“Where’s Kai?” Zeke asks.
“Probably still showering.”
Zeke stops abruptly. “You need to get her.”
“Why?”
“Because now that you are no longer Black, she has to come with us. Archard is downstairs. He heard the mayday call. You can’t make this decision by yourself.”
“Kai get your ass downstairs in the next five-seconds! Archard has something he needs to say,” I holler, pretending Archard is here to tell us the game starts tomorrow. Instead of the truth.
The bedroom door flies open, and Kai emerges in tiny shorts and an oversized shirt of mine.
“Is the game starting?” she asks with a hint of trepidation in her eyes.
I ignore her and head downstairs.
She follows.
“Archard, is the game starting?” Kai asks.
Archard shakes his head. “No, I’m just here to ensure the rules are followed.”
Kai looks to me then Zeke.
“We need to go,” I say.
“Go where?” she asks.
“The docks. We need to get on a yacht right away. The Savage, one of our main vessels, sent out a mayday. We think we’ve been attacked,” I say.
“Why are we going to the docks? How will that help?” Kai asks.
“We need to get on a boat and hunt down the bastards who attacked us.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. We will lead a crew of men. I don’t leave my men to take care of things themselves, not when it’s this important.”
“I can’t get on a boat.”
I narrow my gaze. “You’re going to have to.”
“No, I don’t.” Kai crosses her arms and stares at Archard, knowing she has his reassurance to back up her words.
I run my hand through my hair in frustration.
“We have to go! We don’t have a choice. I don’t leave my men when they need me.”
“You no longer get to make the decision yourself.”
“Goddammit, woman! You are the most infuriating person on the planet!”
“And you are the most selfish, demeaning asshole!”
“What the fuck do we do, Archard?”
“You don’t both have to go, you just both have to agree how to handle the situation as a leader, or you don’t get to be involved at all,” he answers.