Page 51 of Ship Happens
“Hey...is there a possibility you could, maybe...help me avoid having to kill anyone today?” I nibble my bottom lip as I wait for him to slot his sword into the hilt at his hip. “It wasn’t so bad when we accidentally sent the guy overboard, but I’m having second thoughts about it now.”
But then he shakes his head, and my stomach hits my feet. “Frankie, I wish I could, but you have to remember the other game we’re playing here. If anyone learns you’re a fed, they have a right to your head.”
“So you’ve changed your mind about offing me?” I say as I sit on the edge of the mattress.
“I never wanted you to die. Even when I wasn’t so sure about you, I felt the urge to keep you safe.” He sits beside me and drops his hands into his lap as he looks at the floor. “But yes, I suppose I feel differently now. Haven’t things changed for you?”
“Of course they have, but I still don’t know what that means.”
“Meaning you still plan to turn all of us over at the end of the cruise.”
My mind searches for the right words to explain my situation, but I don’t know how to help him understand. This is my career. If I don’t give them Jim at the very least, I’ll be in the unemployment line by the end of the month. My sports car. My apartment. My life.
I would lose everything.
But if I turn in Jim or any of Maverick’s friends, I lose him. He doesn’t have to tell me that. It’s an unwritten rule.
“Right,” he says with a pinched smile when I don’t say anything. “Well, at least we still have a few days left to have some fun.”
He stands and heads for the door. With each step he takes, my heart beats a little harder. Three days stand between me and a difficult decision, and I wish I could stop time. Better yet, I wish I could go back in time and refuse this assignment. Maybe then I could spare myself the impending heartbreak. Whatever I choose, I’ll suffer a loss.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maverick
The Jolly Roger waves in the wind on the pirate ship’s stern, and I have to give Jim credit where it’s due. This vessel is a scaled-down replica of Queen Anne’s Revenge, the very ship commandeered by Edward Teach himself. Jim explained he had to scale it down because the original Revenge required a crew in excess of three hundred men. If we put that many Cattle to work on this boat, we’d have no one left to kill.
And much to poor Frankie’s displeasure, killing is definitely on today’s to-do list.
She rests her forearms on the railing and peers at the open water, looking but not really seeing. Cat stands beside her. Well, she leans more than stands, but I’m proud of her for staying upright. She tried to sit this one out, but Bennett begged her to come.
The ship creaks as the waves bump against it. At least they’re gentle. Jim wanted it to be as authentic as possible, and stabilizers weren’t a thing in the late 1600s. Neither were bathrooms, and I’m thankful Ezra stepped in for us there.
Frankie leans closer to me so that Cat can’t hear her. “Where does he keep the victims on this thing?”
“Vic—” I grip her arm and pull her out of Cat’s earshot. Not that she’s paying attention. “Cattle, sweetheart. Call them Cattle. If anyone hears you refer to them as victims...”
“Right,” she says. “I forgot.”
I try to soften my expression. “Just think of it like culling sick animals from a herd. These people hurt others for fun, so we’re just evening things out.”
“Yeah, I get that, but what if we get it wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
She shakes her head, but Eve and Aven approach before she can formulate her thoughts.
“Arr, mateys! Batten down the hatches and...whatever the fuck pirates say!” Eve pulls a dagger from the belt on her hip and aims the blade skyward. “Thar be treasure!”
Aven looks at me. “Is it normal to be forced into costume for every bloody event? I came here to kill shit and take out some frustration, not play Jim’s real-life version of Dress to Impress.”
“How the fuck do you even know what that is?” Eve asks. “Isn’t that a game for kids?”
Aven’s cheeks pinken, and he walks away.
“He’s so talkative,” Eve says with a shake of her head. “But you guys will find out all about it, because we’re on a team. Jim said it was a random draw, but I don’t know what’s so random about you two always ending up together.” She wiggles her eyebrows at Frankie.
“Do you know how we’ll be dispatching the...Cattle?” Frankie asks, and I’m proud of her for using the proper term.
