"An incident happened, and my brothers and father had it out with Carlos. They knew he wasn't good and could see what I couldn't. My father told me to choose." A tear falls, and she wipes it away.
"You chose him?"
She nods and turns away. "It was before he hurt me. I didn't understand why my family hated him. The men in my family are pretty macho, and it's always bugged me, so I thought they were just trying to tell me what to do again."
I roll her on top of me. "When this is over, and it's safe to go back to Belize, we'll go see your family."
Her tear falls on my chest. "No. They don't want anything to do with me."
"I don't believe that. They've probably been worried about you."
"They've never reached out."
"You don't know that. I'm sure Carlos wouldn't have given you those messages. And I'm positive they want to know you're alive."
"You weren't there, Hunter. The last time I saw them..." She blows air out. "It was horrible."
"I'm sure. But when the time is right, and it's safe, we'll work on repairing your relationship with your family and Mary, okay?"
"What if they won't forgive me?"
"They will."
"How do you know?"
"Are they good people?"
"Yes."
"Then I bet they are sick with worry about where you are and if you're okay."
"I don't know."
"When the time is right, we'll work on repairing these relationships."
"But what if you're wrong?"
"Then you tried. That's all you can do. And if you try and they don't want to make amends, then that's on them, but at least you tried."
"I don't know."
"Do you miss them?"
More tears fall. "Yeah. Every day."
"Then we'll try. But don't worry about this right now. We can figure this out when the time comes."
She looks unsure and a bit stressed, so I kiss her.
She stops our kiss. "Can I ask you something?"
"Whatever you want."
She grins. "You're that easy, huh?"
"Definitely."
She pecks me on the lips then strokes the side of my head. "When did your girlfriend move out of your house?"
My pulse increases. "About six months ago. We hadn't been together in two years."
"She used you for money?"
"Yeah," I quietly admit.
"I'm sorry."
"Is what it is. I've had time to get over it."
"But you wanted me to go to Australia with you?"
"I still do."
"Why?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I think most guys would be a little leery bringing another woman into their home."
"Maybe. But you aren't her, are you?"
"No. But—"
"It's just money, Flower. Do I like the fact she used me and I had to pay her? No. But that doesn't have anything to do with you and me. I love it there. I love you. I want you to be with me. You still want to go when we can, right?"
"Yes. But when we're able to access my bank accounts, I want to contribute to things."
She still is worried about Tinker's comment.
"Flower, I wish you didn't hear my conversation with Tinker. He doesn't know you and shouldn't have said that."
"But he did."
"Yeah. But he's not me. And if he knew you, he never would have said it because he would realize that it was an inappropriate comment to make."
She stays quiet.
I trace her jawline. "What are you thinking?"
"That I'm not a gold digger, but it might not even matter soon anyway."
"What do you mean?"
Vanessa sits up, and so do I.
"When the Global Leaders get what they want, economies will collapse. Who knows what currency will reign? And bank accounts and property will be seized."
"So, we should put everything in gold and hide it?" It's a comment meant to be sarcastic, but part of me thinks maybe I should.
"Possibly."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"Sorry. It's already in motion. I don't know how to stop it."
"The world needs to know," I blurt out.
Her eyes slowly widen.
"What?"
"That's it."
My gut drops. "I'm not following you, but I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you say."
"Naomi."
"What about her?"
"I need to find her. Between the information we both have, we can get it out."
"Flower, I don't want you putting yourself in any danger."
"We can't sit back and do nothing. This is too important."
"If you spill your secrets to the world, won't the leaders know it's coming from you?"
"I'm not sure, but I can't live with myself if I don't try to stop this."
"You can't do anything to put yourself in harm's way."
"Carlos is dead—"
"But the rest of the Global Leaders you were petrified of aren't."
She twists her hands and turns to the water.
"Flower."
She turns back. "Hmm?"
"Promise me you won't do anything without talking to me first."
She furrows her brows.
"Flower," I growl.
She jumps.
"Shit. I'm sorry," I quickly say.
"I promise. But I need you to promise me something."
"What's that?"
"You'll help me figure out how to stop this."
"Okay." I slide down on the lounger and bring her with me. "Let's change the subject. I think I'm ready to earn a ten rating."
33
Vanessa
The rest of the trip, Hunter and I spend enjoying the amenities of the ship. There are several stops at different islands. Hunter prefers us only to leave our room during those times.
I had several panic attacks over the last few days at random times, and each one is less severe than when I first came on the boat. One happened in the adult-only section of the ship. A man who looked like the Mexican drug lord, Jorge Cano, walked toward us. I dropped my drink on the floor. It wasn't possible, since he's dead, but I went into a full-blown attack.
Hunter pulled me into his arms, and we breathed through it while sitting in the cabana. After that, Hunter wanted to go back to the room, but I made him get in the hot tub with me. The man resembling Jorge got into the hot tub when we were in it. My heart raced a bit, but when he said hi in Portuguese, I began a conversation with him. His wife came over, and she spoke English and talked with Hunter. They were from Brazil. After a few minutes of talking with him, I realized besides a small resemblance to Jorge, he was nothing like him, and my heart went back to normal speed.
Another time my panic attack happened in the room when I was thinking about how to stop the movement the Global Leaders have in motion. When I finally was able to talk to Hunter, I made a point of telling him how my attacks can happen anywhere, and we didn't need to hide.