Page 46 of Grant’s Blaze

Elijah brought us back to the subject at hand. “That shipping lane is one of the most used in the trade as a whole. It wouldn’t be that uncommon for maritime pirates to be targeting that zone.”

“Oh, there’s more.” I heaved in a breath but held up my hand. I didn’t need to be nagged about being dramatic. This shit was legitimately hard to deal with. The worst memories still stuck in my throat like a wad of gauze I could neither swallow nor cough up. Recollections that strangled me in the night, causing nightmares that seemed more real than living through the actual events. Even worse, that shit followed me around during the day, as well. It lurked in shadowed corners, even when I was walking in broad daylight. It sneaked out from the faces of strangers who stared too long. In the wraiths they’d one day be…

I finally got up off the kitchen floor and stretched. I brushed off my pants out of habit and because I needed to do something with the nervous energy that was gathering while I thought of how to explain the next part to my friends.

“Twombley!” Bas’s sharp shout called my attention from fussing with my clothes.

I wheeled back on him, going for the whole effect with my coiled fists and openly gritted teeth. “This is more difficult than you understand, okay?”

“I’m trying. Patience is not my best virtue. You know this about me.”

“Wait,” Elijah said. “You have virtues?”

Sebastian gave him the bird. It was the perfect pause I needed to tug on the ignition cord for my words. Thank every higher power there was for Elijah’s uncanny sense about that. I owed this guy so much when this was all over with.

“The boat we were on wasn’t very big,” I started. “Smaller, I’d estimate, than even the one Rio and I were on for our trip. I think that was sixty-five or seventy feet. The one I was held captive on was a fifty-footer, if I had to guess. So the living quarters were cramped with that many men on board. Part of the boat was sectioned off for cargo on top of that, and that’s where they put me.”

Elijah’s expression got even tauter. “So, no bed or bathroom or basic accommodations?”

“Well, the point is, I was in with their cargo. So…” I swallowed roughly. “I got a good look at what they transport.”

“Drugs?” Bas guessed.

“No.”

“Weapons?” Elijah inserted.

“No.” I shook my head while answering.

“What?” they asked in unison.

“Bodies.”

“Bodies?” they repeated like two parrots.

“Dead bodies. A lot of them. Piled on top of one another. And fuck me, the smell.” I roiled from the memory but tried to keep my cool and continued to speak. “It will never get out of my nose.”

So much for calm and cool. I had to hustle to Elijah’s sink as a wave of nausea thundered through me. Beads of sweat dotted my forehead and rolled down my temple as I hurled with ruthless violence.

When it was over and the coffee was gone from my gut, Elijah thrust a bottle of water into my hand. “Thanks,” I croaked. “This is really goddamned embarrassing.”

“Dude,” Banks said. “I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. We’re going to get you some help, okay?”

What could I say? Seriously…what? So I gave a quick nod and splashed some cool water on my face.

“Hold up. Are you absolutely sure that’s what was in there?” Bas asked hopefully as I dried my face with a clean kitchen towel. “It was probably pitch black, right? Maybe it wasn’t actually human bodies?”

I gave up a dark laugh. I knew Sebastian was only trying to save my sanity in the best way he knew how, but I leaned against the kitchen counter, suddenly feeling every exhausting minute behind the hour of the day we were pushing. It felt like my adrenaline left my body along with the caffeine.

“Do you guys remember when we found my mom? And she’d been there, in the bedroom, for a day or two?” I looked at each of my friends and they nodded, so I continued talking. “I remember sitting and cradling her in my arms until someone came. The police? Maybe the coroner? They made me let go, and they took her body away.”

“Yeah, man,” Sebastian said. “That day was shit. We were too young for that kind of experience. We’re going to do things so much better with our own kids.”

“Point is, I know what a dead human body feels like, and that cargo hold was filled with them. And the smell?” I shuddered again. “It’s a very particular smell.”

“Ugh. Okay. I believe you.” Now Bas looked green, too.

“So what does all of this mean? How do these pieces fit together?” Elijah demanded.