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“We are set for Shanghai.” The door swung open, Scot’s tall frame sauntering in. Both of us scrambled away from each other like thieves getting caught. Yanking down my tank, I sucked in, smoothing my features to appear normal. Unflustered. “If the winds stay right, we should be there in a week,” Scot muttered, his eyes darting from Croygen to me suspiciously.
When the door opened, reality hurtled into the room like a tsunami, shattering whatever trance Croygen seemed to have put me in.
Holy fuck. What was I about to do?
Scot snorted, shaking, seemingly seeing right through us. “Do I need to have a babysitter around at all times?”
My actions in my own head were bad enough, but seeing them through someone else’s eyes branded me with dishonor, especially because I could still feel Croygen’s fingers touching me, like they had burned into me.
“Shut up.” Croygen barked, fury thick in his timbre. Shame. He wouldn’t look at me, his expression tight with anger. “Take her to the crew’s showers. Get her a change of clothes. Have the crew convene in the mess hall in twenty minutes.” His order was brisk as he stomped toward his private bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
Scot turned to me, his eyes glinting with mischief. “What are you doing to our captain, Kitty-Kat?”
“Don’t call me that,” I ground out.
He huffed in humor. “Follow me,ciabhagan.” His Scottish accent thickened as he motioned me to follow him.
“And that means?”
Scot didn’t answer as he led me down to the crew level to the showers. Scot flicked his head at a stall down at the end. “I’ll get you some clothes to wear.”
“Thanks.” I started to turn away.
“I knew your father briefly.” His claim stopped me in my tracks, whipping me back around. “He was a good man.”
I blinked at Scot.
“What happened that day…” He swallowed like he shouldn’t be telling me this. “It really fucked Captain up. He went to a very dark place for a long time.”
The anger I lacked earlier came sprouting up like weeds with refreshed energy.
“Dark place?” I lifted a brow. “He murdered my father, his right-hand man, in cold blood. He hasn’t even touched the darkness I plan to bring to him.”
Chapter 14
Croygen
The jeers of my crew batted me like the howling wind outside, the ship rocking as Tsai directed us around a tropical storm, the motion making my whiskey spill out of my cup.
“Oi!” Scot whistled, silencing the others. “Let the captain speak.”
The change in direction and my plan to take us to Shanghai was not going over well with Zid, Corb, and Vane. Corb grunted his opinion as Vane and Zidane yelled theirs.
“Why would we head to Shanghai? Don’t we have a price on our heads there?” Vane exclaimed.
“Didn’t know you were such a coward?” Scot folded his arms.
“Que te jodan!” Fuck you!Vane lurched for Scot.
Zid grabbed his collar, yanking him back. “Calm the fuck down.” He shoved Vane back into a chair, annoyance showing along his jaw. His serious gaze returned to me, demanding I make it clear why I had a change of heart.
Kat’s presence was palpable even though I had Scot lock her in one of the windowless crew bedrooms downstairs, double-checking for anything she could use as a weapon. My slipup earlier, my loss of right and wrong, of any reason, banged like a drum in my chest. What made me so disgusted with myself, so ashamed, is that I was forcing myself to feel guilt. To keep reminding myself I had watched her grow up.
One time was bad enough, my feelings for Lexie shifting slightly, but this was even worse. And I was not that type of man.
The memory of Lexie the last night before the battle, the way she linked her hands with mine, her beautiful brown eyes sparking with desire, a desperation to her words.
“Spend the night with me.”
