“You sure, T?” Brando’s face mirrored Blake’s concern.
I sat up and gave him a small smile. “I’m fine, B.” My voice came out raspy.
Blake’s face immediately transformed from concern to anger as his eyes moved between Brando and me.
“Blake? What’s the matter?” I asked as my confusion about the reason he was here returned. Blake stood, reached into his pocket, and tossed something down. The item floated downward then skittered along the deck beside me. When I looked, my heart instantly stopped. It was the sonogram picture, all crumpled and soggy.
I lifted my head and met Blake’s eyes. They were filled with so much hurt and anger that I began to sob immediately.
He knew.
“Blake, I—”
“Save it,” he interrupted. “You and B over there have a happy fuckin’ life together with your baby.”
Wait? He thought the baby was Brando’s? I stood up, not sure what I was going to say but knowing I needed to do something.
“Blake!” I called after him. “Blake! Come back!” But he didn’t stop. Not long after, the roar of the Chevy’s engine filled my ears as he peeled away from the dock.
Brando grabbed a blanket from the trunk of his car and wrapped it around me as I stood motionless and internally numb. After we rode the ferry over to Key City, I followed him to King’s Cabin Cruiser that was tethered to their private dock.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes,”
I heard Brando say through the fog in my brain.
I took a quick shower in the tiny bathroom on the boat, just long enough to wash away the saltwater. I put on one of Jonna’s tank tops and a pair of shorts then curled up on the large mattress that took up most of the space. A few minutes later, Brando came down and settled beside me.
“Well, I reckon we have ourselves a giant fuckin’ mess.” He smirked then winced while putting a hand to his bruised jaw. I didn’t think there was any humor in this situation, yet I found myself laughing uncontrollably, anyway.
“Story of my life. One big hot mess.”
My laughs quickly turned into sobs, and Brando held me as I let the tears fall while I gasped and hiccupped through the ugliest cry of my life.
What the hell was I supposed to do now?
Chapter Twenty-One
“Tayia, wake up.” Brando’s voice traveled through my sleepy brain. Slowly, I opened my eyes and was aware of the boat swaying and Brando sitting on the edge of the bed. His hand rested on my thigh as he shook me awake. “Tayia.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve got to go. I just got a text about a race tonight.” The expression on his face was grim as he stared down at his phone.
“Wait, what? A race?” I sat up quickly and rubbed my swollen eyes. The last thing I remembered was feeling warm, salty tears run down my cheeks while Brando rubbed my back. “Who sent the text? Who is racing?”
Brando gave me an indecisive look, as if he wanted to reveal the name but wasn’t sure if he should.
“Brando? Who’s racing?”
“Blake.”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and hopped off. I knew Blake was upset. No, furious . . . and hurt. The last thing he needed was to be out racing.
I made my way up the staircase to the top deck of the boat. Relief was instant when I saw we were anchored to the dock on the island. Brando must have sailed us back while I was sleeping.
“Brando, I need to get to The Spot. I need to stop him.”
“Tayia, it’s not as easy as you think. He has to do this.”