I shake my head. “I’m all right, honest. Thanks.”
He hangs his head. “I’m dead sorry about the Anthropoids storming yer sub like that. It must have been hell.” He wrings his hands. “You want anything, let me know.” He breaks into a smile, and his eyes light up. “Can I watch Jojo for you while you have yer tea?”
I nod, cupping the warm drink. When I look up, Ari’s gaze is concentrated on me. His own eyes are cloudy, his expression conflicted. I swallow. A beastly flush creeps into my cheeks out of nowhere, dammit. Thankful for the curtain of hair, I tip my head and take the place in.
I squint at the screens. All manner of geographical imagery, coordinates, names and locations, routes, and codes flash back. Who are these people? What are they up to?
A young woman walks by and looks Ari up and down. Her eyes shine. She pauses by a screen trying to look busy, but she isn’t fooling anyone as she continues to stare at him. I prickle; how bloody rude. I turn and screw my face up at her; she sneers at me and goes back to eyeing him. Whatever. Why do I care?
I feign interest in a huge map of Great Britain on the wall and walk over to it. Multicolored pins dot its surface.
Ari’s immediately beside me, his voice low. “I don’t—”
“Trust them,” I finish.
He pauses, and then his mouth twitches. He cocks his eyebrow, and the amber flecks in his eyes dance and tease. His whole face softens, lighting up. He towers over me; big, strong. Beautiful. Secretive. There—right there, just behind the bright eyes. A guarded look, always, all the time. And yet still I feel safe around him.
Charlie walks over. “We have mixed news on yer propeller, Leyla. It’s going to take a while—possibly well into the night. Good news is it’ll be right as rain once the Johnson sisters have worked their magic on it.”
“ ‘Well into the night’? I mean, thank you tons, I’m so grateful, honestly. But what do I do now?”
“I suppose you’ll have to stay over,” Bia says, walking up to us, brow crinkled and lips pressed in a straight line as she makes no secret of her discomfort at the idea. She holds up a hand. “But then you leave bright and early.” She walks away, calling back over her shoulder as she points to a row of doors along the right of the space, “We’ve plenty of rooms if you don’t want to be on the vessel as they work on her. I just pray your father never hears of this.” She joins a few others by the huge map on the wall.
Ari and I move to a quieter spot.
“You’re staying here?” he asks, his face tightening as his eyes flit around the room.
“Yes. I want to know more—like what they’re up to hiding down here. Maybe then I might figure out how Papa’s connected to them. I won’t learn anything about them if I stay on the sub. And you?”
He squints as he glances around uneasily. “I don’t exactly have any choice.”
A quick trip to the submarine later and we have what we need for Jojo and ourselves, including further doses of painkillers. Despite Ari stating he’s more than capable of protecting me, Bia sent an armed woman with us, too. “Nothing happens to you on my watch,” she insisted. I’d rather you just shared some truths with me, I wanted to reply.
Back in the Den, we throw our bags into the small rooms we’ve been given—Ari’s is a few doors down from mine—and join the others at the long dining table filling up with food. My tummy rumbles as my appetite returns. Everyone chats over one another as they eat and drink, and I’m soon scarfing down the delicious lamb casserole and warm bread.
It feels strange—different, being with Ari around others. I can’t place it. Everyone else here are strangers, and I keep seeking him out every few minutes. And I feel as if he’s doing the same. It’s actually reassuring to know he’s here with me.
After dinner, Bia agrees to secure a quick chat for me with the twins. She’s unable to do the same with Gramps, though, she explains with a preoccupied look—she knows for sure he’s under Blackwatch’s surveillance as of a few hours ago. My legs tremble with what this could mean for Grandpa, but she assures me he’ll already be aware. I have to trust she’s right.
I catch up with the twins from inside the small room I’ll be staying at, quickly summarizing everything that’s happened. The sight of Theo and Tabby pulls at my heart. They’re both in tears even though I sail over the more painful details. We move on to chatting about the Den and I lower my voice.
“Theo, these people are definitely up to something—you should see this place. What if it’s connected to Papa’s situation? How will I find out anything concrete if they don’t tell me?”
Theo chews on his lip, his gaze hesitant. “It’s not ideal, but there is something you can do if you think they’re holding back from you.”
We whisper for a while, before the chat turns to Captain Sebastian.
“Hopefully, with the anti-tracking device, you’ll remain one step ahead of him. Nobody can hold the Blackwatch off forever, though. . . . But as we’d discussed, as long as you avoid attracting the authorities, steer clear of all security bases, and my modification continues to work, then you should try not to worry too much about it yet. I’m running scans all over the place trying to keep my ear to the seabed. And . . . you must keep that moon pool door locked when it’s not in use.” He sighs and shakes his head. “Thank God he’s with you—Ari. I’m so glad you’re not on your own, Leyla.”
“Where is he right now?” Tabby asks, her expression suddenly changing for the first time since we started chatting. There’s a glint in her eye and her mouth quirks. “He’s . . . quite something, right? I saw him on the sub.”
Theo whirls around to face her. “Tabs! Leyla and Jojo have just been hurt and—”
Warmth floods my cheeks.
“Are you telling me,” Tabby says, ignoring Theo’s stare, “that you haven’t even noticed him, Leyla? No bloody way. Because he’s noticed you. Oh . . . you do like him—I can tell!”
I want the stark, cold floor of the small room to open up and fold me inside it because I can’t control the heat rushing up my neck. Both twins watch me closely now. How has he noticed me? I want to ask. What does she mean? I recall their betrayal and the distraction is heavenly. “Hey, you guys knew! Why didn’t you tell me he was on board? I can’t believe—”
“Because you’d never have agreed to it, of course,” Tabby says, not at all remorseful. “And you’ve seen—you’ve bloody witnessed—how horrific it can get out there. You need all the help offered to you. I mean, there were two of those monsters on board!”
“Sorry about that,” Theo says. “But yes, Tabs was right to—” The call is abruptly cut.
I return to the Den, where Bia explains time was up, and any longer would’ve resulted in the call possibly being traced. It’s disappointing, but at least I did get to speak with them.
I spot Ari in the far corner; he’s pacing the area, completely unwilling to hide his displeasure at being here. Jojo is cradled in his arms. He looks up and meets my gaze. For a moment, both of us pause. We just stare at each other. I don’t know why I’m doing it.