BOOK THREE β’ PART TWO
Author's Note:
This is part two of two for the third book. More installments will be out by December 2022, but they won't come out under the name 'Hypergniture.' Be sure to follow me for updates and to get notifications whenever new stories are published.
All sexual activity is between characters that are 18 or older. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real persons, places or events is purely coincidental. The below is not intended to serve as a guide for real-life sexual encounters or relationships. Stay safe, happy and healthy! :-)
As always, feel free to reach out with any feedback!
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11 β’ Anchored
"Fuck't!"
I angrily slammed the palm of my hand into the side of the infernal arcade machine for the last time, cursing the damn game that couldn't be won.
The owner's deck of the superyacht, Spectre, was beginning to resemble the aftermath of a rowdy house party. Lazing on the couch, Skylar drank a beer at 7 AM as Isabelle sat across from her, eating from an oversized bag of pretzels. She'd boarded with Trixie Roth and Krisha Laghari (both of whom were now catching a breath outside as they suffered the same frustrations as the rest of us). Meanwhile, Alicia was pacing, keeping an unlit cigar between her lips as she considered our next steps.
We'd started with 200 tokens to beat Liz Wharry's custom memory game, expending half in an hour and the rest over 90 minutes as we grew tired and felt defeated. There were plenty of options, but none seemed definitive, and every argument was quickly met by a counter-argument.
"Maybe we can find the person who made it," Isabelle suggested, eliciting a sneer from Skylar as though it were the worst idea ever. I don't know where the animosity between the two came from, but I suspected it had something to do with the pendants around their necks -- their common Catholic upbringing.
I wasn't sure how that fact translated into them disliking each other, but I was never one for religion.
Alicia was the next to make a suggestion, rubbing her cheek and narrowing her eyes. "Maybe we don't need to win the game. We just need to input the right commands in a specific order."
"Like a cheat code?" I asked.
"Eh, yes? I don't know... I didn't play video games growing up," Alicia blushed, having revealed a morsel of personal history.
Regardless of her inexperience, she had a good point. There had to be a winning combination -- some kind of password -- but we wouldn't be able to brute-force it without more information.
"Let's head back to the house," I proposed. "We can return tonight and search for more clues before trying the game again. Alicia, you can phone our private eyes in Tokyo. Let's see if they can learn more about this machine and who made it. If all else fails, they can send a team of technicians to try and hack it."
Everyone agreed and we made our way back to the speedboat, jetting away and leaving the Spectre in our wake. I couldn't help but feel we were missing something...
Something, anything, or maybe nothing at all.
As we arrived at the pier by the palace, everyone disembarked. Everyone aside from Skylar and me.
She was 'my person' -- my loyal companion -- and we'd grown inseparable over the last few months. I felt I could trust her with anything; sometimes, she trusted me with her heart: A frail thing that held many secrets I'd yet to discover. We remained seated in the boat as it gently bobbed up and down on the water. I could see she had something on her mind, and I waited for her to say it.
"We won't let it beat us, sir."
I shook my head, uncertain.
"Are your sisters any good at games? Maybe Natasha?"
"Tecla--"
"See!" Skylar beamed, cutting me off before I could make any attempt at qualifying my statement. "There's always a little bit of hope."
"Ha! Yeah... I guess so."
Waving at the pier, Sky invited me to step onto dry land, following close by. She seemed to have a lot running through her head, and we walked slowly toward the main house, both lost in thought.
"I'd like to spend a day in Rome if you'll allow me," she requested.
I was more than happy to give her permission to take some time off. "Do you want to do some sightseeing?"
"Something like that, sir."
Stopping, I turned to Skylar and pointed at her neck. "Tell me about the cross you wear. Does the trip to Rome have anything to do with your tenuous faith?"
"Who said my faith was tenuous," she replied, stretching the syllables with her Aussie accent.
"My faith is tenuous," I replied. "We're dealing with some very evil people."
"Yet, the world is also full of some remarkably good people. Ethical people, kind people, smart people... People who give me hope and strengthen whatever faith I may cling to."
Suddenly, Skylar reached out and took my hand.
There was something different about my friend that morning. I had a feeling it was all about one of our guests: The chef, Lauren. Skylar had all the signs of someone falling in love as she brought my hand to her face to touch her cheek. She wanted to feel skin against skin; a little human connection from someone she trusted, regardless of what a touch might mean. Something was going on behind her steel-blue eyes -- a series of ups and downs of magnitudes I couldn't comprehend.
"Sky--"
"I'm your person," she said.
I smiled. "Yeah?"
"Yes. Without a doubt."
If my theory was correct, my bodyguard was in a vulnerable place. That morning, she was coming to me for protection. She trusted me and I felt the weight of great responsibility on my shoulders as she looked into my eyes with belief behind hers. She would count on me to keep her faith -- to prove that there was still good in the world -- and I would rely on her as my friend, protector, and one of the wisest counsellors a man could wish for.
12 β’ Bottoms Up