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“Friend, huh? Wow.” Clasping my hand to my chest, I exaggerate a fainting motion. “I’m crying. See my tears?”

I pretend to wipe my eyes when something occurs to me. “Brothers? What about Lana? You’ve known her as long as you’ve known us.”

Grace and Tay, I won’t ask, since they’ve only been in our lives for the past few years.

Elias snaps his lighter shut, and a muscle pulses in his jaw. “I don’t know her well. Nor do I intend to.”

But before I can prod into his answer, his expression smooths into one of calmness again. “Don’t bother changing the subject. Normally, I’d try to find out what you’re hiding because I collect secrets. All the more for people to do my bidding.”

I open my mouth to interject, but he holds up his hand.

“If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s identifying people with skeletons in their closets. And you reek of them, Rex. Now, I don’t know if they’re imaginary or real. But with you, I didn’t need to extort you to help me. You jumped at the opportunity when I mentioned ‘atonement.’ Some might say you’re fearless or stupid, but I don’t think so. It’s the damn skeletons baiting you.”

He clasps my shoulder. “Take it from me. Don’t carry the dead if you don’t have to. What happened to Raya wasn’t on you. Ditch the skeletons before they make you one of them. Because if you tempt death, he’ll come collecting.”

A lump forms in my throat. He’s worried about me.

Elias’s lips twitch into a faint smile. “I have everything under control. There are no more records of Bree on this ship. If they check the system, it’ll show she disembarked in Dubrovnik. I’ve asked her to continuestaying on board until Monaco. We just need to make sure your friend, Greg Masters, doesn’t post photos of her online. She’s a ghost now.”

He walks toward the living room. Apparently, the strange, one-sided conversation is over. “Your job, Rex, is to deliver her to the drop-off point in Monaco. Don’t draw attention to yourself until then. Don’t piss Greg Masters off and get a scandal plastered online. You’ll be doing me a big favor.”

With a pointed look, he walks off, leaving me in stunned silence.

Chapter Twenty-Five

A crisp knock soundsat the door just as I finish typing up session notes from my last patient appointment. I look at the clock.

He’s on time today.

Rolling my shoulders, I give myself a last-minute pep talk.

I can do this. I just need to be professional.

“Professional my ass, Olive. He marked your skin. You sucked his finger,”Mia taunts in my head.

“Shut up,” I mutter.

My palms sweat and I rake in a deep breath to calm my rising panic.

It’s fine. Everything’s fine. Sure, we’ve crossed some lines, but nottheline. I can do this. I can be professional. He needs help. I can help him. I can finish this cruise with my heart intact. I can fulfill my promise to Mia and secure the donation from the Andersons for ADAS.

I can walk away.

My chest spasms. I won’t analyze it. It’s stress. That’s it.

“Come in.”

Rex strides in, even worser for wear than his usual self. The circles under his eyes are darker. His light blue shirt is wrinkled on one side, and not the purposeful dishevelment of his usual outfits. The scruff covering his jaw is thicker now, a day away from becoming a beard.

“Olive, you look beautiful today.” The same signature smirk, but flat eyes.

I don’t respond, because I know he does this when he’s vulnerable.

And that makes me sad.

It must be isolating to hide his emotions all the time. To believe the world isn’t a safe place for him to express them.

The ache deepens in my chest.