Page 84 of Penny for Your Saints

“Me? Convince her of what?” I can tell that he's talking about Louise, but I have no idea what it is I'm meant to convince her to do. Though this entire situation is madness, she's done nothing but cooperate since the hunting lodge. I don't know what more he expects from her.

“Well…You know—after the heat and everything, now that we know—now that we have proof it just makes sense, I guess, that we should do it,” Frank bristles, refusing to come out with it.

“No, I don't know. What makes sense? Spit it out, Frank.”

“We should bond. You know, bite in.Pack up,” he snaps out haltingly.

I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me. Only a few hours ago, Frank was smashing furniture, insisting that it wasn't possible for us to be fated mates, that it was some sort of mistake—that we weren't actually fated.

It was some manipulation, some trick; even back at the hunting lodge when the question had been more academic, before we'd seen the recordings on the Penny's computer.

Frank was having none of it.

“Why the sudden change of heart?” I bite out, my own irritation flaring.

“The landscape is changing, Q. I thought I understood what was going on, but now? Now I'm not so sure.”

The two of us stand, hands in our pockets—the dull hum of the lights overhead the only sound.

“If you're serious, it's not a decision that we can make for her. I can talk to her, but I don't know if she'll ever accept any of us truly… Not after what we've done.”

The truth hangs in the air between us, uncomfortable.

“She has to,” Frank growls under his breath. “It's the only way that we can keep her safe.”

“Frank, I'm not sure anything that we do for her now would keep her safe.”

I let loose a joyless sound—not a laugh, not quite a sob.

Frank whirls on me, that murderous look in his eyes, that man who is still so many times a stranger to me.

“I'm telling you, Q, it's the only way. You've got to make her see reason—if we have the bond, if it's open.” He waves his hands through the air. “Then that's a line of communication that?—”

I cut my hand through the space between us.

“I hear what you're saying, Francis. I understand, but at the end of the day it's Louise who must decide whether or not biting in is something that she wants. You know as well as I that the bond won't take if it's not what we choose.”

“But you promise you'll ask her? You'll be the one to show her that it's the only choice, right?” he pleads.

“I'll certainly do my best,” I sigh, unable to give him what he really wants.

He turns away from me, and I know the conversation is over.

Iwake in yet another unfamiliar place.

It takes me a moment to realize where we are, the sound of water lapping against the hull of the boat, entirely different from the sound of water breaking on the rocky shore around the cottage.

Tomorrow, we leave for the island and assimilate into the crew of a large cruise ship bound for Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean.

While all of us have an incredibly varied skill set, none of us can actually captain a yacht or navigate the open seas to get us where we need to go.

Luckily, Quentin was able to get a hold of the crew the yacht owner typically employs. For enough money, they have agreed to transport us safely, no questions asked.

Tonight will be our last chance to gather supplies and make our preparations.

I emerge from the cabin to the observation deck, where Seb, Caz, and Quentin sit with their heads together, speaking in hushed voices.

Caz is the first to catch sight of me, his icy blue eyes sliding away from mine as he sits upright—the others falling silent.

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