by C. L. Stone
I looked at his eyes, the storm of tension swelling as he seemed to think about the situation. If I gave him any more reason to leave, I had to believe he would. Another dirty girl trick landed on my tongue. I needed him to feel like it was us against them, and that I was for sure on his team no matter what. I hated to use it, but I needed to tip him into my favor; it might be the only way. “Which is why I had Marc call you,” I said. “I couldn’t do this without you, and I didn’t want to leave it to Blake. I’m sorry I hid him from you. I just didn’t want to fight in front of the boys.” I lowered my head. “I sort of failed at that.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I was sick below,” I said. “Raven left me alone. He had to, because he needed to find someone to help. Avery or Doyle must have been listening and alerted Blake that I was in trouble. He checked on me, gave me some medicine...but then Brandon discovered him and attacked him.”
Axel growled, his hand on the table balling into a fist. “They’re listening? Now? I thought it was just Avery.”
“Doyle’s monitoring. I think he pipes in information to Avery and Blake, or he can get them to listen to us on the ship wherever we are. I can see why they’d need to for the mission, but…” I didn’t want to say the next part, that I wasn’t sure if I trusted them to listen in on every little thing we did, including possibly right now while we were having this discussion.
He huffed, his lips twisting. He didn’t like this news at all. “I’d wondered about this. I’d told the boys…” He trailed off, although I had a feeling he might have told the guys to not talk about the Academy or anything too private if they weren’t sure about being overheard here. Maybe that was why Raven went through the room.
“I demanded Brandon let me tell you first. I had meant to first thing but then I was sick.” I grabbed his shoulder, clutching at his blue polo. “We need to be here. If I’d left, Blake was going to be in charge of an operation that could affect a good portion of Charleston. Thousands of jobs could be gone in a flash if things go wrong. If I’m a co-lead, at least nothing happens until we can both agree to terms. Maybe...maybe that will be enough to turn things in our favor. We could make sure no one is hurt, and that innocent people keep their jobs.”
Axel blinked at me, looking at my hand on his shoulder for a second and then refocusing on me. “I should take you off this boat right now,” he said.
I started to shake my head when his hand lifted from the table and he planted a single finger across my lips. “Don’t...” I mumbled against his touch.
“But I get why you agreed to this,” he said. “If we’re going to make this work, we need our own objectives. I’ve got a few more requests.”
I stared at him, imploring him to go on since I didn’t want to mumble against his fingers again.
He moved his hand, drifting it over to the side of my neck to hold there. “The first one is if Blake doesn’t listen to you, and if Ethan does try to sweep things under the rug to his own ends instead of fixing them, that you leave with us. There’s not much point for you to be here if they are going to make you an accessory in their own plans.”
Sounded reasonable. If neither listened when the time came, then he was right. “What else?”
“I need to talk to Blake and Doyle. I need to know what they’re doing and what their role is going to be.”
I resisted the urge to gulp at this. Would it be a good idea to get Blake and Axel together? I didn’t know if Doyle could hear Axel talking quietly like this, with music playing. That is, if he was awake this early at all. Still, they were going to run into each other eventually. Hopefully Axel wasn’t going to threaten them too much. “And?”
“You and I are joined at the hip now,” he said. “While we’re on this boat, we need to stick together.”
“What about Raven and the others?”
He bent forward until his forehead was close to mine and the storm in his eyes almost overtook me. “From this point on,” he said very slowly, every word expressed in his stoic, calm way, “you and I are to never get out of arm’s reach of each other on this boat. Those are my terms. We don’t proceed without agreeing to this. There are many reasons, but one being if Ethan or Blake come to you to talk about what to do, then I want to be there. No more whisking you off ahead of the others to get you alone. No secret meetings.”
Did I need Axel to be at my elbow every minute? Did he not trust me to make the decisions? Maybe this was to test me, too. It was on the tip of my tongue to argue a point of some sort, to defend my reasons for being the one to make decisions, but after I’d made so many mistakes before, maybe he was right. He might stop me from shooting anyone else in the leg if I got angry, among other things. Plus, I didn’t have much of a choice.
I lowered my head, looking at the smooth white cloth of his pants. “I agree,” I said.
With his hand holding the side of my neck, his thumb stretched out to the side of my jaw. With a gentle pressure, he lifted my head. When I was looking at him, his palm slid down to my neck again. It was a warm touch and the storm in his eyes had calmed. “I’m not here to tell you what to do,” he said. “I just can’t stand by and let anyone use you, most importantly for their own gain without any regard for anyone else...including your safety. Going through with this means if the police ever catch wind of this, you’ll be in the middle, and will likely go down with them. You need to seriously consider what you’re about to do. ”
I didn’t think Ethan or Blake would do anything to draw the attention of the police. Still, I appreciated the warning from Axel, especially about something I hadn’t had time to consider yet. “So what do we do?” I asked.
His thumb glided along my neck. “I need to go find the boys before they kill each other over this little secret you’ve been keeping.”
I slumped a bit. I wondered if Brandon had gotten word to the rest of them. I could imagine his protests. What about Marc? And Kevin? Would they urge Axel to walk away now? “Can I make a request?” I asked.
“What?”
“Do I really have to be there when that happens?”
WITH US OR AGAINST US
Despite my protests of not wanting to talk to the boys together, Axel was unrelenting. I had to face the music.
Axel made a request to Avery to get a boardroom to ourselves to talk. Avery had called the others in as he showed Axel and I the way there.
Avery’s idea of a boardroom was actually more like a lounge. It was really a big space with lots of leather sofas, coffee tables and a fireplace around the perimeter. The wall panels were wood and there was a small bar to one side. He probably wanted to keep us comfortable and happy.
Although if this was a rich person’s cruise ship, then would they have regular office boardrooms, or lounge-like rooms?
Avery had opened the door for Axel and I, but then left quickly, saying he had some things to do. I shared a short look with him. I wondered if he knew what I was doing, because his expression was sympathetic, like for a crewmember ordered to walk the plank.
The other guys had beat us to the room. Brandon was standing by the fireplace, his arms folded across his chest. His face was red, looking like he was about to light himself on fire with how angry he was. He had changed clothes and was now in all black, slacks and a light jacket over a shirt, and for some reason, his dark outfit made him look even meaner.
Corey and Raven were sitting on a sofa. Corey was fiddling with his cell phone, wearing tan corduroy pants and a black jacket like Brandon’s. The lines of the corduroy made his legs look even longer. Raven was in the same brown long sleeve shirt he had been wearing earlier, his arms folded over his chest as he glared at the coffee table in front of him. From the way they weren’t talking, I had a feeling they’d argued and now were only sitting together because they had to.
Kevin was in an armchair, his legs crossed at the ankle as he slumped down low. He didn’t appear angry, just confused and bored with waiting.
Marc was next
to him in another armchair. There were deep circles under his mismatched eyes and his head was back as he looked at the ceiling. He wore the same jeans and black boots as the night before. I hoped he hadn’t been up all night.
The further we got in the room, the more I positioned myself behind Axel, trying to make him my shield.
“Close the door, Kayli,” he said, giving away my position.
I cringed and went to shut the door, eliminating my only quick means of escape. I breathed out slowly and then swallowed my fears. Axel wouldn’t let Brandon talk him into leaving just because he didn’t like Blake. Corey was on my side. I’d let Axel do the talking as much as possible. I pulled myself together and then stepped beside Axel to join in on this conversation.
Corey put his phone away. Marc and Kevin sat up. Raven was the only one who didn’t move, except for his eyes that were now focused on Axel.
Unfortunately it was Brandon who I made eye contact with first as I looked around the room. This set him off. He stepped forward, his arms stiff at his sides, hands turning into fists. His usual sad eyes were now blazing with hurt. It killed me to see him like that. “So she told you?” he said in an almost shout at Axel. “Tell me we’re leaving the ship now before it sails.”
Axel showed no emotion. He lifted a palm. “Before you speak,” he said quietly, “I’d like to have the floor without interruption.”
Brandon groaned, and raked his fingers harshly through his hair. “You can’t be seriously considering it!”
“Brandon,” Axel said. “Please.”
Brandon rolled his eyes and then took a step back, forcing his hands into his pockets. He pressed his lips together tightly. His face was still red, but he held himself together.
“Everyone knows what we’re here for and what we’re dealing with. I won’t go over our objectives again; how we’ll be dealing with Ethan’s problems. However, Kayli has just brought some new information to my attention.”
Kevin shifted until his elbows were on his knees as he leaned forward. “And you’re going to tell us what the hell is going on?”
Axel put his finger to his lips and Kevin leaned back in his chair, staying silent. Axel continued. “When Kayli arrived here last night, it was Blake Coaltar who was in charge of the team.”
Marc shifted, looking like he was about to stand up. Kevin’s spine straightened. Brandon stared at the floor. Corey’s eyes shifted from his brother to his friends, as if gauging their reactions. Raven was the only one unmoved by this news.
“She’s cleverly placed herself in position as a co-lead, a position she felt compelled to take when she learned Blake could be the single entity holding the fate of half of Charleston in his hands.”
Brandon changed from anger to confusion as he looked at me. “A co-lead?”
Axel sliced his hand through the air. “I’m not done,” he said in a stern, commanding tone. “Our dealings with Ethan and Blake and the rest of their team now lay with how they handle the situation moving forward. Kayli has agreed to their terms with conditions. We will gather information. We will provide suggestions as to how to handle both the money uncovered, and the people involved in the alleged crimes. If they refuse to listen, or at least negotiate how to handle things, if they ignore Kayli, then after this voyage, we’ll be leaving.”
I shifted on my feet. Axel made it sound like I was the one who’d come up with all of this. I didn’t disagree with what he said, but I wasn’t sure if I should get the credit.
Brandon’s shoulders lowered, but he was still looking at me. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Axel motioned to me. “She was aware of our resistance to anything involving Blake Coaltar. She’s not an idiot.”
“I didn’t say that,” Brandon said, his tone quieter now.
“She told me the moment I got on the ship,” Corey said. He looked at his brother, his hands spread out, palms open. “I didn’t say anything because she wanted to speak to Axel first alone, but she checked in with me while everyone was busy. We weren’t in immediate danger so I agreed to let Axel decide. We had time to learn about it before the boat took off. We still have time to leave if we really want.”
“Maybe we should,” Kevin said. “We don’t have any guarantees that they’ll actually listen to her.”
“I’m no expert,” I said, “I’m not really sure why they wanted me, specifically. It seems, though, that Ethan isn’t really sure who to trust anymore. We, including you guys, have been the only ones who came in to help without asking for anything in return, without really knowing who he was. As of right now, we might very well be the only ones he can trust with this. He’d married someone trying to take his secret cell phone service before. He’d said he was a poor judge of character. He may not know who else to turn to. We were brought in from the outside, and we have no angle or business with him at all. It may be the reason why he needs us in on this.”
The boys fell silent, looking at each other. I got the feeling they felt like I did, that it was odd to be trusted by Ethan, and yet we really didn’t know much about him, either. Maybe that was the point. We’d saved Ethan when we didn’t have to, so Ethan felt we were trustworthy.
How sad for Ethan. He had no close friends or family he trusted right now. He only had us, a group of practical strangers who helped save his life and save his invention from being used for the wrong purpose.
“It might be their only chance to listen,” Marc said quietly. Faces turned toward him. He was calm compared to everyone else. His eyes were looking at the floor, but they were shifting, too, calculating. “If they don’t listen to Kayli, we might need to stay anyway.”
“Why?” Axel asked.
“Because then we’d be leaving the fate of half of Charleston in their hands, just like you said.” He lifted his head now, his face assured. “Kayli is our only link to how they proceed, now and in the future. I hope they’ll listen to her, because otherwise we’d have to leave her as co-lead. We’d have to use her to figure out their moves so we can counteract any if we tried to work against them at any point. If they don’t do the right thing, we’ll have to. She’d be our information source. The rest of our friends will have to take steps to intervene where possible. Don’t you see? She’s our link now.”
Axel’s head recoiled at this, but then he drew himself back and started to nod slowly. “I hate to say it,” he said, “but you’re right. If what happens with this team means they’ll make trouble for Charleston, public or not, it’ll require everything we’ve got to intervene for the better of the city.”
I gritted my teeth, suddenly afraid for Blake. How could I get any of them to agree if they didn’t trust each other? I stepped forward. “We don’t need to look at that right now,” I said. “We can’t go into this assuming Blake will make the wrong choices, or that Ethan’s only goal is to save the money and sweep everything under without any consequences. Blake’s helped us before, even saving our lives. Maybe...maybe if we actually try to get friendly with him, we can motivate him when the time comes. In a good way. He doesn’t seem that bad.”
“It’s not a bad goal, Kayli,” Axel said. “Maybe he isn’t that bad of a person, but he’s too close to our other friends, and he has the potential to expose us, putting more than us in danger.” He eyeballed me, making me realize he was trying to protect the Academy. “But we’ve only got a few days on this boat to make friends. Is he going to trust us? I don’t feel like he does.”
“Have we given him a reason to?” I rubbed at my stomach with a palm, considering our options. “We’re in this together now. We should try to be friends. He asked for me to join, knowing you all would follow. He’s sticking his neck out to invite us along, knowing you all don’t trust him, but he realizes he needs more people. He has to know he’s asking for you all to watch his back if this job gets dangerous.” I studied them, although they didn’t meet my eyes, but instead they all appeared to be in deep thought, considering the situation we were in. �
�We can’t expect change overnight, however, would we rather get someone like Blake Coaltar on our side or against us?”
The team was quiet. Brandon glared at the floor.
Corey sat up, scooting to the edge of the sofa. “Kayli and I can get friendly,” he said. “It might not require all of us. Maybe just a couple of us can do it and that’ll be enough to influence him to do the right thing.”
“I go with Kayli,” Raven said, surprising everyone.
“We’re not leaving Kayli,” Axel said.
Raven grunted. “If it requires being friends with Blake, then we are now friends.”
“Raven,” Kevin said, rolling his eyes. “That’s not how friendship works.”
“How is it different?” Raven asked. “Aren’t you and I friends?”
“Yeah, but...”
“It’s because I say we are,” he said. I had to smile at his oversimplification of the friendship process. Maybe for Russians, it was like marriage: You just made the decision in an instant and it happens quickly.
“Well my only problem is how we get this past our other special friends,” Kevin said, clearly talking about the Academy. “They won’t be thrilled. Not at all.”
“We either do this, or we put Charleston at risk,” Axel said. “It’s not a hard decision to make. They can’t exactly bring other people in on this now. Not on this side of things. Kayli’s our only link with Ethan at this point and she is our responsibility.”
“That may not stop them from wanting to put other people in this,” he said. “You know that, right? There might be a way to get more people on this boat, or even in league with those other companies on his list.”
The Academy would add in more people? I hadn’t considered it. I knew there were others, like Dr. Roberts, and then there were the kids that had been at the gun range. I wondered who they could get to come aboard on short notice and then who they could ask to join Nightingale or the other affiliated companies. If they did, I could learn much more about the Academy than before.