Chapter Twenty-One
Adam
––––––––
THE LIBÉRATION CUTthrough the choppy waters of the channel, the rocking motion of the boat matching the knotted trepidation swilling inside of me.Sitting inside, I watched the waves, trying not to linger on the mournful look in Caroline’s eyes when I’d finally been forced to leave her side.
Permitting my gaze to fall closed briefly, I recalled her tearful goodbyes, and if I concentrated hard, I swore I could still pick up the scent of her hair.Those memories were all I would have until I was able to return to dry land.
At least she woke up before I left.
I smiled at that comfort.She’d given me the reassurance of a once-over with the doctor.Her blood pressure, it seemed, had lowered again, and while he’d been concerned about possible dehydration, there was nothing else for him to report.Caroline had also been there when Akari had presented me with my plea deal in writing.With all the details confirmed, everything was in place.
“Êtes-vous d'accord?”Laurent asked from the other side of the small galley.“Are you okay?”
We’d been on the water for what seemed like an age, Laurent’s scouts keeping an eye out for Ian’s ship, but so far, the grandiose vessel we expected was nowhere to be seen.
“Oui, oui,” I answered hurriedly, ignoring my churning anxiety.“I’d just like to get this all over with.”
“Understandable.”Moving toward me, he swatted me on the back as though he was my father.“But know that this, too, shall pass.”
Very poetic.
Trust a Frenchman to find philosophy in such a tumultuous moment, and I should know, being half-French, thanks to my maternal genes.
I glanced back at the gray water, imploring the image of my little girl to return to my mind’s eye.Unwilling to show either my annoyance or apprehension any more than I clearly already had, there seemed nothing else to say to the loitering Laurent.
“Monsieur Laurent!”One of the young crew raced in front of us, clearly out of breath.“Le navire approche!”
My French was good enough to understand the basis for his exhilaration.He’d come to alert us that another ship was approaching, and my knotting stomach told me what should have been obvious: Ian and his posse of sycophants had arrived.
“En position!”Laurent called, clapping his hands together.“Ready the boat that will take Mademoiselle Kasper and Monsieur Harper over to the Traditional Values.”
“Oui, Monsieur!”the crew member called out as he scuttled away, and my focus flitted back to the expanse of water outside.Somehow, we had to maneuver the smaller boat across the channel so that Kaspar and I could board Ian’s no doubt monstrous vessel and get the sordid show started.
Rising to my feet, I scanned the horizon, my gaze settling on the enormous ship my old friend was arriving on.Flashy and probably worth half of the country’s national debt, the craft said everything about Ian—ego over substance.
“Let’s get going.”
Placing the glass of water down in the nearby basin, I stretched my neck in readiness.What had to be done next would surely be my most excruciating performance to date.
“Remember the plan,” Laurent told me as we moved toward the door.“Get on board andobligehim.”
He rolled the penultimate word on his tongue as though he was speaking about a delectable pastry, rather than a swollen egotist.“We’ll set a course to drive his ship toward French waters, and as soon as it is safe, we’ll board with the French navy.Jackson will be in detention, and you will be home and dry.”
He grinned, presumably aware of how ridiculously easy he’d made the entire scheme sound, when we both knew it was anything but.
“Right.”I swallowed back my growing nerves.“And if you can’t drive him toward French waters?”
It wasn’t like me to second-guess strategy, but sitting on The Libération, things were different.I hadn’t been the one who’d put the hare-brained plan together.I was only the one who was expected to suck up the risks and play along.
For freedom.
I glanced back out at the unruly ocean spray, leaning into the comforting thought.That was why I was there.Not only for the ICC and the chance to put Ian behind bars, but for Caroline and the life we deserved together.
I was doing it for the love I bore for her.
“We will,” he assured me with a predictable smirk.“Leave that part to the French.You must concentrate on your part in all of this.”
