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  Blake’s footsteps sounded behind me, echoing in the room. When I turned, he’d followed me. He stepped forward, and I was compelled to take a step back. The fox-like smile was back, and his eyes flashed. “Don’t run now.”

  “Don’t,” I said, waving him off.

  He gently captured my wrist, holding it between his thumb and two fingers. He remained still for a moment, his gaze never leaving my eyes. “Your heart’s beating quickly, Kayli dear.”

  I jerked my arm from his hand. “Blake,” I said, although more softly. I tried to focus only on his eyes, to silently tell him to back off. His handsome face made me weak, and my eyes betrayed me by slipping down toward his mouth.

  It’d been awhile since I’d been kissed and touched by anyone. The boys had stayed their distance from me since I’d been sick, which I appreciated, but now as I looked at Blake, at his sly smile, his amused eyes, the stylish blond locks that hung around his face, I couldn’t help but admire and dare him quietly to give me a kiss. It was some sort of validation, that someone still cared for me in that way.

  He moved toward me, his arms going up and pressing into the wall behind me, caging me in, his face hovering over mine, until it was all I could see. “You know, before you called me when you’d been kidnapped, I was a wreck. A broken man.”

  “Because I broke your car?” I asked.

  “Because I had been telling myself I didn’t need you. That you were disaster waiting to happen.”

  “I kind of proved you right,” I said quietly, meaning the joke to distract him from whatever this was, although regret had started to creep into my heart. I hadn’t meant to do a lot of those things I’d done. It’s not like I’d planned it. “Doyle was right. I turned you all into hostages. And your house...”

  “But you don’t understand.” He lowered one of his hands until he was cupping my cheek, holding me, and grazing the side of his thumb across my skin. “It was in those moments that I realized why, why after everything that happened I still came running after you. You curl those pretty little fingers in my direction, and I jump into the volcano to save your ass.” He pulled his head back to close his eyes, and lower his head, shaking it. “I was killing myself before, thinking I could just ignore you. You’ve done something to me.”

  I rocked my head back, resting it against the wall. Why couldn’t I resist when he did this to me? My feelings were confused enough. Sometimes he said things so insane, and yet I felt he meant them, and his voice, his smooth, sexy voice left me wanting to say something in return, even if my lips couldn’t repeat the thoughts floating around in my head.

  “The problem was, I let you lead me into the fire. I let you talk me into helping you and your friends when you come to me, desperate. Not this time. Not if I can talk you into a job that we start from the beginning. You and me. No more running in when everyone is dying, guns already drawn and the police starting up their reports.” His fingers slid down until he was lifting my chin. He lowered his face close and stared directly at my mouth. “This time, it’s you and I against the bad, scary things we fight against. Neither of us can resist it. Don’t fight it.”

  I sucked in a breath, waiting, silently urging him to kiss me. The rational part of my head simply shut down. I puckered slightly, afraid to show even a drop of interest, terrified he’d pull away.

  Except he did pull away. He tore himself from me, walking back toward the table.

  I put a hand over my chest, breathing in deeply. What had come over me? He did this to me every time he was around. My heart was a mess.

  He’d never pulled away before though.

  He didn’t look at me anymore. Instead, he focused on the table, on the collection of papers and the schematics and notes he had written out. “You should go back,” he said. “The rest of your boys are on their way. They should be here by the time you get back to the gangway.”

  “How do you know?”

  He tapped at his ears, continuing to look at his papers. “Doyle let me know.”

  Listening device. Maybe I needed one of those. “I should go meet them.”

  “Get out of here,” he said. “I’ll make copies of my notes and leave them in your room later.”

  I went to the door, realizing I still needed to tell the boys Blake was even here. I opened the door, although I hesitated, looking back at Blake. I wondered why he’d stopped. Had I done something wrong? The lack of his kiss when he’d been so close left me confused.

  Blake was still hunched over his table, his back to me. His strong, lean shoulders and back were nice to look at, but nothing told me the answers to the questions that rolled around in my head and heart.

  I walked through the door, and then closed it behind myself, grateful that I had a break and a chance to clear my head before returning to the boys. Blake Coaltar. I could be furious with him and at the same time crazy about his eyes and the things he said, the way he touched me. I couldn’t believe how I let him get to me. He drew feelings out of me, feelings I’d felt for the other guys, but that were slightly different for him. There was a danger in him, a thrill.

  Since I’d been having a difficult time choosing among the boys, but then was sick and the boys backed off, at first I was grateful. The times I’d been awake and unable to sleep, I kept considering what I would do. Make a steady relationship with one of them and call it off with the rest? Date no one at all and make that a rule? And what if Marc got another girlfriend? Or one of the others? Could I stand it and sit back and watch?

  Weeks later, I still didn’t have an answer.

  Blake, in a way, provided one more option. If I wanted, I could go off with Blake. It might save the Academy guys from themselves, from jealousy or a fight, if I said I couldn’t date anyone in such a close knit group and went with someone outside the circle.

  However, I wasn’t Blake’s equal. I didn’t have any money at all and he was wealthy. I would never feel comfortable feeling like I couldn’t provide for myself and lived off of his generosity.

  Maybe this was my chance. Raven told me not to take the money, but the money I made here would level the playing field. I wouldn’t need any of them. I’d be independent, and once that happened, I could feel comfortable. Maybe I would look at them all differently then. Maybe by not feeling like I needed them, then I’d be able to evaluate them individually, and finally be able to make a decision.

  I walked quickly, drowning the thoughts as I needed to focus because I was about to face off Axel.

  ALLIES

  I got lost at first, but then I noticed maps every few feet on the ship, showing fire escapes and your location onboard. I used them to walk back through the mundane hallways below deck and on up to the more luxurious parts of the ship.

  The entire time, I didn’t run into any crew, not one person. It was late, they might have been asleep. Still, I had a feeling, at least in the luxury areas, there was someone watching. Doyle might not be the only one doing surveillance. The halls might be monitored, which was why Blake had wanted to go down into the room he’d picked. There might be more security on this ship, minimal now without many people onboard, but there had to be some.

  I looked for security cameras. If there were any, they weren’t obvious. There were globe things in the corners every few feet, and while I thought those could be it, I couldn’t see into it and verify.

  And it made me wonder why Blake was stuck in a storage area. Doyle, too. Did they not trust the crew?

  The thoughts left me as I managed to find my way back to the foyer’s fancy stairwell. I descended the stairs, and went through the main glass doors out onto the deck near the gangway.

  I found Corey first. He was standing by the entrance, facing the dock. Relief flooded through me and I hurried toward him. If I could get Corey to vouch for me with Axel, that would help a lot. Plus, I missed him. Here was this huge ship and he would probably get a kick out of exploring it.

  Corey was wearing his Mario Bros. shirt and jeans, a yellow jacket. He fold
ed his arms against the cold as he stood, looking down at the dock. His sun-kissed hair twisted against the breeze. He was so tall, and while he looked like a nerdling, he was incredibly handsome and had a great body under the geek clothes. Corey’s whole countenance exuded friendship. Are you lonely? Tired? Bored? Talk to Corey. He’ll do whatever to cheer you up. I needed that right now.

  “Corey,” I said as I reached him, unable to help the smile on my face.

  He turned, a concerned expression on his face giving way to something much happier. His smile picked up the moment his eyes met mine. “Kayli,” he said, his cerulean eyes sparkling with amusement. He held his arm out, reaching for my hand.

  I put mine in his, holding onto him as he gently pulled me to stand beside him. “Do I have time to talk to you?” I asked.

  He squeezed my hand gently and then looked down at the dock. “Not too long,” he said.

  I followed his gaze, spotting Axel and Brandon walking down the dock, talking with a security guard. Kevin and Raven followed them, dragging along several sets of rolling suitcases behind them.

  “Want to take a short walk?” I asked, tugging at his hand.

  “We should stay nearby,” he said.

  I tugged him toward the walkway at the edge of the ship that lead around the perimeter. “Let’s just go make a circle.”

  He smiled and followed my insistent hand. I hurried along around the far side of the ship. He held on as we passed rows of deck chairs, cleaned and ready for tomorrow. We didn’t go too far, as far as this level of deck allowed. It seemed the ship went on a good distance beyond, but we’d have to go to a different door to reach the other side.

  “Do you know what’s been going on?” I asked.

  “I heard the story from Marc,” he said. He sounded a little hoarse, different than his regular smooth, happy voice, making me think he’d been talking a lot or maybe even shouting. Whatever it was, it almost made him sound sexier. “I’m not missing anything, am I?”

  “Is Axel mad?” I asked.

  “He’s not happy with Marc,” he said. “I don’t think he’s mad at you.”

  “But he came along,” I said. “They’re bringing suitcases.”

  “He’s not beyond going home if it doesn’t check out,” he said. His fingers shifted against my hand. His head remained bent, and he focused on the wood along the deck. “To be honest, I’m not so sure about all of this.”

  “Why?” I asked. “We’d be helping a lot of people if we do this right.”

  “Maybe,” he said. “Or we could be helping Ethan sweep things under the rug that shouldn’t be swept away.”

  “It’s not his fault his dad is corrupt.”

  He paused in our walk, turning to look down at me. His happy eyes held a touch of strain, the same worries I’d spotted before I’d approached him. “Are we helping him or the people?”

  “We can’t help both?”

  “It’s a tricky line,” he said. He released my hand to rub his palm across the back of his neck. “Kayli, Axel might spend a few days here helping you gather info, but it’s to evaluate Ethan as well as you. If he doesn’t like the situation, or how things are handled, he’ll tell us to relinquish all information to Ethan and then we all walk away.”

  “Well that’s not fair,” I said. “What if it takes longer to get information and to evaluate?”

  “How long did it take you to agree to work with Ethan?” he asked.

  I pressed my lips together, unwilling to answer. It didn’t seem like the same thing. I didn’t have an Academy to report back to. I believed Ethan was being honest about his intention to right the wrongs within the company. I believed him when he said we’d be helping innocent people keep their jobs.

  A breeze swept around us. I folded my arms across my chest, bracing against the chill, wishing I’d stopped to grab the jacket. I’d left it in that lounge.

  Corey’s smile lifted a little. He reached out to me, at first rubbing my arms. When I stepped forward, he opened up more and drew me in. I pressed my cheek to his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, warming me up.

  I remained like that, breathing slowly, listening to Corey’s heartbeat. It was something I did often when we were together in his bed at home. Hearing him now, feeling him, it suddenly made me very, very tired. Could I walk away from Corey or the others if Ethan wanted me to stay, to hire me on to help him? “What should I do?” I asked.

  “Just be honest,” he said, his chin moving in my hair as he spoke. “Tell Axel your goals and hopes for helping Ethan. He’ll hear you out.”

  “I don’t want to just give up if I can do some good.”

  “Believe or not, Axel will want the same thing. The only difference is, he’s asking whether what we’re doing really is good. Buried secrets come out eventually, especially with so many people involved. He doesn’t want us in the middle if it’s all going to go down anyway.”

  I sighed into him, my breath coming back to warm my face. “There’s one more problem.”

  He rubbed my back, his fingers following my spine, slow, warming. His face shifted until his mouth was against my forehead. “What’s that?”

  Be honest, he’d said. “Blake and Doyle are on board. Blake was hired by Ethan first. It was Blake that asked for me to come along.”

  His hand stopped moving along my back, but he still held onto me, his arms tightening around me. He was quiet for a long moment. “Well, shit,” he said.

  I popped my head up, knocking into his cheek. I didn’t think I ever heard him curse before. He stared out at the river and shifted, thinking, frowning.

  “They aren’t going to like that, are they?” I asked.

  He slowly started to shake his head, and then more adamantly as he spoke. “Nope, no, they won’t like that.”

  “He’s helped us so much, Corey.”

  “I know that,” he said. “I actually kind of like him. I mean, I don’t really know him that well. Once I got over thinking he’d try to hurt you, I considered what he’s done since, and...I realized we probably look more the villains to him, which is understandable. He’s not such a bad guy, though. I might have been trying to do what he does if I didn’t have the Academy.”

  “He was in charge of the team,” I said. “But I told Ethan I wouldn’t join unless I lead the team. We’re co-leads now. We’re not allowed to make any moves unless we can both agree on them.”

  Corey took his palm from my back and lifted it to his face, rubbing his cheek. “Well, actually, that might help us.”

  “How?”

  “I have to work out the details,” he said.

  “Should I tell Axel?”

  “I don’t know yet,” he said. “Although sooner would be better than later. Maybe you should talk to him like you’ve done to me. Privately. So that way he doesn’t have my brother or Marc putting in their protests. He might be more reasonable that way.”

  Relief once again swept through me. He was so smart. I hugged onto him tight. “I knew I could talk to you.”

  His arms wrapped around me once again. His head dropped down and he kissed me gently on the top of the head. “You can always talk to me.”

  I smiled into his chest, warmed by his kiss and his sweet words. I’d never had a best friend before, but Corey was one now. I hoped he’d stay that way.

  We stood there together for a long moment, until he finally rubbed at my arms and started to pull away. “We should get back,” he said. “We’ll need to be on our best behavior if you’re going to convince Axel.”

  “So I’ve convinced you?”

  He smiled at me, big and friendly. “Are you kidding? Ethan’s got a stack of numbers to figure out and at the end we face off the big bad bosses? That’s like the best kind of video game. I’m in as long as the other guys are.”

  That was the key. I’d have to convince all of them to stay onboard and to pursue these bad guys right to the end.

  Corey held onto my hand as we walked back around to the gang
way. So I had five days to convince Axel to stay. I had to remember, too, that I probably wasn’t just trying to convince him. It might also mean trying to convince the Academy to let them stay, since they were so loyal.

  Well, if the Academy helped people, and Ethan was attempting to, then I simply had to show that Ethan meant well and just needed help in doing the right thing. Would that be hard to do? They helped him before.

  A ROOM FOR TWO

  When we reached the gangway, Axel continued to talk to Brandon and the security people. Kevin was shifting around the rolling luggage pile. I didn’t know where Raven went.

  I hung onto Corey since I was still cold, but we walked over to Kevin. His black hair was cut really close to his head now; his dark skin was visible through the short hair. He wore his red jacket, the one I’d seen him in the first time I saw him, when I’d tried to pick his pocket at the mall. He had a strong nose and broad lips and while he appeared to be a normal, everyday sort of person, there was something about him that made me think he was fully aware of his surroundings. His keen eyes shifted as he worked, taking note of movement, of the wind, of shadows. I hadn’t spent much time with him, but he had come by the apartment a few times.

  “Hey,” Corey said to him. “Is that everything?”

  “Everything that was in the car,” Kevin said. He turned to look at me, smiling. “So big bad Kayli Winchester is in trouble again.”

  “Not my fault this time,” I said.

  “I swear, I can’t sneeze without hearing you’re in the middle of something deep.”

  I grinned. I’d gotten used to Kevin. He was always very honest, sometimes brutally so, but I kind of liked that. Most of the time, anyway. I was grateful he lived with his girlfriend and not at the apartments with the rest of us. “You’re coming along this time?”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem to hang out for a few days,” he said. “This should make up for it when I get back. Did I show you what I finally decided on for Mindy?”