Stace.
Standing still on the spot, I watch her walk down the hall away from me.
I should feel something other than what I do. I should be elated to get rid of the conniving bitch, not remorseful.
What I should be doing is hooking up with Chelsea for real, not standing here wishing I was going home with Rosh.
Fuck you for being a cop.
Fuck you for being the first chick I have dug in forever.
Regret swirls deep in my stomach that I’m not a better man, that she was right. Fuck her for showing me time and again why I am out of her league.
She deserved that, I remind myself. She deserved to feel betrayed by me because that’s what I feel from her. The act she showed to me in those first few days is what captured my attention. She had this strong willed vulnerability, and I found it so damn arousing.
What an actress.
Anyway, I don’t have time to worry about her now. I head to the control tower to ring Chris. I am anxious to see who Little Miss Innocent really is.
* * *
Two hours later I sit at my desk as I watch the clock. I have rung Chris every half hour and the results are still are not in. I blow out a frustrated breath. Come on, come on. I tap my pen as I think. If she is a cop, I have to kill her. I don’t have a choice. She has seen too much. I know she hasn’t had a radio to contact back so they know nothing yet. If she leaves, though, they will for sure. I rub my forehead in frustration. I don’t want to kill her. Fuck, what the hell does she think she’s doing out here, anyway? I hold my bottom lip between my fingers as I sit deep in thought, wondering if she is working with someone. Do we have a mole on this ship that has called the authorities? I narrow my eyes as I remember her coming out of that back door that night.
She was crying. She did put up a good fight. I should have known then that she was no normal chick.
The phone rings and I pick it up first ring. “Hello.”
“Hey, Stace.” It’s Chris.
“Are they in?” I ask.
“Yep.”
He hesitates and I frown. “What?”
“How long since you have heard from this girl?”
I bite my lip as I think of my answer before I reply. “A while.”
“I know why,” he replies.
“Why?”
“She’s reported missing. It’s all over the news.”
I screw up my face. Of course he was going to find that out. “What happened?”
“She apparently caught her boyfriend making out with her best friend in a nightclub.”
I frown as I listen.
“Took off and they think she has committed suicide somewhere.”
Her best friend and her boyfriend. What the fuck? That’s why she was crying.
“Anyway, she’s a nurse,” he continues.
I frown again. “Nurse?”
“Yeah, ICU.”
“I thought she was a cop?”
“Nope, did she tell you that?”
I shake my head distracted by the best friend and boyfriend thing. “No, I just sort of thought…”
“Thought what?”
“I sparred with her in the gym once and she could fight. I assumed she was a cop.”
“No, not a cop. She does have a membership to a kickboxing gym. Works out regularly.”
“Does she have any family?” I ask.
“That’s the weird thing. There is no trace of her before her eighteenth birthday.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I mean she didn’t exist until she turned eighteen.”
“I don’t understand.” I frown.
“In most cases, that means she has changed her name as soon as she was old enough.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Who knows?”
“Who was she before?” I ask.
“I can find out, but that info takes about a week or so. They have to go through records and stuff. Does it really matter anyway?”
I hold the phone to my ear as I think.
“I mean she’s probably dead,” he replies.
I shake my head. God, nobody is even looking for her. No wonder she wants a new start.
“Who does she live with?” I ask.
“She lived with her best friend.”
“The chick who was fucking her boyfriend.” I frown. This is unbelievable.
“That would be her.”
My heart drops. “How do they know she killed herself?”
“They don’t. Apparently the friend and boyfriend had gone out of town together and she had followed them and went berserk right before she went missing. The police found her car in the nightclub parking lot when she was reported missing two days later.”
“Apart from the appearing at eighteen thing, is there anything else unusual?” I ask.
“No. She’s a nurse and works hard. Goes to the gym. Keeps to herself and never been in trouble with the law. A few boyfriends. Five to be exact.”
“How long was she with this last guy?” I don’t know why I want to know that, but I do.
“A couple of years.”
Regret fills me. She probably loved him. I picture her face when she walked though that back door, and I just told her I was bored and going to spend the night with Chelsea tonight. What a weak prick. She really is out of my fucking league.
“Listen, I got to go into a meeting. I will ring you as soon as I get her birth information.”
“Okay, mate. Thank you. About a week, hey?”
“Yeah, speak soon.”
He hangs up, and I sit for a moment in the semi-lit office as I process her story. I shake my head in disbelief. Her boyfriend must be fucking batshit crazy to play up on her. Stupid prick. I think for a moment. I need to get her off this ship before Vikinos arrives. I don’t want her here after the shit goes down. I sit back in my chair and blow out a deep breath.
What do I do?
I bite my thumbnail and think for a moment. I do need a new part for the engine. Although it’s not urgent, I could pretend it is. I turn on my computer and type an email.
* * *
Columbia Docking Security
Permission requested to port for 48 hours for unscheduled urgent engine maintenance.
I look forward to your reply.
Mac.