Chapter 14
One Day Pre-Culling…
I’m sprawled out on the back of the boat, soaking in the sun. If nothing else, I’ll get a killer tan this summer. I shift to get more comfortable and adjust my sunglasses, and when I do, I catch a glimpse of Spencer. He’s at the helm, but his gaze is zeroed in on me. My skin tingles under his stare, and my heart punches against my ribs. His heated stare is hotter than the sun, and every inch of me is on fire, but I don’t move. Instead, I wait to see what Spencer will do.
When we got on the boat last night, Spencer was so preoccupied with ensuring everything worked correctly and that the damage hadn’t caused any unforeseen issues. I hadn’t wanted to bother him, so I’d hid out below deck. I didn’t see him again until this morning when I came up to sunbathe. And he hasn’t stopped watching me, though he hasn’t said a word. Yet.
“Something wrong?” I ask.
His lips twitch with a smile. “Nope.”
I settle back and close my eyes. The hum of the boat’s engine lulls me into a sense of peace I haven’t felt since before my parents’ divorce. I forgot what this felt like, to just be. To not hear constant screaming and insults. To not constantly worry about saying or doing the wrong thing. I’ve achieved true freedom, and I never wanted to go back to the way things used to be.
Suddenly, goose bumps race up and down my bare arms and legs, and then a heavy shadow falls over me. I push my sunglasses onto my head to find Spencer kneeling over me. He peers down at me, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“I lied before,” he says.
“About?” I can’t contain my smile as I wait for his answer, knowing full well we’re about to engage in another match of snarky, verbal sparring.
“There is something wrong.” His smile widens.
“Oh yeah?” I rest my arms along my sides, and my fingers curl against my towel. Anticipation buzzes through me.
“Mm-hmm.” His hum is downright sinful, and his smile is wicked.
I’m pretty sure I forgot how to breathe, and my chest rises with a labored, lungful of air that’s tainted with the scent of Spencer. I’m prepared to ask him what’s wrong, but he brushes his lips over mine before I have the chance. A soft whimper escapes, and he uses the slight part of my lips to steal a kiss that’s both raging hot and much too quick.
He pulls away, and my eyelids flutter open. I bolt upright and glance around. Spencer is nowhere near me. In fact, he’s all the way over on the other side of the boat. What the hell? I slide off my towel and stand. My legs shake, and I take a second to steady myself before moving toward Spencer. His back is to me, and every muscle in his shoulders and back is strained with tension.
I clear my throat. “Spencer?”
“Don’t,” he says, voice tight and barely controlled. “Just… stay there.”
I immediately freeze, my heart hammering in my ears. Something’s most definitely wrong, but what? And why won’t he let me come any closer? I take one hesitant step forward, then another. I extend my arm. One more step and I’ll be within touching distance, but before my hand can make contact with him, the boat suddenly lurches to the side.
Stumbling, I lose my balance and topple over, letting out a yelp as I hit the floor. Spencer spins around, curses, and then he loses his footing, too, as the boat lurches again. He grabs for the railing and barely rights himself. I, however, have nothing to stop me from sliding across the floor like I’m on a bad amusement park ride. I slam against the bench. Pain shoots up my hip and across my back.
Wincing, I manage to haul myself up onto the bench, and then I clutch the railing for dear life. “Did we just hit something?” I ask.
“I think so.” Spencer stands slowly, keeping his arms out at his sides to maintain some sort of balance. “Don’t move,” he says to me, then takes a few cautious steps.
The boat doesn’t lurch again, but something thumps against the side with a sickening wet thunk, thunk, thunk. I shudder to think what’s making that sound. Must be a rather large fish, or possibly trash. When I’m certain the boat won’t toss me around again, I stand and join Spencer near the bow. He’s leaning over, inspecting the water, and I do the same.
“Didn’t I tell you not to move?” he says without looking at me.
“Don’t you know you can’t tell me what to do?” I snap, annoyed with his attitude.
He mutters something I can’t understand, but I ignore him and continue to search the water for whatever we hit. I move around the side of the boat, and that’s when I see it—a body, floating face down, arms bobbing at its sides, bloated and an unnatural shade of white and blue.
I scream, then slap my hand over my mouth. Bile rises thick and hot in the back of my throat, and I turn away, gagging. Spencer rushes over to me, expression full of concern. I can’t speak, so I simply point. He leans over the side of the railing to peek. I fully expect the same sort of reaction I had—because to my knowledge, this is the first dead body either of us has ever seen—but Spencer remains calm.
He lifts the seat on the bench, retrieves something that looks like a fishing spear, and lowers it into the water. Morbid curiosity makes me want to ask him what he’s doing, or look for myself, but fear keeps me rooted in place. I don’t want to see that body again. I’m already going to have nightmares for the rest of my life.
Spencer lets loose a string of curses that rivals the language my parents hurl at each other, and I take a step back. I take several deep breaths through my mouth in an attempt to ease the rising nausea, but I think I only make things worse. Everything around me starts to spin out of control. Blinking, I reach out for anything to steady myself, but all I find is emptiness. My vision blurs, and then I slump to the floor as total blackness encroaches on my senses.