53. Knox

Ahundred and seventy-one hawksbills, sixty-three green turtles, eleven loggerheads, thirty-seven leatherbacks, and five olive ridleys, the last of which weren't even native to San Gallicano. That was how many turtles Emmy and the team found when they incapacitated the guards at Havana Hills and took a look through the barns. Plus a stash of shark fins and a narwhal tusk. Nobody knew where the fuck that had come from, and Theron Voss wouldn't be telling anyone—he was on ice in the mortuary, along with Barry the Barracuda and Aiden Kingsley. Kingsley's body had washed up this morning, minus an arm. Detective Fernandez had called to tell Knox.

Forty-eight hours had passed since Luna ignored all sensible courses of action and boarded the Kraken. Her boobs had indeed gone viral, but thankfully, that would be the worst consequence of her actions from that day. With help from Black, she'd explained to Detective Fernandez that she thought she'd heard a scream as she walked past the Kraken, and being a good citizen, had hurried on board to offer assistance. It was close enough to the truth, and the only men who would contradict her story were dead. Kory had backed her up.

In the eyes of the San Gallicano authorities, she was a hero, and most importantly, Judge Morgan agreed with that assessment. Luna had been released from her sentence, although she wanted to return to the turtle sanctuary to help out for a few days before she left the country. She and Kory planned to skip town on Thursday, right before Luna's mother got released from jail. Yes, Thursday. Amethyst's sentence had been extended from thirty days to thirty-three after she spat at a guard.

What did Ryder plan to do? That was anyone's guess.

He'd been predictably horrified when he found out Luna had gone head-to-head with a member of Aiden Kingsley's gang for the second time, and groaned long and loud when he saw her boobs doing the rounds on the internet. Headlines included Lovely Luna frolics with friends in San Gallicano, Luna Maara flees shark while vacationing in the Caribbean, and Spotted: Fuller-figured Luna Maara—is she pregnant?

Only if it were the immaculate conception. She was still sharing a room with Ryder, but he swore they weren't exchanging bodily fluids. Knox believed him, mainly because he'd overheard Luna and Kory having the "gay, straight, or bi?" conversation earlier. Luna swore that Ryder was too sweet to be straight, but Kory wasn't convinced he was gay, despite Ryder's claim about a boyfriend. When the possibility of bisexuality was mooted by Kory, Luna had shuddered and said no way, Ryder definitely wasn't into women.

Could she really be that oblivious? Yachting activities aside, Luna wasn't stupid, but the woman was so socially inept it made Knox want to face-palm.

The shower stopped, and a minute later, steam billowed into the bedroom Knox was sharing with Caro on the Cleopatra.

"Could you pass me a hair tie?" she asked.

He rummaged on the dressing table until he found what she wanted. This whole domesticated thing was weird, but he kind of liked it. Sharing his space, his life, with a woman. They'd talked last night, talked for hours, just lying next to each other, barely touching, and while the sex on Valentine Cay had been great, this new connection, it was…more. Caro told him about her childhood, her mom, and the struggle through college. Not so much about Aiden—that was still raw—but she let him see the real her. And he spilled his own secrets. The difficulties of growing up with an alcoholic mother, his escape in music. Opening up left him feeling lighter inside, as if he'd finally let go of a weight that had been dragging him down. Huh. Maybe Ryder was right and there was something to that therapy shit after all?

The hardest part had come later, after they'd fallen asleep. Caro thumped him in the early hours, flailing in the throes of a nightmare. He'd tried to catch her hand when it came for him again, but then he pulled back, letting the blow land. What if his touch scared her? Made things worse? In the end, he'd splashed cold water on her, then held her while she cried herself back to sleep.

But things would get better.

They could only get better.

"Are you sure you want to go back to the sanctuary today?" he asked as she emerged in a bathrobe.

"If I don't do it now, I never will. And my stuff is still there. I need to pack and also check that Tadie's doing okay."

Tadie lived on Valentine Cay, and she'd been volunteering with Franklin since she was fourteen years old, although not so much lately because her job got too demanding. Some remote customer service role. People complaining the whole time, she said, and when she heard there were openings at the sanctuary with a decent salary on offer, she'd gladly handed in her notice. Two students on a gap-year trip were arriving tomorrow, which gave Baptiste time to find a second full-time employee and focus on his recovery. Plus the locals had rallied around, helping to collect eggs from beaches all over San Gallicano and cleaning up the mess left behind after the raid.

Today, Luna and Ryder would be at the sanctuary, plus Jubilee, Kory, and Slater. The others had flown back to the US, but Emmy had told Knox to take a couple of weeks to get himself and Caro sorted out. Luna was happy with that, as long as Ryder could stay with her until the end of the contract, although how much bodyguarding he'd be doing was debatable. He seemed to be acting as more of an emotional-support commando.

"Speaking of packing, we still need to work out where you're going to live."

Knox hadn't pushed the subject, but time was ticking, and even a hotel room needed to be booked in advance.

Caro gave a tentative smile. "How about Richmond?"

Knox stilled, hoping he hadn't misheard, fearing she meant Richmond, UK, and he'd be spending a lot of time over the Atlantic. Caro mistook his surprise for reluctance.

"I don't mean we have to live together, not yet. We can take things as slow as you want. But I spoke with Emmy, and she offered me somewhere to stay and basically arranged a job interview, so…" She took his hand. "I really want to make a go of this."

Emmy had done what? That crazy, meddling…genius.

"Where's the job?"

"At the Blackwood Foundation."

"That…" That would be perfect. Cora and Mercy had been through similar experiences, and it wouldn't be a high-pressure environment. They spent their days planning fundraisers to disguise the fact that they were giving away over a billion dollars that Blackwood had liberated from organised crime. "That position would suit you very well. Did Emmy offer you an apartment? Or room and board at her place?"

"An apartment. But if I get the job, I'll pay her back for the rent. I don't want to be a charity case."

"She wouldn't take the money. All she'd ask is that you pay it forward someday."

"I like her, but she scares me a bit."

"You and me both, baby. Where you live is up to you, but I already spoke with Ryder and Slater. If you want to stay with us for a while, they're good with that."

"Is there enough space?"

"Ryder and I moved to Richmond around the same time, and Slater's lease was up. We all travel regularly, plus we were hanging out together after work anyway, so we figured that instead of renting three apartments that would stay empty half of the time, we'd get a nice house and split the rent three ways." Knox grinned. "We have a great pool, and if you need space, there are two spare bedrooms."

"I want to sleep with you." Caro's face flushed. "I mean share a bed. And have sex, obviously, but…but…"

Don't cry, baby.

"We have all the time in the world now. When it happens, it happens." He held her close and kissed her wet hair. "Never thought I'd do the boyfriend thing, but here we are."

"Here we are," she echoed.

Knox never wanted to be anywhere else.