Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Look,” he says, humor fading, “I know a lot of crazy shit’s been happening on this boat. What I saw Caius doing in the hallway, when no one was watching, went beyond your ruse. You seemed as if you were in pain.”
I narrow my gaze at him. “So you admit he’s not really my boyfriend.”
He shrugs and saunters past me, making his way over to the windows where we have a prime view of the dock. “I’m going to be real with you, Ro. You’re right. It’s fake.”
A flare of victory ignites in my chest.
“Which is why I was so worried,” Gareth continues. “If it was assault, I’ll…”
I scoff at his words. “You’ll what, Gareth? You nearly knocked me unconscious earlier because I made you angry. Now you’re suddenly my protector rather than my aggressor?”
To his credit, he doesn’t lose his cool. His features remain cowed and embarrassed.
“I fucked up,” he admits. “I’m sorry. Truly. My kids are a touchy subject.” He scrubs a palm over his face and expels a shuddering sigh. “I got defensive when you spoke about Em. God, I miss her.”
My heart aches at the pain in his voice. A person can’t fake grief like that. He really is hurting over the loss of the girl. Maybe I provoked him.
He shouldn’t have hit me, though.
I straighten my spine, not letting his sadness break down my walls. The man on the dock starts walking toward the yacht. Distracted, I move toward the window to watch whatever’s happening.
Always watching and doing nothing.
The guilt makes my skin crawl.
Four bundled-up people disembark, meeting him. The taller of the four, with red hair blowing from under a beanie, motions at the three smaller figures. Then the man turns on his heel, the four of them following after him. They all disappear into an office.
Now what?
It’s clear Ava has taken three of the girls with her.
Where’s the fourth?
Is LuLu still on this boat?
Of course she is. They’re not done with her yet.
“What happened to Emma?” I ask, not looking at Gareth.
He’s quiet for several seconds before muttering, “She drowned.”
“Oh.”
“She was playing at the lodge and…”
A twisting in my gut has me clutching my stomach as I wait to hear the full story.
“Well, you know that chute you stumbled upon?” Gareth asks, regret in his tone. “She found it too, except she went down headfirst. We found her at the bottom hours later. The fucked-up part was that she didn’t die from the impact. It knocked her out, and then she drowned.”
Hot tears track down my cheeks. It makes sense why he was behaving so strangely when he carried me out of the pool room after my incident there. Sniffling, I swipe at them with my fists. “I’m so sorry.”
He moves to stand so close his shirt brushes over my bare arm. “It was hard. I loved that kid with my whole heart.”
I believe him.
The man is devastated.
They may all be monsters, but there’s no denying his pain.
Maybe I could use it to my advantage.
“Gareth,” I say softly, turning to look at him. “You saved her and Kaitlyn. Like you and your brothers were saved.” I point at the shipping containers. “Why don’t you try to save those girls too?”
His eyebrows furl together. “What do you mean?”
“You saw the blood,” I say to him. “Solomon beat on that girl and…”
He winces at my unspoken words. “It’s not my business.”
“But it is, isn’t it? Those girls were CUP failures.”
“That’s more of Dad and Caius’s area,” Gareth rushes out. “I just do tech and shit. I don’t know about all the logistics.”
Is he telling the truth?
“It’s always been the two of them doing all the dirty work, huh?”
He frowns. “They help people be their better selves.”
A laugh bubbles out of me. “I read the brochure. It’s bullshit and we both know it. What I heard while hiding in that cabinet, well, let’s just say it’s a terrible cover for what you all truly do.”
He has the sense to grimace, shame covering his features.
“But Caius only picks and chooses what he does, huh?” I ask, studying Gareth’s troubled expression. “He can say no to things that you’re not allowed to.”
Gareth freezes, eyes flashing with anger. I’ve hit a sore spot. Rather than provoking him this time, I need to delicately dance around it.
“What Ava did to you when you were younger was wrong. You know that, right?”
He tears his gaze from mine, once again staring at the shipping containers outside.
“Caius said no and avoided it. But you? Probably Theo too. You two didn’t get to say no.”
Gareth’s shoulders are tense, and a vein has popped out on the side of his neck. Crimson creeps over his flesh, telling a story he doesn’t want to.
“And now he’s going to take over.”
He snaps his head my way. “What?”
“Caius is going to take your father’s place. He’ll do as he pleases, telling you and everyone else no when it suits him, and you’ll be reduced to second place. Forever second place.” I shiver at his intense glare. “His secrets will remain his secrets.”