wrath of the Sea Queen (50 page)

"
I suppose you're right.  I really should watch the news more often.  I
happen to
know
the perfect
person to help us,
"
Scott replied as the two men
re
turned their attention to the paperwork on the counter.

A few minutes later, Vin and C
a
eli walked up the deck.  Ben noticed C
a
eli favoring her left side.  She was trying to disguise the pain, which
had
most likely
been
exacerbated by
her recent excursion
.  H
e decided not to mention it
right
then.  However, Ben did intend to keep an eye on her.  This was not the first time he noticed such behavior from her
in recent days
. 

The couple talked with Ben and Salma briefly before going into the small room to find
their
dry clothes waiting for them.  In spite of all the pressing issues at the time, Salma
had
managed to bring her
carryon
bag as well as C
a
eli's when she
climbed off
the plane.  C
a
eli grabbed
a
dark green
bottle from her bag and sorted out its contents in her hand. 
Though C
a
eli seldom took medicine stronger than a
single
aspirin, she brought along
an
assortment of capsules to be ready for any situation that might arise while she was on vacation. 
She liked to be prepared, just in case. 
From the variety of
low dose
aspirin
,
allergy
, and miscellaneous
symptom
tablets,
C
a
eli
quickly found and swallowed
two
pain pills.  She returned the rest
of the tablets
to the
travel
bottle. 
Vin noticed the dosage with concern, but chose to refrain from questioning her about it yet.
  They would have plenty of time to talk once they were settled into their hotel room.

 
After t
hey changed
out of their wet
clothes
and put forth an effort to make themselves somewhat more presentable
, Vin could more easily discern the dark circles under C
a
eli's eyes.  He remembered Salma's concern that C
a
eli
was
not feeling well
during
the flight.  This was in addition to her illness earlier th
at
morning and her sickness during the two weeks she spent in New York.  C
a
eli was
definitely
sick
and
doing her best to stave it off
;
but she was failing
miserably
.

C
a
eli
believed she
did
Vin a favor by
downplay
ing the symptoms of such
little things
as
a cold or the flu
; things
she considered unimportant. 
Vin had
gotten used to it over the years because he could always tell
the rare times
when she wasn't up to par. 
I
f something was seriously wrong, C
a
eli would
certainly
tell him
,
either
directly or at least make sure that it came to his attention. 
He was
still
mildly concerned that she had
openly
asked for Salma
's help
this time. 
Nonetheless,
Vin
would
wait to question C
a
eli until
Salma check
ed
on her
and they were settled at the
hotel.  Hopefully, it was nothing worse than the flu.

"
You look like you could use some sleep,
"
Vin
observed.

"
That would be nice.  I
'
m exhausted, but I don't think now is the best time to drift off. 
I imagine w
e
will
be arriving before long.
"

"
Would you consider
a
short
nap
then
?  Long enough to catch your breath after what you've been through.  Come over and sit with me
; r
est for a bit.  I
wi
ll wake you in twenty minutes,
"
Vin offered.

C
a
eli didn't hesitate.  She had been looking forward to that offer ever since she
first
saw
Vin
at the ship's rail.  With her head lying on Vin's chest,
C
a
eli
rest
ed;
but
a nagging worry in the back of her mind
still
kept her from
s
leep
ing
.

After their short rest, Vin and
C
a
eli
emerged
from the room
feeling much better.
 
Out of the corner of her eye, C
a
eli
caught a
glimps
e
of
the redhead and
another
man across the cabin
.
 
C
a
eli
rushed Vin out onto the deck before they were spotted. 
S
omething about the young redhead made C
a
eli un
easy
.

"
Hey, what's the rush?
"
  Vin asked.

"
I'm hungry.
"
  C
a
eli cast a furtive glance over her shoulder, but the two men were gone. 

"
Apparently,
"
Vin joked.

"
I hear they have an excellent chef on board.  Care to join us?
"
  C
a
eli asked as they walked up beside Ben and Salma.

"
Ah, women
; c
ross land and sea
to rescue them
,
and all they can think about is food
.
"
Vin
,
still laughing
,
was
in a good mood now that everyone was safe and the danger
was
over
.

"
No thanks.  We ate before we came up and have been cooped up far too long.  If you don't mind, Ben and I will stay up here.  I
woul
d like to see
what we can of
the island as we pull into port,
"
Salma said.  Even though the storm still threatened
and the evening sky
grew
dark
er
, the weather
g
ave
them a
brief respite.

"
We
wi
ll see you in a little while.
"
 
Vin
grabbed
C
a
eli
's hand and led her to the mess hall below.

Vin maneuvered C
a
eli so that she walk
ed
a few steps in front of him as they threaded the
ir way through t
he
narrow
confines
of the
cafeteria.  There were several long rows of metal tables with a
ttached
metal benches.  Most were empty.  Many of the lights had been turned out, and only the few rows closest to the serving line were
lit to guide their way
.  Perhaps a dozen people sat scattered around three long tables
within
the li
gh
t.  One table was empty except for a man asleep at the far end.  They
walked over to this
one
. 

C
a
eli caught sight of movement off to her right
seconds
before a small object leapt off the metal bench and flew straight
toward
her.  In the next instant, her neck was encircled by two
thin
arms, and two small feet attached themselves to her sides just above her hips.