“She was a lot of trouble,” Lily said. “She was definitely paranoid. She didn’t trust anyone. That was probably a good idea because none of us liked her and weren’t even remotely trustworthy where she was concerned. She was also definitely histrionic. She craved attention, wanted to be at the center of everything, and was insincere and superficial.
“The narcissism goes without saying,” she continued. “She lacked empathy and lied every chance she got. The borderline personality disorder is more up in the air. She definitely threatened to harm herself, but I very much doubt she would’ve carried it out.”
“Wait ... she threatened to kill herself?” Jack’s interest in the conversation deepened. “Has anyone considered that she threw herself off the pier that night and the sharks coming along was merely a coincidence?”
“You’ll have to talk to the cops about that,” Lily replied. “She didn’t try to kill herself. That wasn’t in her nature. She threatened to kill herself for the attention. Whenever someone got angry with her, brought up the things she’d done, she talked about suicidal thoughts taking over. That was calculated. She knew what she was doing.”
“I’ve known people like that,” Jack murmured, shaking his head. “I had an aunt who threatened to put her head in the oven if people didn’t take her more seriously. No one ever worried she would do it.”
“That’s how we were with Shayne,” Lily said. “She was never going to kill herself. She just wanted the attention and thought she was fooling people.”
“Well, that’s something to think about,” Jack noted, sliding his eyes to me when I jolted at a flash of lightning. “We should probably get under cover. The rain will hit soon. I think you were right about this storm being a doozy.”
“They’re all doozies,” she said. “The heat and humidity build up, cause a burst, and then they pass. It will be hot and clear again by tomorrow morning.”
“Just out of curiosity, who were you looking for out here?” Jack asked as he began to prod me toward the condo. “I mean ... you said people were out here the first night. Who was that?”
“Clark and his little friend.” Lily’s derision was clear as she wrinkled her nose. “He calls some service and arranges for a different woman each night, as if we’re going to believe he somehow picked up a pretty twenty-something and she actually wanted to spend time with him.”
“He’s the one who wears the aggressive shirts, right?” Jack asked.
Lily nodded. “He has a few diagnosable personality disorders, too. He wants to be part of the group but is only accepted because people like Carter. They write the same genre, but one of them is way more popular than the other. I’m sure you can guess why.”
“Personality,” Jack concluded.
Lily nodded. “Carter says ridiculous stuff sometimes and stirs the political pot, but he’s likable while he does it. Politics are part of the prepper genre, so that’s simply something we have to put up with. Most of us try to avoid politics because it turns off readers. Prepper writers are the exact opposite.”
“Huh.” I hadn’t really considered that. “So Carter is liked and Clark isn’t?”
“Basically,” Lily agreed. “Carter manages to charm people despite holding some rather extreme beliefs and putting forth outrageous conspiracy theories. Everyone dislikes Clark.”
“And yet you’re out here looking for him,” Jack pointed out.
Lily shrugged. “I’m a sap. What can I say? He was caught out here during a big storm that first night and had to hunker down in one of the mini cabanas. He said it was so dark and nasty he couldn’t see the pier, even though it was well lit and right in front of him.”
Jack shifted his gaze to the pier and nodded, another bolt of lightning splitting the sky, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end. “Well, thanks for the mental health breakdown. You should probably get back to the hotel. No one is out here.”
“I’m on it.” She offered a wave as she trudged through the sand toward the resort. “Save the groping for when you get inside. The storm is almost here.”
Jack scowled as I grinned.
“I think she’s kind of funny,” I said before he could disparage her. “She reminds me of Millie.”
“She kind of reminds me of Millie, too,” he groused as he pulled me away from the water and angled us toward the condos. He clearly didn’t want to dally with a storm barreling down.
“You like Millie.”
“I do, but one Millie is more than enough.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed. Two sounded like it could be all kinds of fun.
WE MADE IT BACK TO THE condo with seconds to spare. We were barely through the door when the sky illuminated, flashing against the sterile white walls of the living room, and the downpour began. I jumped at the sound of thunder, and Jack hugged me from behind as I watched the torrent of rain.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’s just a storm.”
I nodded as I watched. “I generally like storms. I find them soothing.”
“Me, too.”
“Not today, though.”
He tugged my hair away from my face to study my profile. “Because of the nightmares?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know what to do about them,” he admitted, helpless. “I can’t stop them.”
“I don’t expect you to stop them.” That was true. “I just have to get through them.” I cast a look to the bedroom I shared with Millie. “I should probably head in there. It’s late and I’m sure we’ll have another full day tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Jack didn’t release me, instead resting his head on my shoulder. “If you need me during the night I’ll be on the couch.”
“You can’t save me from my nightmares.”
“It would be nice if I could.”
We shared a quick kiss, one much lighter than the one on the beach. Both of us clearly didn’t want to risk anything heavy with Bernard and Millie sleeping under the same roof. I bade him goodnight and walked into the room, the sound of Millie’s echoing snores causing me to cringe. They were louder than the storm.
I stared at her a moment, unsure what to do, and then made up my mind. I changed into a comfortable T-shirt and knit shorts, grabbed the extra blanket and pillow from the end of the bed, and headed back to the living room. Jack was already stripped to his boxers and on the couch when I returned.
“What are you doing?”
“I can’t sleep with Millie snoring like that. It will make things worse. I’m going to sleep on the floor.”
“No, you’re not. You won’t get any sleep if you’re uncomfortable.”
“I think that’s my only option.”
“You can sleep on the couch and I’ll take the floor.”
“Then you won’t get any sleep,” I pointed out.
“I wasn’t the one who went through an ordeal today.”
I wasn’t sure about that. He seemed more upset about me falling into the ocean than almost anybody, including me. “You need your sleep. It’s important.”
“Well, you’re no less important.” He studied me for a long moment, his features illuminated thanks to the light on the front walk and the quick flashes of lightning. “We’ll share the couch.”
My heart stuttered. “W-what?”
“We’ll share the couch,” he repeated, sliding under the blanket and gesturing for me to join him. “Maybe we’ll both sleep that way, without nightmares.”
I remained unsure. “What if you get ideas and grope me?”
Instead of dismissing the idea outright, he grinned. “You’ll have to wait to find out if that happens. I can’t make any promises. My hands have a mind of their own.”
I sighed, resigned. His offer was better than anything else on the table. I plopped my pillow on top of his and dropped the extra blanket on the floor before rolling in next to him.
“Wandering hands will be grounds for amputation,” I warned as he spooned behind me, making sure he had me tucked in and I
was comfortable before resting his head on the pillow.
“I’ll try to refrain.” He sounded tired as I closed my eyes, my mind already drifting.
“The storm makes it nice for sleeping,” I murmured. “I hope I don’t dream badly.”
“Me, too.” He lightly kissed my cheek. “Go to sleep. If your dreams are bad, remember that I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah. Probably. I hope I don’t have any embarrassing sex dreams while we’re sleeping like this. Actually, I’m more worried about you having those dreams than me. I hope you can contain yourself.”
Jack’s lips curved against my ear. “No promises. Go to sleep.”
“Watch your hands,” I repeated.
“Charlie?”
“Yeah?”
“Go to sleep.”
There was nothing else to do, so I did as he asked. The day caught up with me hard and fast. Surprisingly, when I slipped into dreamland, there were no sharks in sight. There were, however, a few murderous writers to contend with.
They weren’t nearly as scary.
Fourteen
I woke warm and comfortable despite the fact that Jack and I were on top of each other. My dreams, while not trouble-free, hadn’t been nearly as disastrous as I envisioned. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to bask in our proximity upon waking because we weren’t alone.
Ahem.
Millie didn’t even try to play coy as she cleared her throat, and when I snapped open my eyes, I found her standing in the middle of the living room, hands on her hips as she stared.
“What’s going on?” Jack asked, his voice sleepy.
“I was just about to ask you that,” Millie replied. Bernard was with her, still in his pajamas, and he looked amused at the turn of events. “You guys aren’t naked under that blanket, are you? I’ll be scarred for life if you are.”
Jack scowled. “We’re not naked. Don’t give me grief.”
“I believe that’s part of my job description,” she said lightly. “If I don’t give you grief, who will?”
“I think Laura has taken on the mantle of commander in grief.”
“True enough.” Millie’s gaze was speculative and I could feel my cheeks burning. “Did I miss something important last night? You guys disappeared right before dinner, which wasn’t lost on Laura, by the way. Where did you go?”
Jack made no move to release his arm from my waist. “We went to dinner and then a walk on the beach. Why do you care?”
“Because I’m a busybody.”
“Well, at least you admit it.” Jack shifted to study my face. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine.” I wanted to play it cool, so I kept my smile pleasant rather than flirty. Of course, I was terrible at flirting. For all I knew, my version of a flirtatious smile could’ve resembled a velociraptor. “No nightmares, but I did dream about that shark book guy chasing me around while screaming he was kind of a big deal and trying to lure me into his van.”
Jack snorted. “He’s definitely weird ... and on top of the list of people I’m going to research today.” He briefly focused on Millie. “Why are you still here? Get cleaned up. We’re supposed to meet for breakfast as a group to plan our day.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Millie waved off the order. “I have a question before that happens.”
Jack was calm. “What question is that?”
“Are you guys going public with this relationship? I mean ... can I openly terrorize Laura with what I found this morning? That would make my day better.”
“No, you cannot.” He vehemently shook his head. “You already knew, which means Bernard already knew. I was going to drag the revelation out with you guys, but given the storm last night and what happened to Charlie, I didn’t want her sleeping alone on the floor.”
“She could’ve slept with me,” Millie pointed out.
“You snore loud enough to wake the dead,” Jack challenged. “She needed sleep. She got it out here. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No.” Millie looked uncertain as she pursed her lips. “If you want, starting tonight, you guys can have the second bedroom.”
“How will that work?” I asked, confused. “Where will Bernard sleep? You can’t put him on the couch. He’s old ... er, older. That’s rude.”
Bernard’s eyes twinkled. He often found me funny, which was a blessing. My personality was something of an acquired taste.
“He’ll be with me, numbnuts,” Millie snapped, catching me off guard. “If you guys are going to sleep together, I don’t see any reason Bernard and I can’t do the same.”
I’d often wondered if Millie and Bernard had something going on the side. She was careful not to show her hand, but they were unbelievably tight. “I knew it!”
Jack snickered as he rolled to his back. “I don’t care if you guys share a bedroom, Millie. I won’t tell Chris. I know you worry that he’ll get his nose out of joint because of Myron, but he won’t hear it from me.”
I was taken aback. “Haven’t Millie and Myron been divorced for a long time?”
“Yes, but Chris is a bit weird about it,” Millie replied. “He still thinks of me as his aunt, which I encourage. Plus, Myron occasionally gets weird about things. Bernard and I agreed when we started dating to keep it quiet. Jack has always known, though.”
I cast him a sidelong look. “I asked and you wouldn’t confirm it for me.”
“It was none of your business.” He was firm. “I still maintain that we’re all up in each other’s business too much. I don’t care if you guys share a room. Your snoring is louder than anything else you could possibly do.”
Millie turned haughty. “Oh, don’t get too full of yourself. I’m loud no matter what I do.”
“I can vouch for that,” Bernard said dryly. “Still, I appreciate the offer. That will give you guys some privacy, too.”
My cheeks were back to burning and the look on Jack’s face told me he didn’t miss the color that was obviously flooding my features.
“We might not be there yet, but thank you for the invitation,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “We’ll move things around later tonight. I think we should head to breakfast as soon as possible — and keep all the sleeping arrangements quiet — because Chris supposedly has assignments for everybody today.”
“We can handle that,” Millie said. “I’m great at keeping secrets.”
Jack was understandably dubious. “We’ll have to see about that.”
IT TURNED OUT, MY ASSIGNMENT was the best. Chris sent me to the local aquarium to meet with a shark expert named Ty Crocker. He was expecting me, and open to answering anything I might ask. Jack arranged to go with me, pointing out he would ask harder questions that might ultimately be necessary, and Chris agreed without argument.
Laura, on the other hand, was suspicious. She gave Jack and me the evil eye throughout breakfast, occasionally asking what Jack did for dinner the previous night, but he smoothly sidestepped every question she lobbed. He knew better than to get caught up in her web, and I was thankful she focused her attention on him rather than me.
Jack drove, which was fine. I wasn’t familiar with the roads or traffic in the area. I spent all my time staring at the ocean and marveling at how bright the sun was following such an intense storm.
“How did you sleep?” I asked as he followed the signs to the aquarium. “I never got the chance to ask.”
“I slept hard. I was out right away. I worried when I woke that I somehow slept through your nightmares, but you seem pretty together. I take it you slept okay, too.”
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t even realize how tired I was until my head was on the pillow. After that, there was no holding me back. I was gone.”
“You didn’t move all night.”
“Neither did you.”
“I was comfortable.”
Speaking of that ... . I chewed on my bottom lip as I turned to study his profile. He was focused on the traffic, but the tension he carried i
n his shoulders the previous day seemed to have evaporated. I had a question, but I wasn’t sure I should ask it.
Instead, I internally hemmed and hawed as he drove, waiting until we were in the aquarium parking lot to blurt it out. “Why don’t you have a problem with Millie and Bernard knowing about us?”
If he was surprised at the way I asked the question, Jack didn’t show it. Instead, he picked a spot, put the rental in park, and turned to face me. “Because Millie already knew. You told me that. She shares everything with Bernard. That means he knew, too. There was no reason to keep it a secret.”
“Yeah, but ... we both agreed it was probably best to keep things on the down low until we were sure.”
“Honestly, I was more worried about Laura,” Jack admitted, smoothing his hair. “She’s unpredictable. Chris and Hannah are lost in their own little world. I don’t think they’ll care. It will take them forever to notice on their own. I’m fine with that.”
“Do you think there’s something Laura could do to us?”
“No, not necessarily.”
He looked uncomfortable at the question, which meant I needed to push harder. “You’re hiding something. I want to know what it is.”
He heaved a sigh. “It’s just ... we’re not supposed to fraternize with co-workers. It’s company policy.”
“Oh.” Realization dawned. “So ... we could get fired for dating.”
“We could,” he agreed. “Laura is the type to report us, which is funny because she would be the first to break the rules if I agreed to go out with her.”
“Right.” My mind was busy. “Do you think we’ll get fired?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I won’t have an issue finding another job if it comes to that. You, on the other hand, managed to beat out a lot of eager people for this position. There isn’t as much out there for you if things fall apart.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“If you’re worried about losing your job, I understand.” He sounded stretched, tense. “You should probably tell me now. I’m already attached to you, but I’ll understand if you need to put the job first.”
The Megalodon Mix-Up Page 13
