My dick didn’t feel particularly attached as I stood and limped over to the wheel. I gingerly stepped on a few charts. I’d pick them up once I could use both hands. My ship was still heading due west, towards New York City. What could she possibly want in New York? The Big Apple was now the Big Core.
I swung my ship back south. I wasn’t anybody’s chauffeur, not even hers. Besides, Tethys was enough trouble for one day. He’d come back for me eventually. He always did. He was stupid like that.
I wedged my auto pilot wood back on either side of the joystick and began cleaning up my nautical charts. Two of them were ripped but I resisted the urge to strangle the lady. It wouldn’t make the rips go away anyway. The top half of my fifty charts had fanned out like a deck of cards on the floor. I collected and realigned them facedown on the counter, then began sorting the other half, which was splayed out like someone had thrown a handful of confetti. The task took intense concentration in order to not rip any more sheets, and to recall the order of their placement.
I flinched when the lady asked me my name. I’d forgotten she was there, despite the ache in my crotch. “Doesn’t matter. We’re not friends and you’re not staying on my ship, lady.”
“My name is Jessie. Stop calling me ‘lady.’” She stood, pushed her hair out of her face and stared at me with her fists just above her hips.
At least she had the intellect to not lay another fist on me. I really didn’t want to put her in a headlock. “Whatever. It’s Dyne. You can call me that or Captain.”
“Dyne? Is that a nickname?” Her fists lowered but she remained plastered to the wall.
“Yes and no. No one but me knows my real name anymore.” Why did I let that bit of trivia slip? This lady was nothing to me. I went back to straightening my nautical charts now that I’d removed all of them from the floor. The fog bank outside was half gone with sunlight brightening up a lousy day that’d included two instances of foiling my attempt to eat a cheeseburger in peace.
“Jessie is just a nickname for me. My real name is Amphitrite.”
I accidentally ripped the three charts in my hand as I whipped around. I couldn’t have heard her right. My heart began to pound and my palms got sweaty.
Jessie—or Amphitrite—dropped her tough girl act as I stared at her. She clasped an elbow. “My dad said it comes from Greek mythology. He named me that because of my temper. I picked up the name Jessie so Tethys and his crew would stop calling me ‘Mammy’. They were too stupid to get my real name right.”
“So why Jessie?” I tried to sound casual. She didn’t seem to catch the tension in my voice.
“It’s the name of my favorite American singer. Ever heard of Red Fern?”
Okay, I needed to treat her with utmost care and respect from now on, and make sure she stayed on my ship. She was a double-edged sword to me, almost not worth keeping around. “Were you born in the Mediterranean?”
Jessie furrowed her brows. “Cyprus. Why does it matter?”
I turned back to my charts in hopes of not making her feel any more uncomfortable. If she was the real deal, then I and my entire crew had to be careful. That bitch who’d cursed me would be expecting a visit from me sometime soon, and those trips never ended well. And with Jessie’s accompaniment, it was even more dangerous, yet held greater odds for me. I was desperate enough to believe there was still hope for me and ending my curse. So many people coveted immortality before the Purge. Maybe if this world were more of a utopia, it wouldn’t be so bad. This world was still trying to find its feet again.
I reached for the handle to pretend to be steering the ship, then let go when I made a clang against the auto pilot wood. So much for looking nonchalant. “Where were you hoping to run off to when you escaped Tethys’s ship?”
“A friend who can get my back home.”
“Where’s home?”
“Cyprus, duh.”
“Of course.” I clasped the accelerator for comfort. I didn’t want to be stuck as some nobody in his forties anymore. I wouldn’t die, unless I figured out how to lift my curse, something I was losing hope would ever happen. A visit to a certain cave was in order sometime in the near future. Hoo boy, my crew would like that trip as much as getting a gun for a birthday present. “I’ll see about getting you home. No joke,” I added when she raised her fists and gave me a suspicious glare.
“Tethys promised me the same thing,” Jessie said sourly. “It took me a month of getting to know him, then getting raped the first time to figure out that he’d lied to me. Why should I trust or believe you?”
“I’m not Tethys.” I thought of apologizing for grabbing her breast but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. “That, and I’ll throw in a pair of your very own steel-toe boots before our next stop. Sound good?” That was about the last thing I wanted her to wear, but it was better than knee spikes.
A trace of a smile crossed her lips before she resumed her hard gaze. “Words are nothing. I’ll believe you when I’ve got them on my feet.”
“Fair enough. Now let’s get below deck and eat.” I crossed to the door and held it open for her—not out of courtesy. Not a chance. I didn’t want another scuffle over which way my ship was headed. My groin had only just stopped hurting.
Jessie looked at the wheel, then at me and backed up a step.
“I’m on a shipment schedule, lady. I’ve already lost a week thanks to Tethys.”
“Amphitrite or Jessie. Pick one.”
“Amphitrite. Whatever.” I meant to say her nickname, but her given name slipped out. My stomach did a little butterfly flutter inside, persuading me a little more that the next few months were going to be interesting. “Now move.”
Jessie gave the wheel a baleful look, then straightened up and slipped out of the wheelhouse without giving her back to me. I locked the door behind us and checked to make sure none of the windows were open. Everything was satisfactory. I caught up with Jessie at the bottom of the stairs and led her down to the galley, anticipating the drama that was about to unfold.
Chapter 4
No Touchie
Only Scully and Mido were in the galley when I returned, along with my cheeseburger on the table. It had to be cold by now, meaning it wouldn’t be as enjoyable to eat as it would have ten minutes ago. Darn woman! She really was bad luck. What am I doing?
I tried to put on a friendly face to cover my glare, and placed a hand on the small of Jessie’s back. She gasped and shied away. I put my hand down. “Scully, I believe I have apprehended your assailant.”
Bag of ice still on the back of his head, Scully looked at Jessie, then at me. “Don’t look much apprehended. You sure you have the right person? That’s a woman.”
“By the looks of those welts on his face, I think he does,” Mido said, smirking. “She do that to you, Captain?”
I opened my mouth as Jessie said, “You bet I did. I’ll do the same to you if you try to touch me.”
My three men guffawed. Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. “If you’re so tough, you go ahead and take her on.” And right on cue, just because I consciously registered my injuries, they started hurting.
Mido snickered behind a fist. “I don’t fight women.”