“Indeed.” He hands her back her hat.
“And you are?” I ask.
“Mr. Z. But you can call me Thayer.” Thayer, unlike his men, has an American accent—or rather the lack of one, like most yacht owners from the States. He’s not looking at Haley’s face but her bound breasts, and Zane’s going to have a hard time holding the three of us back. “Interesting shirt.” His hardened exterior cracks for a brief second. “Where are the rest of the crew for this boat? Have you disposed of all of them?”
“There are three crew below deck. There are three alive on the island. And four bodies,” I add because I’m not sure what Thayer is yet. I know the crew of this boat is an enemy.
“And Rodel here. I should put a bullet in him. He’ll become just like his former keepers. He’ll be the mussels on someone else’s hull if I let him go.”
“Or he’ll go back to his family and try to forget his past,” Haley says.
“Oh, Hal. You’re an optimist. How nice. I don’t meet many in my line of work. Fine.” Thayer turns to Rodel. They have a short conversation before he turns back to Haley. “Well, Hal, it appears you’re right. I offered him this ship and some cash or a ticket back to his home with no cash. He took the ticket.” Thayer motions to one of his guards.
“Where are you taking him?” Haley asks.
“You might be an optimist, but I am not. Rodel here will be below deck in our special accommodations until we get to port.”
Haley purses her lips, and I see a bit of her optimism slide into the ocean. Dante hasn’t stopped glaring since Thayer stepped on board. I want to kick him before he ends up in the special accommodations with Rodel.
It’s clear that we’re playing by Thayer’s rules, at least for now.
“I see.” Thayer nods to me. “Thank you.” He turns to the guard behind him. “Clean up the island and this ship. Drive it out to deeper water and sink it. Let’s get off this dirty thing, shall we? You first, Hal.” He motions to the ladder.
Haley snaps into charming first stew mode. “Thayer, there are a few things we would like to get off the island.”
“Yes, I imagine there are.” His eyes flick to Easton. “Let my men clean it up. Tomorrow they’ll take you over.”
“Um, so... our dog and cat are over there.”
Thayer inclines his head to the one whom I’m assuming is the head guard. “They’ll bring them back after they finish.”
She nods.
“Ladies first,” Thayer says.
But Dante grabs the ladder and climbs up it with speed to the mega.
“Or chefs first—I suppose it’s the same thing.” Thayer laughs. It’s a good thing he has guards, because I guarantee that Dantewould be paying him a visit while he slept if he didn’t. “Hal,” he says again.
Haley steps up onto the ladder, and the rest of us move in unison to go behind her. But I’m a step faster. I stay as close as I can while not impeding her progress to the top of the ladder.
Stepping onto the deck, the first thing I notice is how protectively close Dante’s standing next to Haley. I fall right in line on the other side of her. Then it hits me—the smell. It’s like fucking coming home. Then I see the crew lined up like we’re guests, standing next to giant guards with semi-automatic guns dressed all in black. It’s overwhelming. But there’s a whisper of hope that Thayer’s not going to feed us to the sharks.
Zane, Easton, and then Calvin pour over the side. I understand the shocked expressions on their faces. I take Haley’s hand and squeeze it like she does to me all the time. Her blue eyes glance up at me, asking,are we okay?And fuck, I only have hope.
“Wonderful. I’ll have my chief of security, Holloway, and my head stew, Kennedy, show you to your rooms.”
“Mr. Z,” Haley says.
“I won’t forget about your pets, Hal.” He nods to us and the crew. And then we’re being whisked down two flights to a row of cabins.
“Hal, this is your cabin,” Kennedy says.
“It’s Haley.” She nods at him but doesn’t leave my side.
“Of course,” Kennedy replies. Haley sucks in her lips but doesn’t step into the cabin. “Is it not okay?”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s lovely. But I haven’t been by myself for a...”
