It almost kills me to leave him, but there are a couple of Rhys’ guys waiting out in the deck hall, and they give me a nod of deference as I approach. I’ve been in Kane’s inner circle for years, but there are still moments I feel like some junkie’s kid playing dress-up in cheap suits with toy guns.
And there are moments I’m convinced that’s all these fuckers see me as. It’s obvious in their eyes sometimes because while some of them have come from the streets, most of them were born into the life. The Walsh empire is old, and it’s massive, and I was never meant to be part of it.
Yet. Here I am. With power over them all.
“I want to start at the lowest deck,” I tell them, grateful this isn’t a fucking cruise ship, or I’d be here all week. “Then I want to see every possible port of entry and exit.”
Reaching into my pocket, I finger my phone. It’ll connect me to Phoenix if I need to. I can tap a button on the side and my earpiece will immediately come on, and I’ll be able to hear exactly what he’s doing with Rhys. But I need to trust him to know what he’s doing.
I’m just not sure what Kane will do if we find out that any of the ranking members of his family are plotting against him. His rage against Romano knows no bounds, but to be betrayed by one of his own?
God himself couldn’t stop the hellfire he would rain down on this city.
It’s enough to comfort me, knowing that Kane wouldn’t hesitate to burn it all, and it puts a little vigor in my step as I begin my exploration of the ship. Kane’s always employed someone else to take care of this part, so I’m starting to wonder if his suspicions are aligning with Phoenix’s. I’m fairly sure the two of them haven’t spoken about it, because they’re absolute shit at communication, but it might be time for a misfit meeting when we get back.
The bowels of the ship are mostly storage and fuel, and there are several little closets and nooks for someone to hide. I take photos and mark them all so we know where to put surveillance, and then we check the private suites, which are already wired for monitoring, and then the staff kitchens. That place will be the trickiest, but I know Phoenix already has this place locked down tight.
Mostly what I’m doing is a distraction. I need to look busy while he looks like there are too many vulnerable spots for someone to strike.
As I’m looking through the presidential suite—a place where Kane has fucked me into oblivion more than once—I finally give in and pull out my phone. I open up the app that connects to Phoenix’s camera, but I keep the audio off. I can see Rhys standing apart from him, mostly on his phone, glancing up occasionally.
He stays silent except for what looks like a couple of one-word answers, and although it seems innocuous, something about it sets me on edge.
I say nothing about it as I finish my inspection, starting with the lifeboats and ending with the escape ladders, and then I finally head back toward the bridge, where I find Phoenix just outside of it, leaning against the railing. The breeze is rustling his hair, and the sun is making his skin glow, and I let myself feel how much I fucking love him in that moment.
I wish we weren’t alone. I wish Ari and Alice were with us. I wish Kane was out here leaning on his new, ridiculously sexy cane and lording over his peons. I wish that we could rule out in the open the way the rest of us want to. Because it would mean Kane finally conquered his fear of losing us.
But I don’t have faith that will ever happen.
Not even Alice can give him that kind of courage.
“What are you thinking about?” Phoenix asks.
I know better than to tell him the truth, so I offer him a small grain. “The party. Being here with all of us.”
His lips twitch, and he reaches for me, curling his fingers around the bottom of my stump. He uses a tight grip to pull me close, though he doesn’t kiss me like I want him to. “Anything we should be concerned about?”
“Your methods will have everything covered,” I tell him. That’s enough for him to know that we have more to discuss.
He sighs, then nods and pulls his phone out of his pocket. His fingers dance over the black screen, and then I can hear Kane’s voice in his earpiece, though I can’t make out the words. Instead of worrying about it, I let myself lean into Phoenix’s grip, and I watch a large V of pelicans crossing the water.
“Would you like me to tell you, or do you want to keep yelling at me? I’m with James, so I don’t see what the—” I can hear Phoenix grinding his teeth. “No, but thank you. I’ll let you tell him what you think about his ability to keep the situation under control. You’ve made it clear how you feel about mine. Yes, that’s exactly what you meant.”
I hear when the line goes dead, and I sigh, letting my face drop to his shoulder. “He’s like a toddler.”
“He’ll get over it,” Phoenix rumbles. “That was our agreement. He has no fucking choice.”
I wrap my arm around him and squeeze just for a moment, and then I pull back as I feel him reach behind him and pull his cane from his back pocket. It unfolds with a couple of soft clicks, and he squares his shoulders.
“We should go.”
Yes. There’s a lot we need to do, and Kane—unfortunately—may have a harsh wake-up call when all is said and done.
Chapter14
ALICE
“Miss Romano, if you please.”