I hold up my arm. “I was a little careless,” I reply.
“Seems to be a habit of yours.”
That one cuts a little, but I deserve it. Noa’s father stares at me, his gaze traveling from my black eye to my bandages to the note in my hand. Then he sighs deeply.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he says. “Just, uh… let me know if there is anything else I can do. Anything I can… talk you out of.”
I laugh softly. “Sure thing,” I tell him. “Thank you, sir.”
“Welcome back to Cape Hope,” he murmurs, and then walks back inside the Surf Shack, easing the screen door shut behind him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
—NOA
I haven’t heard from myuncle since his initial call. We have no idea who was found on Rum Runner Island, but earlier today, there were murmurs of a police cruiser parked out in front of the resort. Does that mean it was someone from the Collective on that island? If so… this story is going to blow up. As of now, there isn’t a single mention of a body or the Starline Hotel on any of the news outlets. And we still have no idea who shot at us.
The sun has set and the bonfire is crackling to life in the sand. Music plays from Shawn’s small speaker near the coolers while silhouettes of other Chasers and locals from Cape Hope roam around me.
But I’m feeling lost and apart from it all.
I can’t believe detectives came to the Surf Shack today looking for my brother. Could it really be a coincidence? Could Ellis have come home and not told me or my father? Why would he do that? More importantly, where is he?
I glance at Shawn, her baseball hat low as she uses her beer can as a prop to tell an animated story to Nina, a fellow Chaser who works at the front desk of the Augustus Resort.
When I told Shawn and Tech about the detectives, they said not to take them at their word. That I would know if Ellis was in town.They told me to be happy that the news today was good—meaning my brother wasn’t the one dead in the marsh. We’re a superstitious town, and you never want to miss being grateful, otherwise the universe will make you regret it.
The lights of an approaching boat shine along the water. I can tell immediately it’s not one of ours. I feel myself smile slightly, and stand up from where I was sitting next to the fire. That is definitely Jamie’s boat—still pulling a bit to the left. It appears he got my message. Now I just have to see if he kept quiet about today. Plus I want to make sure he’s all right.
As he guides his boat toward the dock, Tech jogs over to meet him. Jamie tosses him a coil of rope, and when he does, I can see the huge bandage around his left arm. I’m struck with guilt, although I certainly didn’t force him on our adventure to the Starline Hotel. Still, I feel responsible. It was our dangerous and reckless plan. He was just collateral damage.
As Tech ties the rope to the wooden pile, I walk by Shawn and tap her shoulder. She tells Nina she’ll talk to her later, and then she joins me on the dock.
As Jamie hops off the side of his boat, Shawn lets out a low whistle.
“How many?” she asks, checking over his bandage.
“Twelve stitches,” he says, sounding almost proud.
“We’re a terrible influence,” Shawn murmurs to me, and I snort a laugh.
The four of us exchange a look, knowing we have to talk, and we move off to a private side of the fire, but still close enough to not look suspicious. I’ve already discussed things with Shawn and Tech, but none of us have any idea what Jamie is thinking at this point.
“Did they figure out who it was?” Jamie asks in a hushed voice. “The body in the marsh?”
“It wasn’t Ellis,” I confirm, and he nods that he’s grateful to hear. “But they haven’t released the identity yet.”
“There hasn’t been anything on the news,” he replies. “So I’m assuming they’re waiting to notify the family before making any announcements about the Starline. What did the sheriff say about all this? Does he know who shot at us? Because they probably killed whoever’s on the island.”
I hum out a sound. When Jamie looks at me quizzically, I shrug with frustration. “We told the sheriff everything,” I say. “But he made us swear to keep it quiet for now. He was pretty adamant. He doesn’t want anyone to know that we were there at all.”
“What?” Jamie says loudly, and then he checks to make sure no one else heard him before leaning toward us. “Why not?” he asks, quieter. “You found the Starline Hotel, and there were no signs of a fire, making the original story about the hotel complete bullshit. Some random dudes shot at us. Not to mention there wasa dead body,” he whispers. “There should be a major investigation.”
“I think it was one of the Collective,” Shawn blurts out, and then turns to Jamie. “Did you notice anything weird at the resort?”
He shakes his head no. “But…” he adds, “I haven’t been there tonight. Too busy getting sewn back together.” He holds up his arm as proof.
“We all need to get on the same page,” Tech says, pulling us in closer. “Now I agree that it was probably someone from the Collective out there. And after thinking about it…” He shakes his head. “The sheriff might be right.”
