Page 40 of Pervade Montego Bay

“Trust me?”

“Kind of. I sort of like you, Ballad, in the way a person might enjoy being at the top of a rollercoaster right before it tips over the edge and nosedives. Then it’s like ‘well, this is a stupid idea.’”

That made me smile. “Then you’re in?”

“I’m listening.”

“There’s this place…” I knelt before him again and reached out to brush a drop of blood away from his eye. That cut on his eyebrow would leave a scar.

He rested his cheek in the palm of my hand, and I let him, giving us this moment we both needed. Two destroyed men. Time stood still as these unfolding seconds allowed us to reconnect. We’d escaped death back in Macau and that kind of bond went deep.

His lips trembled and it made him look vulnerable. Rage stirred within me for the men who’d done this to him.

“Were they military?” I asked. “The men who did this to you?”

“Civilians as far as I can tell. I’ve memorized their faces, though.”

“Hold onto that thought.” I gave a nod. “We’ll get to them afterward.”

“After what?”

“After we find out who’s fucking with us.”

“FYI, I remember everything.”

“Good to know. Do you think you can walk?” I went to help him.

“Yes.” Xavier’s blue eyes were mesmerizing. Despite his bruises and all that swelling he still looked remarkable.

“You did say you wanted to see me in action.” I threw in a grin.

Xavier smiled, and then flinched at the pain from a cut on his lip. “Back under your command…sir.”

“Let’s not be too hasty,” I retorted. “You know what happened last time.”

“I’m willing to give you a second chance.”

I stared into his eyes, oddly elated at the thought of being back in the same space with him.

I turned my back on him and headed for the door.

“Guard!”

James

The pungent scents of bleach and antiseptic were unmistakable. The chill of air-conditioning made the hairs on my forearms prickle. Standing at the end of the ward and seeing Xavier lying in a hospital bed looking so damn vulnerable made it hard for me to take another step. Patients were lined up in their beds against each wall. Private rooms were reserved for the seriously ill, apparently.

Outside the window came the unmistakable sound of home, the place of my birth.

The chirping of crickets was the song of Montego Bay—the island I’d grown up on. My mother had left me a private home on the beach and I’d never shared that place with anyone—except Victoria.

The stab of guilt I suddenly felt for bringing someone else here quickly disappeared when I looked over at him…

Moonlight shimmered over Xavier’s naked chest. The sheet barely covered him from the waist down. It was hard to look at the bruises scattered over his flesh without feeling I was responsible. Had I stayed close to Xavier he wouldn’t have left the submarine so abruptly. I’d have stayed with him and made sure the Geneva Convention’s treaties were honored. I’d have made sure no one touched him.

The nurse’s Jamaican accent was soothing. “Go say hello to your friend.” Her bright, warm expression comforted me.

Xavier’s crystal blue eyes followed my progress from his hospital bed. I wondered if he regretted coming here. Breaking him out of Colchester had made things worse.