“I have you to look after me,” I say, sliding my arms around his waist. “Fifteen days ago, I didn’t have any friends, let alone know how to be one. I’ll take the weight of the world over loneliness any day.”
Tucking my hair behind my ear, he sighs. He’s exhausted; his eyes more blood shot than usual.
“You need to sleep.”
He raises an eyebrow in mock sternness. “No worrying about me. I’m made of tough stuff.”
“Hard-core,” I say, and we both grin. “But I’m afraid, Mr. Lovick, that worrying about you comes part and parcel with loving you and... I love you- I love you- I love you.”
Yana and Wheeler appear from the bedroom. “Let’s do this together, Teds” Yana says, softly. “I’ll share some of that weight.”
I don’t care that they overheard our conversation. In fact, an unexpected surge of relief floods my body. I take Yana’s hand and head out to find Maggie.
The brilliance of dawn has been replaced with grey cloud and the threat of rain. I prefer the weather gloomy; it reflects my mood much better.
At first, I don’t see Maggie sat with her legs curled against her chest, looking out at the horizon. She has slotted herself between a lounger and a railing, clearly looking for solitude. I know we’re intruding, but I don’t care. Jude sits in the cabin watching Maggie like a hawk. His jaw is squared and his lips form a taut, thin line.
Maggie looks our way as we take a seat on the lounger. “Did he send you?” She nods toward Jude. Her words slur, and her breath reeks of alcohol.
“No, we need to hear your side of the story,” I say.
“I thought you’d believe anything Uncle Jude told you.” Her eyes narrow, daring me to take the bait. I have seen Maggie irritated, devastated, even raging with anger, but I’ve never seen her bitter.
“Why did you have the phone, Maggie?” Yana asks.
I know Yana feels the betrayal as keenly as I do. I think she knows the reason as well as I do too, but we’re both in denial and daren’t voice it out loud.
Maggie laughs into the air. “I’m done running.”
There it is.
Yana springs to her feet. “So, you were going to turn us in? You know what they’d do to us- you included. What is wrong with you?” she shouts. “I never thought you’d stick the knife in.”
“You never thought Haydn would either, but he did. Perhaps you’re in need of a wakeup call, Yana. It seems to me that you don’t just play at being a ditzy blonde.”
Yana recoils from Maggie’s words, but doesn’t retaliate. She throws me a tentative look.
“Haydn had no choice,” I reply on Yana’s behalf. “You have a choice, Maggie.”
“Don’t you preach at me.” She stands, swaying as she steps closer, and pointing a finger in my face. “Don’t you dare say a damn thing to me.”
“Maggie you’re drunk. Okay, you were going to turn us in, we can’t change that, but I think you need to calm down, sober up, and then we’ll talk about it.”
Cooper, Fabian, October, and Seth emerge on deck. They hover a few metres away, unsure of what they have walked into.
Maggie rises to the challenge at the sight of them. “No, let’s do this now. I want to hear what Miss Two Faced has to say. You’ve come out of this pretty unscathed- an Uncle- a boyfriend.”
Her words hit me like physical blows. “Are you serious?” I say. It’s more of a rhetorical question, but she nods anyway. “I’m grateful for every person I have in my life now, but don’t you dare undermine the importance of the people I have lost.”
Jude flies out of the cabin, his temper flaring, but one look from me stops him in his tracks. If he opens his mouth it will only escalate the situation.
“You undermine the importance of the person I lost every moment you stand beside the man who had him murdered,” Maggie screams in my face.
Adam, Wheeler, and Emiko rush out behind the others. Adam pushes his way through Cooper and Fabian, but Jude places a hand on his chest to stop him intervening.
“Isaac had him murdered. Your friend- Boyd’s friend- wanted him dead. That’s the issue here, not me,” I retort. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Maggie? Jude is my uncle, and whether you want to admit it or not, he is helping all of us. I’m not going to talk to you when you’re like this. You’ll regret it once you’ve slept it off.”
“I’ll tell you what I regret. I regret ever allowing Boyd to talk me into Isaac’s rescue scheme. We should have left you to rot in Facility One. If it wasn’t for you, none of this would have happened.”
“That’s enough, Maggie,” says Adam. He shakes his head in disgust, but she turns away from him.
“The way I see it, it is you they want; you and your Uncle are the ones of interest to them. The rest of us can get registered and carry on with our lives- what little lives we have left. If we get rid of you, we get rid of our problem.” She pulls a gun from her waistband, pressing the barrel against my forehead, and releasing the safety.
My breath catches in my throat.
Both Adam and Jude jump the railings, landing just feet away. Adam’s palm ignites in a flash of blue, and Jude’s hand is outstretched.
Yana lunges forward, knocking the gun out of Maggie’s grip, and her hand meets her cheek with a resounding slap. Maggie staggers away from her, the shock sobering her up somewhat.
“You can say what you like to me, but don’t you ever, ever threaten my family,” Yana screams at her.
Maggie’s eyes bulge in their sockets. “Yana, I’m—”
“No, don’t you dare try to justify yourself. That can’t be undone. If you point a gun in my sister’s face, you better have a spine to go with it.”
“She is not your sister! You need protecting from her. You all need protecting from the pair of them. We will all die, and these two—” She thrusts a hand into my chest, shoving me backward into Jude, “These two will be stood on top of our bones.”
My whole body shakes as I back away from Maggie, stumbling over the lounger. Adam’s at my side in a split second. “What- I don’t- She just—” I stammer, clutching at his chest.
“Adam, take Teddie downstairs,” shouts Yana. I’ve never heard authority in her voice before and it’s quite something. She turns back to Maggie as Adam leads me away. “That girl allowed me to almost drown her, so she didn’t have to use her ability against me. She took a bullet for me. She killed Isaac to save us. Don’t tell me who I need protecting from.”
“She has blinded you. You’re blinded, Yana.”
“Don’t talk to me like you know me. Tie her up.”
The door to the stairs closes, and the movement of feet ascending on Maggie disappears behind us.
***
Words fail me. I want to say something to Adam, I just have no idea what. My mouth opens and closes like a fish. I’m not even sure if that really happened?
“Did Maggie just pull a gun on me?” I finally whisper, the words followed by vomit. I swallow it back down.
Adam holds me to him. “Yes, but that is the first and last time. I promise you, next time I’ll kill her.” His voice is full of hatred and I’m glad. If the shoe was on the other foot, I’d kill anyone who threatened him. I have proven that already.
Jude enters the lounge. The three of us just stare at each other.
“Where’s Maggie?” Adam asks. Every muscle in his body is tense.
“She’s tied up on deck. I left Wheeler in charge of her.”
“I want her off this yacht and as far away from Teddie as possible.”
Jude nods. “I’m working on it.”
Adam’s arms tighten around me. “Until then, she will remain tied up, someone will watch her twenty-four seven, and we’ll take watch in shifts.”
Jude agrees and hands Adam a gun. “There are three guns on this boat. Wheeler has one, you keep hold of this one, and I’ve got one.” The one he turns over in his hands is the one Maggie had stuck in my face.
He sees
me looking. “She must have taken it when I was in the shower. I’m sorry, Princess. If anything had happened to you…Yana was quick on her feet. That girl is growing on me.”
“Yana was on top form,” Adam says. “But she won’t need to be again. You’re not leaving my sight.” His look is as straight as a die.
“Isn’t this all a bit—”
“No, Teds. I’m not letting you out of my sight. I left you alone with Isaac and he almost took you from me. I’m not making that mistake again.”
“Maggie’s not Isaac. Anyway, I can look after myself.”
Adam scratches at his temple with the gun. “Just indulge me. I need you with me for now. Can you please do this for me?”
I roll my eyes at him. He’s making me melt again, making me feel safe, cocooned, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. I know how ugly the world can be and I need to be prepared for it. I need to be on my toes, not slipping into a false sense of security.
“It’ll make me feel better,” he says, softer.
“Actually, I’d also feel better if you stick with Adam,” says Jude. Adam and I gawp at him. “What?” he asks.
“You just called me Adam.”
Jude stalks out of the room. “Well, that’s your bloody name, ain’t it?”
We smile to each other. Jude calling him Adam and not Lovick is monumental. There has been a shift in the dynamics. Jude sees him as a friend, or at least trusts him.
Adam throws an arm around my shoulder. “Please stay close to home,” he whispers into my ear, kissing my neck.
He is my home; the only home I have and I never plan on moving out. “Okay, I’ll be on house arrest, but only because you asked so nicely.”
A smile curls at the edge of his lips. “How are you doing?”
Someone must have just made coffee as the hot scent calls to me. I walk away from Adam. I know he watches me, he has a knack for seeing passed my front and it makes me feel exposed.
“Do you want some?” I ask, pouring a mug for myself. It’s better to do something, anything other than talk about what just went down.
Adam sighs. “Teddie, I know you. Talk to me.”
A phone rings, scaring me, and I almost spill the coffee all over myself. The bulky contraption vibrates across the breakfast bar. Adam picks it up, but before he can answer it, Jude rushes into the room and snatches it out of his hands.
He listens intently. “Okay, you know what to do,” he says into the receiver, and then hangs up.
I drop my cup into the sink. Jude has turned as white as snow, and he shakes his head.
“Well?” Adam asks him.
“We’ve got to go,” he says, before racing up to the deck. We sprint after him, following him into the cabin. “They’re looking for the yacht.”
“Who are?” I ask, as the engine rumbles into life.
“Who isn’t?” His hair has started to fall out of his ponytail. “She must have managed to get the word out. We need to get back to shore— now.”
The yacht shudders as the anchor is wound in. Adam runs out of the cabin, jumping the railings into the speed boat tied at the back of the yacht.
“Get in,” he shouts to the others. “Come on, Teddie.”
Wheeler looks to me like I should know something. “What? Why?”
Maggie hangs her head. She looks almost remorseful. I glare at her, daring her to look at me. She does and her eyes are dead. I have to look away; a chill cuts through my whole body like a knife of ice.
“They’re coming. She sold us out,” says Adam.
Cooper kicks at the railings. “They could already be half way here,” he growls.
The yacht slowly starts to turn. Adam steadies himself in the speed boat, and Emiko, October, and Seth climb in.
“Exactly, so move your ass,” Adam replies.
Wheeler drags Maggie to her feet. “What are we doing with her?”
“Leave her. She’s a liability,” says Cooper, without as much as a glance in Maggie’s direction.
Although her hands are tied, Maggie grips onto Wheeler’s shirt. “Don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“Teddie,” Adam calls again. I can hear his impatience.
Cooper and Fabian get into the speed boat. Jude emerges from the cabin, studying Maggie thoughtfully.
I don’t want to be involved in the decision of what to do with Maggie. Part of me wants to leave her to rot just like she wishes she did to me at Facility One, but part of me feels like I owe Boyd a debt even though the woman pulled a gun on me.
“I was drunk. I shouldn’t have called us in, but I was angry- angry and drunk.” Maggie is hysterical, grappling for Wheeler’s hand.
I jog passed them, keeping my eyes on Adam. Maggie lunges forward, grabbing my wrist. She drops to her knees at my feet, shaking my arm violently.
“Don’t leave me here. Tell them to take me to land. Don’t let them leave me here, Teddie.”
“Don’t you touch her,” snaps Yana.
I pull my arm free. “Why should I do anything for you?” I walk away, leaving her sobbing into the deck. Every thud of my converse is like a nail being hammered into the coffin of mine and Maggie’s relationship. I keep my strides strong, confident, but it’s Yana’s arm around my waist that keeps me from crumpling onto the deck. She doesn’t let go until Adam helps me into the speed boat.
Jude crosses the deck to Wheeler. “We’ll take her with us. She knows too much. The last thing we need is her running her mouth.” He turns to Maggie. “You’re coming, but once I decide what to do with you, I’ll let you know.”
“You mean once you decide how to kill me?” Maggie hisses at him. Wheeler takes her elbow and she straightens herself out. “That’s what is going to happen, right?”
“If that’s what it comes to,” Jude replies, taking her other elbow. “But it’s not something I want my niece to witness right now.”
Maggie looks at his hand touching her arm as if the mere touch of Jude will dissolve her skin.
CHAPTER FOUR
The sea is choppier than the night we arrived causing the speed boat to rock unsteadily. Jude starts the engine, and in one flick of his wrist, the yacht lurches forward, sailing away toward the horizon. He turns the speed boat one hundred and eighty degrees, sending us scattering to the sides in a bid to hold on, and then thrusts her into forward.
Over my shoulder, I watch the yacht gaining distance - another safe house gone. Across the stern I see the name I hadn’t noticed when we arrived; ‘February Girls’ stands out in proud, black lettering.
“I named her for you and your mother,” Jude whispers into my ear.
A pang of something resembling guilt gnaws at my stomach- it’s the 22nd of February- Shana’s birthday. The look that Jude gives me tells me he knows it too.
“Where are we going?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Someplace safe... I hope.”
I snort. “Reassuring.”
Jude smiles to himself and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Adam and I will keep you safe.”
“Thank you, but I’m not a total basket case.”
Adam stands beside us. “No one is saying that you are. Just let us be here for you.”
My heart aches for my Dad right now, but I know he’d be relieved to see me with two men willing to protect me. I’m not sure what Dad made of Jude, but I know he would have loved Adam. And after everything, I’m sure he’d be proud of me- proud of the way I have handled myself- proud that I stood on my own two feet- and proud that I put an end to Isaac. I will let Jude and Adam look after me, but I won’t let myself get complacent.
***
We approach the shore and a spark of confidence ignites in my belly. The sea and sky are clear of boats and choppers, and even Adam relaxes a little at the prospect of land.
Large raindrops fall cool against my bare shoulders.
“That’s bloody perfect,” Cooper barks, pulling his jacket over his head.
The rain falls harder, hitting the water like marbles as we round the rock into an inset bay. The beach appears untouched, and an intimidating wall of cliffs cut off any access to the public.
“I’ll take her in as far as I can, but be prepared to get wet,” Jude calls over the noise of the engine.
As we speed toward the sand, my heart sits in my throat. Adam has a firm grip on my hand and his eyes scan the area. His lips purse in concentration and worry, and he shares an ominous look with Jude and Wheeler. The spark of confidence in my belly quickly fizzles out.
“There’s a p-p-erson up there. L-look,” shouts Seth, his stutter worse from anxiety.
Through the misty spray I can just make out the blurred outline of a silhouette. I automatically recall the sight of Roscoe standing on the cliff top that night at the cove. I force myself to take in the details of the mystery shape. It sways in the wind.
“It’s just a tree?” calls Wheeler. “I think?”
My chest tightens all the more. My rational brain knows it is a tree, but the irrational part is telling me that it’s Roscoe. ‘He’s dead,’ I tell myself. ‘I saw him die.’
The memory of Dad jumping into the sea bursts to the forefront of my mind. ‘Not now,” I whisper, bracing myself against the effects of the memory.
“I’m your Dad, Teddie Bear.” His voice rattles around in my head. I stumble backward, knocking into Wheeler, and we hit the water in a flail of arms and legs.
There is about three hundred yards to the shore, and the swell around the rocks has a nasty rush to it. The wake from the boat ebbs over my head, and rain pummels at the water with such ferocity that the spray rises about six inches off the surface.
Wheeler spits back water. “Lovely weather for swim,” he says, laughing.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
Wheeler’s face disappears and is replaced by Dad’s. “I love you and as far as I am concerned you are my daughter.”
EVO Shift: EVO Nation Series: Book Two Page 3
