“That’s sugardaddyto you. And don’t insult my manners.”
“Your manners are fooling around in the back seat, then buying your date ferry coffee with a stolen credit card?”
“Hey now,” Reece said. “I’m going to buy you food too.”
Grayson leaned forward, looking around Reece at the woman who was swiping the credit card. “Do I want to know whose name is actually on that card?”
“Traynor’s.”
“You’re charging our ferry ride toDirector Traynor? Ishothim.”
“Yeah, but he tried to kill you first,” Reece said.“Twice.”
Grayson pursed his lips but sat back in the seat again.
A moment later, the booth’s window opened. Reece collected the card and drove forward, following the staff’s directions into a long row of vehicles as they were loaded onto the ferry’s car deck.
From there, they took the stairs up to the passenger deck and found the galley. As the ferry got underway, they bought a collection of bakery items, protein bars and drinks, taking it all to one of the small booths.
While they worked their way through breakfast, Grayson was looking out the ferry windows. “I don’t remember the last time I was on a ferry. How long’s the crossing?”
“Barely an hour.” Reece tilted his head, watching Grayson watch the ocean. Grayson had mentioned once that he used to love camping. Did he even know that his eyes always seemed drawn to the view?
There were words that needed to be said between them, awhat the fuck happens nowconversation. But Reece didn’t say them, because his own gaze kept darting from Grayson to the other passengers.
It was so easy to thrall security in that laboratory, the voice in his head pointed out.
It had been. And it had feltgoodto finally let loose. But Reece didn’t need more thralls right now.
This ferry can hold two thousand people, and it’s more than half full. You could take your pick for your thralls on board.
Reece’s gaze wandered to a man in a suit, barking into his phone loud enough that everyone could hear his conversation as he carried his coffee toward the lounge. Reece’s skin prickled, the black lighting crawling over him like electric centipedes.
That guy’s probably an asshole. You could start with him. Find a couple more.
Reece forced his eyes back to Grayson. He was still the Dead Man, and while he might accept that Reece had done what he’d had to do for a rescue, he’d probably be a lot lesswilling to let Reece walk off the Bremerton ferry with a new army of emotional slaves.
Evan’s touch doesn’t knock you out now.
He can’t stop you anymore.
Reece cleared his throat. “You want to go up to the top deck?”
“Outside?” Grayson glanced back at him. “It justsnowed.”
“I could use the fresh air,” Reece said, and it wasn’t a lie, which probably said a lot about how much he needed to get some distance from people, or maybe how much time he spent skulking indoors.
“Suit yourself,” Grayson muttered as they got to their feet.
The air at the top of the ferry was icy cold, but the view was unbeatable, and they were the only ones out on the deck. Reece watched as Grayson’s gaze went to the waves of the sound, the distant green hills, the endless gray sky, and finally settled on the distant Seattle skyline where it waited on the horizon. After a moment, Grayson leaned on the railing, gaze still on Seattle. “So what’s our plan when we dock at the pier?”
Reece shrugged lightly, like he hadn’t been ruminating on that same question. “We’ll be right downtown. I could take the truck, and you can walk off the ferry.”
“Or,” said Grayson, “you could give me back my truck, and I can drop you off somewhere.”
Reece side-eyed him. “And is thatsomewherea corrupted empath prison?”
“I might settle for your secret empath lair.”
