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I straighten and look my father dead in the face and speak loud enough so everyone can hear my declaration. “I don’t want to win.”
14
ENZO
WE RETURN across the plank to our ship in silence. I hold out my hand to her as I did before. Walking onto the ship, she held my hand like we were a team. Walking off, she didn’t take my hand.
I don’t know what her father said to her, but it wasn’t an apology. It wasn’t what I told him to say.
She fired him. That was her vengeance. She’s hoping by sending him away she will be able to heal and get over this. She doesn’t realize a child never gets over the betrayal of their own father.
Never.
It’s something I will live with the rest of my life.
And so will she.
Kai walks straight for our private rooms once aboard our yacht. She is in no mood to talk or be around other people. I unlock the doors for her because it will be faster than waiting for her to do it herself. I hold the door open, and she steps inside. She heads directly toward her room.
She hasn’t slept in that room since she boarded the yacht. She’s stayed in my room, but right now, it looks like she wants to be alone. And I can’t handle that. I want to help her. I want to heal her. And I can’t do that if she locks me out.
I put my hand on the door to her room, stopping her from opening it.
“Want to get a drink with me before bed?”
She looks at me, and I see the pain etched on her face. I want to make her smile. I want her to be happy. But she can never be happy here with me. She will never be happy until she is free of this life.
She takes a deep breath, probably to tell me off.
“We can play a game while we get a drink,” I say, hoping that getting to play a game of truth or lies with me will sweeten the deal.
She smiles softly. “Okay.”
It’s the most beautiful word I’ve heard. It warms me to know I get to spend a few more hours with her. Even if she doesn’t share my bed tonight, I will still have this.
I don’t hold out my hand to her again; I already know she won’t take it. I think she thinks that by not touching me she will break our connection, that I won’t be able to read her mind as easily if I can’t feel her.
But I don’t need to touch her to understand her. I feel her heart fluttering too quickly in her chest. I feel the throbbing ache in her chest. I feel the coolness of her breath. She wants to shut down so she doesn’t feel. That’s why she wanted to go back to her room alone. So she could go back to her icy cage and not feel anything.
I open the door to the lounge, decorated with beautiful, elegant white couches and soft lights to make it feel light and airy. There is an all-glass bar in the corner, and the room could easily fit fifty people for a party. Instead, it usually only holds me, and now Kai. I don’t need more than that.
“What do you want to drink?” I ask as I walk behind the bar.
She stares at all of the high priced liquors floating on a glass shelf overhead.
The yacht rocks hard, and we both grip onto the cool glass of the bar to keep from falling over. My eyes lock with hers trying to calm her, but I don’t see as much fear as I would expect. Her father hurt her too much to care about a rocking ship at the moment.
It rocks again, and I know we are heading into treacherous waters. Storms are coming, both natural and man-made. Milo will be coming soon if we don’t attack first. And we still have to face the second round of games.
Kai steadies herself and grins as she stares up at a bottle of liquor. A cheap bottle. I don’t even know how it got onto this yacht.
“No,” I say.
“Yes,” she says.
“No way. We are not drinking that poison.”
She nods hungrily. “Yes, we are. If you don’t want me to head to my room right now and shut everything out, then you are drinking with me, and I get to choose the drinks. And I choose shots of Jagermeister.”
