Darkest Journey (Krewe of Hunters #20)(56)

They lay together afterward, breathing heavily, until Charlie said at last, “Ten years in the making...”

He rolled closer to her, smoothing back a wild lock of her hair, and asked, “And after all that time, how was it?” When she didn’t answer, he smiled. “A little scary, huh? You go so long. You live with memories of what might have been but never was. And you wonder if you’ve put someone on a pedestal, and whether, if the dream should come true, would it really be...the dream.”

“Better than the dream,” she said softly. “That is, for me. Unless it wasn’t...for you?”

“My imagination could never have conceived of anything so wonderful,” he told her.

She rolled against him, arms around his neck, and kissed him.

And then it all began again. Kisses. The eroticism of naked flesh against naked flesh...

Somewhere in there, they slept. And then it was his time to keep watch. None of them expected any trouble at the house, but it never hurt to be vigilant.

He dressed and went down to the parlor, leaving Charlie sound asleep in his bed. Thor had brought up the news on his computer and made fresh coffee. Ethan decided Thor might be his new best friend. The other agent went up for a few more hours of sleep, while Ethan settled down to read email until his watch ended when everyone got up for breakfast.

He didn’t think he’d ever felt so alive. More awake, alert or determined.

Or more in love.

After one night.

Then again, it had been one night that had followed ten years of a haunting dream that had played constantly in the back of his mind, always there, always a part of his life, no matter how he’d tried to lose it to the mists of memory.





10

“How could you lie to me?” Charlie demanded. She was finally alone with her father on board the Journey, and she was furious.

The passengers from the previous cruise had all gone ashore. The passengers for the coming week were starting to board now. That left her plenty of time to talk to her father, and now she was sitting on the small sofa in his cabin while he paced the floor.

He had started off being stern and playing the father card. What was she doing? Taking part in the investigation was dangerous, and she was an actress, not a cop. It was all Ethan Delaney’s fault, he insisted, and he had no right to drag her into danger again.

Charlie had refused to cave, though, and she’d quickly turned the discussion around.

“Why did you lie to me?” she asked, breaking into his tirade. “You said you hardly knew the men who were killed, and it wasn’t even a smart lie. Half the world knows you were friends with both of them. Did you think we wouldn’t find out?”

“Yes, I knew them both. I didn’t deny that. And I guess you could say we were friends, but you don’t understand,” her father said. He was such a good speaker that he was usually eloquent under any pressure, but now he was waving his hands around in frustration, starting to speak, then stopping abruptly before starting up again.

“I’m trying to understand,” Charlie said, “but you’re not giving me anything to go on.”

“We supported each other. We supported each other at...” he said.

“At what?”

Her father stared at her and slowly let out a breath. “At anything in life,” he said softly. Then he quickly added, “Not anything bad, but if one of us asked the others to keep a secret, or if we asked for help...”

“So you were friends,” she said accusingly.

“More than that,” Jonathan admitted.

She gasped suddenly. “Masons. You were members of the same lodge.”

“Charlie, I can’t even say that! You know what we do. We raise money for children’s hospitals, for cancer...good things. Only good things.”

“Dad, I know that. I was a Rainbow Girl, remember?” she reminded him. The women’s division of the Masons was called the Order of the Eastern Star, and the girls’ division was the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. Growing up, she’d been a Rainbow Girl in her father’s lodge. She’d never seen the Masons involved in anything that wasn’t completely aboveboard and good for the community.

“Dad, I would defend the Masons in every way—unless they get in the way of justice. If someone in your lodge did this, then—”

“No, Charlie!” he interrupted. “That’s just it—no one in the lodge did this. I’m certain of that. I know those men. We’re close—we’re brothers, in a way. The thing is, if I’d admitted how well I knew the victims...well, I would have been in jeopardy of divulging things to the authorities that were told to me in confidence.”

“Dad, if what you know could lead to the capture of a killer...”

“That’s just it. What I know would look to some people like motive, but that’s not the case at all.”

Incredibly frustrated, Charlie stood and faced him, hands on her hips. “Dad! You don’t know what help your information could be because you haven’t shared it with the authorities. Don’t you understand? Everything we learn is leading to you!”

Her father lowered his head. “Ethan told you that, didn’t he?”

“No, not Ethan. Detective Laurent, and probably others. And...” She paused, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “Dad, I saw the dead woman. Selma Rodriguez. She said Albion Corley had talked about going out to meet you.”