Page 47

She flinched at my question.

“Did you?”

Her mouth stayed shut.

“Tell me!” I bellowed.

She still didn’t respond.

“Oh, no, you don’t get to go silent now.” I motioned to my hands and arms. “See this? This isyourblood all over me.”

She touched her face, patting at the dried substance around her eyes and nose.

“So you don’t get to pull the ‘I can’t tell you’ bullshit with me. I had to pay double for the men and triple the price for materials to get this ship fixedtoday. Foryou!” I gestured down to the hull. “I swear to fuck, Kat, you better explain to me, as someone who knows better, why the fuck would you make a vow?”

“Because Ihadto.” Her voice broke but came out sharper and louder than I expected.

“You had to?” I folded my arms. “Did someone save your life and you foolishly vowed your life back to them?” Yeah, I did. I was exactly the kind of idiot back then who would do that.

“No.” She slid off the bed, her legs wobbled, but she forced herself up to her full height, which was still barely anything. “Let’s say I didn’t have a choice and leave it at that.”

“That’s adorable. You think you’re gonna get off the hook?”

“Just drop me off at the next port, and we can go our separate ways like you wanted from the beginning.”

A huff of air blew out of my nose as I strolled closer to her, using my physique to shadow her, my crossed arms almost touching her. “That’s not how this works, Kitty-Kat.”

Her lids narrowed, her chin jerking up. She was weak, wobbly, but even with blood, sweat, and tears dried on her face, she was still such a force. Still breathtaking. And that made me want to punish her. To show her that even after all these years, with all her training and plans, I was still the king.

“And I know you too well. You will never let me go. You’ve been after me for too long to walk away. You know nothing else.” A smug grin tugged at my lips when she bristled at my statement. Her own anger billowed off her, bumping against me. “So, you are going to tell me everything. And I meaneverything.”

“Fuck you,” she hissed.

“Think you tried that already.” I inched even closer.

“I haven’t even gotten close to fucking you yet,” she challenged, our faces only inches apart.

“Promises, promises.”

Her chest heaved in and out, her cheeks flushed with anger.

“What’s wrong, Kitty-Kat?” I smirked because she didn’t like the nickname. Killian was the only one she didn’t get mad at, but something about her now made me want to push every button. Pick at every scab.

Something told me she wanted to hurt me back. Her energy rolled down my vertebrae, binding around my dick. Violence pulsed in the room, both of us walking a fine line. I was overwhelmed with the desire to kill her… or grab her roughly by the head and kiss the fuck out of her.

“Captain?” Scot stepped into the cabin.

I treaded quickly back, sucking in through my nose. Fuck. I was about a breath away from doing something very, very stupid. This was Katrina, Fredrich Roth’s little girl. I knew her when she was younger than when I had met Lexie. It was sick. It didn’t matter if she was grown-up now. She wasn’t to be touched or looked at.

“Yes?” I spoke to my second, but my glower stayed on Kat.

“Tsai has set us north but needs to know where in China. It’s a pretty big fucking place.”

Kat bit her lip, her gaze sliding to the side.

“You’re not getting off this ship anytime soon.” I didn’t take my eyes off her. “And sorry, little kitty, but you owe us. We saved your life. We’re in this now. It’s us, or we take you back to Singapore.” I tilted my head. “I have a feeling you were trying to get away from there for a reason. It was your ship in the harbor, wasn’t it? With the emperor’s flag on it?”

Her nose flared enough to give my theory credit.