By Degrees (7 page)

I get affirmative nods from everyone.
 
Some of them are reluctant, but I’m okay with that.
 
Acceptance will come slower for some, but I
will
get it.
 
Failure is not an option.

“I’m meeting with the crew and other people who spend time with Tarin tomorrow. I’ll be getting rid of the ones who I deem to be counterproductive to our task.
 
Just to be clear, anyone I dismiss is permanently gone, so if you have friends who are not here right now, who you know I’ll speak with, please wait until after I’ve talked to them to discuss it with them.
 
I don’t mind if you try to get them on board, because we need all the help we can get, but just know that I don’t give second chances. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. Even after I’ve left.
 
But I don’t want any of them speaking to Tarin until I do, so mum’s the word.”
 
I put my finger to my lips for effect.

Eyebrows go up, but no one argues.
 
I let out a long breath in relief as Mel walks up to me and the crowd filters over to the door where my contact sheet is waiting for their information.

“That went better than I expected,” he says quietly, standing very close so no one will hear as they leave.

“I was happy with it.
 
I know you wanted to discuss our plan for tomorrow, but would you mind if I call into my office first?”

“Not a problem.”

“Do you have a quiet spot where I can do that?”

He walks me to his private office and waits until I’m seated to leave me alone.
 
At the door he turns and faces me.
 
“Thank you, Scarlett.
 
And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for your loss.
 
Austin was very special.
 
Now I understand why you do what you do, and I respect it very much.”

I nod, unable to answer.

He seems to understand, leaving me to my thoughts.

As soon as he shuts the door, I drop my face into my hands and cry, unable to keep the memories at bay any longer.

Chapter Seven

TARIN COMES SAUNTERING DOWN THE dock wearing board shorts, boat shoes, a white surfer t-shirt, aviator sunglasses, and a blond on each arm.
 
One of them is the ding-a-ling I saw outside Mel’s office falling out of Tarin’s car.
 
Jelly is her name if memory serves.
 
That kind of name is hard to forget.

She looks much better today than she did in her mug shot.
 
It’s amazing what makeup and a hairbrush can do for a girl.
 
I try not to dislike her on sight.
 
It’s not her fault she’s a groupie.
 
Like so many other girls before her, she’s caught up in the image and the music.
 
I’m willing to bet she really has no idea what it’s like to live with and love an artist.
 
She’s living in a fantasy world right now, and I can hardly blame her for holding on with both hands.

Tarin’s swagger is perfect, no drunken swaying or stumbling to mar the effect.
 
He walks like he has a golden prick between his legs and he wants all the women of the world to know it.
 
I force myself to think of other things as the giggles from the girls carry over to us on the ocean breeze.
 
Memories of him in the restaurant with his cocky casualness overlaying a crazy intensity make me go uncomfortably warm.

“We’re not letting those women on, are we?” Mel asks quietly as we watch them approach.
 
He shifts from one foot to the next, nervous about our plan for Tarin.
 
It’s strange to see such a powerful man so worried about a simple thing like taking on a rock star.
 
It makes me just a little nervous too, which pisses me off.
 
I cannot afford to be nervous right now.
 
I conjure up an image of Austin, wasted on the couch, to solidify my resolve.
 
I have lots of those memories to prop me up when necessary.

“No, they are definitely not coming,” I say.
 
“You take Tarin into the salon and I’ll escort them off the boat.
 
He’ll never know they’re not with us until we’re gone.
 
Make sure you put some music on kind of loud in case they yell.”

“He’s going to be angry.”

“Good.”

My goal is not to avoid emotional outbursts, believe it or not.
 
Tarin has a lot of things going on that are torturing him; the sooner I can get him to exorcise those ghosts, the better off we’ll all be.
 
Guys like him do it though music and sometimes yelling if the mood is right. If he yells at me and Mel today, I’ll consider that a win.

“Well, well…if it isn’t little miss uptight,” says Tarin, sneering at me as he lifts his glasses and leaves them on the top of his head. They settle into the messy, spiked hair.
 
He looks like a cover model advertising cologne for bad boys, his arm tattoos and dark beard stubble standing out in stark contrast to his white shirt and pale skin.
 
He’s thin … too thin, and it makes his shorts slip down too far.
 
Without the shirt on, I’m sure I’d be seeing way too much.
 
I’m glad for the shirt.
 
I don’t need any more distractions than he already offers.

“Tarin … manners,” chides Mel.

“Yeah, whatever.”
 
He turns to the girl on his left, the one from the car.
 
“Why don’t you go find the bedroom, love.”

“What about me?” asks the one on the right, pouting.

“You find the bar and mix me a drink.
 
Then come join us.”
 
He smacks her on the butt and she practically coos.

Working really hard not to smack her myself for being so stupid, I put on my cruise director smile. “Actually, if you two could just come up to the front of the boat for a couple minutes, the captain wants to be sure you know where the lifejackets and things are.”

“What’s that all about?”
 
Tarin is suspicious.

I shrug.
 
“It’s not my boat.
 
I don’t make the rules, the captain does.”
 
I turn around and wave at the man in uniform who’s standing up in the glassed-off command center, and he waves back.
 
Then he points to bow of the yacht, just like we planned.
 
He’s good at looking stern.

“Fine,” says Tarin, his mood only slightly deflated.
 
“Go do your little life jacket thing and then get to the fun stuff.
 
Drinks and bedroom.”
 
He looks at Mel.
 
“Lead the way, Mel.
 
You have ten minutes before I get my drink on.”

Tarin takes a big step from the dock to the boat, and I make sure to get far enough back so he can go by me without stomping on my toes.
 
He gets close enough to brush up against me anyway, and I can smell his scent as he goes by.
 
It stirs my blood enough to throw me off a little.
 
He chuckles, and I know that he’s done it on purpose.
 
He’s trying to intimidate me with his male-ness, but I won’t fall for it.
 
I never do.
 
Guys like him bag girls just because they can, not because they care.
 
I won’t ever be one of those girls.

The men leave me standing with the girls who are still on the dock, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
 
Little things first.
 
These chicks, I can handle
.
 
Tarin’s two bodyguards come out of the door behind me and stand there.
 
I can’t see them but I can sense their hulking forms.

“Change of plans, girls,” I say, once I’m sure Mel has Tarin inside.
 
“You won’t be going on the cruise today.”

The girl assigned to get the drinks looks confused.
 
The one assigned to be head prostitute narrows her eyes at me.
 
“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“Who are you, his wife?”
 
She’s pissed.

The other girl snorts, but then stops abruptly at a glare from me.

I turn my attention back to my interrogator.
 
“No, Jelly, I’m not his wife.
 
I’m worse than a wife.
 
But don’t worry … he’ll be back in a few hours.
 
You’ll be able to hook up with him then.
 
Feel free to wait right here on the dock if you want.”

“Bullshit.
 
I’m coming on board.”
 
Jelly takes a step forward and the other girl looks ready to follow her.

“Don’t even think about it, Jelly,” says Zach, the bodyguard on my left.

“Shut up, whoever you are.
 
You don’t tell me
or
Tarin who goes on a boat with him.”
 
She’s not just pissed, she’s furious.
 
Her nostrils are flaring and her hands are in fists.
 
Her fake boobs are bouncing around as she flexes her chest muscles.

I look up at Zach and am impressed with his complete lack of expression.
 
He’s a total badass, immune to her anger and her plastic beauty.

Jelly hesitates just a moment before moving forward again.

I step out of the way so Zach can get by.
 
He blocks her entry by standing in the way.

“Move!” she says loudly, leaning over from the dock and pushing on him.
 
It’s about as effective as trying to move a brick wall.

I turn around and signal again to the captain.
 
He puts his hand on his cap and jerks it down at me once, signaling he understands.
 
Then the horn sounds loudly and the engines rev, churning up the water behind the fifty-foot yacht.

A small, skinny guy dressed all in white walks quickly to the front of the boat and unties a rope from the dock, making quick work of coiling it and stowing it in a cabinet.
 
He moves down the side of the boat and passes behind me to do the same with a rope at the back of the boat.
 
He whistles loudly when it’s done, and the boat begins to drift away from the dock under the power of the engines and the slight current in the marina.

“Hey!
 
You can’t leave without me!” shouts Jelly.

Zach is standing just at the edge of the boat, keeping her from jumping on.
 
She tries to sidestep around his barrier, her obvious plan to leap to the space next to him, but he easily moves over to block her once more.

“Move, you big ogre!”

“Just go give it a rest, Jelly,” he says.
 
“You can catch Tarin later.”

“I don’t
want
to catch him later!
 
I want to catch him
now!
 
You have no right to keep us apart!”
 
She turns her attention to the back of the boat, the last place she saw Tarin before he disappeared.
 
“Tarin!!
 
Tarin, they’re not letting us on!”

The other girl joins in and they’re both screaming by the time the boat is ten feet from the dock.
 
There’s no more danger of them jumping on board, so Zach backs up to stand with his partner behind me.

“Taaaarinnnnn!!”
 
They’re both beet-red in the face with their screaming, and they look ready to tear someone’s hair out.
 
I’m glad I’m too far for them to reach, because the murderous expressions they’re sending my way are making it clear it’s my hair that would be their target.

“You are going to be so sorry!” Jelly yells at me.
 
“Don’t think for one second you’re going to steal him away from me!”

“I’m not interested in your man, Jelly, don’t worry.
 
We’ll deliver him back to you in one piece by the end of the day.
 
Why don’t you go get a manicure or something?”

“Why don’t
you
go get a manicure you plain-as-shit bitch!” she screeches, stomping her foot with her fists at her sides.

I smile and turn my plain-as-shit self around, leaving the vultures on the docks.
 
The last thing I hear are threats to call the police for the kidnapping of boyfriends.
 
I’m not worried, because we’ll be in international waters in about fifteen minutes and that’s when the fun will begin.

Now that everything is well underway here, I have to call Scott and let him know to set up the meeting with the crew and others for later.
 
While I’m on the phone, I remind him to add Jelly and her friend to the list of attendees and tell him he can call the dockmaster right now so he can speak with Jelly directly before she gives up and leaves.
 
I wait until we’re far from shore before going to join Mel and Tarin in the salon.

Chapter Eight

I WALK INTO THE SALON and find Mel and Tarin alone.
 
Zach and Leonard, the bodyguards, are out of sight, but I know they’re somewhere close.
 
They promised to be there in case things get out of hand, and I trust that they’ll follow through.

“Hello,” I say, shutting the sliding glass door behind me.
 
“How’s it going in here?” I ask.
 
I walk over and put a glass of orange juice down in front of Tarin before taking a seat across from him.
 
Mel and I are in single armchairs on the opposite side of a low coffee table from Tarin who’s sprawled out on a couch, one of his legs dangling off and the other propped up at the end.

“What’s that? A screwdriver?” he asks, looking at the drink while reaching for it.

“Yep.
 
Virgin screwdriver.”