Chapter 59

~Alexander~

Of course she was in the middle of the goddamned ocean.

Christopher must have lost his mind, thinking he could get away from me. There was nowhere Grace could go that I couldn’t find.

I had to pull a few extra strings in order to find out exactly where she was, but it all came around in the end. I knew it would.

When I caught up to Christopher, I really would kill him. He had pushed things too far, and there was no reason to give him mercy this time.

I’m sure even Grace could agree with that.

I arrived at a dock, entering into a fisherman’s area. I knew commercial boats wouldn’t take a single passenger, nor would they be fast enough. I needed something small and light, a one-way ticket to Grace.

Old, dirty men turned their heads toward me as I stepped onto the dock. It shifted under my weight.

I scrunched my nose. It smelled like fish.

I’m sure I stood out to these laborers, dressed in a leather jacket and a button-up shirt. I didn’t look like I was here to fish, and it’s because I wasn’t.

I was here to chase.

Walking down the dock, I looked from one boat to the next, as the men glowered at me. Most of them smoked cigars, filling the crisp air with smoke.

It smelled foul.

I stopped in front of a boat, larger than the rest. It was a shiny white with red stripes. Almost like a sports car. I looked at the back. It had a large enough engine… This should do.

Turning around, I pointed at the boat.

“Who owns this?”

The men all stared at me, as if challenging my authority.

Oh, well. They didn’t know who I was out here, that’s fine. If they knew my power, they’d be grovelling in fear.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. Reaching my arm out, I opened my hand and let the money float onto the wood.

In an instant, some of the men rushed forward, desperately grabbing at the cash before it slipped through the slots or blew away.

There they are, the weak ones. The rest of the men here might think they’re too high and mighty to sell out a fellow fisherman, but not all men are created equally.

I stood over one of the men who was desperately pulling at the edge of a bill, as it had fallen between the slabs of wood. He just barely had a hold of the corner pinned down so it wouldn’t fall, but his fingers were too fat to reach in and pull it out.

“You,” I said, and the man froze. Looking up slowly, he squinted his eyes as the sun shone in them.

“Wh-what is it you want?” He asked, voice raspy. I could see he was missing the majority of his teeth. The rest looked brown.

“Who owns that boat?” I motioned toward the boat yet again.

The old man looked down, and around at his fellow fisherman, who gave him a dirty look.

But I knew he was weak. He’d take the bait.

I knelt down beside him, motioning with my head for him to move. Reluctantly, he did, and the moment he took his finger off of the bill, I swooped in and in a flash pulled it out.

I held it out to the man, who stared at me in awe.

“I want to use that boat. I’ll pay the man who owns it when I get back,” I told him, letting him grab onto the bill.

I said it loud enough that the others could hear me as well, looking out into the group.

“W-wait, that’s… my boat,” a middle-aged man with a brown and grey beard said, stepping out from behind a group of men. He looked better maintained than the rest, wearing a long, brown coat.

I stood up, staring at him. “I need to use your boat, I’d be willing to pay.”

He shook his head. “She’s precious to me, I just got her paid off. She’s not for rent.”

I stepped closer to him, and our chests bumped together. I glared at him. “You can either come with me, or I’ll go by myself. Either way, I’m taking your boat.”

He grimaced, taking a few short breaths. He obviously didn’t want to, but I didn’t have any other options. Any time not getting to Grace was time wasted, and my patience was wearing thin.

I turned around, hands in my pockets, heading towards his boat.

“W-wait! I’ll go with you. If you insist on taking the boat, I’d rather be the one driving her,” he said, shoving past me to get on the boat.

I shrugged.

Honestly, it was for the best, though. I had no idea how to drive a boat, I had just assumed it couldn’t be that hard, but moreso, I was hoping that he’d give in and come.

Looks like I won.

“The sky out there is getting real dark,” the man shouted at me from the steering wheel.

I looked up at it. Grey clouds had begun to roll in in the distance, and we were only getting closer.

The waters became rougher, and I had to brace myself against the edge of the seat to keep from getting knocked out of my chair.

I hoped things would clear up soon, but it really didn’t matter. I was not turning around. I was getting to Grace no matter what.

I shrugged at the man, who kept driving for a while.

After a few minutes, rain began to pelt the glass, and I was thankful to be sitting inside the cabin. Water washed up over the edge and crept back out again with the rise and fall of the boat.

Honestly, I was starting to feel a little seasick. My stomach churned at the constant rocking, and I hunched forward, clutching at my stomach.

“We really ought to turn around, now!” The man yelled at me, over the noise of the wind.

Looking up at him, I spoke through gritted teeth. “Don’t you dare turn this boat around.”

His eyes widened, and I knew I scared him. Good. Whatever kept this boat moving.

Suddenly, a hard wave hit the side of the boat, and the whole boat tipped, and I fell to the ground. Looking over, I saw the man fall, too, arms flailing as he tried to catch himself.

The boat landed back upright with a hard splash, and water shot up from both sides.

I breathed shakily. That honestly scared me in a way I never thought could. Maybe the storm was stronger than I thought…

And this little boat was nothing against the wildness of the sea.

“We have to go back,” the man panted, his eyes wide with fear as he got back on his feet.

I stared at him, actually considering it.

We could go back, and then leave again the next morning when the storm cleared up…

Arg, but we had already got so far out here! We had to be close. And I couldn’t bear the thought of Grace being alone with Christopher for a second longer than she had to.

I glowered at the man, stumbling to my feet. “No,” I growled. “We keep going.”