Page 87 of Javier

“The boss would kill me if I—”

“That’s an affirm.” King didn’t argue the point. “So, question. Is she worth dying for?”

A million times yes, and yet, “It won’t work.”

“You keep saying that.” King didn’t bother to hide the exasperation in his voice. “I’m not saying you don’t have challenges to overcome, but isn’t that what you do for a living?”

“Yes, but—”

“You haven’t mentioned objection number one.”

I winced at the thought of Phoenix Astor. “Don’t bring him into this.”

“How can I not?” King paused. “Are you still blaming yourself for his checkout?”

King might as well have punched me in the nose. “No.”

Hell, yeahwas the right answer. I could never forget. Didn’t want to. Wouldn’t allow it.

“Liar.” The line crackled with King’s exhale. “Your passenger is an adult. You have a choice, and so does she. Make yours and let her decide for herself.”

“I’m no good for her.”

“You’re gonna make me come all the way out there to kick your ass,” he returned with a huff. “Stop it with the self-flagellation. I know we’ve had our differences. You annoy the fuck out of me, especially when you wanna be all bad boy and shit.”

“Hey!”

“Time’s running out, so shut up and listen,” he snapped. “You’re one of the best I know. You’ve got the skills, instincts, and training. You’ve got the heart, too. Sure, irritating me is your superpower, but you’re also smart and fun to hang out with.”

I scoffed. “And here I thought you weren’t a fan.”

“I had misgivings when you came on,” he admitted. “You were in jail and I didn’t know if you were in the right state of mind to become a cruise director. Our last trip together showed me I can trust you. You’re solid. Not gonna deny you drank too much in the past. You’ve demolished one too many bars and you’ve come close to blows with none other than the boss’s second.” He meant Micah Bozeman, aka Granite. “That was a show of stupidity or madness, not sure which is what. But that shit’s in the past, bro. This is the present. You copy?”

On the dance floor, Pierre said something to Missy. She turned the color of fire. Pierre took out a keycard from his pocket. He offered it to Missy.

The faint sounds of dice rattling in their cup echoed in the back of my head.

She accepted the key.Fuck.My stomach dropped andsplattered on the floor. The clatter of the dice grew louder. Pierre took Missy’s hand and led her through the crowd. Gerard followed, smiling like an idiotic bonobo who knew he was about to get lucky.

A cold panic froze my guts. “Gotta go.”

“Don’t be a dickhead,” King warned.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Get in touch with your emotions,” King said. “Identify what you feelbeforeyou act. Dial down the asshole and don’t tear the place apart.”

He knew me too well.

“No promises,” I said. “But I’ll try. I’m out.”

Mulling the unfamiliar notion of facing off with my terrifying emotions, I clicked off the call and moved. The rattle of the dice turned into a deafening commotion inside my head. There was only one way to stop the clatter, and, this time around, I wasn’t sure it would work.

Chapter Twenty-two

Missy

The heat of the crowd gave way to fresh air as Pierre, Gerard, and I stepped off the dance floor. My pulse ticked fast and my throat had gone dry. My face was ablaze. They’d asked me again about having a sexual adventure tonight and I’d said yes. I didn’t know who on earth I was going to choose and yet I was sure that this was my one and only chance.

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