body quivered with fear. I could hear her heart pounding like a trip-hammer, her breath rasping. She was obviously terrified. But I didn’t move the knife.
I heard running footsteps and a voice called out from the dock, “Princess, is something wrong?”
“I have company.”
There was swearing and pounding feet. Three armed guards swarmed on board, shining flashlights like spotlights onto us. The kid beneath me started to cry. She was pretty, with exotic features—dark brown skin and hair that would’ve been kinky-curly if it hadn’t been kept cropped close to her skull. She was wearing a black sports bra and matching jeans. A gold belly button ring twinkled in the harsh light.
She looked up and around at the people behind the spotlights and whimpered, “My mom is going to kill me.”
“Only if I don’t do it first.” I smiled, deliberately letting her get another good look at the fangs.
She swallowed hard and tears filled her eyes. “Please don’t kill me, Princess,” she whispered.
“Give me one good reason not to.”
The nearest guard was a tall woman. Her hair was cropped short in a buzz cut that should have been very masculine. But it looked good with her chiseled features and the seriously buff body encased in camo pants and an olive tank top. The loaded weapons belts were the perfect accessories. A small, embroidered name tag was affixed to the shirt. Marks on the tag probably signified rank. Her name was Baker.
“Okalani, what are you doing here?” she snapped.
The kid didn’t answer. Tears were trailing from the corners of her eyes.
“How did you get past the guards?” I added.
“Oh, I know how she got past us,” Baker snarled. “And her mother is going to hear about it.” Baker gestured to an underling. “Go to the kid’s house and tell Laka what happened. Bring her back here with you. And send Martin to notify the palace. We don’t need this to go over the airwaves.”
The second guard took off at a trot. I still hadn’t let the kid up. The knife was still at her throat. I didn’t figure she was out to kill me. She probably wasn’t a threat. But I’m not inclined to take chances, and she needed to be taught a lesson.
Baker gestured and the rest of the guards left the boat, probably going to resume their positions. “Why are you here, Okalani?” she asked.
The kid blinked and snuffled. Tears were running freely now, but she didn’t dare move to wipe them away. “I wanted to talk to the princess. I want to know about the mainland.”
The guard shook her head. “You had to know how dangerous it was. Word of what happened to this boat is all over the island. The queen provided the princess with guards for a reason.”
The girl tensed beneath me and even through her tears I got a sense of stubborn anger. She was determined. She had balls, too. More balls than brains, actually. Pinned to the ground, knife at her neck, and she was still going to argue. “I want to meet my father.” There was pain in that simple statement, so much pain that I cringed. Because I have my own daddy issues. I still have nightmares about him turning his back on me.
“Not going to happen,” Baker said. Her voice was a little more kindly. Well, not kind, exactly, but less hostile. “You know that.”
The kid turned her head, not wanting to meet Baker’s eyes, and I had to pull the knife back a little or she would’ve cut herself.
“Why not?” I asked as I climbed off of the kid and put the knife back in its sheath.
“Mom sent him away with my baby brother. I’d be with them, but my mother thinks the mainland is too dangerous.” The kid snuffled again as she scooted herself into a sitting position and started digging in her pockets. She pulled out a tissue that looked a little worse for wear and began blowing her nose noisily.
Baker squatted down so that she was eye-to-eye with the kid. I took a few steps back, giving them room. It was obvious the guard knew the family. Maybe she could talk some sense into this Okalani. Probably not. It was painfully obvious that the kid was stubborn and headstrong. But it was worth a try and Baker was making the effort. “She’s not wrong, you know. If the princess was a full vampire, you’d have been dead before we could get to the boat.”
“There aren’t any vampires on the island.”
“True,” Baker admitted. “No werewolves, either. But there are on the mainland.”
“I wouldn’t be out after dark on the mainland,” the kid countered, her jaw jutting out aggressively. “I’m not stupid.”
“And yet you’re here.” I flashed the fangs again.
My sarcasm was not well received. Well, not by the kid. Baker gave a snort of amusement.
“I don’t
Baker shook her head. “I get that. I do. Once you’re an adult you can do what you want. But you’re not old enough. Not yet. It may seem like forever, but it’s only a couple more years.”
“My mother doesn’t want me to leave at all,” Okalani said resentfully.
Baker gave a snort that might have been laughter. “Of course not. She’s your mother. Once you’re of age, she can’t stop you. Until then . . .”
“I’m trapped.”
God, she sounded bitter. Baker had been trying to be nice, but her patience was limited. I watched as her expression hardened, her gray eyes darkening to the color of storm clouds. “Yes. You are.”
I turned away from the two of them, my attention attracted by movement on the island. There was a lit path into the woods—probably the same one I’d walked earlier today—and someone was coming our way. I concentrated, deliberately getting my eyes to do the vampire hyperfocus. It took a few seconds, but I finally got it to happen. A guard was approaching, accompanied by a woman who bore a strong resemblance to Okalani. She had that scared-frustrated-angry look on her face that you see so often on the mothers of teenagers.
The guard on the path gave a call sign. One of the two on the dock answered. Once they’d been given the all clear, the mother and her escort stepped onto the dock.
I’d moved away to stand at the railing and was only half-listening to Baker explain that I’d thought I was being attacked. She told the siren that I’d had a knife at her daughter’s throat when the guards came on board and that because Okalani had broken the law by boarding the boat she was liable to be facing legal charges.
“She’s very lucky to be alive,” Baker finished.
Okalani’s mother tried to hide it, but I saw her give a tiny, full-body shudder at what might have happened. Still, her voice was cold and controlled when she spoke to her daughter. “You should apologize to the princess.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Okalani stood. I watched her take a deep breath. Gathering her courage, she walked past her mother, toward me. I turned and waited.
“I’m sorry. I wanted—” She stopped, swallowing hard. The tears were perilously close to returning, but she fought them back. “I wanted to talk to you and I knew they wouldn’t let me see you. But I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you. But you need to be more careful. People have been trying to kill me. I thought you were one of them. Normally I don’t hesitate when I’m defending myself. You were really,
She shivered. I hoped she was remembering the cold, razor-edged blade against her throat, the fangs, or both.
It was important she remember. But it was also important that she get a chance to talk to someone about the mainland. Because if she didn’t, she was liable to do something even more stupid than sneaking onto Bubba’s boat. She was desperate. I understood because I’d felt exactly the same way when I was only a little younger than she was now. I’d gone looking for my father. I’d found him with his new family. He’d turned his back on me. I hadn’t believed that was possible. I’d believed that he loved me enough . . . and he hadn’t. You can’t protect kids from everything. But I’d spare anyone that kind of pain if I could. “Look, I don’t know how long I’m going to be here or what my schedule is going to be like. But if it’s okay with your mother and we can work it out, I’m willing to sit down with you and have a talk.”
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “You are?”
“If it’s okay with your mom.”
