Page 8 of Omega

I kissed his shoulder. “I don’t care. I’m not the kind of girl who’s spent her whole life picturing her wedding. I mean, maybe when I was a little girl I thought about it, daydreamed or whatever, but after Dad died, I just…I didn’t have time to think about that. I shut it down. It wasn’t relevant anymore. And now, with you, I love you and I’m with you, no matter what. Whether we get married or not, whether we have a permanent home or not, it’s you and me together. That’s all that matters to me. Yeah, I want stability. I’d love a real home, something ofours. But I’m not sure we can have that yet, not while Vitaly is out there, plotting his revenge or whatever it is he’s doing. But, if you want to plan us a wedding, I will marry you in a heartbeat. I’d be proud to be Kyrie Roth.”

“I’m going to set up a meeting with Harris, today, to tell him about our wedding plans. We’ll work out the security angles and then give you the safety parameters, so that you and Layla can get to work planning our wedding.”

“How aboutyouplan the wedding, and just let Layla and me pick dresses and flowers? That’s all we care about anyway.”

“If you mean it, that would be infinitely easier. We’d find a good defensible location, fly in whomever we want, get security arranged…but still create a beautiful event.”

“I just have one request,” I said.

“What’s that, love?” He twisted in place, putting our bodies chest to chest. He palmed my backside possessively.

“Can we get married somewhere warm and sunny? It’s interesting and all, being down here in Tierra del Fuego, but it’s a little chilly.”

He laughed. “Sure, darling. We can do that. Somewhere warm and sunny it is.”

2

DISCUSSIONS

Life onboard the ship had its own patterns and routines, and everyone, from the Captain down to the deckhands, was engaged in keeping this huge craft running smoothly. Layla and I also had our own routines. We spent a lot of time during the day in what Roth called “the salon”, or the living room, watching movies, reading, listening to music, playing cards. But Layla was right in that without a job to do, boredom was a constant specter of life aboard a ship. Especially when, like Layla and me, you were used to working all the time or studying for classes or just living life.

Roth had arranged for Layla to finish her degree via online courses, using his encrypted satellite internet signal, but that only occupied so much time. I audited classes here and there, studying whatever interested me, but I wasn’t working toward a degree; I just didn’t see the point.

As for Roth…he was always busy. He stayed in constant communication with Robert, his business guru in New York, staying abreast of the few businesses he’d not already liquidated. He always seemed to be on a call via encrypted satellite phone. And when he wasn’t on the phone, he attended to what seemed to be an endless stream of emails. And when he wasn’t doing that, he and Harris spent a lot of time behind closed doors.

Usually, the four of us all had dinner together and, typically, it was a pretty lively affair. It had become another one of our onboard rituals, I guess. Harris was often gone a lot during the day, taking the helicopter from the ship to whichever shore was closest, doing some mysterious business or other. He never really said, and I never asked. But he was almost always back onboard ship for dinner.

Dinner that night was anything but lively; in fact it was slightly awkward. Layla’s mood hadn’t improved since she’d left the deck earlier in the afternoon. She wasn’t even looking at Harris nor really talking to me. Harris was his usual taciturn self, except maybe more icily silent. Roth appeared to be lost in thought, working through plans, I supposed. Even under the best of circumstances I wasn’t the best at idle chatter, and tonight I had even less to contribute in the conversation department.

So we ate in silence.

As soon as he was done eating, Harris thanked the steward, then excused himself from the table and disappeared from the dining room. Roth followed soon after, leaving Layla and me alone at the table. She continued to move her food around her plate, and I let the silence between us stand for all of perhaps three minutes, and then I had to break it.

“What’s eating you, Layla?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

I snorted. “Please, Layla. We’ve been friends for too long for you to feed me that bullshit.”

She sighed, and set her fork down on her plate with a clatter. “Kyrie…I’ve lost track of time. Like, legit, I don’t even know how long we’ve been on this boat. I never know where we are. I don’t know how long this is going to go on, and worst of all, even reallywhyI’m here. I know what you and Roth and Harris have told me, but it’s hard to have my entire life put on hold just because other people say ‘Oh, Layla, you’re in danger!’ I don’t get it, especially when I don’t have anything to be worried about.” She glanced at me. “Don’t get me wrong, I love you, Roth is cool, and even Harris is pretty okay. And this boat is absolutely unbelievable. But…I just want to go home.”

“I get it, babe. I do.” I moved from my seat across the table from her to go and sit beside her. “I don’t evenhavea home to go back to. Thisismy home now. And as for why you’re here…I don’twantyou to have to understand it. Believe me, I don’t want you to know firsthand what could happen when you least expect it. You’re here on this boat with us so we can keep you safe. Please, trust me on that. I’ve got your best interests at heart. I know it’s…disruptive. But it’s for the best. Believe me.”

She nodded. “I hear you, Key. But hearing you say those things doesn’t really help.” Layla leaned back in her chair, tipping it backward, balancing on the back legs. “I know it may seem trivial to you, but when I said I was horny, it wasn’t a joke. I’ve never gone this long being totally alone. I’m not good at it.”

“At being horny?” I said, trying to make a joke.

Layla just glared at me. “No, you tool. I’mgreatat being horny. What I don’t do well is celibacy. I don’t need a serious boyfriend or anything, but I do need a booty call, at the very least. I have needs.”

“And those needs aren’t being met on the boat.”

“Not even a little bit.” She jabbed a finger at me. “And don’t you fucking dare suggest Harris again. We arenothaving that conversation.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with Harris?” I’d probably regret ignoring her warning, but something about her reaction to my line of questioning niggled at my suspicions.

“Dammit, Key. Just leave it alone, would you?” She shot to her feet so fast her chair almost fell over. “It’s not happening. Let it go.”

“Jesus, Layla. You don’t need to bite my head off.” I followed her as she stalked out of the dining room and made her way topside.