She’s still angry, but I’m fucking furious. My initial shock wore into anger, and then to rage. If I’m honest, when Tech first said he wanted to take down the Collective, I just agreed to be supportive. But now? Yeah,now I want to ruin their lives and celebrate their downfall. A near-death experience will do that to a person.
The wind tugs at my hair as waves slap against the hull of the boat, the water growing choppy again as we get closer to the islands. I glance at Tech.
“You know my dad’s going to kill me, right?” I call to him. “And then you. Probably Shawn, too.”
Tech doesn’t even look over. “Why only probably Shawn? Why definitely me?”
“Because I’m going to tell him it was all your idea,” I say immediately. I smile. I wouldn’t actually throw Tech under the bus. He knows that. My dad might, though—right before Shawn.
“First of all, your father’s never going to find out,” Tech says, finally glancing up at me. “We’ll be home before dark. Secondly, we could have taken the yacht—this was the sensible choice. He should be proud of our restraint.”
“Tech’s right,” Shawn chimes in. “The yacht was my vote.”
Although we had several boats to choose from, I ultimately selected this one, theSweet Caroline.It’s nice, but it’s not flashy—not like most tourist boats. This one is actually useable and super fast, perfect for exploring. Or outrunning the coast guard.
“And if anyone asks,” Tech adds helpfully, “we’re checking the vessel’s integrity after the storm. It’s an added perk of contracting with the Surf Shack. Five-star service.”
I laugh, and look out at the water. My father will certainly not find it funny if he catches us. With that in mind, I get up and walk toward Tech, ready to get started.
“Time’s up,” I say, nodding my chin at him. “You said you had something to tell us back at the house. Well, you’ve got the boat; we’re on the water. So spill your guts. How are we going to find the Starline Hotel, considering the entire island has been lost?”
To this, Tech grins. “That’s not exactly true.”
Intriguing, and if I’m honest, a little hard to believe. Still, at the front of the boat, Shawn sits up to listen. “Tech,” I say, wanting a straight answer. “Has someone found Rum Runner Island?”
“Nothing official,” he says quickly, as if he’s afraid to lose our interest. Too late. Shawn already sinks back into the bench and takes out her phone. “But early this morning,” Tech continues, “before you all came by, Hank Shroud asked me to help him with salvage from the storm. While we were towing in a boat…” He slows down to draw out the moment. “I noticed something out by the Everglades—way out on one of the islands we never use since there’s not enough sand to bring tourists there. The water must have receded and the hurricane thinned out the trees. And I swear, as the sun came up, I saw the tops of what looked like roofs, buildings half buried in the sand.”
“Buildings?” I ask, doubtful. “Come on, if there are buildings there right now, wouldn’t everyone have seen it?”
“Not unless they were looking,” he says. “That side of the island is facing open ocean. I mean, eventually a passing shipwillsee it, but there’s no one out there today. This is our chance. Maybe our only chance to discover it.”
“You really think it’s Rum Runner Island?” Shawn calls, buying in immediately.
“I think so.”
But I’m stunned, too scared to believe fully. Could it really just be out here, waiting for us? All this time?
Rum Runner Island has always been a mystery—an island that was never mapped, but infamous. No one knows exactly where it’s located anymore, or if they do, they’re already dead or too superstitious to talk.
From what we do know about it, Rum Runner Island started as a way station for 1920s rumrunners. It was a hideaway for gangsters tostash money and banned liquor during Prohibition. But it reached the true height of its status in the 1980s when investors built the Starline Hotel. It catered to rich, high-end clients—a chance to be their best, or worst, selves. It wasn’t all glitter and rum, though.
The story ends with the hotel burning down, trapping the souls of both the dead socialite and Gabriel Mendez forever. Now, I’m not saying I believe it’s haunted… but my skin is prickly right now. Realistically, it’s more likely the Collective fed into the fears of the locals to keep them from the crime scene—letting themselves get away with whatever happened that night.
No matter what they did, it worked. No one ever went back. Now the Starline and its secrets rot somewhere in the Everglades while the Chasers pay the price of a long-standing rumor. And here we are… about to discover it.
I look over at Tech again, seeing his hopefulness, his excitement. Although I’m a bit more cautious, I really do want to find a way to exonerate his family. And then we’ll focus on bringing down the Collective and anyone who helped them.
As I wander back over to Shawn, she still has her phone in her hand, her lips downturned while she reads a text. Considering Tech and I are both here, I have no idea who she could be talking to. When I sit next to her to ask, she quickly slides her phone away.
“What?” I laugh, motioning to her pocket. “Who was that?”
She scrunches her face slightly, like she’s not going to tell me, and now I’m worried. I’m not judgmental about her dating life, and she has no issue sharing that info. Which means this is something else.
“Come on,” I say, growing nervous. “Tell me.”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” she starts, which is a clear sign it’s not good. “But do you know how Matteo Mancini has been out of town all week?”
There is a flash of anxiety at the mention of his name. “No,” I sayhonestly. “I try to avoid hearing his name in conversation. Why?”
