“I do.”
“See you Monday for our next briefing.”
“Looking forward to it.”Rafe stepped out into the warm summer night and paused for a minute at the edge of the lookout.
The sun had just set.The western sky in front of him looked like it was on fire, throwing orange and red flames across the water that lit up the tall evergreens around him.Crickets sang in the tall grasses lining the steep bank below.
He looked up when the shrill, trilling cry of an eagle from a tree branch high overhead broke the stillness.Skeleton Island at the peak of her wild beauty.
A deceptive beauty that hid dark and deadly things he’d never been aware of until recently.
He walked back to his vehicle, unable to shake the distinct feeling that he was still an outsider, only scratching the surface of what was really happening on the island.
THIRTY-SIX
T
ripp made the turn onto his street while Willow finished her phone call with her parents in the passenger seat.
“Okay, love you guys too.I’ll talk to you soon.Yes, I’ll say hi to him.And Rufus.You’ll love him when you meet him.Bye.”
“Sorry about that,” Willow said after ending the call as he drove them back up to his house.“My parents say hi.”
“How are they?”he asked.He hadn’t seen them in years but had always liked them.
“Okay.Not too happy about what’s going on here, but they’re really glad I’m with you.”
He shifted his grip on the steering wheel, trying to ignore the stab of guilt.“That’s good.”
“Yeah.It was a big relief for them.They might come out in a few weeks to visit.”
It would be the first time he’d seen them face to face since Syria.“You don’t sound very excited about that.”
“No, of course I want to see them.It’s just...my mom can kind of get to me.She hasn’t been the same since Peyton died.”
“That’s understandable.”And then tomorrow was a tough day for all of them.Him included.For entirely different reasons.
