That "girl" was standing at the port railing, her gaze locked on the smoldering wreckage of her ship. Even from here, I could see her shaking as she fought to stay composed. Two Coast Guard members had pulled her from the water, but she still carried herself like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Despite everything, her eyes blazed with determination. She’d been willing to go down with her ship to save everyone else aboard.
Her once-blonde hair was coated in thick ash, the color dulled, and streaks of soot and tears marred her smooth face. Her puffy, red eyes spoke volumes. And there wasn’t a world in which I wouldn’t recognize my brave, spirited Goldilocks.
“Captain Rafferty? I’m Ensign Gregory. Can I ask you a few questions about the fire?” The Coast Guard Investigator looked straight out of New London, his accent sharp and polished, like someone who had grown up in a city that demanded perfection.
“You can call me Raff,” I said, my voice tighter than intended. The remnants of Kendra’s wreckage—her hard work, her life—burned behind me, a constant reminder of the cost of all this.
“I’d rather not, sir,” he replied, his gaze flicking briefly to my face before landing on my ship. His most prominent feature was his ears, which held his ballcap at an irregular angle, giving him an almost comical look.
“Fine, then.”
“Can you tell me what you were doing when you received the distress call?”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. My pranks on Kendra’s charter boat had been childish and reckless, but I didn’t want that to be part of the record. I hadn’t known it was her when I’d heard the sexy, growly voice over the radio. “We were motoring through our dinner activities.”
“Did those dinner activities include harassing theNetfish and Chill?” The investigator raised an eyebrow, his gaze unwavering.
I whipped my head around, feeling the eyes of my crew burn into me. None of them would look me in the eye.Bloody traitors.
“They didn’t say anything, sir. The other First Mate told me you were sailing too closely,” Ensign Gregory admitted.
“Well. Yes.” I cleared my throat, the weight of my confession dragging me down. “Bit of a laugh, you see. Harmless fun.”
“Except Captain Jarrett’s boat caught fire miles away from shore and emergency assistance,” Gregory replied. “Some might see that as you trying to eliminate the competition.”
My gut churned at the thought of being accused of something so far from the truth. I had two hundred witnesses who could vouch for my intentions, but none of them could change the suspicious nature of the situation. “You can’t possibly think I’m responsible for that. We have two different businesses.”
He shook his head, a slight scowl forming on his lips. “No, I don’t think you’re responsible. But it is suspicious. Word has it that her boat is double mortgaged. And an insurance claim would be a nice monetary settlement for her.”
That didn’t sound like the Kendra I knew. I tried to steady my breath, feeling the heat rise in my chest as it constricted. But before I could respond, a wave of thick smoke hit me, and I choked on the burning taste of it. I coughed to clear my throat, which only made the air seem heavier and oppressive.
Ensign Gregory snapped his notebook shut, clearly wanting to move on. “We’ll be in touch if we have further questions.”
“She didn’t do this.” I grabbed his arm, my fingers digging into the fabric of his sleeve. My pulse thundered in my ears, a frantic rhythm that made it hard to think straight. “I’m sure it was an accident.”
He glanced at my hand, which I quickly withdrew, my chest tight with the sudden shift in the air. “Like I said. We’ll be in touch.”
Ensign Gregory walked away, headed for Kendra, and a familiar, unbearable urge to protect her surged through me. I wanted to follow him, to do something—anything—but my feet felt rooted to the deck. I couldn’t explain it, but the instinct to keep her safe was overwhelming, impossible to ignore.
“Sounds like she’s in deep shit,” a man slurred beside me. His breath reeked of cheap liquor, and his words were almost indecipherable. “That’s nothing compared to the lawsuit I’ll file against her.”
I turned to see the pudgy father of the group, who had scrambled furiously to get off the burning ship. The image of him shoving his adult children aside to save himself burned into my mind. Their desperate pleas for help had echoed in the chaos, but he didn’t care. It was every man for himself. The panic in his children’s eyes was haunting. Their faces twisted in confusion and fear as they witnessed their father’s selfishness.
My chest tightened as I struggled to comprehend the sheer selfishness of his actions. The Captain had gallantly saved his sons, ensuring their safety at the expense of her ship. I felt a surge of anger—pure, unfiltered rage. The nerve of him abandoning his own family, abandoning his duty—I couldn’t understand it. It made my heart pound with disbelief, and the weight of it was heavy in my stomach, like I was swallowing stones.
The world seemed to blur through a red haze. The blood rushed to my ears, drowning out the wail of the Coast Guard’s sirens and the rumble of our ship’s engines. The noise only seemed to add to the pressure, the crushing weight of it all. A pressure I could feel in every fiber of my being.
The bastard’s voice cut through my thoughts, sending a jolt of fury through my veins.
“What did you say?”
“That bitch?—”
That was the last derogatory word he’d say about Goldilocks on my ship. My body moved before I could think, my hands curling into fists. I took a step forward, then another. Without a second thought, I pulled back and landed a punch square on his jaw, knocking him out cold.
Chapter 6
Captain Kendra’s Log: Invest in better locks. Check the CIA collection.
