Page 62 of Ship Happens
“What the fuck did he do to you?” I bellow as I search the shelves for something sharp. “If he violated you, his death will be so much more fucking painful.”
“It’s not enough that he beat the fuck out of me?” she says. “I think that’s grounds enough for torture.”
“I agree,” says a voice from the hall.
“Gary? Are you okay?” Frankie squeezes past me and hurries to help him stand. “Jesus, what happened to your head? You’re a mess!”
I snap a wooden mop handle in half, giving me a nice pointy stick. That’ll do. “Take Gary to the medical bay. I’ll deal with this piece of shit.”
“Stop!” Frankie shouts.
My hand freezes mere milliseconds before driving the sharp end into his neck. “What am I stopping for, sweetheart? This man just tried to take something that doesn’t belong to him. So please, tell me why I should stop when I have never wanted to continue more in my fucking life.”
“I’ve had a change of heart,” she says. The glassy haze clears from Frankie’s eyes, an unrecognizable look replacing it. She plucks her hat from the floor, situates it on her head, and looks down at the unconscious asshole. “It’s time for round four, and I’m ready to play the fucking game now.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Maverick
Istand off to the side on deck as Eve and Kindra fuss over Frankie’s wounds. When Jim saw her state and heard what happened to her, he finally came to his senses and offered to call off the final round so we could get her back to the Bruise Cruise. Frankie would have none of it. She’s bound and determined to play the fourth game, and she’s adamant that Castle will be our Cattle.
When she said that, Jim couldn’t have looked more pleased. I should feel the same.
So why don’t I?
The goal was to get her to turn against her own and side with us, and for all intents and purposes, that has been achieved, but I can’t pat myself on the back for this. I don’t feel as if I’ve accomplished anything. The only thing I feel is awful. The kill she made before served a purpose—an unavoidable means to an end—but the bloodlust lighting her eyes ablaze is different now. This is personal. I’ve taken an incredible woman withproper values and ironclad morals and turned her into a fucking psychopath.
When the girls have had their fill of the retelling, they meander back to their respective groups to prepare for the final round of the game. I take this moment to pull Frankie aside. I haven’t had a chance to check on her fully, and I want to be sure she’s up for whatever game Jim has in store. Though it goes against my mission, I almost hope she’s had a change of heart and wants to back out.
I pull her against me and embrace her openly, not caring who sees. “Are you okay? Truly?”
“The swelling is already going down in my eye, and at least I now know that lip fillers are definitely not for me. My lip looks worse than it feels, though.” She smiles up at me, looking adorable in a scruffy, beaten-to-hell-and-back kind of way. “My throat is a little worse for wear, not gonna lie, but I think I’ll be okay. Thank you, by the way.”
“If you want to thank me properly, I gladly accept blow jobs.” I lean closer to her ear and drop my voice to a whisper. “In fact, we could skip out on the last game entirely and head back to the ship. Think about it, sweetheart. You could knock me around a little, and then I could replace every ounce of pain with double the pleasure.” I nip her earlobe and revel in the way she shudders against me.
“That . . . actually sounds really nice.”
My spirits rise as her hand secretly gropes the front of my pants. Maybe I can get her out of this mess yet.
She squeezes my limp cock, sending a spike of pain through my groin. “But I’m not skipping the game, Maverick. Whatever fucked-up shitshow lies in store for Castle, I don’t want to miss a second of it.”
I smile down at her and hope she doesn’t see the way I’m breaking inside. This isn’t who she is, and I feel responsible for her coming into her villain era. It’s not a nice feeling.
“Hey,” she says as she places her hand on the side of my face, stroking my cheek and offering a wan smile. “This new way of thinking isn’t a bad thing. If anything, it’s thebestthing because it’s pretty much what you wanted. I get it now. I understand why you people kill, and you were right. Some shit stains are too dirty to run through the wash. Instead of wasting resources on scrubbing what can’t be cleansed, it makes more sense to toss out the ruined garment.”
I search my brain for something that will snap her out of this. “What about your career?”
The smile shifts, looking sadder by the second but still remaining on her face. “What career, Maverick? Didn’t anyone tell you?” She utters a wry laugh and shakes her head. “There was never a mission to hand over any of you. This was a suicide trip. We weren’t expected to return. None of us.”
“Wait, why would you think that?”
“Castle said as much.”
I hold her at arm’s length and stare into her eyes. “You can’t be serious. How can you believe anything that came out of that asshole’s mouth? He just said that to hurt you.”
“No, it tracks. When I went to the bathroom, Gary, that weird little man who helped you out, told me Castle had been running his mouth about some vile shit he’s done. Castle didn’t know that, but when he mentioned that we were set up, he said it was because a higher-up demanded a hard cull of any agents with skeletons in their closets. Vile shit sounds like skeletons to me.”
“Then why are you here? Are you secretly a mass murderer?” I shake my head and drop my hands. “It doesn’t make sense.”
