As for the rest of what happened, he was a big boy. He wasn’t going to let it get to him. Besides, nothing had really
happened
. So it was stupid that his skin itched and he imagined he could still feel that asshole’s grimy hand on him.
“I’m so sorry.” Abby’s face creased sympathetically. “How awful. We’ve come across a few unsavory characters, but we’ve been lucky.”
“We were thinking of trying for this Salvation Island. Have you heard their messages?” Craig asked.
The cookie was like a stone traveling down Parker’s digestive system. “We’re not going near it.” Adam was a wall of tension beside him, and Parker could almost hear the “
But maybe…”
in Adam’s head.
“Oh, have you heard something bad about it?” Craig’s brows raised. “Please tell us.”
Adam cleared his throat. “We’ve only heard the messages they’ve sent out. Parker’s just cautious.”
Parker ground his molars together, trying to keep the flash of irritation contained before it sparked into more. “I think we just covered why I’m being
cautious
.”
Don’t act like I’m paranoid out of the blue.
He hoped he got that message across with his glare.
His eyes soft, Adam nodded. “You’re right. We’re both cautious, with good reason.”
“It’s stupid to drop our guard.” Parker motioned across the saloon. “I’m sure Craig and Abby agree.”
In the awkward silence, Craig said, “Right.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I admit it does sound a little too good to be true.”
“Yes! Exactly.” Parker nodded vigorously. “Too good to be true. They’re probably canni—” He broke off as Lilly’s eyes widened. “Um, just… Probably not the nicest people.”
Abby shared a glance with Craig, who held Lilly closer. Abby said, “I suppose we hadn’t thought enough about it. Want to hope for the best, you know? You really think these people are up to no good?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Sounds like a trap.”
“Then there’s the fact that we barely know enough about sailing to get out of the harbor,” Craig said. “The darn ropes for the sails got all tangled. Even before the storm hit, we were out of our league. You seem to know a lot, Parker.”
Grateful for the change of subject even if it was more small talk, he said, “I know a fair amount. I sailed most summers growing up. Cape Cod.”
“You must be rich,” Jacob muttered.
“
Jacob
. Don’t be rude.” Abby smiled at Parker. “That sounds lovely.”
“Yeah. It was pretty great. And yes, my parents were totally rich. I was rich. I was really lucky. We had our own boat and a house on the Cape.”
A sudden pang of longing for Eric and their parents drove the air from Parker’s lungs. Snatches of memories invaded his mind:
on the boat, barely rocking on a perfect summer’s day with the sky so blue, Mom declared it “officially cerulean.” Getting his picture taken with a guy in a lobster suit at a clambake. Falling asleep on Eric’s shoulder in the backseat driving home from the marina, his skin tight with salt and sun.
“Are they dead?” Jacob asked flatly.
Nostrils flaring, Abby stared at her son. “
Jacob.
”
“It’s okay.” Parker met Jacob’s baldly curious gaze. “Yeah, I think they are. My parents, I mean. Hoping my brother’s still alive. Eric. He was in London. Have you heard anything about London?”
Abby and Craig shook their heads. Craig said, “We’ve only heard that Europe is overrun. So densely populated…”
Jacob pulled apart one of the sandwich cookies. “Have you heard anything about San Francisco?”
Abby sighed. “Honey…”
“We were there, actually,” Parker answered.
Jacob’s spine straightened, and he grew a few inches taller, his gaze sharp. “You were? Where? Downtown? Oakland?”
“Palo Alto. We were at Stanford. But the whole Bay Area was hit hard. It was a really bad scene.”
Jacob licked his lips. “If we went there, do you think—”
“We’re not going there,” Abby interrupted. She wrapped her arm around Jacob’s shoulder. “Baby, there’s no way we can make it all the way back across the country. We barely got to the coast. Even if we did, I don’t see how we’d ever find him.”
After shaking off his mother’s arm, Jacob sprang to his feet and made for the hatch. “I need some air.”
“It’s not safe! Sit back down.” Abby jumped up after him.
“I’ll go with him,” Adam offered.
Abby hesitated as Jacob disappeared up on deck, looking between the steps and Adam.
“I could use some air too,” Adam added. “But if you’d rather…”
Craig said, “It’ll be good for him to talk to someone else. Get another perspective.”
She contemplated it for a few moments before nodding and sitting back down, her fingers entwining with Craig’s. “Okay. Thank you.”
Parker opened his mouth, and Adam rested a gentle hand on his knee. “Yes, I’ll make sure we’re both tied to a safety line.” He looked at Parker intensely. “You’re okay down here?”
“We’re fine. Go impart some wisdom.”
Adam followed Jacob up onto the deck and closed the hatch after them. Parker smiled wanly at Abby. “Don’t worry. Adam won’t let anything happen to him. I’m sure the storm will ease off soon.” As if to call him a liar, a fresh gust of rain splattered the skylights.
Abby scrubbed at her face. “I’m sorry about that. His father lives in Oakland. Well, he did.” She laughed humorlessly, whispering, “Son of a bitch left us years ago and moved out there with his new girlfriend. Had a couple kids Jacob’s never even met. But now he’s obsessed with the idea of finding his father. That bastard wasn’t worth it before, and he sure as hell isn’t now.” She glanced at Lilly as if she’d forgotten she was there and ran a hand over the girl’s shoulder, wincing at Craig. “Sorry, sweetheart.”
Lilly’s voice was muffled by her life jacket where she slouched against her father. “S’okay. I think Jacob’s dad’s a jerkface too.”
As Craig chuckled and pressed a kiss to his daughter’s head, Parker wondered where Lilly’s mother was. He resisted the urge to ask, just barely. “You guys definitely don’t want to try to go cross-country. We made it, but it sure wasn’t easy.”
“I bet.” Abby smiled ruefully. “I just wish we knew where we could go. Seems like we can’t go back, but the road forward’s not looking so hot either.”
In the silence, they all stared at each other, Lilly’s dark eyes examining Parker over the edge of the life jacket. He wondered what Jacob and Adam were talking about on the deck.
He cleared his throat. “Well, we can drop you off on land if your boat’s not there after the storm. I’m sure you can find a car.”
“Thank you.” Craig’s smile was strained. “We’d appreciate that.”
They all jumped when the radio burst to life with a hiss of static. Parker realized he’d turned up the volume earlier.
“This is Salvation Island. We have medicine and food. It is safe here.”
As the woman gave her spiel, Parker fidgeted under Lilly’s steady gaze. In the silence that followed, he muttered, “Maybe we can help you find a car. But then we have to be on our way.”
“Of course,” Abby said. “We’re grateful for anything you can do to help. You already saved our lives, and we don’t expect anything else.”
Parker shoved another cookie in his mouth, trying to savor the creamy peanut butter and ignore the spiral of guilt in his gut and cold steel pressing into his back.
“Y
ou’re supposed to
be sleeping.” Adam didn’t need to turn from his spot on the bow to see Parker walking up behind him. He could smell him, yes, but it was like he could sense him approaching with his whole body, the hair on his arms rising in greeting, his skin singing and a primal awareness filling him. The closest thing he’d experienced to it had been the family bond he’d shared with his parents and sisters, but this was different.
With his hands in the big pocket of his sweatshirt, Parker shrugged, standing beside Adam. “They’re crashed out in our bed. Wanted to stay close together, so I said we’d take the other cabin. In the morning, we can go back to their boat. Hopefully it’s still there.” He tipped his head back. “Can see the stars. Looks like this system has passed by.”
It’d stopped raining some hours before, although the air remained damp, the deck still slick under Adam’s boots. “Aren’t your feet cold?”
Parker traced a wooden seam with his big toe. “Not really.”
Adam was struck by a memory of ice, of an endless Minnesota winter and a cabin for the weekend. His parents had transformed into full wolf form and bounded through the snow across the frozen lake while he and his sisters had chased behind, the girls demanding to know when they’d be taught the secrets of changing. Adam wanted to know too, but was mostly just happy to be together and free, miles from anyone and able to be themselves.
In the cabin after, his parents had sat by the fire with their toes peeking out of a tangle of blankets, Adam and his sisters curled up close by, all heartbeats and warmth.
Now, he could hear the breathing of the family down below, could sense their heartbeats and heat huddled together, their thin whispers of hope piercing the fear and worry growing stronger with each moment that passed in safety. Each moment that passed together.
He scanned the dark hulk of the island. He could see clearly through the trees, and there were no creepers or other people. It was peaceful, the boat rocking gently every so often, the wind calm. The soft, steady breathing downstairs echoing beneath his feet, strengthening his own.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Adam asked. “Having them here.”
Parker’s brow was creased so often he’d likely get wrinkles there eventually.
If he lives that long
. Adam reached out and ran his hand over Parker’s head, needing to touch. Maybe he could film him later, get him talking for the camera. But he sensed Parker wasn’t in the right mood at the moment.
Parker answered, “It’s… I don’t know.” He shivered. “It’s okay. For now. I mean…” He rolled his neck restlessly, his hands still jammed in his pockets. “What do we do about them?”
Adam watched the trees. “They seem good. Useful that Abby was a paramedic.”
“It is. Too bad Craig was a PR manager. Don’t think we’ll need press releases or image consulting.”
Chuckling tentatively, Adam said, “Probably not. But… They do seem trustworthy. Don’t you think?”
“They do. Although we’ve been fooled before.”
Thoughts jumbled through Adam’s head: Ramon’s gleaming smile, waking strapped down and helpless, clinging to Parker on Mariah. He shouldn’t have trusted Ramon, but he still ached at the loss of knowing another werewolf. It had been so many years, and for so long he’d shoved it away and told himself he couldn’t have it.
Then he’d met Parker, and that was something he hadn’t thought he could have either: a lover and partner, someone who filled the cracks in him, someone who was more than a one-time fuck. And now these other people were with them—this
family
, holding each other close and safe, and if Adam could have a partner, maybe he could have a pack too. If they went to that island…
Then more images invaded: Parker naked and hurt, bleeding and alone. The helplessness Adam had felt washed over him anew.
“What?”
Adam realized he was staring at Parker and the shadowy bruise on his temple. “Nothing.”
Exhaling with a frown, Parker looked at Adam for another few moments before picking up one of the ropes that lined the side of the boat and wrapping it around his fingers. “They seem like decent people. We can take them back to their boat tomorrow to see if it’s still there. Get their stuff. But then what? I told them we could drop them off on land. They don’t even know what trimming the jib means. Even you know that now. They’ll be dead in the water.”
“You could teach them.”
“I guess.” Parker unwound the rope and started again, wrapping his fingers tightly. “Could give them a crash course and then go our separate ways. Hurricane season should be over. We can head for the Caribbean. We’re not that far from Beaufort. It’s one of the good places to cross the Gulf Stream.”
“What exactly is that again? Aside from the place Dexter dumped his bodies. It’s a strong current, right?”
A smile ghosted over Parker’s lips, and Adam wanted to haul him close and take his mouth. But he kept his hands at his sides. Parker was still healing, and he didn’t want to do anything…wrong.
Parker answered, “Right, it’s a current. It’s basically like a river in the ocean that’s flowing north. It’s narrower down where it starts in Florida. Thirty, forty miles across, I think? Gets wider as it goes north, and it’s moving at two and a half knots per hour. That might not sound like much, but if you get caught in it with wind coming from the north, you can be really fucked. Big waves. You want to cross when the wind’s blowing from the south or southeast. But we don’t have weather reports anymore, so it makes it harder to gauge. Winds can change fast.”
Adam pondered it. “So if we crossed the Gulf Stream up here, then we’d be…going south toward the Caribbean? In the middle of the ocean, basically?”
“Yep. We’d try to pick up the trade winds to take us southeast. It’s the right time of year for it.”
“You know where the winds will be?”
“Roughly. Depends on the season. But like I said, they can change, and with global warming, the patterns aren’t as stable as they used to be. We shouldn’t have any more hurricanes now that it’s November, but I wouldn’t rule it out. And it’s always a risk sailing offshore. You never know what can happen out there. We can’t anchor, so we’d sail through the nights. Staying out of shipping lanes was a big concern. Not now, I guess.” He unwound the rope from his hand. “It’s weird, isn’t it? Hard to believe how fast the world went to hell.”
“Everything we thought was important.” Adam shook his head. “It feels like another life now. Surreal. I’ve only known you two
months
.”
“That is seriously so fucking weird. I can’t imagine not knowing you.”
The thought of living through this new world order without Parker rocked Adam with nausea. He hungered to crush Parker against him and climb inside his skin, but Parker was talking again, and Adam refocused.