Claim Me Captain! I'm Addicted to You!
Chapter 16: Stabbed in the Back

Chapter 16: Stabbed in the Back

"Who the fuck tipped off the port authorities and the coast guard?!"

Nick’s voice exploded like a gunshot through the captain’s office and hallway. His fist slammed the desk so hard that the things on top of it jumped. The walls practically vibrated with rage.

Georgia had barely stepped into the room when the storm hit—only it wasn’t outside the ship, it was standing behind the desk, seething in the uniform of a captain.

Inside the room, the Chief Mate and Chief Engineer stood rigid, their faces tight, absorbing every brutal lash of their superior’s wrath.

"You all signed that NDA! Swore to keep your fucking mouth shut! And now I get a goddamn call from the coast guard saying they’ve received an anonymous report?! Do I look like a fucking joke to you?!" Nick roared.

The tension in the room was suffocating—rage, betrayal, fear, and confusion thickened the air like smoke in a closed room.

Evelyn hesitated at the door, then cleared her throat. "C-Captain. Sarah— I mean, Georgia is here."

Nick’s glare sharpened. He heard her slip—and he caught her meaning loud and clear.

His nostrils flared. "I’ll deal with Sarah later. Alone." Then, he added, "And when I find out who did this, they’ll wish I’d thrown them overboard."

He turned his fire back to the officers. "You two—find out who the hell thinks it’s clever to stab me in the back. Shake your departments down. Whoever finds the snake among us gets a fucking reward from me personally. Now get the hell out of my sight!"

Steven, the Chief Engineer, and Evelyn didn’t need to be told twice. They scrambled out, the door clicking shut behind them.

The silence that followed was loud, thick with the echo of his fury.

Nick’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he stared down at a printed report on his desk, jaw clenched so tight it looked painful. He ran both hands through his hair, rough and agitated, then let out a furious growl.

"Fucking hell!" he barked, nearly sending his coffee mug flying with a careless sweep of his hand.

Georgia stood frozen, her heart hammering. She didn’t need the details—she understood now. Someone had reported her. Nick was about to take the fall.

And it would all be because of her.

She stepped forward, guilt heavy in her voice. "I-I’m sorry... If you want, I’ll take one of the inflatable boats and leave. I’ll figure it out from there—"

Nick’s eyes snapped to her with a murderous glare. He stood so fast the chair behind him slammed against the wall.

"Are you out of your mind?!" he thundered. "I didn’t risk my goddamn life dragging you out of freezing water so you could go play hero in a fucking dinghy!"

He stalked toward her, voice rising with every step.

"There’s a storm building, Georgia! Waves that could swallow that boat and you in seconds. You think dying out there makes anything better?!" His voice cracked with fury—and something deeper. Fear.

Georgia flinched but didn’t look away. His anger didn’t scare her—not when she could feel the truth behind it.

This man wasn’t furious because he was betrayed. He was furious because he cared.

She lowered her eyes, ashamed, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just... didn’t want to cause you more trouble."

Nick’s fists clenched, then released. "It’s too late for that. You are trouble, Georgia. But you are my responsibility now. And I don’t abandon what I choose to protect."

He turned away from Georgia, pacing toward the window, staring out at the endless blue.

"We have two days." His voice had shifted. No longer just fury—but steel, strategy, control.

Georgia stood frozen, watching the gears turning behind his sharp eyes.

"Two days until they board this ship," he muttered. "They’ll come with a list, a mandate, and orders to search every cabin, every cargo hold, every breath we take. And when they find you but not your name on the manifest or in the system, they’ll take you. Back to him."

She stiffened. ’Back to Raymond,’ she completed his sentence in her mind.

"I’m not letting that happen," Nick said, turning to face her. "But we’re going to need to outmaneuver them. Completely."

He grabbed a map from a shelf, spread it over the desk.

"Here," he circled a small stretch of sea. "We’re going to drift here, slow enough to look like we’ve hit mechanical issues. We’ll signal that we’re rerouting due to rough currents and radar interference from the storm. It’ll buy us time and space."

"We are already slowing down and changing the original course because of the incoming storm, so this won’t look suspicious at all," he added upon noticing the worry in Georgia’s eyes.

Georgia spoke cautiously. "But that won’t stop the Coast Guard. They’re still coming."

Nick nodded. "Exactly. That’s why we’re going to make sure they don’t have a reason to search." He looked at her sharply. "If we hide you somewhere... they’ll find you. No matter how clever we get. So... We will not hide you."

Georgia blinked, confused. "What?"

Nick met her eyes and said firmly, "We give them something better. Something legal."

He straightened, his mind clearly five steps ahead now. He pulled open another drawer and tossed something on the desk with a thud.

A crisp, unused uniform. Crew-issued.

"Congratulations, Miss Lewis. As of now, you’re an official steward-in-training under a special temp contract, signed off by me. Welcome aboard."

Georgia stared at the uniform. "Wait. What?! Won’t that make it worse if they find out—"

"They won’t," Nick cut her off. "We’ll enter a new log in the crew registry tonight, encrypt the backup copy on the server, and wipe the original crew manifest of any logs showing inconsistencies. I will have someone tweak the ship’s black box to delay sync with satellite signals for the next 72 hours."

He looked her dead in the eye.

"You’ll wear that uniform. You’ll memorize the layout of the crew’s quarters. You’ll learn enough ship jargon in the next 24 hours to pass as one of us. Because when the coast guard boards this ship, you’re not Georgia Lewis. You’re Gail Reyes, emergency steward, transferred from The Coral Titan due to staffing shortage after the last port."

Her lips parted. "You’ve really thought of everything. But as for learning the jargon, there’s no need for that. My family’s business is something related to maritime, I know the words."

He smiled darkly. "Good... I’ve had to cover bigger scandals. But this one? This one I actually give a damn about."

Georgia swallowed hard, emotion swelling in her chest. He didn’t just want to protect her—he was risking everything for her.

"What if it doesn’t work?" she asked softly.

Nick stepped forward, close enough that she could feel the heat off his chest.

"Then we improvise. But I swear, Georgia—" his voice dropped low, intense, unwavering, "—you will not be taken. Not on my ship. Not on my watch. I’ll sink this fucking boat if I have to."

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