Page 115 of Kings & Chaos

“You might as well tell me,” I said. “I’ve seen the signs. I know where we are.”

Neo glanced over at me. Was there something new in his eyes? Something…softer? I was probably just projecting, wanting to believe what had happened between us after the cliff jump had been more than physical.

I don’t know how to be gentle…

“We’re going to the island,” he said.

“Which island?”

“Our island.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You… have an island?”

“It’s more like a rock with some trees off the coast,” Rock said.

“That’s literally an island,” Oscar said.

“I know what an island is,” Rock said. “I’m just saying… don’t expect something tropical with beach chairs and umbrella drinks.”

I looked again at the expanse of water churning gray and rough under a cloudy December sky all the way to the horizon. “Yeah, I’m not thinking tropical right now.”

Neo pulled off the highway that ran next to the water. He made two right-hand turns and a marina came into view, the yachts and sailboats that were moored there bobbing in the rough seas.

He parked and we all filed out of the Hummer. I helped with the bags — there were more of them than usual, both because we’d packed for at least a week and because we’d stopped to buy groceries on the way to the marina — and Neo led the way to the series of docks next to a little restaurant on the water called Finn’s.

“Which one’s yours?” I asked, scanning the boats while we walked down one of the floating docks.

“This one,” he said, stopping at a gleaming cruiser.

It looked brand new, with navy detailing and tinted windows in the area that must have included sleeping quarters. I knew they were expensive because my dad had always wanted a boat like this one and used to take Emma and me to boat shows when we were little, but I’d stopped being surprised by the Kings’ money.

It was still shady af, and someday I’d get around to asking, but I’d gotten used to being surrounded by luxury.

“Let’s go,” Neo said. “Weather says we’re in a for a stormy few days.”

We piled into the boat and I went below deck to check things out while Neo ran through some kind of checklist to make sure the boat was ready to go. There were two small sleeping cabins, a bathroom (boat people called them heads, something Emma and I found hysterical when we were kids), and what passed for a narrow kitchen with a sink and counter.

The engine roared to life under my feet, and I returned to the upper deck where Oscar and Rock were untying the ropes on the dock. They hopped on board and pulled up the buoys as we chugged away from the dock.

Then we were headed for the open sea, and I was surprised to feel relief flood my body. I hadn’t wanted to leave the Kings’ house. I had school and Claire and the other girls there. What had once felt like a form of voluntary exile had started to feel like home, and my routines kept me anchored in the shit storm that was the rest of my life.

Now this felt like exactly what I needed — time away, a change of scenery, a place where my psycho stalker couldn’t find us.

“Come on, tiger,” Oscar said, talking my hand. “You’re missing the best view of all.”

He pulled me along the narrow walkway leading from the upper deck to the bow of the boat. The wind whipped my hair and threatened to knock me off-balance, but Oscar held tight to my waist, guiding me to the front of the boat.

“We’re not going to re-enact that scene fromTitanicare we?” I shouted.

“The part where they sink?” he shouted back. “I sure as fuck hope not.”

I laughed and shook my head.

He sat down and pulled me between his legs, and I leaned back against his chest, watching as we moved slowly out of the harbor. As soon as we reached the buoys announcing the speed limit, Neo hit the gas, and laughter bubbled up and out of my throat as the boat tipped backward, pressing me back against him.

His arms tightened around me, and I started to relax. Even with the clouds overhead, it was beautiful. Several small islands rose out of the water near the harbor, and I spotted more in the distance. Some of them looked uninhabited, but others were too large to see all sides.

And Rock hadn’t been kidding. There was nothing tropical about these islands. There were no sandy beaches, no cabanas, just rocky shorelines and towering evergreens, some right along the waterline and others so thick they looked like forests from the water.

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