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Vaughn hesitated but didn’t back off. “And I think he wants to kill you. He never should’ve been left wanderin’ around this boat in the first place.” He looked at me, giving me a scathing glare. “This is your fault.”
“Because I didn’t let him drown?” I asked. “Now that we know who he is, you should be glad I saved him!”
“Who he is?” said Vaughn. “He’s anEnforcer. That’s who he is.”
Dunn slowly backed away, the anger in his eyes giving way as a flicker of uncertainty passed over his face.
Vaughn prowled toward him.
“Leave him!” I said, stepping between the two men—for the second time—though I couldn’t help but question my own motives. Why did I feel so much responsibility to protect this man? He’d given me no reason to like him. Or trust him.
“Listen to her,” said Keane.
Dunn still glowered at Keane, red-faced, as if trying to make sense of his existence.
“Dominic?” I asked. “That’s your name?”
He gave me a tiny nod.
“Go below deck,” I said. “You need to cool off.”
He lifted his head as if he wanted to rebel, then he kicked a barrel and walked away, reaching for the ladder that would take him to the lower cabin.
Keane watched him go, mopping blood from his nose with his shirt.
Vaughn’s stance remained heavy with aggression.
“Stay away from him,” I said. “He’smyprisoner. I alone am responsible for him. Not you.”
Vaughn gestured toward Keane’s blood-covered face. “Then do a better job of it. This can’t happen again.”
“It’s—” Keane began, then paused. “You’re both right. Blondie, keep him supervised. And Vaughn, stay away from the boy. He can’t be blamed for the lies he’s been told.”
“Are they lies?” I asked softly.
Keane met my eyes. “Come on. You know me.”
I tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. The truth was that Ididn’tknow him. He’d told me hardly anything about himself, and while I wanted to trust him, I saw a bit of my father in his bruised, yet confident face. And I was beginning to wonder if all fathers lied to their children to manipulate them into seeing the world as they did.
I occupied myself with sailing,eating, and worrying until a gloomy sunset passed and raindrops danced across the choppy waves and pattered over the deck.
Dominic stayed below deck all day, and Keane stayed above it. He worked the deck under the cloudy sky, only occasionally stopping to glance at the hatch that led to his son. My suspicions of Keane grew, as much as I tried to stifle them, after seeing his reluctance to speak to Dominic and his avoidance of me. If he had the truth on his side, I imagined he’d want to clear the air as soon as possible. But then again, maybe he was leaving him alone out of respect, giving him time to process his shock.
“I’m sure he’s lying,” said Cait, approaching me where I stood at the helm. Her red hair was pulled back into a wet ponytail and her face glistened from the rain.
I brushed my wet strands out of my face. “Which one?”
She laughed. “That’s a joke, right?”
I forced myself to laugh with her. “Uh, yeah . . . but honestly, how are you so sure he’s lying?”
“Because he’s an Enforcer,” she said. “And Keane seemed genuinely shocked at the accusation.”
I considered her point of view, but I wasn’t so sure. “But why would he make up a story like that?”
“He’s grasping for power. Keane killed his Enforcer buddies, so Dunn hates him for it. I think he wants you to hate Keane too. To turn you against each other. Classic manipulation.”
“Hm,” I said. “I have to say, it seemed like Dominic believed his own story.”
