Thief: The Scarab Beetle Series: #1 (The Academy) (47 page)

I turned the helm, making the boat head west back toward land. I may not have known any controls, but I could turn a steering wheel.

When the boat was aiming for the tiny island sitting in the middle of the river outlet, I straightened so the boat would head right for it.

“Kayli!” Coaltar called after me. “Damn it. Don’t wreck my yacht.”

I leapt over Coaltar on the floor and went for Marc.

Marc gave a half laugh. “Wasn’t really what I meant, but I’ll go with your plan,” Marc said.

I huffed and grabbed at his shoulder, easing myself under his arm so I could assist him out.

“Doll face,” Coaltar cooed after me. He sucked air through his teeth in a pained breath and clutched at his thigh. “Sweetie. What do you want from me? You can’t leave me like this.”

“Maybe if you had changed your mind,” I said coolly, closing off my heart, unwilling to look back at him. “Maybe if you hadn’t planned on killing a bunch of people. Maybe if you had been different and could just dump the drugs into the ocean and didn’t even think to hurt anyone else in some petty revenge. You’ll still make them sick. Someone could die. This war goes on whether or not you want it to. They’ll come back here. This has to stop. You can’t hurt people like this. If you hadn’t lied to me, maybe we could have found another way.”

“Come on, Kayli,” he said. “You have to understand. Every dog has a few fleas.”

Marc glanced over my shoulder, smirking at him. “You’ve got a few big ones. May want to get a collar, or a spray, or something for it.” He grimaced and I could tell he was biting back some of the pain from his own leg.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said.

He nodded, and used me like a crutch to hobble.

“Kayli!” Coaltar called once more, and then flattened onto his back.

And he laughed.

It was a laugh that would haunt my dreams. Satisfaction, amused, not a hint of anger that I’d hurt him or for his boat that was about to crash. He relaxed against the floor and looked to be waiting. He was giving me what he thought I wanted.

His was a laugh that, on the surface I cringed and tried to show Marc I thought was crazy.

Secretly, inside, I luxuriated in it. I found my heart pounding in a way that I was proud. Despite all his dirty tricks, in the end, I’d won.

This time.

––––––––

I
fled with Marc, helping him as best as I could. “We should hurry,” I said. “We should get off this boat before it crashes.”

“I agree.”

We made it back to the stairs, but he slid onto his butt so he could butt hop down each of the steps, and I helped him to stand once we got to the bottom.

I was about to help him down the second set of stairs when a looming figure charged at us from a side door. I started to cover Marc, but he shoved me to the floor, taking the full brunt of the man.

Marc went down, but in a flash, he was up again. While he still favored his leg, he punched the ogre man in the gut.

The monster took the hit, but with his mass, he wasn’t going down. He took a small step back and then ducked low, aiming to head butt Marc against the wall.

“Marc!” I cried out, and clamored up, ready to kick the guy, or claw his eyes out, whichever worked better. Probably both.

Before I could ready a kick, a body dropped down from the stairs. A leg shot out, catching the brute in the back of the knee. The monster went down hard.

Axel stood over him. He readied a fist and it landed straight into the guy’s throat. The man reeled back. Axel punched him again in the nose, and then again in the same spot.

Marc stepped back, getting out of the way. The man went down. Axel hovered over him, fists tight. He was ready.

But the monster didn’t get back up.

“Axel,” I called.

Axel looked up, his eyes a wild mess. He tapped his ear quickly. “Corey is telling me there’s another one at the balcony. He’s releasing the boat. I’ll go get him. Go ahead and get Marc to that balcony. I’ll get the boat.”

I nodded. I went back for Marc, becoming the crutch again. Axel disappeared. I couldn’t believe what I just saw. Axel seemed like a rock, steady and waiting. Suddenly he became the hurricane force. The calm that hid a storm.

Moving Marc was slow progress. He hopped a few steps and then needed to stop to catch his breath. “Just go,” he said. “This boat is going to crash.”

“Raven!” I called when we were on the living room deck.

Raven materialized from the bedroom section. He took one look at Marc and leapt forward to take the other side under his arm. “Holy shit, you shot him again.”

“No,” Marc said. “Didn’t shoot
me.
”

Raven’s eyebrows went up and he glanced at me for answers. “Who
did
she shoot?”

“Too much to explain,” I said. “We have to go. Now.”

Raven started walking beside Marc, and then gave up, heaving Marc up over his shoulder.

“Christ!” Marc shouted. “Put me down.”

Raven ignored this and ran for the bedroom. I followed.

Out on the balcony, we looked down. Axel and the boat weren’t there.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“The yacht’s going at top speed,” Raven said. He gazed out across the water and pointed. “He’s way back there.”

Axel was standing at the helm, soaked like he took a swim to catch the boat. He was trying to hurry and catch us.

“We can’t wait,” I said.

Raven crossed the balcony, putting Marc down on the floor. “You can swim, can’t you?”

“With this leg?” Marc asked. “I can try.”

“I was asking her.” He turned. “You up for it?”

My heart thundered. “Sure.”

“Don’t sound so confident.” Raven assisted Marc to standing. Marc gazed down over the edge of the balcony.

“It’s a jump,” Marc said. He pulled himself up with a groan, swinging one leg over. “Help me with my other leg.”

Raven stooped over, picking up his foot. Marc growled and yelped the whole time, cursing. Raven released his leg once he had it over the balcony edge.

I got beside Raven, pushing myself up to sit next to him on the edge. I gazed down at the water. “It’s kind of high up,” I said.

“We need to jump now,” Raven said. He hauled himself up and over. “On three.”

“Three,” Marc called, his hand landing on my shoulder blades and he pushed.

I cried out, probably a slur of curses all jumbled together, including Marc’s name into the mix. I had a flash of an idea, like in the cartoons where I had a split second of air and falling and I thought perhaps I would stop just before the water.

I splashed down hard, in the most sprawled out belly flop ever performed. I sunk deep, and felt the push of a current. I was going under.

Hands went around my body, and then clutched at me. I turned, finding Marc. His face was grim, and he was looking up at the surface. His hand flew out, above his head, and he swam, with me in his other arm. He clutched me toward his body.

I did my best to help, kicking my legs, trying not to kick him in the effort.

We surfaced, and I sputtered, feeling the slice of chill as the wind picked up around us, stronger than before, and completely icing my body. The water was cold, but it wasn’t so bad with the surprise of it. Now that we were on the surface, and the breeze swept around us, it was killer.

I floated next to Marc, glancing around. “Where’s Raven?”

Raven popped up a few feet from us. He jerked his head back and wiped water from his eyes. He growled. "It’s like Russian bath water."

"Russians are fucked up,” Marc said.

I pointed to Axel coming around in the boat. Marc pulled me up in the water. Raven got beside me. When Axel pulled alongside us, he killed the motor and leaned out.

"Kayli," Axel said, reaching for my arm.

Before I could protest, Marc and Raven pushed me at Axel. I was hauled up and tossed into the floor of the boat. I sprung up, reaching down for Marc's arm, as Raven assisted by pushing him, and Axel yanked him from under his armpits, leaning back with everything he had and sitting on the bottom of the boat to haul him in.

We were starting to haul up Raven when a thundering rumble nearly startled me into falling back into the water. We finished hauling in Raven and turned together.

The yacht had collided with the bank. It seemed to have turned slightly, as if someone had tried to redirect the boat, but it was too late. With the motor turned on and running, the yacht continued to shove itself onto the bank until the front crunched. It stopped and the engine suddenly died.

I was about to make a comment when an explosion blasted out of one of the lower decks. Debris soared out. Some crashed into the water and other pieces soared up for a while before landing. A large hole was left, smoking and revealing an open fire.

"What was that?" I cried out.

Raven grunted. "You told me to get rid of the damn drugs," he said.

I flared at him. "You blew it up?"

Raven picked himself up off the floor of the boat. "Well, that was just a bonus."

I gaped at him a moment. With all the chaos, with wanting to get Marc off the boat and trying to get away before Coaltar came to his senses and called the police, I had completely forgotten about the drugs. Raven remembered. He kept his promise.

When the shock wore off, I lunged at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, beaming and hugged tight. "You're the best."

"What can I say?" His arms encircled me and he pressed his body close. "I'm a professional Russian."

Marc dropped himself until he was flat on his back on the boat. He grunted and clutched at his leg. "I think we’re done here. Can we go now, Kayli? I think I need to go back and see the doctor."

––––––––

W
e returned the boat to the Marina. First, Raven and Axel assisted Marc to the car. This time, the girl in the boat house came out and asked if we were okay. Axel waved her off. He told her Marc just twisted his ankle. He’d be fine.

He lied pretty smoothly. He drove off with Marc, heading to the hospital.

True to his word, Raven left a soggy wad of cash with her, pointing her to the boat, and telling her to fill it with gas and pay the docking fee. He even added an extra couple of twenties and asked her to pick a nice bouquet of flowers to place inside. “I just want it to look nice when he comes back for it,” Raven had said, making it sound like it was Marc’s boat. We left before the girl could figure out the truth.

Back at the apartment, I took a long hot shower and changed into a shirt that belonged to Marc and found shorts from my own bags. I took over one side of the couch. Raven, dried, and in a tank and sweatpants, claimed the other side. I was dead asleep for a few hours. After a swimming in the cold water and all the stress, I could have slept for a week. Still, it felt like a job well done.

When I did wake a couple hours later, I didn't want to move. My legs were intertwined with Raven’s. I stared off at the silent entertainment center. It was strangely cozy and quiet, the first moment I felt relaxed in days.

Was it really over? Now that we had escaped, my mind flew to all the possible results. Blake may call the police. He would sue me for damages at best. What about the drug dealers? Would he rat me out to them and have some goons hunt me down?

Sirens started up deep in the city. I turned onto my back at first. When the police cars got closer, I sat up sharply and held my breath, a palm pressing against my thundering heart.

"Little thief," Raven called to me, in a deep voice raspy with sleep. His brown eyes locked on my face. He untucked himself from under the blanket and opened his arms up to me. "Come."

I untangled my legs from his and crawled over. His arms drew me in until he could fold me into the small space between himself and the back of the couch. With my back against the couch, he pressed himself into me.

His face nestled into my shoulder. "They aren't after us," he said quietly.

"They might come," I said. "Eventually."

"If they ever come for you, they better bring an army. I wouldn’t let you go that easily."

I smiled at his arrogant boast. "Is that how a criminal thinks?"

"It's how I think." His arms wriggled around me until he hugged me close as we snuggled on the couch together. "You and your crazy plans, and fucked up boat crashing." He released me for a moment to curl fingers under the collar of the large T-shirt I wore. He slid the material down, exposing my bare skin. His head lowered and for a moment, his lips only brushed along my flesh, sending warmth. His lips puckered and he kissed me at the corner of my neck, close to the shoulder. His lips parted slightly, and he suckled gently for a moment before releasing me. "Beautiful."

My spine rippled with the spark his lips ignited inside me. At the same time, I tensed. The cuddling had been felt friendly up to that point. I was already in a mess with Marc and possibly Brandon. I wasn't ready for Raven to mix in with it.

"Raven," I said, in a voice that was more delicate. I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want him to stop, but I didn't think my heart could take any more.

His lips grazed my neck, lighting up every nerve along my spine. The warmth spilled right into my heart. "Do me a favor,” he murmured against my skin. ”Don't tell Marc or the others."

My breathing hastened. My mind whirled for his meaning. I was ready for some reasonable request. Like when he helped me get a note to Wil. Or maybe when he beat up that guy in the parking lot. Was he warning me not to tell them that? Could he get into trouble? "Tell them what?"

His lips met with the back of my earlobe. He breathed against me. His hand shifted down to hold me around the waist, pulling me closer. His voice came to me, guttural and low in my ear. "I'm pretty sure Marc has a little crush on you. I think if he knew about us, it may break his heart."

I eased myself up to sit. He pulled back, putting an arm up to pillow his head with a sleepy smile on his face. I didn't get it. I mean, I guessed at was he was implying, but I couldn’t tell if he was serious. Was he teasing me?

"Us?" I asked.

He smirked. He opened his mouth and started to say something but a rattling of keys in the door stole his attention. He twisted himself to look back at the door.