Page 57 of Claiming Liberty
I pick at the dark underside of the croissant, watching the crumbs scatter as they fall on the ceramic plate. Kingsley is nice,sonice, but the man is a lousy cook. Something I must admit we have in common.
“If you had let me kill Ramos, we wouldn’t need to rush anything,” Peter yells at Layan.
“He’ll help,” Layan shouts back, sure of herself. I put down the croissant and look in their direction. I can’t see them, but I throw my gratitude toward Layan anyway.
Peter laughs. “What, are you fucking the guy too? You’re delusional!”
“If you’d seen the look in his eyes when he found out about Elsie, you’d know what I’m talking about. His loyalty to Sawyer is about to snap.”
“For what?” Peter barks. “ForLiberty? He’s never going to turn on Sawyer. Not for anyone.”
“He loves her.”
“He loveshimself,” Peter counters. “He doesn’t give a shit about the women on this island. He’s not saving them because his girlfriend asked him to.”
“Stop,” Kingsley says. “Both of you, just stop arguing about this. Liberty’s in the next room.”
“So?” Peter asks.
I get up and walk to the trash can, tuning out whatever is said next. I’m tired of this. Tired of the fighting. Tired of feeling like an outsider. And most of all, I’m tired of Peter.
After tossing the remainder of breakfast in the trash, I head to the back door.
“Where are you going?” Naomi asks.
Another clang sounds, but I don’t bother looking toward the source. “I need some air.”
“Do you want me to come?”
I shake my head even though her eyes aren’t on me. I don’t think her mind is either. She’s held her tongue about all that Naomi is capable of, and I can feel her excitement. She’s ready to fight.
“No, I won’t be long.”
She doesn’t turn to me, instead her gaze fixed on the entryway.
I slip out the back door and walk around the house to the beach.
The humidity is suffocating today, so sweat pebbles on my forehead before I even reach the shore. I wipe it away, but the sticky feeling doesn’t subside and probably won’t while I’m outdoors.
A boat is in the distance, but I don’t think much of it until I realize it’s headed straight toward me.
Hairs rise on the back of my neck, and I quickly duck behind a tree, planting my back against the trunk and hoping like hell I wasn’t just spotted.
Are they coming for us?
No. If they were, they’d send more than one boat… Maybe.
Fuck, I don’t know.
The engine roars as it approaches Kingsley’s dock, and once it shuts off, I bite my lip and peek around the tree.
I gasp when I spot Angel, fear transforming into curiosity when I see that he isn’t alone. Four women climb out of the boat, their heads down, two with their arms crossed protectively.
What is he doing?
“Go ahead.” Angel motions toward Kingsley’s house before securing the boat to the dock.
Once the women shuffle ahead of him up to the house, I shift around the tree, out of sight.