Chapter 36
POLANCO
The car slowed to a stop and Adria got out.
Gulls screaming overhead, the docks smelled like fish and seaweed.
The cold sea breeze calmed her nerves. The car ride had been stiflingly hot and filled with anxious energy.
Sweat pooled at the small of her back, and tension knotted in her muscles.
Each one of them pretended to look forward, but everyone in the car was routinely looking over their shoulders.
If they were caught now—if they had a tail—their entire plan would be ruined.
The shipyard offered no escape routes, no plan B: just the vast, unforgiving sea before them or certain death.
Adria felt Kaydon’s warm palm slip into hers, his calluses rough against her skin as she made her way toward the hulking silhouette of the S.S.
Dominion, its rusted hull reflecting a dull gleam in the sunlight.
Vega assured her of the vessel’s safety and that the men on the ship had been paid for their silence.
“So, this is our new home for the next few weeks?” Seth asked, standing next to Kaydon.
The area was crowded, and their group wore nondescript ponchos and rain jackets. Adria pulled her hood further over her head, looking down at her red rain boots.
Eric moved ahead of them, talking with the ship’s captain. After a few minutes of conversation, he waved their party over.
“Alevras, this is Miss Smith,” Eric said, gesturing to her.
Adria extended her hand.
Alevras’s hand was unexpectedly smooth as it closed around hers. He was of medium build, his eyes flicking over the group before settling back on her
“Just the four of ye then?” he said, voice steady above the creaking ramp.
Adria shook her head. “No, we have—”
“Four will be great,” Eric interrupted.
Alevras gave a curt nod. “Fine, I’ll give ya a moment to collect your things, but we are leaving port in twenty.” His wet boots made squelching sounds against the wood as he strode away.
“Eric, why four?” she asked.
From the back of the group, Elena’s calm tone answered, “Because I’m staying behind.”
Adria turned.
“Sota has a new plane waiting for me. No tail this morning, so it should be safe, seeing as they are looking for you lot and not me.”
“Back to California?” Bryson asked, and Adria felt a swell of emotion fill her.
Elena nodded. “Gonna do some digging on your behalf. Keep your phones on. I’ll let you know what I find.”
Kaydon was the first to step forward, pulling her into a warm embrace.
“Take care of yourself, kid,” he said.
Seth stood in front of her, shifting awkwardly until Elena rolled her eyes and pulled him in for a hug.
Adria didn’t know what she was feeling. If it hadn’t been for Elena, she wouldn’t have found the boys in time.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Adria said.
“Just keep those three safe,” Elena said in complete seriousness.
Adria nodded. “I will.”
Tears burned behind Adria’s eyes as she pulled the young woman into her arms, squeezing her slight frame against hers.
“You are lucky to have them,” Elena said in her ear.
“You’ll find yours,” Adria said as she pulled away and noticed Elena glanced at Eric before returning eye contact.
Bryson and Elena just stood across from each other for a long time. Adria pulled Seth and Kaydon away to give them some privacy.
“If there are only four going on the ship, who else isn’t coming?” Seth asked.
Adria stopped walking.
“I’m going to head to X’s on my own,” Eric said, and Adria’s stomach dropped.
“No,” she said.
“Adria, it’s already done. Elena is going to get me part of the way and I’ll manage the rest.”
“I don’t see the purpose in splitting up,” she said, hands shaking.
Eric pulled her hood further over her face and put both hands on her shoulders.
“I’m going to make sure the coast is clear. I’ll be waiting for you when you dock.”
In a lower voice, he said, “You are in good hands.”
Is that what he thought? That she didn’t need him anymore?
“I don’t think that’s a good—”
“All set,” Alevras said from behind her.
Adria looked over to see Bryson embracing his sister. Turning her gaze to Eric, she said, “You will be there when we land.”
He nodded. “Not even a question.”
“No, it’s not,” she said.
The ship loomed over them, its vastness making Adria feel suddenly small.
As Alevras led them across the deck, her boots caught on rusted metal patches where green paint had long ago surrendered to salt and time.
She nodded mechanically at his explanations, but the words dissolved into the crash of waves and the hollow space Eric should have filled beside her.
Each time the wind gusted, she instinctively turned as if he might materialize to steady her.
Deckhands pretended absorption in their tasks, but their eyes followed the group’s progress—lingering.
Despite Vega’s and Sota’s money, Adria felt the weight of strangers’ scrutiny pressing against her skin.
The boat shifted under her feet, and Alevras explained they were ‘clearing the moor.’ It meant they were leaving the dock. Adria looked to shore, knowing that Eric and Elena would be long gone, but desperately wanting to see them one more time.
“We should go below deck. I can show you your sleeping arrangements,” Alevras said.
The stairs into the ship were narrow, and the metal clanked with each step. The railing was damp and the smell of the sea was mixed with the scent of metal. That, paired with the rocking movements, told Adria she was in for a long three weeks.
Bryson took her hand as they moved through the cramped hallway.
Alevras stopped in front of a small metal door, glancing at Bryson’s hand in hers.
“I—er, only arranged for one room. But if you would like, I could find a way to accommodate some privacy.”
Adria stared at him, not understanding his meaning, when Kaydon draped an arm around her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, we like to share.”
Adria felt a sudden flush creep up her neck and knew her cheeks matched the cherry red of her rubber rain boots. Across from her, Alevras rubbed the back of his neck, his ears pink, and slid a key into the lock. The latch clicked.
Inside, was a narrow space with two bunk beds pushed against opposite walls. A battered wooden end table sat beneath the small window, its surface cluttered with papers and a wrench. At the foot of each bed was a small trunk.
“There’s a private bathroom,” Alevras explained, stepping aside to let them in. “But showers are down the hall.”
“Communal showers?” Seth asked.
Alevras nodded.
“Miss Smith needs a time to shower when there will be no prying eyes, other than our own on her,” Seth said.
Adria didn’t think it was possible, but she was sure she turned a deeper shade of red.
“Of course,” Alevras said, “I’ll get a time set up for the four of you. That won’t be an issue.”
Alevras said his goodbyes and promised to check in on them later in the evening.
Uncomfortably, he pushed past her group and left the four of them alone.
Kaydon collapsed onto the lower bunk nearest the window, kicking off wet boots. “Feels just like summer camp,” he sighed, flopping back.
Bryson sat on the edge of the opposite bunk. “You never went to summer camp.”
“So? I know what it’s like,” Kaydon retorted, throwing a pillow at Bryson. “There is a pretty big problem, though.”
“What’s that?” Seth asked.
Kaydon sat up, wrapping his arms around Adria’s middle and pulling her into bed.
“Not really enough room for you two,” Kaydon said.
Adria squirmed in his arms. “We are going to have to work on your manners and how you tell people about us.”
“Why?” Bryson asked, one eyebrow cocked.
Adria loved that he was serious. Loved that they were wholeheartedly not ashamed in the slightest.
“How are we going to keep men and women away from you if they don’t know we’re yours?” Seth asked.
Adria slapped Kaydon’s arm and sat up. “Because you aren’t keeping people away from me. Because I am still my own person, and I don’t need you three putting me in a bubble.”
Bryson raised an eyebrow.
Kaydon lay down on the bed, arms behind his head. “You can be your own person. Just as long as they know we will rip their arms off if they so much as look at you wrong.”
Adria laughed. “What happened to the case-by-case basis we agreed upon?”
Seth spun a blade in his hand. “That’s how we are handling these cases for the foreseeable future.”