Page 97 of Ship Happens
Ezra drops his hand to my shoulder and gives it a hard squeeze. “Bad business, that. But as Kindra said, you told her how you feel. If that wasn’t enough for her, good riddance.”
“Well, no,” I admit. “I worried if I told her how I felt, it might manipulate her into?—”
Hands smack me from all sides.
“Are you fucking stupid?” Cat shouts.
“Have our late-night talks taught you nothing?” Eve demands.
Kindra shakes her head. “I am so disappointed in you.”
Even Rosie speaks volumes with the scowl on her face.
“Really stupid move, kid,” Bennett says with a shake of his head. “Even I knew enough to pour out my heart when it really mattered.”
I scoot away from the group and turn to face them. I’m beginning to feel like a wounded wildebeest surrounded by a pride of hungry lions. They each take nips, but I’m already bleeding. I have no fight left.
“I’m glad to know each of you would have made better decisions, but these are the choices I made, and I’m happy with them. If you knew how much her career meant to her, you’d understand.” Emotions bubble beneath my skin, but I push them down. “This was for the best. It wasn’t an easy call to make, but I fucking made it.”
Eve shakes her head. “Honey, sometimes it’s best to let people make that call themselves. You might not regret keeping your feelings hidden right now, but you will.”
“Well, we’ll just have to fix this when we get back,” Kindra says with a flick of her wrist. “Ezra can find her. Then we’ll all tell her the truth. That Maverick is a massive idiot who self-sabotages because it’s easier to hurt himself than to allow someone else the opportunity.”
My jaw drops. “That’s not?—”
“I can back that up,” Eve says with a nod.
My eyes widen. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“Are there any feds still alive on this vessel?” Ezra asks. “We could grill them for more info about her. Might make it easier to track her down.”
Bennett nods. “Good idea. I’ll ask?—”
“Wait!” I hold up my hands in a physical attempt to stop the insanity. Their heads turn to me, and I’m grateful when their mouths close. “Guys, Frankie was the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. She showed me what I’m capable of having, but she also showed me why it’s best I don’t have it. This is better for her.”
Eve places a hand on my arm. “That’s why we want to help. We’ve seen how happy she makes you. You’re the sunshine ineveryone else’s day, so it was nice to see you get blasted with the radioactive rays for once.”
“I appreciate it, more than you guys realize, but...let it go. For me.”
The group heaves a collective sigh, then murmurs their agreement. They’ll drop it.
Now I just have to figure out how to let it go myself.
Chapter Forty-Four
Frankie
Time is a funny thing. I’ve been back in Virginia for over a week, but it feels like months have passed. Being sequestered in a government facility for one hell of a debrief tends to have that effect, I suppose. Now my jail sentence is coming to an end.
King has been nothing but kind, and I regret my cold demeanor toward him on the ship. I also regret that he was forced to drug me, which gave me a nasty headache for hours after waking, but at least my good sense has begun to return.
And now I realize that Maverick was right.
As I stepped into my pantsuit and smoothed the white undershirt a few hours ago, I cloaked myself in the familiar armor that reminds me who I am, and I am a federal agent. King has been helping me remember that. When I arrived at my room, all the cases I’ve worked to a successful outcome were laid on the bed. Filtering through the paperwork was a swift slap to the face, but King’s words were a balm to the wound.
“We all have a place in the food chain. Some of us were meant to focus on the prey. Some were meant to focus on the predator.”
We are the shepherds. The average citizens are the livestock we must protect. Those who would kill the livestock are the wolves, but those who kill the wolves? The killers we let slip through our fingers are the livestock guardians, and they are the people who I will miss more than I have any right to.
