Chapter 14 Wholeheartedly and Undeniably
I just want to hold his hand. I’m already feeling touch-starved after not being around him for a bit this morning.
I didn’t know I could miss another person after being separated for only a few hours.
We’re nearly at a standstill, walking toward his father’s office at an agonizingly slow pace.
I’m trying to process everything that just happened, and I’m having trouble connecting a few things.
Vincent looks over his shoulder. Our fathers aren’t far behind us. “Sivan, what do you think they came for?”
“I don’t know, but they took Harlow, so maybe she was what they came for? Unless that was just a diversion.”
“Hmm…maybe, but something seemed off with Matteo. Besides the fact that he was being an asshole, the thing that stood out the most was the thing with the messenger. He was encouraging me to kill that guy. He’s never been one for violence, but he was practically telling me to do it.”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen you like that, either.
I was afraid you were going to shoot him.
Wouldn’t have mattered, but we can’t touch someone asking for parley when it’s not our ship.
I didn’t like that he told you to shoot him.
I’d always trusted that he would make a good first mate, until recently.
I mean, he even kicked the messenger in the face.
It was a fight, so it’s a free for all, and kicking isn’t so much of a big deal, but I’m used to seeing him much more composed. ”
“He’s always been the calm one, but today he was anything but calm. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the inspection… And as far as Matteo is concerned, he didn’t exactly say he wouldn’t be my first mate, but I’m sure that’s where our conversation was heading.”
We walk inside Captain Rodrigo’s office and take a seat on the couch.
Our fathers enter after only a few moments and shut the door.
“Where is Matteo? What’s the private information?” Captain Rodrigo asks Vincent.
“The last time I saw him, he was chasing a man that had Harlow slung over his shoulder. He was carrying her off the ship and Matteo was in pursuit. But, Captain, something was off with him, he really wasn’t acting like himself today.”
Captain Rodrigo tosses his hat on his desk and sits in his large captain’s chair. “Shit. Why didn’t you two help him? We gotta find out where those two are. What the hell am I gonna tell Sheena when she asks where Harlow is?”
My father sits in a chair in front of Captain Rodrigo. “Seems strange they would come here for one woman. Captain Slicer wouldn’t do that.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” Captain Rodrigo says. “He’d have no interest in Harlow. He was a bastard, but he wasn’t a pervert.” He turns his attention to Vincent and me. “Rooster is going to check your ships. They arrived about an hour ago, so they were a few hours late getting into port.
“Can I have permission to speak freely, Captain?” Vincent asks.
I pull my head back and try to control my facial expression. I’m not sure what he’s going to say, but he’s only asked for that maybe once before and it was years ago.
Captain Rodrigo looks around the room. “We’re all alone, go ahead.”
“Dad, something was really fucking wrong with Matteo. He was acting like a complete asshole this morning. I tried to talk to him and clear the air, but he wasn’t having it. Honestly, if the fight hadn’t broken out, I don’t know what would have happened between the three of us in my room.”
My father looks at me. “What were you doing there? They were supposed to meet alone.”
“I had just gotten there to pick Vincent up so we could head over to the inspection. If the fight hadn’t broken out, I would have knocked him out for the shit he was saying.
” I shift my gaze to Vincent’s father. “I’ve respected Matteo this long because he’s Vincent’s brother, and he’s part of your crew, Captain Rodrigo, but he went too far today. ”
“Speak freely,” Captain Rodrigo says to me. “What did he do?”
“There were a number of things he did that were out of line, but without context they won’t make sense. The worst thing he did was telling Vincent to shoot a pirate that asked for a parley. When Vincent expressed his concern at shooting him, Matteo simply told him to be sure he killed him.”
“When were you in a position to shoot someone? On the deck?” Captain Rodrigo asks Vincent.
“Yeah, the messenger from yesterday came at Sivan and me. He was saying some stuff about Matteo being family and it really pissed him off. Sivan and I were trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about, but I don’t know, Dad, it was weird.”
“Where was your sword?” He drops an eyebrow at Vincent. “You pulled your pistol out?”
Vincent shakes his head. “No, I didn’t have my pistol on me. I was lucky I had my sword on me since we rushed out of the room. I, uh, pulled Sivan’s pistol off his belt and pointed it at the messenger.” He shrugs.
“You don’t like to use pistols. What made you do that?” Captain Rodrigo asks him.
“Am I on trial here? I pulled the pistol on him, because the pistol was right there. I grabbed it and pointed it at him. I didn’t shoot him, despite being encouraged to do so. It’s not a big deal.”
“Whose idea was it not to shoot him?” Captain Rodrigo asks.
“Vincent decided that on his own,” I say. “I also told Matteo that if he wanted to shoot him, he’d need to explain it to you. It’s concerning that he told Vincent to do that.”
“It is concerning. But for now, we need to figure out where the hell they ran off to. There aren’t any ships in port, aside from ours and your two new ships. Which means they’re hiding out somewhere. There were probably fifteen men here earlier. Bastard changed the plan, showing up here today.”
“Does that mean it’s over?” Vincent asks.
Captain Rodrigo shakes his head. “I don’t really know.
I’d expect something else, but I have no idea what they came for.
I’m more concerned about getting you two promoted without any more interruptions.
Captain Slicer will negotiate with us directly before doing anything major.
Well, he’ll negotiate with me, and Ray will be there, but he won’t deal with him. ”
“I don’t want to deal with him either. He’s such an arrogant asshole. We should have burned his ship to the ground, Rodri. I told you it would backfire.”
Captain Rodrigo tilts his head at him. “How did it backfire? It’s been twenty years, Ray. He could have a new ship by now, might not even be the same one.”
“Dad,” Vincent says. “You said he’d negotiate before he does anything major. Wasn’t coming on your ship a major thing?”
Our fathers are both laughing at his question. Vincent throws his hands up. “What’s funny?”
“Son, listen. That was nothing. They wanted something, so they came for it, no big deal. We still have rules that are followed, shit, even with the mutiny there were steps that had to be taken. Did you learn nothing in school all these years? Why do you think Louie shot the pirate who was coming at you two?”
“I don’t know, I wasn’t even sure it was Louie that shot him. Sivan almost impaled him.”
“It was Louie that shot him, and he did it because that man was going straight for you both,” Captain Rodrigo says.
“There would have been no chance of any type of negotiation if something happened to either of you. Captain Slicer also sent the messenger yesterday, which means he really doesn’t want to fight. ”
I tilt my head at his father. “This idea that he’s a reasonable pirate sounds kind of ridiculous. They did take Harlow off the ship.”
“I didn’t say he was reasonable, but there are some things that we all abide by.
I haven’t talked to him in twenty years, and he could have changed, but rules are rules.
If he wants to change things, he has to go through us, and he’d do that in negotiations before anything major,” Captain Rodrigo says.
“We’ll send some guys to see if they can figure out where they’ve taken Harlow.
In the meantime, you two will need to inspect the ships with us tonight.
You could still sign off on Matteo being your first mate, but the ceremony would have to wait until he’s back and able to sign.
Try and get ahold of him, I don’t care what happened earlier, just text him. ”
“Are we still speaking freely?” I ask.
“Depends,” Captain Rodrigo says. “If you’re gonna say Vincent shouldn’t have to text him, then no, we’re not still speaking freely. If you want to ask me a question about something else, then yes.”
“I was going to say that he probably won’t answer, since he and Vincent are pissed at each other right now.”
Vincent stands up, so I do, too. “I don’t want to text him, Dad.
I don’t even think I want him to be my first mate anymore.
You’ve always told me I needed to consider captain and crew, and while I still disagree about needing the captain tattoo, if I’m thinking about my future crew, I don’t think Matteo can be trusted after today.
If I have to decide tonight, then I won’t sign off on him. ”
My father stands up and holds his hand up to Captain Rodrigo, telling him to wait. He walks toward Vincent. “Vincent, you want to deny him the right to be your first mate because of one bad decision?”
“No, it’s not based on just one bad decision.” He tilts his head back, raking his fingers through his hair. “I need a drink. This day has sucked. What time do we need to meet you to check out the ships? Could we just go now?”