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River clapped him on the shoulder—hard. I think part of him was secretly disappointed by that answer. “Smart man.”
So now we’re headed for the nearest city port, an unlikely trio. Tango reported our deaths to the agency already, and once we reach land, he’s gonna disappear too. Start over. Or else face River’s wrath, and no one with a single working brain cell would choose that.
“I might learn carpentry,” Tango says now, squinting out at the water. “Or another trade. Find a nice girl and settle down.” His eyes slide to me, then dart straight ahead when River snarls. Secretly, I preen.
I love when River gets jealous over me.
The sunset paints the ocean pink and gold. The mood relaxes the longer our captive’s eyes stay off me—and Tango’s calmed down a lot since he survived the last few hours. He won’t stop chatting, pushing his luck. He’s happier than I ever saw him around Echo.
Feeling bold again, he says, “I never really liked the whole agent thing, but once you’re in, you’re in, you know? It’s not like you can hand in your notice.”
“Yes,” River says. “I know.”
Tango flushes and refocuses on the boat controls. I choke back a laugh where I’m lounging in the first mate’s seat, bare toes wriggling in the warm air. My boots went overboard with their tracker hours ago.
It’s not bad at all, this pirate’s life. I’ve explored the whole boat from top to bottom; raided a kitchen area for bottled water and snacks. I even found a funny nautical hat, and it makes me look cuter than a sunburned button. Now and then, we’ll see movement in the distance—a pod of dolphins racing along the waves, or a humpback whale breaching. Pretty damn cool.
River keeps shooting me worried glances, but I’m fine. Totally fine. Sure, I had a mini freak out earlier, my legs turning to jelly at the sight of Echo’s floppy, lifeless limbs, but I feel a million times better since chowing down on a pack of chocolate cookies.
I’mfine.
So my crush is a lethal killing machine. So he didn’t even blink as he offered to torture Echo for me.
He also winced as he peeled the tape off my wrists, like he felt every tiny prickle and sting. Riverhatesseeing me in even the slightest discomfort. That’s a heady sort of power.
And maybe there’s more than one way to be lethal, you know? Maybe having the devotion of a dangerous man does the job too.
Sure wish we didn’t have this third wheel, though. I know I asked that Tango be kept alive, but with each passing hour that River spendsnottouching me, I regret that decision more and more. Especially since Tango turned out to be such a chatty Cathy.
But I’ve started to wonder… what if River doesn’t want to touch me again? What if he’sgladwe have this buffer? When I tried to ask about our future back on that beach, River dodged the question like a pro.
So maybe Tango’s here to save River the trouble of turning me down, you know? To save him that awkwardness. Maybe this was a tropical island fling, and that’s all.
I slump in my chair, frowning. Because how would we even fit together? I’m a barista, and I’m not even great at it. I make a mean cappuccino, but my latte art sucks. I’m average in every way.
Meanwhile River is like a comic book hero brought to life. Oh god, is he desperate to get rid of me? To lose the dead weight? Will I have to fake my own death and start over… alone? What if there aren’t coffee shops where we’re going?
Maybe I’ll learn carpentry too, like Tango. Gah.
“Stay on course,” River says, taking my elbow. I jolt. Wait, when did he move close? He eases me up, his grip firm, and tells the other man: “If you deviate an inch, I’ll slit your throat.”
Tango’s nervous laughter turns into a cough. “Yes, sir.”
River turns to me, voice low. “Come on.”
I stumble after him in a daze. “Can we trust him?” I hiss as River leads me out on deck, the sky blushing pink all around and reflected on the water. It’s cooler now, the breeze cutting through my tank top and making me shiver.
River tugs me to the edge. “Not an inch. But we can trust him to save his own skin.”
My fingers wrap around the metal rail, and I flex them, clinging tight. The engine rumbles beneath us, the boat cutting through the calm ocean, and the white dots of seabirds cluster together on the water, gossiping and preening their feathers.
Ask him. Just ask him.
Ask him if he still wants you.
Why is this so freaking hard? I just survived a band of mercenaries, damn it! I hiked up a volcano! I tramped through a jungle! Why are these feelings so much scarier?
River steps behind me, his chest warm and solid against my back, and grips the rail on either side of my hands.Oh.
