Accessory: The Scarab Beetle Series: #4 (The Academy) (8 page)

“I’m sorry I blew up your house,” I said, surprised at my quick admission even though I’d felt it for a while. It struck me how strongly he felt about this, and I had to speak, or I was going to feel too much and I couldn’t be that shaken up right now. “And your boat. And--”

There were noises in the foyer down below. His attention turned to it. My heartbeat quickened, afraid the boys would spot Blake before I had a chance to talk to them, and they’d want to leave before hearing me out.

He looked back in at me, nodding, and then turned away, disappearing further down the hall. I watched him as long as I could. Some sort of peace had fallen between us. If we were going to help Charleston, we had to do it together. Somehow, it seemed right, even if we usually did a lot of damage when we were together, mostly to him.

Again I heard voices. Marc’s drifted up to me; he was asking questions. I grabbed the drink Blake had poured for me, downing the entire thing in a couple of gulps. It was some sort of sweet strawberry wine. It wasn’t the type of drink I would have chosen, but I wanted the alcohol.

I could use a little liquid courage.

CONVINCING ISN’T EASY

I
breathed in the warmed air from the fake fireplace—I believed it was electric with low orange glowing embers and a very low heat. The warmth mixed with the scent of leather and luxury heavy around me. Blake Coaltar. Ethan Murdock. Avery, Fancy, Doyle... It was an interesting team, very capable. They wanted me. Kayli Winchester. A girl who a few months ago was stealing wallets for survival and without much of a future.

I couldn’t blame them for wanting more people on their side; they were just five people against some of the most powerful men around Charleston. Old Mr. Murdock and his CEO cronies had to be major influences around the city. We’d need our own army to help.

I wasn’t sure how much help I could provide, but I was sure the boys would help, though. Once they realized what was really going on, they’d see they had to stay. At least now I was in charge—partially. Would they leave it to just Blake and the others to do it alone?

It burned me to think again about the boys hiding the phone calls. That even Avery and Ethan were trying to get in touch, when we could have been helping sooner. I’d been ill and recovering, but now I felt I’d been so blind, so unwilling to come back out and into the real world. I’d been gone for too long, and I was itching to do something other than mope around the apartment any longer. Ethan wanted to fix things, and that was admirable. If he thought I could help somehow, I’d try.

I shook off the jacket, laying it across the arm of the sofa. I turned around, pacing a little, trying to come up with what I would say to the guys when Avery finally brought them to the lounge.

I picked up a fancy glass decanter on the bar, inspecting it, feeling the weight in my hands. I put it back and plucked a black leather credit card holder from a stack near a cash register. Moving kept me from boiling over with annoyance. I needed to get rid of the extra energy before I threw objects at the guys when they finally arrived.

When I heard footsteps coming, I put the holder down and then stepped out of reach of anything I could throw.

Marc spotted me first as they came up the stairs and into view of the lounge. The width of his shoulders and the cut of his figure was more prominent in the light overhead. The brightness complimented his deep tan, evidence that he spent many hours in the sun. It was funny how everyone looked nice under those lights. Maybe it was done on purpose. Maybe it flattered the guests. In the jeans and jacket, he looked tough like a rock star.

His eyes locked on mine and the frown on his face eased. He gritted his teeth, his cheekbones becoming more prominent. He broke away from Avery, Fancy and Raven, who were looking elsewhere, and hurried up the steps, turning the corner and coming toward me. Part of the longer locks of hair fell across his face.

I stood taller, folding my arms across my stomach. I stood a little awkwardly in the boots and jeans. I tried not to frown, or show any emotion at all.

Marc weaved around lounge chairs to get to me, not even glancing around the ship. “Hey,” he said in a worried tone. “They left you alone? What’s wrong with them?”

I blinked, surprised by his sudden concern, the anger fizzling out of me. “Uh,” I said, trying to collect my thoughts. “Avery and...Ethan were just here. They said you were coming.”

Marc stopped in front of me, close enough that I had to tilt my head slightly up to look at his mismatched eyes. He reached out and held gently onto my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“...Yeah?” I said, confusion surfacing. Was I okay? Blake seemed to have been very concerned for me, too, and I was starting to wonder if I looked different. Maybe being ill had left me looking weaker than I felt. “Are
you
okay?” I asked.

Marc placed a palm across his forehead, rubbing. “You have no idea. She took us all throughout Isle of Palms, even over to another dock. She tried to get through their security, insisting that was the right dock, only to bring us here. And then Avery tried to give us a tour.” He paused and then looked at me. “You said Ethan?”

“Uh huh.”

“Ethan Murdock?”

“Yup.” What other Ethan did I know?

He glanced around the room now, as if he’d just realized a connection. He looked at the TV, the bar, the fireplace. He shook his head, the longer locks of his hair getting into his eyes, giving him a real punk look. He forced the strands back with one quick comb of his fingers. “I told him he didn’t have to thank us,” he said.

I shifted my weight on my feet, edging back just a half step. I wasn’t sure how he’d like to hear about this. “Marc,” I said, unsure where to begin explaining.

“Kayli,” Raven materialized at Marc’s side. He was broader than Marc normally, but now he seemed massive standing next to him. He gave a slight elbow push to Marc’s arm and focused on me. The lip ring protruded pretty far out and his brown eyes were wild, reminding me of the ones on the bear tattooed on his back. “Where the hell were you?”

“I’m not a baby, guys,” I said, stepping clear of them and putting a settee between us, acting casual, like I was looking around the place. “Avery was just here and he went to find you. I’m fine.” Were they all paranoid? Not that I wasn’t nervous when I was in a dark place I wasn’t sure about, but I wasn’t going to spend my life cowering in the apartment. They shouldn’t have to be that worried that I couldn’t be alone for five minutes.

Marc elbowed Raven back. “Chill out, Raven.”

“I’m not cold,” he said, his Russian accent thicker now. “That Murdock is still out there.”

“But she was with Avery,” Marc said. “And this is Ethan’s boat.”

Raven’s head rocked back and he made a grunt noise. “So?”

Marc sighed and shook his head, then returned his attention to me. “You’re okay, then?”

“I’m fine. I promise.” I motioned toward the room. “This isn’t exactly a prison or a car trunk.”

Marc glanced around the room, looking up at the ceiling and then at the bar.

Raven shrugged, uninterested. “You were gone,” he said.

“So?” I waved my hand at him, I crossed in front of the fireplace, pacing a bit to get some of the frustration and excess energy out of my system. Marc seemed to understand but Raven wasn’t letting it go. His eyes were telling me he was angry, and getting just as frustrated as I was. “Raven, I can take care of myself. You let me get McDonald’s earlier.”

“That was different.”

“How was that any different?”

He made a face, his lips moving but he didn’t say anything. Either he couldn’t come up with something, or he was trying to figure out the translation.

“Kayli-Bay-Bay,” Fancy’s thrilled voice rang out. Marc and Raven backed up. Raven crossed his arms over his chest, looking annoyed. Marc forced a smile.

I was thankful for the distraction. I wasn’t going to be able to get to the important part if Raven was going to insist on arguing about other things. “Yes, Fancy?” I asked.

She sauntered in, her thick heels clicking on the marble until she hit the carpet and then sashayed almost silently in our direction. She smiled her thick pink lips at me. “Do you want to join us to continue the tour now that we’ve caught up? You just have to try out the spas.”

Had she been listening and decided to interrupt on purpose? I spotted Avery behind her, standing by and waiting. I got the feeling they could hear everything going on here and would step in if they thought they were needed.

Was I okay with this? For the moment, that was useful, but I’d have to find out exactly how Avery was listening and for what purpose. I wasn’t sure if the guys would like that, either.

I shook my head very slightly to Avery. I needed to talk to the boys alone. They were either in or out. I needed to find out without Fancy there to irritate them any further.

Avery moved immediately, gently taking Fancy by the elbow. “Fancy,” he said softly. “Let’s give them a minute.”

Fancy flashed her eyes at Avery. “Boy, they don’t need a minute.”

Avery’s smile never wavered, and gently, but sternly, he tugged her arm again. “She needs to talk to them.”

Fancy made a pouty face and shook her head. She started walking away, her heels piercing the carpet. “You ruin all the fun, Avery.”

“Just looking out for you,” he said, moving her toward the hall. He looked back at me once, silently telling me to let him know if I needed anything. They moved on to the stairs and based on the clacks of Fancy’s heels, I could tell they went one floor up.

Marc turned on me the moment they were out of sight. “We need to talk?” he asked.

It wasn’t a great start, but at least they weren’t demanding to leave immediately. Maybe it was better to say it outright rather than tiptoeing around to feel out if they might be interested. If they were going to tough-guy me, then they could handle the flat truth. I stood taller, trying to appear more serious. “I have been hired by Ethan Murdock to check out some suspicious company activities. He’s put me in charge of the team. We’re supposed to listen in on important CEOs and find out who is stealing money and making possibly illegal investments.”

Marc stared at me. The silence between us grew, like he expected me to say more, but I was waiting him out to see how he felt.

He rubbed his palm against his chest, over his heart. “There’s a punch line somewhere, right?”

I threw my hands up in the air, rolling my eyes. He couldn’t even take me seriously for a minute. “Oh my god, Marc.”

“Bambi,” he said louder. “You can’t just get hired by Ethan.”

“I just did,” I said, and pointed to the large open expanse of the foyer. I hadn’t wanted to lose my temper, but it was how he was saying things that was irritating. “He was just here. I didn’t make it up.”

“We were gone for twenty minutes and you get hired to be private security?” he asked, his voice remaining loud and echoing in the quiet halls. He stepped away, pacing, his boots scuffling around the carpet. Then he stopped short and refocused on me. “Quit.”

“No,” I said.

“Then we can just go,” he said. “If we leave, he’ll get the picture.”

He wasn’t even going to give me a chance? He didn’t think I could do it? I couldn’t believe him. How could he simply walk away? I hadn’t even started talking about what was going on. “Marc!” I bellowed at him. I pointed a finger toward his mismatched eyes. “Stop bossing me around. I was hoping to talk to you about what was going on and see if you wanted to come along, but if you’re just going to bully me, then I’ll stay and you can go.”

“We can’t be here,” Marc said. He spread his arms wide, and turned in a circle before facing me again. “This isn’t for us. We aren’t allowed to get involved.”

I squinted my eyes at him. There was something he wasn’t telling me. He hadn’t asked about Ethan and what was going on. He wasn’t at all concerned. He was too coolly saying no. “You knew,” I said, my voice lowering to a normal volume. “You knew Ethan’s company was in trouble.”

Marc clenched his jaw, glaring at me but not talking. Either he didn’t want me to know, or...or he wasn’t allowed to tell me.

I snapped my fingers in his direction and pointed, connecting the dots. “You know what’s going on. Did the Academy tell you not to step in? How can they control your life like that?”

“There’s more going on than you know about,” Marc said. “And please don’t talk about them like that. Not here.”

I turned to Raven, who had stepped back. He was frowning as he stared at me. “And you knew?”

He shrugged, but took another big step backward. Possibly stepping out of hitting range.

I pressed my palms to my eyes, turning toward the fireplace. They knew what was going on and couldn’t help at all? They wouldn’t. They weren’t allowed to. I hadn’t considered the Academy would say no for them. “I can’t believe this.”

“We aren’t idiots,” Marc said. “Once our team was safe, we were told to recover. When we did ask what would happen, we were told things would be taken care of and to just allow all of us to lay low and take care of ourselves. The only thing we weren’t aware of was that they’d called in Future-Fancy.”

“Which is why Fancy was allowed to call me?” I asked, whipping back around. The anger I’d pushed down into my gut now burned all the way up to my eyes, flaring outward. I stepped forward, glaring right at Marc. “When did I ever agree to have my calls blocked from anyone?”

“You were in the hospital. And there’s no reason to get involved with them now. It’s better if you don’t.”

I pulled out my cell phone and held it out. “You didn’t tell me,” I cried out. “You didn’t even ask what I wanted.”

“You couldn’t tell me,” he said. “You were sick and puking your guts out in the hospital because of all the medications you had to be on to get the poison out of your system.”

I don’t know what irritated me more, that they actually did block calls or that he had too good of an answer for everything I questioned. It made me feel more like an idiot for being blind to it all. I threw the phone at him, hitting him in the chest. He caught it automatically. “I can’t believe any of you,” I yelled. “I’ve been out of the hospital for two weeks. You had time to tell me. That doesn’t fly.”