“No. You didn’t hear Dane. He was adamant. Threatening. He will not stop until he gets her back.”
“You know I won’t let that happen.”
Won’t let that happen? Was Weston actually telling the truth when he said I wasn’t a bargaining chip? His plan isn’t to use me to get what he wants from Dane?
Then what does he want from me?
“But what if it should?” Sig says, a question pleading in her voice.
“Careful, Sig,” he grinds out.
“I’m serious. Listen to me. Let me explain.”
The voices fall silent, and I press my ear to the door even harder, trying to make sure I don’t miss anything. Despite not knowing her very well, I can already visualize Sig’s face, pleading with him to listen in that silent communication they have.
She continues, “She may be the best chance we have. We’ve been here over twenty years, Cap. It’s time to go home.”
Twenty years?
How does she know how much time has passed? I can barely wrap my head around the days passing, much less keep track of them. Even Dane didn’t know how long it had been since he was the Guardian.
“No,” Weston says firmly. “There’s got to be another way.”
“We’ve tried,” Sig says, her voice still pleading. “We’ve been searching, and we haven’t found it.”
“We’ll keep looking. We’re not giving up hope.”
“I’m not saying to give up, but what if she is our new hope?”
The screech of his chair dragging across the floor startles me, and it’s followed by a heavy sigh.
“She’s not on our side, Sig. She’ll go running right back to him.”
Weston isn’t wrong, although I need this to change. I need him to believe that I am with them, part of the crew, but his words make me squirm. It’s as if he can see right through me, like he knows I won’t turn on Dane, even if I do care for people on this ship, like Sig. My feelings for them won’t change my hatred for him.
“Then maybe you need to stop being such an asshole to her so she will stop thinking we’re all evil,” Sig says, almost yelling now.
“It’s not that simple, Sig, and you know it.”
“It is that simple. Be nice! Let her see! If she understands, if she sees our side, she’s the best way to get one of us close enough to Dane to take it. That pouch has the only dust on this island, and it’s the only way out of here.”
I press my hand to my lips, trying to stifle a gasp. Sig wants me to take the dust from Dane. She wants me to sympathize with them, then send me back to take it and end their searching, but Weston doesn’t seem to agree.
“I can’t just send her off to him and hope she comes back,” he says, his voice rising now too.
“Well then, help her understand why she should! You’re the only one who can.”
“The answer is no, Sig.” The chair squeaks and footsteps pound across the room. My body shrinks away from the door. If he opens it, he’ll catch me, but I don’t want to miss anything they say.
I’ll take that chance. He’s the one forcing me to stay in his room. He’s accepted the risk I might find out something he doesn’t want me to, and he can’t be his angry self about it if it happens.
I press my ear back to the door and hear Sig’s lighter steps cross the room.
“Cap, think about this?—”
“I said no Signee,” he says, cutting her off.
“Argh! You are infuriating, you know that?” Sig yells.
