Page 28 of Shadow of Death
I had the cabin to myself and still couldn’t sleep. It was hard when as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw that robed creature staring at me from the beach. Was it another ghost that came to haunt me, this one with a flair for theatrics?
My stomach growled and I got up, making my way to the kitchen. There wouldn’t be much, but anything would be better than jerky at this point.
When I walked in, Gus was there. He was a sailor I tended to avoid. He usually smelled as if he wasn’t a fan of showering, but mostly I disliked the way he stared at me.
“How are you doing tonight?” he asked.
“Good. Just looking for a snack,” I said, the words polite enough, but my tone was chilly to say the least.
“I’ve got something you can snack on.” He smiled, as if his words were oh so clever.
“I’m not interested. Don’t make me prove it.”
“Why? You think you’re so tough you could prove anything to me?” He closed the gap between us, leaning in as I backed away, and not for my sake.
Killing someone on this boat, in the middle of this ocean? I might not have sailed this course before, but I’d been down this road. Next thing he’d be on the floor, all dead and gray, and they’d be throwing Kicks and me overboard.
“Leave her be,” Captain Rod said, walking in.
Gus backed away immediately. “I didn’t mean her no harm. I was just playing around. Girl can’t take a joke.”
“I don’t care what you meant. Leave her be.”
Gus’ eyes shot to me. “I wouldn’t have bothered if I wasn’t bored and on a boat miles from shore.”
“I wouldn’t have bothered, period.”
He sneered but headed out.
Rod stared him down as he walked past. “I better not hear of this happening again,” he said. Rod was half Gus’ size, but there was something steely in his gaze that made me believe he’d take Gus out at the knees in a second.
Gus must’ve believed it too, because he didn’t so much as meet his stare.
Rod slid into the booth, picking up a deck of cards on the table and shuffling.
“Thank you,” I said.
“No need to thank me. I did it for me, not you. He might be sour, but he’s a good sailor. I don’t want to lose him until I can find a replacement, and those sure aren’t easy to come by these days.”
Was he suggesting that I would’ve killed Gus? No one would think that by looking at me. He couldn’tknow, could he? No.He probably thought Kicks would find out andhe’dkill Gus. For some reason, that was grating on me tonight.
“That wasn’t anything worthy of mentioning to Kicks. I could’ve handled it.”
Rod glanced up, his eyes the color of a stormy sea. “That was what concerned me.”
My stomach suddenly felt like I’d swallowed a boulder. Hehadmeant me. How? Had word spread so far that even humans knew about me now?
“I…” There was nothing I could say that would make this normal.
“Care for a whiskey?” He reached behind his head, grabbing a bottle and a couple of glasses from the shelf behind the booth, and poured two shots.
I slid into the other side, taking his offer.
“I’ve walked the world a long time and seen more than I care to share.” He picked up his pack of cigarettes, lighting one.
Hesawme. Not what I appeared to be but what I truly was. I’d known something was different with this man but hadn’t been able to put my finger on it. Now I was sure of it.
He pushed a plate of cookies across the table. “Care for one? I keep a stash in my cabin for this point in the trip.”