Chapter 39
PORT OF SANTOS
Eric eased the battered Ford pickup onto a narrow side street lined with crumbling storefronts and cracked pavement.
He hoisted his duffel bag, its straps frayed and dust-caked, and set off on foot toward the distant roar of activity at the Port of Santos.
Elena’s husband had outfitted him like a seasoned traveler—stainless-steel canteen, spare water filter, vacuum-sealed rations, a threadbare tarp that could double as shelter—and Eric was quietly grateful for each unexpected provision.
It had been a long road and while Eric didn’t mind the solitude, he was ready for some familiar faces.
He had checked in on X’s house a few days prior.
X wasn’t home, and Eric hadn’t been allowed up, but the place was a fortress.
Now he stood in the harbor’s loading yard, the air thick with salt spray and the stench of diesel exhaust. Days without a shower meant that his khaki shorts bore smudges of grease, and his white shirt was stained yellow at the collar.
He leaned against a weathered warehouse door, surveying the horizon.
Ships.
So many ships, as far as his eyes could see. Any number of them could be the S.S. Dominion.
Eric knew she was safe. Adria had sent him texts multiple times a day since their departure.
What are you going to do now that she has them? Eric remembered Elena asking as they drove away three weeks ago.
He had just stared out the window. Adria wouldn’t need him anymore. His mind was already running through options about what his future would look like when they got back home.
He could take some private security jobs from Sage.
He could retire?
No, that didn’t sound fun.
You could go pick up Daniela, throw her over your shoulder and carry her away with you.
Eric bit down on his cheek, hard. Why was he having those types of thoughts?
Adria thought he was feeling left out, and that was why he was pulling away.
And maybe that was some of it, but maybe seeing her gain the connections she never thought she would have had him thinking about himself.
Whatever the reason, it seemed, he couldn’t get that dark-haired beauty out of his head.
Her sassy mouth was just waiting to be fucked.
Eric adjusted his pants.
He needed to focus on the now. Adria was still in very real, very serious danger. Until they could get the Triune to rescind the bounty, they would never be safe.
If they kept running, they would always be looking over their shoulders. Eric knew he could keep them alive, keep them one step ahead. Except there was one giant problem with that plan.
Adria wasn’t a runner.
She never was and never would be.
She wouldn’t go any further than X’s. Eric knew that deep in his bones.
And then there was her mother.
Adria thought she was alive. And worse, Adria believed she was somewhere near X.
Eric didn’t share her optimism.
Everything always circled back to the mysterious man who had contacted her when she was just a girl.
Who was he? Why was he helping them? And why Adria?
It was evening before the S.S. Dominion pulled into the docks. Eric squared his shoulders, slung the duffel bag higher, and pulled out his phone, sending Kaydon a text.
Eric: Northern lot, look for an old Ford truck.
Three dots appeared before Kaydon gave his message: a red heart emoji.
Eric scowled. Was it so hard to say okay, or I hear you?
He missed the days when you didn’t have to worry about your texts being hacked. That your phone didn’t triangulate your location to anyone with a laptop and a minor set of skills.
He missed his flip phone.
It was another hour before four figures formed in the distance. Their rag-tag group moving in practiced unison. Eric wondered if their time at sea had solidified their little foursome.
Adria made eye contact with him first. He watched her assessing gaze take him in. Eric was in awe of her. After everything she had been through, she came out fighting every time. He only hoped that eventually she could stop fighting and enjoy her newfound companions.
It was obvious to anyone that saw the four of them together that they were meant for each other.
Eric just prayed that Adria would see it, too. That she would really let them in and trust they would accept her.
“Have fun?” he said, lips twitching as Kaydon approached.
“You know it, brother,” Kaydon said, slamming his palm into Eric’s forearm.
Eric gave him a pat on the back before turning to Adria, whose face was a mask of stoicism. “Don’t do that again, or I’ll take you over my knee.”
“Ooooooo,” the boys said in unison as if she was the principal reprimanding a naughty student.
Eric only stared at her. She didn’t have the same hold on him as she had with others.
The two of them had established that the second day they met. The day she took him to Club Shale.
“It’s good to see you too,” he said, pulling her into a hug.
At first, she was stiff in his arms, but it wasn’t long before she melted into him. “Don’t do that again,” she said quietly, just for him.
“Okay, hun. I won’t.”
To the rest of the group, he said, “X wants to do a sweep of the area before we arrive. It’s a fourteen-hour drive into Curitiba, Paraná and then we’ll stop for breakfast and wait for his call. The plan is still to head over there after dark.”
Eric got into the truck. Bryson sat up front with him, and Seth, Adria, and Kaydon got in the backseat.
He adjusted his rearview mirror to see her.
She was leaning her head against Kaydon, Kaydon’s hand draping around her shoulders.
Eric said he wouldn’t leave, and he meant it.
But that didn’t mean that he wasn’t preparing for the inevitable request.
He could see the writing on the wall, even if Adria couldn’t