Page 43 of Gabriel (Legacy of Heathens #4)

Amara

W e’d be in Albania in two days, and I couldn’t afford to discount Gabriel’s words. I didn’t believe them, but if he overheard Elira with Jet, then something was going on, and I had a right to know what.

The stairs up to the sundeck were slick with condensation, the morning heat already turning the ship into a low-simmering oven. The blue sea stretched out around us, blinding beneath the rising sun.

I barely noticed it.

Gabriel walked beside me in silence, his shoulder brushing mine every few steps.

Elira was exactly where I expected her, leaning against the railing, a glass of an umbrella drink in her hand while wearing nothing but a skimpy bikini.

Her sunglasses were perched on the edge of her nose, and that obnoxiously loud yellow swimsuit clung like it had an agenda while her golden hair spilled down her back, swaying with every practiced tilt of her head.

She threw her head back and cackled, brushing her hand against the captain’s arm. The laugh was as fake as her interest in him. I knew that much.

“Elira,” I called out.

She turned around, a half-smile still on her face, but it was the victorious flicker in her eyes that sent a flicker of unease down my spine.

“Amara! I didn’t expect to see you up on the deck this early.” Her tone told me otherwise, her gaze locking on Gabriel with a smug expression. “Sleep well, I see. Too well, judging by our prisoner.”

The captain chuckled like he was in on a joke. I ignored him.

“We need to talk,” I said. My voice didn’t rise, but the chill in it sliced through the sun-warmed air.

Elira’s smile faltered just slightly. “Now?”

“Yes. Now.” I narrowed my eyes on the man standing beside her. “And you, Captain, need to pay attention to the coastline now that we’re approaching Albania.”

She scowled at me, mumbling into his ear, and he disappeared, glancing several times over his shoulder with puppy dog eyes.

“I was just getting somewhere with him,” she said once he was out of earshot, clearly annoyed at the interruption. She straightened, rolling her eyes. “Now, what’s this about so I can finally get laid too?”

I stepped in closer, annoyed at her casual stance. “It’s about your phone call with Jet.”

Her mask didn’t crack. It barely even shifted, but I didn’t miss the flash of panic behind her expression.

“You must be confused.” She pushed her glasses atop her head and folded her arms.

“I’m not.” My tone was flat, the conviction that my siblings were up to something and I wasn’t privy to it growing by the second. “I heard everything, including his instruction to you to distract me.”

She scoffed. “I haven’t talked to Jet in days. If you had heard something like that, you wouldn’t wait to call me out on it.”

I might know my siblings, but they knew me as well. Then her words sank in.

“So you have been talking to him?” I hissed.

She shrugged. “I was able to get in touch with him, yes.”

“So what the fuck are we doing?” I tsked, clicking my tongue. “Why this charade with Gabriel?”

Behind me, Gabriel stood still, his presence grounding and protective, but he didn’t interfere, and I appreciated that more than anything else.

“No charade,” Elira grumbled defensively. “We’re doing what’s best for our family—for you, Jet, and me.”

“And Gabriel and Anya?” I questioned. “What does it have to do with them?”

Elira clammed up, and seeing the stubborn tilt to her chin, I knew she wouldn’t respond to aggressiveness. If I were anyone else, she’d have probably sliced my throat and ended this conversation.

“Elira,” I said, softer now. “I’m asking as your sister, please tell me what Jet’s up to. Why are you keeping secrets from me?”

She looked away, out toward the blinding sea, and for a moment I saw guilt—or was it regret?—tug at the corner of her mouth.

“Jet has a plan, and nothing will stop him from getting what he wants,” she said quietly.

“What does he want?” I demanded.

“Don’t know and don’t care.”

I let out an exasperated breath.

“You do know.” Her lips thinned, refusing to divulge whatever truth she was hiding for our brother. “Is it Anya?”

She shrugged. “You know Jet. He keeps his cards close to his chest.”

Disappointment and hurt washed over me.

“You used me.” My voice cracked. “You made a fool out of me. And Anya… She’s my friend . How could you, Elira?”

“I didn’t do anything,” she claimed stubbornly. “And I didn’t say it has anything to do with Anya.”

I stepped closer, chest tight as she let out a heavy sigh.

“But you know who she is.” I smiled coldly. “Technically, you shouldn’t.”

“She was your roommate in the dorm,” Elira snapped, suddenly sharp. “I make it a point to know who you surround yourself with, sister.”

My back stiffened. “What about Jet, then?”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. I have no idea how they met.”

I stared at her, the words ringing in my ears. My heart pounded against the cage of my ribs.

“But they met,” I whispered.

“Apparently so,” Elira deadpanned.

This makes no sense . Why had Anya lied when I asked her point-blank on the phone?

“I don’t know any specifics,” she added.

“You need to tell me his plan and what he wants with Anya,” Gabriel said, stepping between us. “And I need the truth, Elira. Both Amara and I do.”

Elira held our gazes.

“I don’t know,” she said, sighing. “I’ve never seen Jet go to such lengths for anything or anyone. He just asked me to help him.”

“With what?” I demanded.

“He told me where we needed to go in the jungle and instructed me to drop that stupid bag and encrypted device in there,” she muttered. “I got to the location before you and dropped the bag off. It was part of the plan.”

“And the coordinates?” I rasped. “Why Albania?”

Gabriel stiffened next to me, answering, “Because that’s where Anya is.”

“Yes, the coordinates are to the house she’s renting next to Kian’s,” Elira answered, and betrayal flooded me.

It burned on the way down, but I didn’t let myself get distracted.

I couldn’t dwell on that.

Now it was time we closed in on Jet and got to Anya before he did.