Hooked (Never After, #1)(71)

I open my mouth, but his finger covers my lips. “I’ll tell you whatever you wish, just not here.”

A heavy feeling sinks through my insides. “Are you going to kill him?” I whisper.

He sighs. “You need to understand, your father, he’s taken almost everything from me.” His thumb brushes across my lip. “And while I would do anything you asked, please, don’t ask me for this.”

My heart pinches, desolation running through my veins. “But I…” Tears well behind my eyes. “He’s my father.”

“Yes, well.” His head cocks to the side. “He’s the one who killed mine.”





I’m back on James’s boat, sitting on the sundeck in the exact same spot he brought me for our first date. It’s been two days since he fucked me on the desk at his strip club, and then shredded my mind to pieces when he opened up about his past. About my father.

Bile burns on the back of my tongue when I think of James, a child, going through what he did at the hands of his uncle. Living through the pain of losing his parents and watching the person responsible for that loss smile on magazine covers for years without any repercussions.

My soul is sick from the thought of the torment that has scarred up his heart.

Still, I can’t reconcile him killing my father, and me just accepting it. But how can I ask him not to after what I know he’s done?

And I don’t understand why. Why would he kill his business partner? Why would he kill Ru?

It just doesn’t make sense.

That being said, knowing the root of the issue does lessen the sting of James having done what he did to me. It doesn’t make me forget, but I do understand his anger, at least a little bit.

And maybe that makes me stupid. Maybe I’m still naive, but James is the only one who has ever trusted me enough to tell me the truth. To let me in on what the hell is going on so I can gain some understanding. He’s taken a risk by telling me. And so I can take the risk by trusting when he says he cares.

I’ve had my phone back for over forty-eight hours. I’ve gone through the messages and calls from Angie, and from The Vanilla Bean firing me for being a no-show. But there wasn’t a single missed call from my father.

Not a single one.

Nothing from Jon either, although I texted him and asked how everything was.

The sliding door opens, Smee walking onto the deck with a tray of sliced veggies and a smile on his face. He sets them down and sits. “Boss man said to make sure you eat while he’s gone.”

“I could have gotten something for myself.” I grin at him.

Smee waves me off. “It’s no big deal. This is my job, remember?”

He pushes the tray toward me on the table, and I reach out, grabbing a green pepper and popping it in my mouth as he cracks open a beer, taking a long pull.

“Where are you from, Smee? How’d you end up working for James?”

He picks up a carrot and takes a bite, relaxing against his chair. “Oh, it’s really not all that interesting. I came up on some tough times years ago, and he helped me out.”

My heart swells. “He did?”

He nods. “Got me off the streets. Put me up in this place, and told me I could stay, as long as I learned everything there was to know about yacht maintenance.”

“And did you grow up here in Bloomsburg?”

I’m not sure why I’m asking him so many questions. Maybe it’s because if I’m planning to stay on the boat, I’ll feel more comfortable if I get to know its inhabitants, or maybe it’s because I’m desperate for a distraction from the upheaval James’s recent revelations have caused.

He takes another sip of his beer. “I sure did. Been here my whole life.”

“That’s nice,” I hum. “Any family?”

Something dark coasts across his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I cringe, my stomach souring at the look on his face. “I’m being nosy.”

He chuckles, adjusting the red beanie on his head. “No, it’s fine. My mom’s probably still around somewhere, looking for her next fix.”

Guilt for prying trickles through me. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

He waves me off. “I came to terms with who she was a long time ago. My father was a good dude, though. Although I didn’t know who he was until a few years before he passed.”

“My mom passed, too,” I say, my heart aching. “The pain of lost time never really gets easier, does it?”

His lips turn down, his fingers tightening on the neck of his beer. “It sure doesn’t, Miss Wendy.”

Footsteps draw my attention away, James stepping onto the deck, looking impeccable as always in his three-piece suit.

Smee stands up, dusting off the front of his shorts. “I should get back to it. Thank you for the company.”

I grin. “Thanks for the snacks.”

They pass by each other, James barely giving him a second glance.

“Don’t you get hot in that?” I ask.

He ignores my question, swooping down and meeting my lips for a kiss. His tongue slides into my mouth and my eyes flutter closed, losing myself in his taste.

“Mmm.” He breaks away, resting his forehead on mine, his thumb caressing my cheek. “Unfortunately, I have business that needs my attention. Will you be alright here?”