Page 127 of Undertow

“Merrick contacted me. He told me everything, including the fact that Mama H went behind my back and gave the reins to Adrian. She lost faith in my leadership and didn’t trust I’d ‘do the right thing’ after what happened with you.”

They exchange a long look.

“I had a hunch,” Merrick continues on her behalf. His gaze lands on me. “Adrian and Tyler may be incompetent idiots, but some of what they said during the exchange must have been true. Plus, there’s no way you would have fallen for Julia if her feelings for you weren’t genuine too. I thought there might be a way to salvage something from this travesty, so I reached out to Adrian and Mama H. Offered them five percent more in exchange for Julia. I told them she’d be a good weapon and bargaining chip against you.”

“They accepted,” Julia spits out. “Sold me out like I was nothing.”

Anger spears through me. “I’m sorry. That’s…” I shake my head and swing my confused gaze back to Merrick. “But we can’t leave. When McArthur finds out you didn’t follow his orders?—”

“He won’t find out.” Merrick releases a heavy sigh. “I know everything, Jonah. About your relationship with the RLC. Why you were sent to the McArthurs three years ago. I’ve always known.” He quiets, and my heart rate soars when the pieces snap in place.

“You’re with the RLC too,” I whisper. “You work for my parents!”

Merrick nods. “They sent me in years ago. When they first learned McArthur had his sights set on a relationship. They needed to know what they were dealing with. Whether this would be a partnership or a takeover. When they found you and forced you back into the life, I was tasked with orchestrating your path and role in the McArthur organization.”

Still in disbelief, I stare at him for a long time. I have so many questions, but none seem important enough to interrupt the catastrophic truth already echoing around us.

He pulls in a heavy breath, his demeanor instantly changing. “But after New Orleans… Everything changed. I warned your parents about what McArthur was planning to do to you. Instead of intervening, they ordered me to stand down and let it happen. So I did.”

His jaw clenches. “When I found you that following morning… saw what they did. Fuck, Jonah. That was so messed up. You were their son, and they let McArthur treat you worse than an animal because it fit their agenda. It was clear from the first day we had you on your knees in that storage room, you didn’t belong in this world. I chose it, but you never had a choice…”

He shakes his head. “I wanted to do this sooner, but the timing wasn’t right. There was nothing Icoulddo. But thanks to you and everything you pulled off with the Undertow operation, it’s time.”

“It’s time?”

“For a regime change.”

I stare at him, unmoving. His features settle back into a hard line. “I’m not telling you more for both our sakes, but just know that when the time comes for you to dock on the mainland, you will be free to do whatever you want. Be whoever you want to be. Roman Shaw is dead, but so is Jonah Dylan.”

A hand slips into mine, and I glance down to see Julia’s firm hold.

“We can start over, Jonah.Bothof us. We can be free.”

Free.

The word skates through my head like a foreign parasite. How long have I fantasized about that word? Chased a daydream that would only torture me over and over.

And here it is again. Dangling beside that equally tantalizing lie—hope.

“I’ve made arrangements for Razor to join you until all of this blows over, but I’ll need a few weeks to get things under control before it will be safe for you to resurface,” Merrick says. “You’ll have to stay on this boat during that time. Sail around, do whatever, but the three of you need to remain out of the way.”

Merrick’s words drag me back like a punch in the gut. Of course there’s a catch. My fist tightens around Julia’s. My chest rising and falling in increasingly shallow breaths. Asking me to spend weeks on the water is almost worse than the threat of being drowned in it.

“I know what they did to you,” Merrick says quietly. “I know why you’re afraid of water. But Razor once told me you’re one of the strongest people he’d ever met. I’ve seen it over these last few years. Your parents are wrong about you, Jonah. You’re not weak. You’re a fucking warrior, and you deserve the chance to be yourself.”

I look down. “I don’t know who that is,” I say quietly. “My entire life I’ve either been hiding or playing a role.”

Julia squeezes my hand. “Then we’ll find him.”

Merrick clears his throat and straightens. “So what do you think? Can you overcome your greatest fear and tame that ocean, Jonah? After everything you’ve survived, can you handle one more trial?”

I entwine my fingers with Julia’s and draw her hand to my lips. Merrick’s question streams through my head, colliding with each revelation, each horrific memory and burning scar.

As if on cue, the boat rocks from a wave, sending us staggering to keep our balance.

But it quickly rights itself.

And I’m still standing.

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