Pirate Academy by Eva Pohler

Author:Eva Pohler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eva Pohler

Gertie sat across from Hector in her bedroom sitting area. It was Saturday morning, and she was sleepy, because her days and nights were confused. They’d avoided talking about their relationship. As soon as Hector had arrived, Gertie had gotten straight to the point.

“I confronted your stepfather three days ago,” Hector said in answer to her questions. “Right after I called you. He claimed to know nothing about the smuggling taking place on STS ships.”

“Did he seem defensive? Or angry? Or did he seem surprised?” Gertie asked.

“At first, he laughed at me. Then he got defensive, accusing me of slander and defamation. He shouted a string of curses at me. After that, he told me I was no longer welcome here, and I left.”

Gertie could imagine the scene. Although her stepfather was usually calm and business-like, she’d seen him lose it. It was Gertie’s observation that James ignored uncomfortable and painful things until they reached a head and exploded from him in an angry tirade.

“I’m sorry he treated you that way,” she said.

“I’m more upset by the way his daughter is treating me,” he said without meeting her eyes.

“Can’t we put our problems on hold for now?” she asked. “I can’t handle everything at once. Finding James has got to be my priority.”

“I wish I had more to tell you,” Hector said. “I have no clue where he could be.”

She told him about her mother’s trip to Venice. “It may lead nowhere.”

“It’s worth checking out,” Hector said. “Good call.”

The corners of Gertie’s mouth twitched into a subtle smile. “Thanks.”

“No matter what’s going on between us,” he said, his blue eyes moist, “I hope you know you can count on me to help and to be there for you.”

She hoped she could. She desperately wanted to believe she could.

“Look, Nikita’s anxious to see you but wasn’t sure if you’d want company,” he said. “I told her I’d invite you over to the house, to hang out, like we used to.”

Gertie gnawed on her bottom lip. She knew Nikita would rather Gertie go to Hector’s place, because Lajos was there, and Lajos wouldn’t feel as comfortable hanging out at Gertie’s. And Gertie would rather go to Hector’s too, especially now that her mother was out of town. She could ask their housekeeper, Gabriela, to call her if her stepfather showed up. If that happened, Gertie could be back home within ten minutes.

On the other hand, she was afraid. She was afraid of slipping back into the old, comfortable way she had with Hector. The problem with getting comfortable was that it made her vulnerable. What if he needed to be on his own again? To deal with it once was heartbreaking. To be forced to deal with it twice would crush her.

Gertie was brought from her reverie by the sudden appearance of Morpheus near the door of her bedroom suite.

Hector flinched and jumped to his feet. “Morpheus! You sure know how to make an entrance.”

“I have bad news. Really bad news,” Morpheus said with clenched fists.

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