Page 70 of No One Aboard

Rylan faltered. Francis Cameron was sorry?

“I’m hoping that this is what it takes for you to step up.”

Rylan’s head swam. His anger was suddenly misplaced and misshapen. He shifted his balance and released the tension in his fingers.

“I don’t understand.”

Francis spread his hands. “Well, you want your sister to come home, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Rylan said through his teeth.

“I could make the call tomorrow for our jet to pick her up and bring her back.”

Rylan teared up. It was too good to be true. Painfully so.But he couldn’t help imagining his hurricane of a sister bursting through his bedroom door, ready to take on their senior year together. He’d help her with her homework. She’d convince him to go to school events. They’d go skiing in Aspen over winter break and find out they had a crush on the same boy in psych class and talk through the vent in their closet whenever the rest of the house felt too big.

Francis patted the bed again, and Rylan sank beside him.

“How?” he whispered.

“Like I said. You’ll need to step up. Put your mind to maximalizing your talents. You could be the smartest kid at that school if you wanted to be. You’re interested in the ocean? Great. So become a diving instructor, get your MBA. Ocean tourism is an untapped market, and you’re a goddamn Cameron.”

Rylan searched his father’s face. His teeth matched the whites of his eyes.

“How does this get you to bring Tia home?”

“All I want is you to be worthy of the name we share.” Francis leaned closer. His aftershave smarted Rylan’s eyes. “So you’re going to prove yourself. I have an empire ready for you to inherit, my boy. I believe you inherit what you earn. I don’t even care what you do in life as long as it is exceptional. Now. There are nine months in the school year. You’ll have nine tests. When you pass one...” Francis snapped his fingers. “I’ll bring your sister home.”

“It’s up to me?” Rylan croaked.

“It’s up to you,” Francis replied, extending a hand to seal the deal.

In his lap, Rylan’s hands had begun to tremble. It’d be up to him to save Tia from her banishment. From a place she despised. It’d be up to him to get her home.

“Will Mom know?” he asked. The tests would be different if Lila was involved.

“This is between us men,” Francis told him. “If you go to her crying, you’ve already failed.”

Rylan didn’t keep secrets from his mother. He didn’t keep secrets from Tia. But he knew then this was a trial he’d have to endure without either of them. He could do it alone. He had to.

I’m going to get you out of there, Thimble.

“I’ll do it,” Rylan said, and the two clasped hands.

But he didn’t do it. He couldn’t. He failed nine times over, and Tia didn’t even know. She hadn’t even been allowed to come home for Thanksgiving or winter break. Now she wanted to gethimout. And he had agreed to let her. Could he follow through if it came down to it?

Rylan bent his head and buried his face inside his hands.

He owed Tia his bravery. He owed Francis his legacy. But all he could think about as he curled in on himself on the chart house counter were his inabilities.

It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault, it’s all my fault...

Chapter 34

Lila Logan Cameron

Call sign: Cassiopeia

Day 8 at Sea