Read To Ocean's End for Free Online

sniffed.
    I glared and pointed a finger at her. She cowed and mumbled another apology.
    “Now you listen to me, Jessie. That’s two strikes. One more and no amount of apologizing will get you out of the cargo hold until it’s time to drop you off. Got it?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Now, you look like you’ve been underfed. Do you want some food?” She looked at me. then at my burger. She shuffled around Mido, even though he wasn’t in the way, and reached for it. “That’s mine.” I slid the plate out of her reach. “Mido, put some food in her.” I got a hint of a glare out of her. Good. She needed her fiery side to stay sane on my ship. I really didn’t feel like assigning bodyguard duty to her bunk.
    Mido put on a broad grin and he heaved himself upright. “Alright, Jessie. My name is Mido and I’m the ship’s cook.”
    “Okay.”
    Mido grabbed Jessie’s rear as he crossed to the griddle.
    Jessie punched Mido in the back of his head, then pushed him. He fell to his hands and knees, then scrambled to his feet and backed towards the oven, his arms up. Jessie chased him with her fists leading the way.
    “Jessie, stop!” I lunged the few steps to the oven and yelled her name again. Jessie backed off, panting hard and her fists still in the air. She stared at us both with wild eyes. Mido gave me a look of utter bafflement. “Okay. Just... no one touch her. No boobs, no ass, no nothing. Got it?” My men said “yes, sir” in unison, the two words coming out fast and full of shock. “Jessie. Sit down. Get fed. No more beating up my crew.”
    Sanity slowly crept over her expression. Her breathing slowed and the whites around her irises disappeared behind eyelids. She took a deep breath and returned to the table but didn’t sit. Scully scooted a little farther into the semicircle seat and readjusted his cold pack.
    Scully’s fearful gesture gave me an idea. Jessie would make an excellent bodyguard. A woman protecting men seemed odd but she’d already done a number on me, Scully and Mido, along with caught all of us off guard in the process. Now, if I could just make her indispensable in my crew’s eyes before they figured out she wasn’t disembarking anytime soon, and the real reason behind it, it’d make things smoother in the long run.
    “Mido, you feeling whole enough to cook?”
    “Yes, sir,” he said, eyeing Jessie with one hand cupping his jaw. “Man, she hits hard.” He turned to the ice box.
    The ice box looked like a typical refrigerator before the Purge, but now it ran without electricity, meaning it was caked in ice to keep food fresh, and had a big tray underneath to catch the melt off. The thing would stay frozen for about two months at a time. Humanity had re-figured out insulation rather quick. We’d needed it...
    “What do you like to eat?” Mido asked.
    “Chicken, if you have it.” Jessie tucked her dark hair behind her ears.
    “That we do.”
    I took a seat on the edge of the table, near Scully, who was looking a bit pale, and pulled my brunch over. Sauna finally returned to his plate at the other side of the table. The bun felt room temperature in my hands, the meat itself lukewarm in my mouth. Bah. The window of burger bliss had gone cold. I ate it anyway, half enjoying it, half wishing microwaves still existed.
    “By the way,” I said to Jessie, “blondie over here, the one you oared in the head is Scully. He’s a cargo pusher and our best shot with the Harpy. He isn’t real smooth with the ladies, but since you’re not a lady, you’ll be safe.”
    “Hey! I got me two women back in England. You saw ‘em.”
    “That’s the only two in how long?” Mido teased as he placed two chicken breasts on the stovetop. They sizzled upon contact.
    “I get a girl every time we dock. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
    The idle banter continued for another minute, until Scully grew quiet. I was halfway through my burger when he tapped me on the shoulder. His face