Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
TALLY
The view blurs out of focus as I continue to stare. I’m not really seeing anything, not taking anything new in. Just staring into a void in space and time.
I don’t understand, not completely.
He couldn’t have me after we fucked once– and hell, it was so bad– he decides to eliminate me, so no one else can have me either. What the hell is that mindset?
When I couldn’t have Cyrus, when I thought it would never happen, I never planned on killing her so she could never be with anyone else. I may have ignored her for my own mental health, but I’d have never terrorised her or tried to kill her.
Why the fuck did he think he should kill me?
I fear I’ll never understand how he got from wanting me to killing me. And I think I’m… okay with that. I don’t need to understand it, not when his decisions will lead to him being six feet deep soon.
Cyrus stands next to me, silent. Not pressuring me to answer anything, just allowing me to process what's happening.
With a sigh, I drop my chin to my chest. Overthinking what Hago said about me and this land. “Do you think I’m destroying this island?” It’s nothing more than a whisper, but it shows the true pain I’m hiding.
Instantly, Cyrus shakes her head. “No, not at all. I think you have something special here. You give your people a chance to better themselves, give them work and easier access to trade. You’ve created a haven here for many people.
Just because many of those are pirates, doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong. ”
Her words sit heavy on my stomach, and I choose to believe them.
“We didn’t find out who Thomas is. We should go back.”
Again Cyrus shakes her head. “August is on it, she’ll have the other two quacking within the hour. We’ll find out who he is and why he offered help. Find out why he wants our crew dead.”
My fingers dance along the wood railing. Fresh wood. Wood that was replaced recently after the battle. A spark ignites in my brain. “Do you think it has anything to do with James?”
Her exhale is heavy, letting out too much stress in one blow. “Probably. We knew we’d piss people off when we killed him. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was related, and they used Hago’s weak sensibilities to get to us.”
“Well, they decided to fuck with the wrong pirates.” I chirp. Her smirk grows and it lights up my heart, within a moment it accelerates my mood.
“And they fucked with the wrong leader too.” Fingers trace my jaw, soft and reverent. Shivers wrack their way down my spine at the gentle touch. Lust spiralling down to my core. My body taking a complete one-eighty on how it felt moments ago.
“You really do look good in that outfit, love.” She mutters as she leans down to graze her mouth against mine.
I answer with a grin, “And it didn’t get covered in blood.”
She shrugs with her lips still pressed to mine. “There's still plenty of time left in the day for that.”
Laughter spills out of me.
Finally, her mouth presses to mine, pillowy lips dancing with mine in a slow glide. It’s only when my wetness starts to slide down my thighs, I remember I’m not wearing underwear.
A throat clears across from us, halting our kiss before we could even get to the good part.
“Captain, you’ve got to stop interrupting them.” Mabel giggles, clinging to Amara’s chest like it’s a life line.
“I don’t know, it’s starting to become a game now.” Amara smirks.
Cyrus folds me close to her, almost mirroring the position of the couple in front of us. Expect I’m not quite hanging off Cyrus, more melted into her side with her arm snug around my waist. “What do you need, Amara?”
I can’t help but chuckle under my breath at the attitude laced behind every word Cyrus utters.
Amara detects it too and rolls her eyes. “You’re both joining us for breakfast, our girls need to eat after all.”
My stomach chooses the perfect moment to rumble, halting the argument building on Cyrus’s tongue. Replacing it with a sigh and a, “Lead the way.”
When we make it to the galley, Nadine is in there cooking already, with Doc attempting to feed some bright orange goop to their baby. Henri’s there too, chatting away about… ropes? He’s rather passionate about it too, even though Nadine and Doc seem to be just ignoring him.
We slide into seats around the table, Henri mutters a cheerful ‘good morning’ before going back to informing Nadine about ropes. Doc ignores us as the baby spits up– whatever the hell he’s attempting to feed his child– all over his shirt.
“Breakfast for four coming right up. How did this morning go?” Nadine asks as she starts rummaging through cupboards and pulling out more food.
Amara relays all the information Cyrus pulled from Hago, Cyrus only chimes in to add what we thought of on the top deck. How we think this is connected to James. Mabel shivers and grimaces at the mention of her father.
Then something clicks in her eyes, like a deep memory has just unlocked. “The man my father wanted me to marry, I met him once. His last name was Thomas.”
A deep voice, one I’ve only heard speak a few times, rumbles from the galley entryway. “The Thomas family own mines, somehow continuously requiring new land on top of literal goldmines. There’s three brothers, each worse than the last, but not as bad as their father.”
We all look over to August, flanked by Jude, Charlotte and Mary. The latter for once not wearing a smile.
“They told you all that?” I question, disbelief that she was able to get them to crack so quickly.
She shakes her head. “Which one did your father want you to marry?”
Mabel thinks for a second, trying to pluck a name from the depths of her memories. “George, I think. Although, he’d have been happy if I chose any one of the three.”
August’s scowl deepens. “Of course that prick was in league with your father. Explains how he was able to get new land at the drop of a hat and workers that didn’t matter if they disappeared.”
“You know them?” Amara questions.
Each one of us hangs on tender hooks as we wait for her to fill in the missing gaps. Why would August know who these people are? Why are they still alive? If she ever came into contact with someone like that, I have no doubt she’d end them swiftly. Or maybe not swiftly, but definitely end them.
An exhale racks through August’s chest, rough and ragged. “Richard Thomas is my father.”
The air stills around us, even the baby stops babbling.
That would explain why she never ran that family through, because it’s her family.
Mabel winces, “My father mentioned they had a daughter that died of smallpox.”
August lets out a humourless laugh, scowl never leaving her features as a haunted look flashes in her eyes. “Of course, that’s what they would say. Pretend I’m dead.”
Silence dawns again.
It's thick and tension filled.
There’s so many questions to ask August, so many gaps that need filling in. A plan needs to be made, because if none of her relatives were here for this, it means they’ll likely be back for more.
The haunted look on August’s face, the vacant stare, shows that she needs a minute to work through the memories in her head and new information. The concept of possibly being in contact with her family once more.
Time passes slowly, the only sound filling the air comes from the food Nadine is still cooking. Once the silence has stretched too far, Amara speaks up.
“We need a plan. Everyone eats and we’ll meet in the war room in an hour.”
Everyone agrees, but I don’t feel the need for food anymore, my appetite vanishing.