Chapter 14
“I DISAGREE,” KELLEN says, arms crossed over his chest, back straight as a pin, glaring at Ace like he might just throw a punch if this doesn’t simmer down soon.
They’re arguing over whether to light a signal fire and keep it running, something big enough to draw attention.
Ace thinks we shouldn’t, because if we do remain here for longer than we are anticipating, we may need that timber for when it gets cold.
Kellen thinks we should patch up the new boat and then light the lifeboat up and keep it running from there.
It’s a lot of work to keep a fire that big running.
It is a good idea, though, for passing ships.
The island has a good amount of wood, but it is also quite wet the further in you go and that means it doesn’t light up well.
We need to cut and dry it, and the further we have to haul it, the harder it gets.
If we are keeping a large signal fire going, we’re going to be spending a lot of time chopping wood and dragging branches.
“I hear you,” Ace says, calmly. “But brother, keeping a fire that big going is fucking stupid. It could be months and we waste all that timber and energy. We need to focus on survival, and that means stashing wood for the winter and doing what we can, while we can.”
“It could be months,” Kellen argues. “It could also draw people closer in days.”
“I agree with Ace,” Rachel says, hesitantly flicking a gaze in Kellen’s direction.
“I think it’s stupid for us to keep something that big alight.
It is already difficult getting wood to this fire, and keeping it going, let alone something that big.
Plus, if we light up the lifeboat, and this new boat doesn’t work, we’re left with nothing. ”
“Didn’t fuckin’ ask you,” Kellen growls.
Rachel crosses her arms. “Well, I’m telling you anyway. We’re all here to make decisions together.”
“This decision doesn’t fuckin’ involve you,” he growls back.
“Well, guess what, I’m involving myself.”
The two are nose to nose. Aggie steps between them, a hand on Kellen’s arm. “Come on, no point in fighting about it.”
He jerks his arm away, and she looks hurt by that.
Oh dear.
His fist balls slow, like he’s savoring the tension—a tiny, unhinged smile twitching the corner of his mouth.
Oh, Kellen is mad mad. Like proper. Ace just stares at him, his body equally as tense, as if he’s waiting for his friend to snap.
Maybe this is something he has seen before; either way, the look they’re giving each other is terrifying.
“Get it together,” Ace growls. “This ain’t the time. Calm down and we will talk about it.”
Kellen glares at him. “You think everyone here’s supposed to just listen to you? That you know better?”
“I’m tryin’ to keep us alive,” Ace interrupts. “You want to fight about it, fine, let’s fuckin’ fight about it. I am in the fuckin’ mood to kick your goddamn motherfuckin’ ass.”
Oh.
Shit.
That does it.
Kellen lunges. He doesn’t even cock his arm—he just hurls himself forward, knocking Ace back off his feet and into the sand.
It’s not even a punch at first, just raw momentum, both of them landing with a thump.
Kellen swings first, a wild right that bounces off Ace’s cheek.
Ace absorbs it, rolling with the force, and jams an elbow hard into Kellen’s ribs.
No one moves to break it up. I’m so stunned it takes me a solid three seconds to realize I am screaming at them, voice hoarse and wild.
“Stop! Fuck, STOP IT—”
Neither hear me.
They’re two animals, sand and spit and flying fists.
Kellen lands a left hook that snaps Ace’s head sideways so hard I hear his jaw crack, and Ace reels, comes up low and tackles Kellen by the waist, slamming him flat.
They roll, Ace on top, then Kellen again, arms and legs strobing—wrestling for the advantage, nothing clean, nothing technical.
Just weeks of rage bursting out in ugly, rage-filled bellows.
There is blood all down their faces, but that isn’t enough to stop them.
They manage to get to their feet, moving like wild animals hunting prey, circling each other.
They are both panting, their chests rising and falling.
Seeing them like this is terrifying, but it is also mesmerizing.
Seeing them in their truest form, the way they move, the way their muscles flex, is incredible.
I can see their skill, and I know nothing about fighting.
Ace drives a fist into Kellen’s nose, and the crack that radiates down the beach is horrifying. This is going to end badly. I lunge forward, attempting to stop them, but a hand closes around my shoulder and drags me back. Zeke. He shakes his head, eyes dark.
“Don’t. Let them go. They gotta get through it.”
I bite my lip, but I back down. I stand and watch two men try to murder each other on a tropical beach as the sun glows pink and the gulls circle, screeching like goddamn banshees.
“Oh my.”
Adrian’s voice comes from behind me, but I don’t turn.
He has arrived at the wrong time.
Ace’s face is a bruised wreck, and Kellen has blood pouring from his nose. Ace spits his own blood into the sand, wipes his mouth, then wipes Kellen’s blood off his knuckles with the hem of his shirt.
“If you ever put your hands on me again,” Ace says, his voice trembling with barely contained rage, “I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
“Oh, he is mad mad,” Adrian whispers.
Word.
Ace turns and walks off, vanishing into the shadows of the tree line.
I go after him, but the trees close thick and quick, and he’s already disappeared deep into the thick jungle.
There’s no path, but I can hear him somewhere ahead—he’s not bothering to move quietly, snapping every branch that dares to block his way.
I don’t even know if it is a good idea to follow him.
I go after him anyway and find him at the edge of the lake. He’s kneeling, one elbow propped on his knee, the other hand dipping into the water and washing the blood off his face.
“Whatever you’re goin’ to say, just say it,” he mutters, not even turning to see who it is.
“You want to tell me what the hell that was?”
He doesn’t answer.
He looks out over the water, and I realize he isn’t going to say anything.
“You want to kill each other over a fucking fire?” I ask. “Because if you keep it up, that’s what will happen.”
“He dares to fuckin’ put hands on me, then he gets what’s coming.”
“Until it goes too far. You know, better than anyone, that one punch can kill, Ace.”
He glances over at me, his face darkening with bruises already. “You think I don’t fuckin’ know that?”
“Then why do it?” I say, my voice going higher than I’d like. “Why risk it all for fucking male ego?”
“It ain’t fuckin’ ego,” he spits.
I flinch.
Then, I take a deep breath and go over, crouching down next to him, knees digging into wet ground. “I need you here,” I whisper, my voice raw. “Ace, I don’t think I can survive this if something happens to you. Don’t you see that?”
His whole body softens. He turns his body towards mine, taking my face in his hands. “I’m not goin’ anywhere, do you hear me?”
“You can’t promise that,” I whisper, my throat suddenly so tight I can’t breathe.
“Baby, I can.”
He presses his forehead to mine, and we sit like that for a long time, just feeling each other. Fear crushes my chest, fear that I might lose him, fear that something will happen, fear that this will all destroy me because I’m falling in love with this man.
So fucking hard.
I can’t think about it right now, because it is utterly terrifying.
“Promise me you won’t kill each other,” I plead. “At least not until we get off this island. Then you can do whatever you want, hell, I might even help you.”
He almost smiles. “Deal.”
We don’t move for a long time, just sit like that in the falling dark, the forest breathing around us, the beach crashing against the shore in the distance.
Eventually, I finish washing the blood off his face, and we slip back through the trees.
By the time we step onto the beach again, the sun is setting.
Kellen is gone, Zeke is staring into the fire, and the girls are busy preparing dinner.
I try to read their faces, but everyone’s looking anywhere but at us.
Ace stands a few feet away and doesn’t say a word.
Zeke does. “You two good?”
“Yeah,” Ace mutters, voice hoarse but even. “We’re good. I’ll go sort it out.”
He presses a long kiss to my forehead, then he’s off to find Kellen. I get to work helping Aggie fillet the fish, so we can cook it.
“That was terrifying,” she whispers, as we prepare the flesh. “Seeing them fight like that. It was so... real and intense.”
“It was a glimpse into their world,” Tatiana says, kneeling beside the fire trying to crack a coconut. “They’re so scary, when they’re moving like that. Like wild animals. I have never seen anything like it.”
“It was somewhat impressive,” I admit. “I can see why they’re champions.”
“It’s impressive until it isn’t,” Rachel mutters from the log by the fire. “Until someone is dead.”
She’s right, and we all fall silent.
We continue preparing dinner. Ace and Kellen arrive back an hour later, both of them banged up. They’re not hanging off each other in some form of bromance makeup but they’re not punching each other either, so that’s something.
We all eat in silence, everyone finally talked out.
When I finally stretch out on my bed later that night, my whole body buzzing with aftershocks, I realize I’m not shaking anymore.
Not inside, not out. It felt like it took hours to stop that fear coursing through me.
I had to push my mind away from the idea of Ace not being here.
I’m scared about how I feel, and I’m scared about what it will mean.
I think I love him, and that’s crippling.
Out here, where everything can change in an instant, love is dangerous.
I forget about it the second he wraps his body around mine, though.
The way he makes me feel, safe and heard, is something I couldn’t have ever anticipated.
I’m absolutely fucking terrified.