Page 103 of No One Aboard
Francis kneed Nico hard in the groin, dropping the younger man like a weight. Francis punched his face again, and Tia fought to reach them. She couldn’t let Francis hurt Nico again. The duffel bag skittered across the deck, but it didn’t matter now.
“Stop fighting!” Tia called.
Francis kicked Nico in the throat, and he fell backward. Another wave pummeled them, and the ship bucked. Tia pushed past her father and took the helm, rightingThe Old Eileen. She focused on the night sky, which wavered overhead as they rattled around the sea. She couldn’t look at the waves. She’d lose her nerve in a second, and her hands on the steering wheel were all that was keeping her from flying overboard.
She shot a glance over her shoulder. Nico had gotten to his hands and knees, Francis looming above him.
“Dad!”
He didn’t turn.
“Dad, you have to steer!” she roared, and at last he looked over.
To her surprise, he nodded and changed places with her. Tia reached Nico’s side. He had a bad black eye, and blood streamed from his nose. He struggled to his feet, holding onto one of the metal shrouds for support.
“I can’t find my uncle.” He clamped a hand over his nose.
Tia faced Francis. “Where’s Alejandro? He wasn’t in his room. Why isn’t he on watch?”
Francis rolled his shoulders back, seemingly unconcerned by the way the waves slammed the ship. “Alejandro’s dead.”
Behind Tia, Nico’s breathing sounded choked.
“Dead,” Tia repeated, like she didn’t know the word. If Alejandro was really dead, her father would be overcome. Alejandro was his best friend. His brother.
“Dead,” Francis confirmed. “Your mother killed him.”
Tia’s T-shirt stuck to her chest. She grew colder with every raindrop on her skin. She saw her mother, wandering belowdecks like a ghost, staring at something only she could see. “I don’t... She... What?”
Nico shot out a hand and grabbed the wheel. “Did you watch her do it?” His voice was deeper than Tia had ever heard it, his chin slanted down as blood poured from his nose. “Did you help?”
Francis’s gaze flicked between Nico and Tia.
Nico’s going to kill him, Tia realized.Wouldn’t be hard to do in a storm like this. He’s not even wearing a life jacket.
“Did you?” Nico shouted, grabbing at Francis wildly, the wheel the only thing between them.
Francis didn’t flinch. He answered Nico while looking directly at Tia.
“I helped Lila kill him as much as you helped your uncle kill MJ.”
What?
The rain slowed around Tia. It spiraled through the air andburst in tiny explosions as it hit the deck. Nico’s eyes rounded, and he whipped to face her.
“Tia, I... I’m sorry.”
No.
MJ. The drowning hadn’t been an accident. Nico had never been on her side.
Nico was talking, tripping over his words. He clasped Tia’s hand, Francis behind them both and forgotten.
“I didn’t know ahead of time, I swear. She wasn’t telling you everything either. She wasn’t here just to help with sailing.”
Tia stared up at him, wet hair hiding half her face. A wave hit them hard, and Nico stumbled and held onto one of the metal shrouds, keeping them both upright. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Nico kept talking.
“She was working against them this whole time, Tia. She wanted to get your father and my uncle thrown in prison for the rest of their lives. She was with the fucking feds.”
