“Well, you know about Kane…”
“That his name?” he grunts, and I feel it rumble through my cheek. “Kane?”
“Yeah, that’s his name.”
“You met him how?”
“I met him in foster care. We were foster brother and sister in a home, so to speak. We grew close, and we moved out and away together as soon as I was old enough. Things were great for a long time, until I started seeing his violent side. The beatings started, and they just didn’t stop. I got so tired of them, so emotionally damaged, that I ended up fearing for my life. That night he beat me…I had to protect myself. I was hiding in a cupboard when he found me, and we wrestled for a long time with the gun. He had it pointed to my face so many times I was sure my life would end, but I managed to be the one to get the shot in. I injured him badly, he went to jail, and just before I went on the yacht he got released. I knew I had to start my life again, so I decided to leave the country. The night before I left he contacted me, threatening me, and I knew I had to go.”
“Fucker wouldn’t want to cross paths with me. I’d kill him.”
I snort. “He wouldn’t find me now.”
“Damn right he won’t.”
We’re silent a minute, and he begins drawing small circles on my back.
“What about your parents?”
“I had a good life, and then my dad started running off the rails and disappearing. One night he went, and never came back. My mom died, she was ill with cancer, and after that I just got sent off.”
“So your dad’s still alive?”
“I think he is…he just disappeared. How can one person just disappear? It never made sense. Sometimes I hoped he was dead, because it made it easier to process the pain of why he didn’t come back.”
“You ever tried to find him?” he asks, shifting, and wrapping his arms around me tighter.
It’s nice.
“No, I don’t have the resources.”
“What’s his name? I might be able to help.”
My heart hammers. He might be able to help? As in, he might reconsider selling me? Everything inside me floods with warmth.
“Charles Waters.”
Hendrix jerks as though he’s been hit. “What did you say?”
“I…that’s my fathers name.”
Suddenly I’m being tossed off him, as if I’m no more than a rag doll. He slides from my body quickly, leaving it feeling odd for a moment. He gets to his feet, yanks his jeans up and storms over to his desk, shoving through papers. What the hell is happening?
“Do you know him? Will you help me find him? Will you reconsider selling me?” I babble before I can stop myself. His frantic behavior has me wondering if he knows my father, and hope swells in my chest.
He spins around, his eyes filled with something I can’t understand…fear? Rage? He storms over, gripping my shoulder. “You’re not staying here, so stop fucking thinking all this is going to change that.”
Then he turns and practically runs out the door.
What the hell just happened?
My heart drops into my stomach, and everything hurts.
Back to square one.
Landlubber!
I clean up before heading out of the ship. It’s late afternoon, and the sun has finally come out so I walk a long way down the beach, not wanting to go to the camp, and I find myself a spot on the slowly drying sand to sit down. It sticks to my legs, and my foot, I realize, is aching, but I don’t care. I’m confused. Hendrix and I, we had a moment, and then he just ran out. His words hurt. All along, I thought maybe we were creating something, but all along he was just fucking me. There’s nothing more to it. Maybe the idea that he actually considered helping me hit home, and he realized he was getting too close.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
I hear Jess’s voice, and I look up to see her standing there, smiling down at me. “Hendrix said he couldn’t find you…”
I turn away, and swallow. I won’t cry. I won’t show that kind of weakness. I have held myself together so well, to fail now would break me. Jess sits down beside me, and puts an arm around my shoulders.
“He was…behaving oddly. Barking orders, and talking closely with Drake. He seemed panicked, and then he couldn’t find you, and he exploded. I told him I’d come and see where you were.”
She rubs my shoulders and pulls me in close to her side.
“We had a moment, and then there was a second when I thought I had a chance of escape and freedom, but he turned it around. He’s not going to change his mind about selling me. I don’t want to be sold. I don’t want this to be how my life goes.”
“I’m going to help you,” she whispers. “I won’t let him sell you, Indi.”
I lift my head, meeting her gaze. “What?”
“You’re not getting sold…”
“There’s no escape, Jess, you know that. I’ve tried. I can’t get Eric and escape without being noticed. I can’t do both…”
“Yes, you can.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
She swallows, and turns and stares behind us. When she turns back to me, I see she’s worried. About what I’m not sure, but I bet I’m about to find out.
“What’s going on, Jess?”
“Eric will be here in about an hour. I told Hendrix I’m taking him to see you. He felt for you, so he let me.”