.”
UNLIKE THE REVOLVING RESTAURANT, Crabby Bill’s boasted a laid-back environment and Quinn and Rowan opted for a cozy booth in the corner. The first thing Rowan did was snag a bib ... and then peruse the menu with so much gusto Quinn found delight in simply watching her “ooh” and “aah” over the offerings.
“I can’t decide if I want crab legs or one of those buckets with a huge pile of food inside of it,” Rowan admitted. “I probably shouldn’t be this hungry after the huge lunch I ate, but I could eat ten crabs right about now.”
“That’s a lovely picture you’re painting in my head,” Quinn teased. “All I can think about is you in a tiny bikini, sitting on a plastic tablecloth on the floor, crab legs spread all around you, and a big vat of butter.”
Rowan’s mouth dropped open. “You’re so gross.”
“I think it sounds appealing. You’re always in a good mood when you get crab legs.”
“You’re definitely gross.” She laughed at herself as she turned back to the menu. “I like the idea of a big vat of butter, though.”
“Somehow I thought you would.” Quinn leaned back on his side of the booth and regarded her with speculative eyes. “You look happy.”
Rowan slowly shifted her gaze to him. “Am I not supposed to? I mean ... I know it’s sad that we’re investigating the Sterlings and their wicked ways, but I don’t think I’m being inappropriate.”
“I don’t care about that. I was talking in an overall sense, though. You’re happy to spend time with your father and Nick.”
“I am happy to spend time with them,” she acknowledged. “It’s like a dream come true. Although ... I’m guessing you don’t see it that way.” She scratched her nose. “From your perspective, this is probably annoying.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because we haven’t spent any time together, alone, in days. You’re spending all your time running me to visit them and worrying about what’s going to happen. This can’t be how you dreamed things would go.”
To buy himself time, Quinn grabbed a cheddar biscuit from the basket at the center of the table and broke it in half. He was debating how to respond when he automatically started talking.
“We’re a team, right?”
Rowan nodded. “That seems to be the general consensus.”
“Well, that means we work together. I’m not doing things simply for you. I’m doing them for us. Right now, you’re the one who needs help. I need you, so I’m going to help. I’m perfectly happy with how things are right now.”
Rowan was understandably dubious. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Although ... if you could work in the bikini and butter sauce before we leave on our next cruise, that would be greatly appreciated.”
Rowan pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “You are a funny guy.”
“I like to think so. Now, decide what you’re getting. Personally, I’d like to see you eat from a big bucket. I might even take a photograph or two.”
Rowan barked out a laugh. “The big bucket it is. After that, I thought we could take a walk on the beach before heading back to The Bounding Storm. It’s nice here, open. It might be relaxing to enjoy it before taking off.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
“UGH. WHY DID YOU LET me eat so much?”
Rowan made a face as she threw herself on the sand and stared at the sky. Quinn’s motorcycle remained at Crabby Bill’s and they opted to walk a bit down the beach so they could have privacy. There were people out and about, but the area was big enough that nobody was on top of each other.
“Yes, I’m the one who made you eat that last crab cluster,” Quinn taunted, chuckling when she shot him a dirty look. “You’re a glutton, sweetie. I can’t take responsibility for your bad choices.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Rowan gave him a dismissive hand wave as she threw her arm over her head. “I think I might explode.”
“Well, at least I’ll be here during your final moments.” Quinn lowered himself to the sand and turned his attention to the water. It was peaceful, the sound of the rolling waves lulling him. He absolutely loved the ocean, he realized. He couldn’t imagine living somewhere away from the water after spending so much time on it. That didn’t mean Rowan felt the same way, though, and he knew he had to ask her a few tough questions.
“It never occurred to me to ask if you wanted to live somewhere else,” he said after a beat. “I mean ... I just assumed you would want to live on the ocean because you enjoy making sandcastles and love wading in the water. Do you want to live somewhere else, though?”
Rowan turned her head so she was facing him. “What do you mean?”
“There are a lot of other states. Even if you wanted to live on the ocean, we wouldn’t necessarily have to live in Florida. We could pick a place that’s not as hot ... like Charleston or New Orleans. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Florida.”
She was legitimately puzzled. “Don’t you need to be close to Fred if you’re going to go into business with him?”
“Yeah.”
“So ... isn’t this a moot conversation?”
“No.” He vehemently shook his head. “You’re a part of this conversation. If you don’t want to live here, then we can move someplace else. I can start up my own security business and work with Fred remotely.”
Even though her stomach was overly full, Rowan struggled to a sitting position so she could look him in the eye. “That’s a lovely offer. I like it here, though. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Is this your dream place to live, though?” Quinn was earnest. “I mean ... think about it. If you could pick one place to live — only one place and the logistics of how it works don’t matter — where would you choose?”
Rowan tilted her head to the side, thoughtful. “Estes Park in Colorado.”
Quinn furrowed his brow. “What’s in Colorado?”
“The Stanley Hotel.”
“You want to live in a hotel?” He wasn’t expecting that answer. “I ... why?”
“I want to live in the Stanley Hotel,” she corrected. “As for why, it’s where The Shining was filmed and it’s supposed to be haunted. You know how I feel about horror movies.”
Quinn was caught so far off guard he almost choked on his laughter. “That is ... so you.”
“I know.”
“Do you really want to live there?”
“No, but I was hoping we could visit sometime. I always wanted to take a vacation there.”
“I think I can arrange that.” He cast her a fond smile. “In fact, I’ll try to see if we can get in around Halloween. We both have vacation time coming up. It might be fun to spend it there.”
“I don’t think I get vacation time until I’ve been here for nine months.”
“Which will be right around Halloween.”
“I ... huh. You’re not wrong.”
“I’m always right,” he agreed, stretching his long limbs so he could get comfortable. “I’m being serious about living here, though. If this isn’t the place you want to hang your hat forever, I’m fine with that. Just let me know.”
“I’m curious why you think I don’t like this area,” she prodded. “Have I said or done something that makes you think I would be happier somewhere else?”
“No, but you came from a state with seasons. I thought maybe you would want to move back there or something.”
“I do like seasons,” Rowan agreed. “I love fall
and summer in Michigan. Winter sucks, though, and spring is hit or miss. I actually really like it here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, although I’m starting to like it less every time you question me on it.”
Quinn heaved out a sigh. “I don’t mean to be annoying. This is a big deal, though. We’re starting to make plans for our future and I want to make sure you’re always happy. That was drilled home — and hard — this afternoon watching you with your father. Do you think he’ll be happy here?”
“Do you care?”
“Yeah. He’s going to be living close to us. I know he was joking about living next door, but he won’t be far away from you. It’s too much after everything he’s been through.”
“I think it’s too much for both of us.”
“Which I’m fine with.” He shot her a reassuring look. “Does he like the weather here?”
“I think he’s fine with it. You forget, he’s a famous author now. I think he’s going to be traveling a lot even though he’ll have a home base. I don’t want you to worry about that, though. That’s his issue.
“What’s important is what we want,” she continued. “Personally, I want to be with you and I think this is a beautiful area. You don’t need to panic about things like this, even though I know you’re a planner. Things will work out how they’re supposed to.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just do. It’s a feeling I have here.” She touched the spot above her heart. “We’re going to be okay. No matter what you think, or what you fear, I’m always going to be right here beside you.”
Quinn’s heart melted and a gooey rush of warmth washed over him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she beamed. “I still blame you for letting me eat too much, though. Explosion is definitely a possibility.”
Quinn let loose a genuine laugh as Rowan moved to flop back down on the sand. At the same moment, a deafening bang filled the night air.
It took him a moment to realize what was happening, especially since she’d been moving to relax on the sand. She fell awkwardly, though, making a gasping sound as she hit the ground. Then, the sand next to her left shoulder started turning an odd color ... as if she’d spilled a dark drink and then decided to lay in it.
Farewell Seas Page 31
