Chapter 190
Lynette's POV
I walked to the railing and stood beside him. The wind was stronger here, carrying the sharp scent of salt and something else—diesel fuel, maybe. The kind of smell that clung to industrial machinery.
"What's got you stressed enough to smoke?" I asked.
Kael didn't answer right away. He kept his eyes on the dark water below, his jaw tight.
"Just thinking," he said finally.
That wasn't an answer. I could tell he was deflecting, but I didn't push. Not yet.
"About what?"
He turned his head slightly, not quite looking at me. "About tomorrow. About what Belser's planning. Whether Drake will get our signal in time."
His voice was steady, but I heard the tension underneath.
"You think he won't?"
"I think we're running out of time." Kael's fingers drummed once against the railing, then stopped. "And I think Belser knows exactly what he's doing."
I nodded slowly. That much was obvious. The question was what we were going to do about it.
"Maybe I just couldn't sleep," I said quietly.
Kael glanced at me, and something in his expression shifted. Less guarded. Almost... soft.
"Yeah," he said. "Maybe."
---
The wind picked up again, colder this time. I'd been so focused on finding him that I hadn't noticed how thin my nightgown was. The silk did nothing against the ocean air.
I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to trap what little warmth I had left.
Kael noticed immediately. He shrugged off his jacket without a word and draped it over my shoulders.
"I'm fine," I started to say.
"Keep it."
His tone left no room for argument. I pulled the jacket tighter around me, and his scent—cedar and something darker—wrapped around me with it.
Before I could say anything else, Kael's attention shifted. He was looking down at the deck below, his eyes narrowed.
"There's movement down there," he said.
I followed his gaze.
---
It took me a moment to pick out the shapes in the darkness. But once I saw them, I couldn't look away.
There were people on the main deck. A lot of them.
"I've been watching since two a.m.," Kael said quietly. "They've been moving in patterns. Organized. Like patrols."
I leaned forward, my hands gripping the cold metal railing. The figures below moved with mechanical precision. No wasted motion. No hesitation.
"How many?" I asked.
"At least fifty."
I sucked in a breath. Fifty modified guards. That wasn't security. That was an army.
"He's insane," I said. "Deploying that many—people will notice."
"They already have." Kael's voice was grim. "That's the point."
I turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"If he wanted to ambush us, he'd keep them hidden until the last second. But he's not hiding them. He's showing them off." Kael's jaw tightened. "He wants everyone on this ship to see what he has. To understand that resistance is pointless."
My stomach twisted. He was right. This wasn't about stealth. It was about fear.
"So what do we do?" I asked.
Kael looked at me, and for a moment, I saw something raw in his eyes. Something close to helplessness.
"We take it one step at a time," he said. "And we don't give him a reason to move faster than he already is."
---
The sky was starting to lighten at the edges. Not quite dawn, but close.
Kael straightened and rolled his shoulders, like he was shaking off the weight of the last few hours.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get something to eat."
I blinked. "Now?"
"The dining hall opens at four-thirty. If we're going to figure out what Belser's planning, we need to stay sharp. That means food."
He wasn't wrong. My stomach was empty, and the adrenaline from earlier had burned through whatever reserves I had left.
"Fine," I said.
Kael's mouth twitched—not quite a smile, but close.
"Good. I'll meet you at the door in ten minutes."
---
I went back inside and moved quickly. The exhaustion from earlier was gone, replaced by a low, steady hum of alertness.
I pulled off the nightgown and grabbed the first practical outfit I could find—dark jeans, a fitted black shirt, boots. Nothing restrictive. Nothing that would slow me down if things went sideways.
My hands moved on autopilot as I dressed, but my mind was already three steps ahead.
Belser had fifty modified guards on the deck. That wasn't just for show. He was preparing for something. The question was what—and when.
I needed to contact Cole. He'd been tracking Rezar for months. If anyone had intel on what was happening here, it was him.
But communication was still locked down. No calls. No messages. No way to reach anyone off this ship.
Which meant I'd have to find another way.
I finished dressing and checked my reflection in the mirror. I looked tired. Wired. Ready.
Good enough.
---
When I opened the door, Kael was already waiting in the hallway.
He'd changed too—black slacks, a dark gray shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. He looked like he was ready for a business meeting. Or a fight.
Probably both.
His eyes swept over me once, quick and assessing. Then he nodded.
"Let's go."
We walked in silence. The ship felt different in the early morning—quieter, but not peaceful. More like the calm before a storm.
My instincts were screaming at me to stay alert. Every shadow felt like a threat. Every closed door could be hiding something.
Kael noticed. Of course he did.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
"Fine," I said. "Just thinking."
"About?"
"About how we're going to get off this ship alive."
Kael's mouth pressed into a thin line. "We will."