The Ruthless Gentleman(66)

Whichever way I cut it, I was twenty thousand dollars a year short.

Guilt rose in my throat. It was heavy, suffocating. If I’d been a better sister, he wouldn’t have had the accident in the first place and if I was a better sister now I would be able to find a way to pay for his care. I should have gone to college, done pre-law or medicine—at least then my income would be going up every year instead of plateauing. I could have trained as a physical therapist or learned coding and come up with a great idea like Facebook or something.

I’d wasted my life. I’d walked away from college and the future I wanted for the money and it still wasn’t enough. What else was left? I didn’t know where to go from here.

I had nothing of any value that I could sell, and even if I got a job on one of those Russian yachts, I couldn’t make another twenty thousand a year.

Folding up the letter, I placed it into my bag, determined not to cry. I just had to find a way. I’d felt hopelessness like this when Michael was in the hospital, before we’d known if he was going to make it. And again when my mother left. Each time it had eventually lifted, or I’d become used to it—I wasn’t sure which—but for some reason, this time felt worse. Like before I’d had obstacles to get over but this time we were staring at a black hole that was threatening to consume the three of us.

For once, I wanted this to be someone else’s responsibility. I knew my dad was the parent here but there was nothing he could do. This was down to me. And that burden bore into me until all I wanted was just a moment without it. Maybe that was what I’d found in the time alone that Hayden and I had shared—a few minutes or hours where I felt lighter. It wasn’t as if the responsibility disappeared, more that being with him made me stronger somehow, as if he were lifting me up, reinforcing my strength. He’d be gone soon, and I didn’t know if this news about my brother’s insurance would have been easier to bear if I hadn’t escaped for a little while, if I hadn’t glimpsed a different life for a few hours.

I stood up, a little dizzy, and headed outside. I’d told Eric I wouldn’t be longer than thirty minutes. Hayden didn’t like me away from the yacht and anyway, I hadn’t touched his room this morning and I needed to clean the bathroom and change the sheets and do the hundred other things that needed doing even though we only had one guest on the yacht.

I squinted as I opened the door of the internet café and slipped my sunglasses on. Usually I enjoyed the heat, the sunshine and the blue skies, but today I wanted it to rain, hail, snow—anything that didn’t say vacations or money or happiness because that felt like someone else’s world. Not mine.

I started down the hilly, cobbled streets back to the boat. The last time I’d taken this route, I’d been in an entirely different frame of mind. I’d been so happy I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, talking to strangers—I’d wanted to sing out loud. Today everything was different.

“Avery.” A man called my name and a figure appeared beside me, as he tucked a newspaper under his arm. “How’s Mr. Wolf?”

I kept my pace the same, heading toward the sea as I realized that this was the same redhead, Phil, who’d approached me the morning after I’d slept with Hayden.

“What do you want? I’ve told you I have nothing to say to you.” There were more people around than there had been the previous time I’d met him—tourists wandering around and locals going about their business—but there was something in his overfamiliarity that made me feel exposed and vulnerable. As pleasant and polite as he was, there was something sinister buried below his pale skin and hard eyes. I stared right ahead.

“I like you, Avery,” he said, his tone cheery as if he were selling fruit or ice cream. “So I’m going to cut to the chase. I want to know what Hayden Wolf is working on.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t discuss my guests and who may or may not be on board.” I didn’t glance at him and just kept walking.

“Maybe not, but we both know Hayden Wolf is on the Athena. And we both know you could use some extra cash.”

My stomach flipped over. How did he know anything about me? Who the hell was this guy? “You need to leave me alone.”

“You don’t want to hear me out, even for your brother’s sake?”

I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. “What did you say?”

“I know you take care of your family, Avery. All I’m suggesting is a way you can do that.”

“You don’t know anything about me or my family—”

“It’s my job to find out these things. I know about your brother’s condition and how you pay for his insurance. Not to mention all the things you pay for that aren’t covered by your policy.”

How had this guy found out all this stuff? I turned back to face the water. “How do you know this?”

“I just had a friend ask a few of your neighbors. People will do anything for a little cash.”

Our neighbors had talked to strangers about us? For what? A few dollars?

“And that’s not a bad thing. I’m not judging. Everyone has their own circumstances to consider,” he continued. “It helped me a great deal. What I’m asking from you is nothing. We just need eyes and ears on the ground. That’s all. You’re not hurting anyone. In fact, you’ll be helping your brother.”