“Those rocks are slippery,” Knox said.
Knox’s sarcasm—which was his language of choice during operations—was not doing him any favors. Jason needed her to understand. He met the question on her face with confidence. “I don’t know that I can trust Eric tonight. He wanted to follow us onboard when we heard you scream. I couldn’t take that chance. Not until we have time to figure out why he gave away our presence to Dylan—who happens to be alive, even though Eric has mentioned his death to me more than once.” He inclined his head toward their captive.
“I hit him to keep him from following us, not out of anger. Knox and I were barely able to jump onboard as The Sea Queen was pulling away from the pier. No way he could have followed. But he’s not really hurt. He’ll have a black eye tomorrow, that’s all. And Imightnotget fired. That’s a problem for another day.“ He held her gaze, praying she understood. “Let’s find Leland.”
“Okay kids,” Knox said. “We have a problem.” He handed Jason a pair of binoculars. “Two o’clock and eleven o’clock.”
“I see them,” Jason said. “It’s Enzo’s guys. And we don’t have time to deal with them.”
“Yeah, you go head and tell them that.”
Dylan Kitts fought with his handcuffs in a deluge of irritation. “Enzo? What’s he doing here? Are you sure it’s him?”
Jason watched the two boats make a beeline for their course. “Can you outrun them?” he asked Knox. “We really don’t have time to negotiate.”
Knox looked at Dylan. “Any advice? Right now, we’re trying to save our skin, including yours. Enzo’s guys won’t treat you nicely if they board us.”
Dylan let out an exasperated groan. “She’s faster than she looks. Push her, she can take it.”
Knox faced the helm again with a pleased grin. “Okay ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your hats.”
Dylan looked out the windows, squinting at the lights rushing toward them. “We can stay ahead, but not by much. They’ll be on our heels the whole way.” Desperation flashed in his eyes. “Let me get on the radio,” he demanded. “I can get plenty of back up faster than you can. I doubt you have anyone nearby you could even call.”
Jason pivoted to Dylan. “What are you talking about?”
“The Morghana Police. They’ll protect me. Trust me.”
Jason wasn’t shocked, but the idea didn’t sit well with him.
“Don’t be stupid!” Dylan yelled, panic lacing his words. “Enzo’s men will kill us when we dock. We can’t lose them. We need some backup.” He flung his head toward two of the crates sitting near them. “You don’t want to die for this stuff, do you?”
Jason locked eyes with Tayla. “Stand back. Over near the door. I’m going to uncuff him.”
Tayla nodded. With that trusting look again.
He would not fail her tonight. He’d keep her safe and find Leland. Or die trying.
He uncuffed Dylan. And kept his weapon trained on him while he used the radio.
Tonight was not going the way he’d hoped. He hated that they needed Dylan’s questionable connections with the Morghana Police to get them out of this mess. But they had to do everything they could to find Leland—hopefully, before it was too late.
Dear God, I know we can only succeed tonight with your help. Please give me the strength and wisdom to keep Tayla safe. And please protect Leland. Help us find him quickly.
Tayla did nothing but pray—and fight the urge to hold Jason’s hand—as they sliced through rolling dark waves toward their destination.
After using the radio to make contact, Dylan assured them the Morghana Police would come to their aid. She worried he was overconfident.
Even if the police did show up at the marina, what would happen? A shootout? They might be caught in the middle.
That idea should terrify her. Instead, she worried a confrontation at the marina would delay their ability to get to Leland.
Jason led Dylan away from the radio and cuffed him to the bolted chair. Walking back toward Tayla, he looked confused, or surprised—she wasn’t sure which.
“Did youbite him?“ Jason asked.
Oh. “Um. Yeah.”
His eyebrows shot up. He nodded. “Okay.”
