Page 15 of Martyr (Sterling Falls Rogues #3)

Well, this is awkward. Do I want to know how Saint knows—and I’m sure it’s a how not an if because of Kade’s wide smile—that his dick is pierced?

Artemis is turning a pretty shade of pink, too. She inches past Kade and comes straight to me, dropping her forehead to my chest. I put my hand on her hip, steadying her.

I feel bad for Saint. His face has gone tomato-red, too. I don’t think he expected the question to come out, but it did. And now…

“Something to do with the ocean,” Saint mutters.

Artemis says something, but her voice is too muffled by my shirt. She doesn’t seem inclined to repeat it, though. It was probably an insult toward Saint.

I run my fingers through her hair at the nape of her neck, and she shivers.

Kade tilts his head. He shifts so we’re all in his line of sight. Years of knowing him helps me understand him better. He’s a man of action and discipline—and yet, that seems to have all gone out the window in the past few years.

I mean, Ouranos? Really?

My fingers keep moving on Tem’s skin, and she’s slowly relaxing more against me.

“You can sit, you know,” Kade says to me in a low voice. “You don’t have to stand guard.”

“I’m—”

His jaw tics.

Okay, fine.

I walk with Tem back to the couch and take a seat, and she twists to land on my lap, and she curls into me. Such a marked difference from the first time I saw her—when just my name made her faint.

Not gonna lie, being her safe person in this room swells pride in my chest.

“So. Back to the marina,” Kade says. He sits across from Saint in the last remaining chair. They’re all arranged to face the fireplace, which now houses a crackling fire behind a black metal grate. There’s no television in here. Not much at all except the basics, and enough to make it cozy.

Cozy . In the winter. On an island.

But he wants to know about the marina explosion. Of course he would suspect me. He knows what we did overseas. My specialties.

I grimace, prepared not to say anything.

Tem lifts her head. “I’m curious, too.”

“Okay, fine.” I sigh. For her, it’s easy to cave. “I saw Kade and Saint and suspected the worst.”

She nods along, encouraging me.

“I went into a store and paid the cashier to call Kade. I just wanted him to keep him busy long enough for me to slip around and sabotage his boat. But when I got to the marina, I realized that sinking his wouldn’t stop him.

He’d just charter or steal one of the others to get back to Sterling Falls. Motivated bastard.”

Kade scoffs.

“The harbormaster was asleep in his office. I stole his keys to get into the maintenance shed, and from there it was relatively easy to rig some stuff together.” I make a face.

“I made sure that everyone was out of range. The harbormaster was a bit pissed off at being woken up until I made something up about his car being towed. Then… well…”

“What?” Saint asks, leaning forward.

“It was bigger than I planned.” I wince. “I’m rusty.”

Tem bursts out laughing.

I still. “What?”

“You meant a little explosion?”

“Just some fire?—”

Her giggles continue. “Fuck, Reese, I felt the ground shake outside of town.”

Yeah . “I didn’t realize the maintenance shed was also for the town. It had some fertilizer and other flammable stuff in. That’s my best guess anyway.”

That’s putting it mildly.

Kade rolls his eyes. He pulls out his phone and scans it, then quickly stashes it again. “Coast Guard is here. And Dr. Hawthorne has been blowing up my phone. Excuse the expression.”

“She’s calling because of Saint?” Tem bites her lip. “I sort of raised that alarm.”

Kade nods once, his expression unreadable. “I need to return to town. You and Saint should show your faces to Dr. Hawthorne, as well.”

My grip tightens on Tem’s hip. “And, what, leave me here to take the fall?”

“When have I ever let you take the fall?” Kade snaps. “You are responsible, and I have no doubt you collected some witnesses along the way. So you can stay here while the three of us smooth things over with the proper people—me with the authorities, them with the psychiatrist.”

“Gotta say, dude, I’m not really a fan of this.”

Tem puts her palm on my cheek. “Thank you for keeping Saint safe. Now let’s keep you safe. And we should get over there before dark.” Her voice pitches to a whisper when she adds, “Besides, there are some things I imagine you need to discuss with Kade?”

Ah, yes. Of course.

Because what’s the point of Isle of Paradise if we don’t try to fix our issues?