“He’s the best person I know,” I said, feeling the need to put my dad between us, bring him into this day somehow.
“Yes. He’s proved his worth where you’re concerned, but that doesn’t mean we, you and I, can’t be…” he paused as though stumped by his own thought, “friends,” he finally added, his mouth almost a grimace.
I nearly laughed out loud at the inadequacy of the word. Which didn’t make sense. Noah and I were friends, very special friends. I would even loosely consider Sol a friend now, and my dad was one of my best friends. For some reason the term “friend” didn’t fit with the man that was my father. Too simple? Too grand? Too ordinary? Maybe I wasn’t ready to put such a delineation on our relationship. All I knew was nothing would be simple or ordinary about my relationship with Athen no matter how it was defined.
A thud sounded behind me. We both turned.
“Are y’all trying to hurt my feelings not inviting me to your little family reunion?” Sol sauntered his way down the narrow deck. His eyes danced between me and Athen as if he were the only one who recognized the significance of this moment.
He wasn’t. My father’s face took on a pained look, one of regret, but also hopefulness.
“You might as well have been putting off smoke signals. I couldn’t resist,” Sol said.
I thought it was turning out to be one of the strangest days of my life. And that was saying something considering all the changes that had taken place over the last few months.
Athen cleared his throat. “You might as well stay and eat.”
Sol smiled and looked at me. “Good. I’m starving.”
Six
“I still don’t get it,” I said around another bite of cobia.
Athen’s boat might be old but it was well kept and well equipped. The teak wood gleamed under the afternoon sun. His kitchen, or galley I should say, was small, fully stocked, and the fish he’d prepared was fresh, as in I’d watched him skin and bone it, then sear the fillets in a pan with the right amount of butter and lemon. He and Sol drank beer. Athen offered me one, but I stuck with water.
“You could go anywhere. Why stay around here?” I put the question to Sol.
“I went to see my mom for a few days. She lives in Miami.” He lounged back on one of the seats, his feet propped up on the side of the boat, one arm behind his head. “I can only handle her in small doses and her newest boy toy is practically an infant. And I do have business interests that don’t require me to step foot on the continent. My clients know where to find me here.”
“So basically this boat arrest is nothing but a mild inconvenience.”
“Basically,” he said. “And barely that.”
“Do you have any other siblings?” It was possible his mom had children and he had other half-brothers or sisters.
“Not that I know of.” He turned to Athen, eyebrows raised. “Got any other secrets we should know about?”
Athen had kept mostly quiet, listening to Sol and I talk about everything and nothing. And even though I thought Sol was kidding, Athen’s face blanched at his offhanded question, his skin almost as pale as his eyes.
“No.” Something shifted in those pale eyes, the silver specks growing tarnished. He looked down at the flakey, white filet between his fingers.
“Did you love Sol’s mother?” The question popped out before I had time to consider that Sol was sitting right there and might not like the answer. I cast him a quick glance. He seemed disinterested, as if Athen’s answer didn’t matter one way or the other.
“Her name is Inez.” Athen crammed the fish in his mouth then lifted his fishing rod out of its holder mounted on the deck and reeled it in slowly. “No. I didn’t love her.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” I shouldn’t care. But I was offended on my mother’s behalf that he’d been so careless in spreading his seed. Sol was older than me by three years, which would have made Athen eighteen when Sol’s mother got pregnant. Mmm…two kids fathered by the time he was legal drinking age.
The bait still wiggled on the hook and Athen put the rod back in its holder, wiping his hands on his shorts. He bent down and rifled around in a small tool box, the contents of which I couldn’t see. When he stood up, he held a knife in his hand. It was small and delicate. Maybe the length of my hand.
“Here.” He handed the knife to me. “See how this feels.”
I took it, wrapping my fingers around the smooth pearl handle that shown beautiful iridescent silver.
“Noah’s the best one to teach you how to handle a knife. Get him to show you the basics in case you run into any more sharks.”
“You told him?” I glared at Sol in what I thought was proper sibling fashion, barely resisting the urge to stick out my tongue. Tattletale.
“You just asked me not tell Noah,” he said unapologetically, snagging the last bite of fish off my napkin.
“It was your grandfather’s,” Athen said, keeping his tone light and conversational, but I knew different. These symbols of belonging, of family, seemed to hold a lot of significance in our culture. This was the third such gift I’d received, the second from Athen. I wondered why it made my heart light that he would give me such an heirloom. One afternoon. All it had taken was one afternoon and all my remaining barriers I thought solidly in place crumbled, leaving me vulnerable to a man I thought I should hate.
I turned the knife over in my palm, testing its weight. It was pretty. Too pretty to bloody using it on a shark. Too pretty to be kept stored in a tool box. It belonged in one of Maggie’s displays. The way it flashed in the sunlight, it was like holding a bolt of lightning in my hand.
Sol uncurled from his reclined position and went to stand by the edge of the deck. I was too distracted by the blade in my hand to notice Athen had done the same. It wasn’t until my ears caught the faint drone of a motor that I looked up and saw the other boat still some distance away. It was heading straight for us.
“Like I said, smoke signals,” Sol said to my father. “Who is it?”
The air buzzed with energy. Whoever it was, they were both cagey.
“Flores,” Athen responded, his eyes glued on the boat tracking toward us.
“What the hell is Flores doing all the way up here?” The buzz grew more frantic as Sol’s fingers curled around the rail.
“As in Sterling Flores?” I stood, my skin tingling with awareness. I lay the knife on the seat over my empty napkin, afraid if I stuck it in my pocket or the belt loop of my shorts I’d end up stabbing myself.
Athen’s gray eyes slammed into mine like a hurricane-force wind. “How do you know that name?”
“He came in the shop the day before yesterday,” I said. “Commissioned some work from Maggie.”
“And you spoke to him? He saw you?”
“Well, yeah.” My gaze bounced between the two of them. Sol had an uncharacteristic far away look in his eyes, like he’d rather be somewhere else, and I noticed he was gripping the rail so tight his knuckles had gone white. My father looked enraged. This Flores meant something to them. And nothing good. “I was the only one in the shop.”
“Do you want me to take her away?” Sol released his death grip on the rail and replaced it with my left elbow, his sudden vigilance unnerving.
“No. He’s seen her. This was bound to happen sooner or later. Just stay beside her and make sure she behaves.” Athen looked pointedly at Sol, a niggle of doubt in his eyes. “Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Sol angled himself in front of me, shielding me from the view of anyone on the boat.
“If something bad happens,” my father said to me, “go with your brother. Stay with him.”
“What do you mean by bad? Who is Sterling Flores?” I had to shift to see around Sol as the boat grew closer. Boat was too quaint a word to describe what headed toward us. It wasn’t a big vessel, but it was shiny and sleek, built for speed, sitting high in the water. It was now close enough I could make out a few figures on the bow, the
ir stance purposeful, vigilant. Whoever they were, they weren’t out here for a joy ride or deep-sea fishing. I thought the one in the center could be Sterling Flores. His intent stare tethered to me all the way across the sparkling water.
“He’s a drug dealer.” Sol’s hand tightened on my arm, his voice terse. “Among other things.”
“You’re a drug dealer,” I said, my face void of expression. He was small time and he only dealt in cannabis. I wondered if Flores was his supplier. Not that I was going to ask. I was perfectly content with my ignorance of the drug trade.
”He’s a dangerous one,” Sol said.
“I think he’s given that up for politics,” Athen interjected with clear distaste.
“Yeah, well once a drug dealer…”
I looked up into Sol’s face. His eyes never wavered from the approaching boat, the muscle in his jaw clenched tight as a coil of his hair blew across his check. His body beside mine was hard as a statue, all rigid muscle as if on the verge of fight or flight. I wasn’t sure which.
“Sol,” Athen barked his name, arresting his attention from the oncoming boat. “None of that matters now. She does.”
My heart acted like a hammer pounding in my chest. The one I thought was Flores stripped off his shirt and dove into the water. Sol’s breath hissed between his teeth on a long exhale. When he turned to look at me, his face was all hard angles, his eyes two orbs of onyx. Dark voids of nothing. It was almost like he wasn’t even in there.
“Whatever you do, no wind, no rain. Nothing. Show him nothing,” he commanded before he shifted behind me.
As I looked closer at the men on Flores’s boat, I noticed they were all armed with guns. Assault rifles, the kind I’d only seen in the movies, as if they anticipated resistance. Or maybe it was to discourage it. “Are those guns?”
“Self-important asshole,” Athen mumbled to himself.
“I take it you don’t like Mr. Flores.” I could see Flores now, his shadow gliding under the surface of the clear water.
“It’s safe to say I don’t like Sterling.” He looked down at me and winked, the gesture incongruous with the tension running on full tilt.
I wished there were time for more questions, but Flores was already ascending the ladder, his dark head slick with water. His lips tilted on a grin as his webbed feet planted on the wooden deck. Blue eyes searched me out. Wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and the pearl on his neck, he was still imposing, his body warrior hard. Weaponless as far as I could tell, but who needed a weapon with the half a dozen men behind him loaded for bear. Sol stood so close the heat from his body seeped into mine.
Flores offered his hand to my father. “Athen, it’s been a while.”
Their handshake was cordial enough, despite the apparent animosity they shared. “Sterling.”
Flores turned his gaze to Sol and his repressed smile bloomed into something positively wicked.
“Sol.” The name sounded intimate coming off his lips, like they were old friends. “It’s good to see you. I’m relieved to find you looking well.”
“Like I give a shit,” Sol responded, his chest rumbling at my back.
Athen sent Sol a warning glance, but Sol was so focused on Flores it was like he had forgotten everyone else.
Flores laughed, shaking his head as water dripped off his fine-honed body. “Sol, you remain charming as always. I’m sorry your time in my employ didn’t work out well for you.”
“Is that what you call it?” Sol scoffed, leaving me to wonder what caused such ire to rise in Sol. His contempt for Flores was palpable.
“Let’s leave the past in the past shall we? I’m more interested in the future.” Flores’s eyes once again fell on me. “Caris Harper.” He grimaced around the name Harper like it tasted sour on his tongue.
My father turned and looked at me for the first time since Flores climbed on board. “Caris, it seems you’ve met Sterling Flores. He’s your uncle. Rena’s brother.”
* * *
It never occurred to me my mother might have family. At least not living. This man was my uncle? This man with the disarming smile and small army at his back?
Words failed me. Sterling Flores gazed upon me with open adoration. He reached out and took my hand, holding my fingers in his. He lifted it to his mouth, pressing his lips to the back of my knuckles. “You could be her, my sweet Rena.”
I flinched, my mind recoiling from Flores’s touch. A reaction I regretted. It seemed to fuel Sol’s barely contained rage and for all his talk of levelheadedness and retaining control, he sprang around me. His blade flashed in the sunlight, the sharp edge held to Flores’s throat. Like the tipping of a line of dominoes, every gun was now pointed at Sol.
“You will not touch her again without her consent. I’ll slit your throat if you do.”
Fog drifted over the water, a hazy curtain coming toward us. I curbed my response to the release of Sol’s energy, my instincts telling me to come to his defense. Athen made a warning sound. No doubt he felt it. His eyes cut to mine and he shook his head, the movement so slight I might have imagined it.
“Sol, it is only my fondness for you that is keeping you alive in this very moment. Your little tricks mean nothing.” Flores met Sol’s insolent stare with a haughty tilt of his chin.
“Do it,” Sol dared in a venomous tone. “I’ll take you with me and consider it a worthy sacrifice.”
Flores laughed again. He seemed amused rather than threatened by Sol’s recalcitrance.
“Sol, that’s enough,” Athen commanded, the words echoing over the water. Sol’s knife stayed pressed to the column of Flores’s throat as if he didn’t hear. Or didn’t care.
“So quick to defend sister.” Flores smirked. Something passed between the two of them, some knowing from dark eyes to blue. The muscles of Sol’s back quivered. “And you presume to judge me. Put that thing away before I change my mind and put a bullet in your head.”
“What do you expect Flores? You come here unannounced, into our waters, armed and spewing veiled insults. I’m getting bored. What is it you want?” Athen interjected, moving closer to me. Sol relaxed under the command of Athen’s words as if remembering himself. His knife dropped to his side, though he kept it in his hand when he reclaimed his position behind me. Flores must have given some kind of signal, though I didn’t see it. His men lowered their guns. The fog that was just beginning to build dissipated. My skin quieted. A trickle of sweat slid down my back. The air, the water, it tempted me. Use us, they said, and part of me wanted to. The other part wanted to hear what Flores, my uncle, had to say. Part of me mourned that one of the few links I had to my mother was someone I might not want to know.
“Is a little hospitality too much to ask? We were almost family once.” Flores’s eyes shifted back to me. “In a way, I suppose, we still are. Forgive me, Caris, I mean you no harm. I loved my sister very much. You don’t know how happy I was to hear about your existence. And quite surprised. I’m not fond of secrets.” An underlying threat accompanied his words.
”You and me both,” I muttered. Someone could have told me my mother had a brother.
“How is it exactly you are here?” Flores mused. He let his gaze drift from mine, a reluctant pulling away of his eyes. “Was this your doing?” Flores addressed my father, his eyes and tone like shards of broken glass.
“No. It was Rena’s and we’ve all paid the price for her deception. None more than Caris.”
Skipping the most sordid details, Athen told him of the circumstances of my birth, how I came to be here. The fact that I was a surprise to him as well. Was it just months ago? It felt like a lifetime. Another life altogether.
Flores’s eyes darted back to me, his interest clearly piqued. He seemed especially interested in the Charm and its power over me, its ability to keep me hidden for so long. “Remarkable,” he said. “Who could have wielded such a powerful Charm?”
“Rena found a way,” Athen said, his words closely guarded.
&
nbsp; Flores’s frustration showed. His finely chiseled jaw ticked, his eyes bright with agitation. “And this Patrick Harper? Has he been punished for his interference?”
“No one’s going to punish my dad. He didn’t do anything wrong.” I moved to step forward, the subtle threat to my dad spurring me into action. Sol held me in place, his breath hot with a warning on the back of my neck. The air grew thick. Heat buzzed under my skin. Now that I knew the how of it, it was getting painful to stem the release of power.
“She’s loyal to him,” Flores continued to address Athen as if I weren’t standing right in front of him.
“I’m right here. You don’t have to talk through Athen. Yes, I’m loyal to him. He’s my family.”
“Obviously you’ve done nothing to educate her.” Still Flores ignored me.
“I didn’t see the need to rush her into anything. We will deal with her situation as we see fit. You are not obliged to interfere.”
“There is always obligation when blood is involved. There are customs in place for a reason, Athen. I demand they be upheld.”
“Our tribe remains autonomous, Sterling. She is my daughter. She is where she belongs. You’ve overstepped your bounds coming here.”
“Have I?” Flores’s brow raised under his slick hair. “It is my duty to make sure she, as a female in my bloodline, is cared for. That she is safely ensconced in a tribe that has the ability to protect her. I’m not convinced yours does. Letting Rena flit about as she willed was a failure on my part, on the part of my father. I won’t make his mistake. I owe that to my sister. You may be content with the slow demise of your tribe, but I am not if she is a part of it.”
“Rena came with me willingly.”
“And look where that got her. You proved yourself unworthy. You disgraced her. You disgraced your tribe and have let it fall into near ruin.”
“Your politics aren’t welcome here. Caris is a part of this tribe. What we choose to abide by is no concern of yours. And I’m tired of your insults. Tread carefully, Sterling.”
Flores scoffed, his eyes dropping deliberately to the ankle monitor Sol wore. “I see you are still needlessly abiding by their rules. I’m confident, autonomous or not, you will abide by ours. Your association with this subspecies is worrisome. You align yourself with them. You allow your members to breed with them with no care for our future.”
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