“Just promise you’ll wear that dress we picked out one night soon for only me and Langston. I was looking forward to showing you off at the wedding and then taking you back to the hotel to rip the flimsy material off you.”
A wide smile split her face as she shook her head and leaned against my bicep. Already it seemed she felt lighter, more centered than just minutes before.
It was this whole damn town that brought her down, which meant we needed to get the fuck out of Dodge. I picked up our pace, eager to get our stuff packed up, board the train, and head home.
My shoulders dropped as some of the thrumming tension eased at that thought.
Home.
Yes, it was time for the three of us to go home.
The coarse ropescraped over my hands as I helped Langston ready the boat for our trip back to Anchor Bay. The docks were eerily quiet, most of the fishermen long gone; only the hum of cars passing on a nearby busy street filled the air.
After dusting off my hands, I turned to Juno, who stood a couple of feet away, giving us space to work. “You know, the house arrest still stands,” I commented. “We’ve only been gone a couple of days. The threat is still there until we catch the asshole.”
She wrapped both arms around herself and turned to look out over the dark water. It was that time of night during the summer months when the sun had finally set, the elusive nighttime gracing us with its cool presence. Above us, brilliant stars sparkled in the sky, occasionally covered up by the fast-moving dark clouds that seemed to promise rain at some point. The bright sun would reappear on the horizon in just a few brief hours, unlike closer to the Arctic Circle, where they had almost twenty-four hours of daylight.
“She doesn’t seem that upset about it,” Langston said, a bit of pride in his tone.
“I’m not,” Juno commented over her shoulder while sticking out her tongue at him. “I’ve gotten used to my two jailers.”
He and I shared an amused look before going back to the task at hand. After untying the last rope, I hopped on board, Langston following right after me. As we trudged slowly through the dock area, waves slammed threateningly against the hull, making a seed of worry bury itself in my gut. Fully dark now, not a peek of the glorious sun to light our way, I didn’t know howLangston knew where to go, but he’d made this trip so many times that he could probably do it blindfolded.
With us in expert hands, I plopped down next to Juno and draped an arm around her, pulling her in close. After a contented sigh, she rested her head on my shoulder. Her hair tickled my lips as I placed a kiss on top of her head while twirling a light brown curl between two fingers.
“I love this color on you,” I murmured loud enough to be heard over the roaring engine. “It looks like you.”
She shifted so she stayed leaning against me but could angle her face up toward mine. “I like it too. It’ll be even better when my real hair grows out and it’s my natural color, not something out of a box.” She bit down on her lower lip, and I waited patiently, knowing she had something on her mind. “It felt good tonight, standing up for myself and kicking Eric’s ass.” I barked out a laugh at her genuine grin. “I felt strong. Does that make me a bad person? I enjoyed hitting him—really,reallyenjoyed it. But no one told me how much it would hurt.”
Hand stretched out in front of us, she flexed her fingers. I grabbed it in my own and held it close, inspecting each digit for injury.
“Enjoying it doesn’t make you a bad person at all, Juno. He put you in a critical situation, and you stood up for yourself. If he hadn’t done it, you wouldn’t have.”
“I want to keep working out with Oliver.” She cut her eyes to Langston. “Do you think he’ll let me?”
“Let you?” I scoffed. “You have that entire man wrapped around your finger. You tell him what you want to do, and he’ll be the one bending over backward to make it happen. Plus, it adds another level of safety for the times when we’re not around.”
Wrapping both arms around me, she snuggled in close and sighed. “I’m so ready to see GG.” Juno popped up as if a randomthought just hit her. “Who takes care of her when you’re both gone?”
A slow smile crept up my lips at her concern for the grumpy cat. “Baylee. She won’t let us pay her either, says she gets her payment in kitty snuggles. GG loves her.”
“I think all animals do. It’s what makes her an amazing vet.” She settled back against me. “Okay, good. I just thought about her being home alone and sad, and that made me sad.”
Chuckling to myself, I kissed the corner of her dramatic frown. “You’re the sweetest to think about GG and?—”
“What the hell?” The confusion in Langston’s muttered words cut me off, drawing both Juno’s and my attention to where he stood at the front of the boat.
Slipping my arm from around her shoulders, I slowly stood, using the side of the boat to steady myself. Stance wide for balance, I made my way to Langston’s side at the wheel. Without uttering a word, he pointed to the right of the boat before dropping that hand to the throttle, slowing the engine.
Neither opening my eyes wide nor squinting them helped me see whatever Langston saw. As far as I was concerned, it was black water everywhere, except for a few slivers of moonlight that shimmered on the surface. Brow furrowed, I parted my lips, ready to ask him what he thought he’d seen, when our boat shifted with an enormous wave, adjusting our angle. That was when I saw it—a flicker or shadow of something not too far from us on the water.
Palm to the side of the boat, I pitched forward, watching, but as the moon slipped behind the clouds, the area outside of our running lights went into utter darkness.
“I think I saw something, but no clue what.” I stood straight and twisted to face Langston.
Powerful waves rocked the boat from side to side, the spray misting my face as we idled in the middle of the black water. Henodded, letting me know he heard me, but didn’t take his focus off the area where he’d pointed.
“It looked like the outline of a boat to me, but that makes little sense. It would have running lights like we have to alert other boats and for them to see what they’re doing.”
