Raging Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 9) Read online

  Raging Seas

  A Rowan Gray Mystery Book Nine

  Lily Harper Hart

  HarperHart Publications

  Copyright © 2019 by Lily Harper Hart

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. One

  2. Two

  3. Three

  4. Four

  5. Five

  6. Six

  7. Seven

  8. Eight

  9. Nine

  10. Ten

  11. Eleven

  12. Twelve

  13. Thirteen

  14. Fourteen

  15. Fifteen

  16. Sixteen

  17. Seventeen

  18. Eighteen

  19. Nineteen

  20. Twenty

  Mail List

  Acknowledgments

  Books by Lily Harper Hart

  1

  One

  “This looks great.”

  Rowan Gray, her eyes as big as saucers, studied the huge spread of food on the table in front of her. Seafood was her absolute favorite. It was fortuitous she took up working on a cruise ship, because thanks to special credentials, she was allowed to eat in the main dining room whenever she wanted. There, seafood was always on the menu.

  She wasn’t on The Bounding Storm tonight, though. No, tonight she was in a ritzy restaurant, set away from the hustle and bustle of the beach, and having dinner with her father and uncle.

  It shouldn’t have been such a treat, she realized. Most people had dinner with relatives all the time and thought nothing of it. She wasn’t most people, though.

  Her father Paul — although he was going by PJ these days because he was undercover — snickered when her stomach growled. She’d always had a healthy appetite. He was gratified to see that hadn’t diminished over their years apart. “I’m glad you approve.”

  “We’re never going to be able to eat all this food by ourselves,” Rowan noted, her eyes traveling to the clock on the wall. She’d been trying to hide her agitation since arriving at the restaurant forty-five minutes before, but it was turning into a losing effort.

  “Are you worried about him?” her uncle asked. Nick Green, also an alias, seemed genuinely concerned at the expression that flitted across his niece’s face. She’d checked the clock every five minutes since arriving. Alone. They hadn’t expected her to be alone.

  “Oh, I’m not worried,” Rowan replied hurriedly, forcing a smile onto her pretty face as she brushed her long auburn hair over her shoulder. “Do I look worried?” Her voice climbed an octave, causing Paul and Nick to exchange weighted looks.

  “You could always call him,” Paul suggested.

  Rowan didn’t have to ask which “him” he was referring to. Quinn Davenport, her boyfriend, was the one missing from the table. He’d called her on her cell when she’d been lounging around the beach waiting for him. It wasn’t like him to be late — he had an annoying tendency to be early more than anything else — and she was immediately on edge.

  Of course, the edginess was becoming standard. Ever since her father returned to her life after faking his own death to get away from the Phoenix Society, a group of individuals running experiments on psychic people, her entire world had been thrown into upheaval. She wasn’t complaining, would never complain about having him back, but she wasn’t used to the constant dread.

  “I don’t want to call him.” Rowan looked sheepish and her eyes immediately went to the phone she had perched on the table. She’d been hoping he would call her with an update. His text had been terse, though. Something came up. Go to dinner. I’ll meet you there. That’s it. Nothing else had come through.

  “Honey, you need to calm yourself,” Paul chided, searching for a way to soothe his only child. When he left, she’d been a teenager. Despite the hormones associated with the age, she’d never been one to bring home boys. He could count on two fingers the number of dates she’d introduced him to. It had always been the two of them and no one else after her mother’s death — a woman he still mourned with every fiber of his being — and he was unsure how he was supposed to respond now that she was an adult.

  As if reading his brother’s mind, Nick chuckled. “You have no idea what to do.”

  Paul shrugged. “I missed this part of her life. I feel like I should say ‘he’s a jerk and you can do better,’ but I know that won’t go over well.”

  Rowan rolled her eyes. “He’s not a jerk. He’s ... amazing.”

  “He just left you hanging,” Paul pointed out.

  “Something must’ve come up.” Rowan was adamant. “It’s not like him to just send me off on my own ... especially lately.” She didn’t have to expand on the tacked-on comment. They understood what she was saying. Quinn was head of security on The Bounding Storm. He had a military background. Once the truth came out regarding Paul’s escape — he left because he was afraid the Phoenix Society would start sniffing around Rowan due to her psychic ability — Quinn sprang into action. He’d been nothing less than her shadow of late. For him to leave her alone on the beach, open to being approached or attacked, something indeed had to come up.

  “I’m not speaking ill of him,” Paul started, his eyebrows flying up when Rowan pinned him with a dark look. “I’m not,” he stressed. “I happen to like him a great deal. He’s a good man.”

  “I believe I said that first.”

  Paul had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Rowan’s fierce expression. “You said it first,” he conceded. “I wanted to change your opinion of the man so I could convince you to run away and hide with me. I saw the error of my ways quickly, though.”

  “I don’t know Quinn all that well,” Nick offered. “From what I do know, though, there’s no way he would’ve just abandoned you tonight unless something important came up. If he’s not explaining himself via phone call or text, there has to be a reason for it.”

  And that was exactly what Rowan was afraid of. “It’s just not like him.” Her voice was low, shaky. “I won’t be able to eat until he’s here. I just don’t have a good feeling about this. I can’t explain it.”

  Nick shifted on his chair, removed his napkin so he could stand, and angled his chin toward the door. “It looks like you won’t have to go hungry.”

  Rowan swiveled quickly, hope flowing through her with enough force she almost slid off the side of her seat. The hope was replaced with relief when she caught sight of Quinn. He’d changed into a nice suit, was exchanging pleasantries with the hostess, and his eyes quickly lifted to find her, as if he’d sensed her watching and couldn’t wait to see her.

  It took everything Rowan had not to throw herself at him as he crossed the room with the hostess. The young blonde in the tight dress was actively chatting away as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Quinn nodded politely, but he never moved his eyes from Rowan. Once he reached the table, he didn’t have a chance to greet Nick or Paul with a firm handshake because Rowan’s arms were already around him.

  “Well, this is quite the greeting,” he chuckled as the hostess frowned. It was obvious the young woman had liked what she saw in Quinn. It was equally obvious that he was taken given Rowan’s enthusiastic hello. “I missed you, too.” He kissed her cheek and rubbed her back. “It’s okay.” He held her for a moment longer and then pulled back so he could study her face. “Are you okay?”

&n
bsp; The hostess made a huffy sound. “I told you they already ordered.”

  “Then I’m just in time to eat.” Quinn flashed her a friendly but dismissive smile. “Thank you.”

  The hostess looked between him and Rowan for an extended beat and then sighed while turning. She muttered something under her breath that Rowan thought sounded like “the good ones are always taken,” earning a smile from everyone around the table.

  Quinn waited until she was out of earshot to shake hands with Nick and Paul and then slide into his chair. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

  Rowan waited for him to expand. When he didn’t, she fixed him with a fiery stare. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

  Quinn glanced around the restaurant. It was too busy for a frank discussion. “For right now. We’ll go for a walk on the beach after dinner. I happen to be starving.” He reached for a lobster tail but could still feel Rowan’s eyes on him. “Ro, we can’t talk about it here. I’m fine. It’s going to be okay. It’s just ... something big has come up.”

  “Will we all be taking the walk on the beach?” Nick asked curiously.

  “Yup.” Quinn bobbed his head. “This involves you, too.”

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “I don’t know what to make of it. Food first, though.” He tapped the side of Rowan’s plate. “You need to eat. I’m not telling you anything until you fill that mouth of yours.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’re in big trouble later for torturing me like this.”

  “I’m sure I’ll enjoy being punished.” He winked at her and ignored the darkening of Paul’s gaze. “This looks great. Let’s dig in.”

  EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS A HUGE fan of seafood, wading through the mountain of food felt torturous to Rowan. By the time they exited the restaurant, Paul and Nick leaving their car in the lot, she was almost beside herself.

  “Spill,” she ordered when they hit the sand.

  “Just a second.” Quinn took his time surveying the empty beach, making sure to study each direction for a long time, and then turned to face the firing squad. No one looked particularly happy about him making them wait.

  “I was late because I got an update to our trip list for tomorrow,” he started.

  Rowan frowned. “We get late updates all the time. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Except I set up a track and trace on various names for the Phoenix Society a few weeks ago. Three of the new names on the manifest tripped it.”

  Rowan stilled, unsure. “What does that mean?” she asked finally, looking to her father for answers. “Is that bad?”

  “It means three people from the society are going to be on your cruise,” Paul replied, lost in thought. “I wonder ... .” He trailed off.

  “I have a feeling I know exactly what you’re thinking,” Quinn noted. “It was my thought, too. By switching names out this late, they were probably trying to fly under the radar. They had no way of knowing I would check every name because most people would’ve let it slide and assumed that the initial checks were sufficient.”

  “I still don’t understand,” Rowan pressed. “What checks? I feel as if I’m drowning in quicksand because none of this makes sense.”

  Quinn was calm as he shifted to face her, running both his hands up and down her arms and marveling at how cold her skin felt despite the oppressive heat and humidity swamping them. It was late summer in southern Florida. There was nothing cool about the breeze ruffling her hair.

  “Sweetie, I don’t know exactly what it means,” he started. “I know that three people from the Phoenix Society will be on the ship tomorrow. I can’t believe that’s a coincidence. The way they’re trying to slide in suggests to me they’re expecting me not to notice ... and they probably have an agenda.”

  “And we all know what that agenda is.” Paul’s gaze was heavy as it landed on Rowan. “Well, that’s it then. We have to run.”

  Quinn immediately started shaking his head. “We are most definitely not running.” He was firm. “I’m not living my life on the lam unless I absolutely have to.”

  “No one says you have to go,” Paul shot back, his fiery temper on display. “You can stay here and play investigator and we’ll take Rowan with us.”

  “You mean take her away from me.” Quinn’s eyes went dark, flat. “I’m not just going to sit back and let that happen either. If you think I am, then you’re crazy.”

  “I don’t think it’s your decision,” Paul argued. “Rowan is an adult.” He turned a set of pleading eyes on his daughter. “You have to come with us. We gave it a good shot trying to figure out what was going on with them, but obviously they found out about you. It’s time we leave.”

  Rowan glanced between Paul and Quinn and felt caught. “We can’t run,” she said finally, loosening a relieved sigh from Quinn. “I don’t want to spend my life hiding who I am. I’m building something here ... with Quinn. We have plans for a future together.”

  “Why can’t you have that future in another location?” Paul refused to back down. “We can find a new home. If you like the beach — which you seem to — we can find a tropical location. It won’t be here, but it will still be great.”

  “And what do we do for jobs?”

  “I have enough money for all of us. I’m a famous author. You don’t need to work another day in your life.”

  Rowan balked. “No. That’s not how this works. Besides, I love my job. I want to take photos for the rest of my life. I don’t think I’ll always be on a cruise ship, but it’s where I want to be now.”

  “You mean you want to be with Quinn,” Paul countered. “Don’t sit there and pretend he’s not the one driving this decision. He should want to keep you safe above all else. That means leaving this place before they ever set eyes on you.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Quinn’s voice was low and full of warning. “I love Rowan more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life. Don’t sit there and pretend you don’t realize it. We’ve talked about this before.

  “I understand what you’re afraid of,” he continued. “Trust me. I understand more than just about anybody. If I thought the best thing for her was to run, we’d already be gone. That’s not the life she wants to live, though. There’s no guarantee that these people will stop looking.

  “Then what happens? In ten years when we have kids, are we going to uproot them and take them from the only life they’ve ever known because they get close again? That is not a life. I want to be free to love Rowan in the open, raise children together, and plan our future. We can’t do that if we run.”

  Paul opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut, agitation practically rolling off him in waves. “I understand you have friends you don’t want to leave but as long as you have each other, I would think that’s enough.”

  Quinn licked his lips and adjusted his stance so it wasn’t so aggressive. He didn’t want to dominate his future father-in-law. He did, however, want them to willingly come to a meeting of the minds. “If we have to run, I will go with Rowan and you’ll never hear a word of complaint from me. As long as I have her, I have everything. We’re not there yet, though. I want a chance to end this on my terms, her terms. We can’t do that if we flee in the middle of the night.”

  Nick cleared his throat to ease the tension and drew multiple sets of eyes. “What do you suggest?”

  “We’re going on the cruise,” Quinn replied, matter-of-fact. “We’re going to be watching the people who think they’re going to be watching us. We’re going to figure out what it is they want ... and then we’re going to end the threat.”

  Paul snorted. “You’re going to end the threat, huh? Just like that? How do you think that’s going to happen? They followed me my entire life after I was part of their experiments and I barely tickled their psychic meter. Rowan is a freaking phenomenon. They’re going to want to get their hands on her.”

  “They won’t touch her.” Quinn was grim. “I’ll kill them before they ever lay
a hand on her. I promise you that.”

  “You’ll kill them?” Paul wasn’t especially upset at the notion. “Will you really do that?”

  “Will I protect the woman I love from these people? Yes. I’ll use whatever means necessary. That includes running if I deem it necessary. I’ve been trained for this. I can protect her.”

  “What about us?” Nick queried. “You can’t expect us to sit back and do nothing while you guys set sail for a week. We can’t be separated from her without knowing what’s going on. Neither one of us is comfortable with that.”

  “Do you want to be on the cruise?” Quinn hadn’t considered it before, but it made sense. “I can arrange that. I’ll get Fred to come up with fake identities and slide you through security myself. You’ll probably have to be in disguises just in case, but we can make it work. Fred was going to join us anyway. That’s why I was so late. I was on the phone with him.”

  Fred Delmore was Quinn’s old military buddy. He worked in the private sector now as an investigator. He had a dry sense of humor and loved hitting on the ladies. Despite that, Rowan was glad to know he would be joining them.

  “That’s good.” She let out a breath. Surprisingly enough, now that they had a plan, she was feeling better. “I’m ready for this. I want to put it behind us as much as you do.”

  “I know.” Quinn cupped the back of her head and stared into her eyes. “I’m going to be with you every step of the way. You can’t get rid of me. Not ever. It’s you and me for the long haul.”

  She managed a small smile, heartfelt but a little stiff. “I couldn’t do it without you.” She wrapped her hand around his wrist. “It’s finally time.”