Page 13 of Petal

Katura gives him a backward nod. “Divide patrol.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “Something like this.”

“An early riser, huh?”

“Discipline.” He smiles broadly. “Where are we heading this fine morning?”

“To see the king of paradise.” Katura snorts exaggeratedly.

“Uh-huh.”

“Is he up?”

“He never sleeps.” His gaze turns to me. “Callie Mays?”

I am not surprised he knows my name. He must be from Archer’s crew. I want to hate him right away, but his smile is surprisingly warm and friendly as he stretches his hand to me for a shake. “Nick Marlow. Call me Marlow.” I guess not everyone in Archer’s crew is a monster.

“So last night…” His gaze shifts to Katura, his smile fading.

“Yeah. You were there?” she asks. They talk as if they are friends.

“Yeah. I stayed on the boat though. I am not a big fan of Archer’s demonstrations of power.”

“We need to talk to him,” Katura says, a smirk forming on her lips. “Do we need an appointment? Or does his highness take walk-ins?”

Marlow flashes a smile. “I’m sure he’ll pencil you in.” He nods for us to follow as we walk up the stairs. “You two are the highlight of the last twenty-four hours. That is, until Droga gets here.”

The mention of Kai echoes with a heavy thud in my chest.

Marlow unhooks a Walkie Talkie from his belt and presses the transmit button. “Boss, have time for visitors?”

The squawking sound of the pressed button sends my heart racing.

After several seconds, the radio static comes in and the familiar voice says, “Who are we talking about?”

The indifferent tone makes my blood boil.

“The new arrivals. They want to have a chat.”

“Bring them in.”

I cringe, trying to bring my anger under control as we follow Marlow up the steps.

Only Katura has a sneaky smile on her lips.

She is asking for trouble.

7

KAI

“There aretwo ways to get into Ayana,” Candy says, stubbing the cigarette in a conch shell ashtray and leaning with her hands on the counter.

I am on my third drink. We’ve talked for over two hours and are only now getting to what I came for.

“The staff comes in by land, either scooters or the service bus that takes off three times a day from the main street,” she explains. “A boat goes from the town’s port to the main West docks. I’d say, if you get in trouble, the land route is a better choice if you were to run.”

I nod. Candy is smart as hell. I don’t have money, so the fact that she is helping is surprising, and I am beyond grateful.

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