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“We still might not. He wasn’t headed out very quickly, but he pretty much knew there was nothing we could do about him. He could have sped up by now. I don’t really know if this little boat could outrun him if he put his motor to full haul ass.”
“We’ll do our best.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” he asked. He turned, his face a blank slate. “What happens then? Are we going to chase him forever?”
I didn’t have an answer for him. This could be a mad chase for nothing. “I don’t know.”
“I need you to think very carefully how far you’re willing to take this, Kayli. You’re not just putting yourself at risk any more. Marc and Raven are bull headed enough to follow you wherever you want to lead them on this crazy campaign of yours. But how far will you chase the white whale?”
“How far would you?” I asked quietly. I met his eyes, and while I wasn’t certain how he felt, I hoped I showed I was somewhat confident in my answer. “How far would you go to save a life?”
“What would be the price?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Right now, it’s a few hours of our time, a borrowed boat, and the risk of getting caught and hoping the owners won’t feel too bad if we try to explain why we borrowed it.”
Axel exhaled. “How in the world do you do it?”
“Do what?”
The corner of his mouth lifted, softening his face into something that looked almost like pride. “Less than a week and you’ve got those boys breaking protocol to satisfy your own need to do whatever it takes to do the right thing.”
“I thought you didn’t like this plan.”
“I like the plan. I just don’t want you to go crazy.” He reached behind his body, at his hip holster that I hadn’t noticed before, and pulled out a .38. He knocked back the hammer and turned it over.
“What are you doing?” I asked, a little wary of the gun.
“Making sure this Coaltar doesn’t go crazy,” he said. He stuffed the gun back into the holster and turned to me. “Now listen to me. I hope Coaltar might be reasonable. Maybe he’ll change his mind if you talk to him. Maybe he’ll listen. He seems like a sensible person trying to right a wrong. He helped the Fitzgerald family when they could have suffered. He hid them in a new house, and tried to stop a gang war. I have to admire him for that.”
I choked, but bit back a retort. I didn’t want to think of Coaltar as doing the right thing.
Axel picked up my hand that was against my thigh. He squeezed it. “But more important, I want you to know we’re here for you. If there’s any hint that this could be deadly, if he has a gun and starts shooting at us for trying to invade his boat, he’ll have every right to do so. I don’t want you hurt. I don’t want Raven and Marc hurt. I’ll go on this little chase, but I won’t let anyone risk their lives for this, including you.” He leaned in, until our heads almost knocked together. “Am I clear? I don’t want you fighting me if I’m trying to save your ass.”
I twisted my lips. “I guess,” I said. I didn’t want to die, either. I couldn’t help anyone if I was dead.
He nodded.
“That might be it,” Marc called to us. I looked back at him, and he pointed out across the water.
The yacht was still in the water a good distance from us but we were closing in. A ferry boat was crossing in front of it. It had two levels and from where I was sitting, I could tell there were people standing on both levels. Lights flashed from cameras.
“Did he almost hit that other ship?” I asked.
“It’s the Fort Sumter ferry,” Axel said. “He had some bad timing. He’s having to wait until they clear.”
“That’ll give us an advantage,” Marc said. “And a distraction.”
Raven turned the boat toward the yacht, and sped up the engine. “Where do we want to park this thing? Or do you want me to just ram into it?”
“Check the back end of the boat,” Marc said, pointing to the rear of the yacht. “There’s a lower deck and a ladder off to the left. Get near that.”
“They may see us coming,” Axel said.
“They may not,” Marc said. “They’ve got to watch out for that ferry. But they may hear us. We’ll have to be careful.”
Raven pressed onward. Maybe luck was on our side, but that ferry seemed to slow down. I didn’t realize why. Maybe they were gawking at the big yacht. I probably would. At any rate, anyone aboard the yacht was probably paying attention to what was going on in the front.
Our boat neared the yacht. Raven slowed as we got close. Marc took to the front of the boat, waiting until we were close and then grabbing a hold of the low hanging ladder that was on the left side. He gripped it and weighted himself against the boat to keep the motor boat from drifting too far away.
Raven killed the engine. “Someone has to stay here,” he said. “Make sure the yacht doesn’t just fly off and we have no way to get out.”
“I’ll stay,” Axel said. He grabbed the rope and tied the boat off to the end of the ladder. “You three go.”
“Marc should stay,” I said. “He’s got a limp.”
“I’ll show you a limp,” he said. He grabbed the rail of the silver ladder and started to climb up.
I sighed. My heart was pounding. This was insane. How in the world did I talk myself into this? And what was I going to say to Blake when I found him? Hi. So, maybe I ran out on you, but could you dump your drugs into the water in the ocean instead of in this well? Pretty please?
I followed Marc up the silver ladder.
Raven followed me. On occasion, he nudged my calf, as if encouraging me. Or worried I’d fall into the water if he didn’t keep a hand on me.
Marc moved up until he could haul himself over a balcony that protruded out over the water on the first deck. He reached back, finding my arms and heaved me up and over until I was standing beside him. The balcony had a few lounge chairs and side tables. I nudged into one to get out of the way as Raven climbed aboard.
Marc waited until Raven was next to us. Then he pointed at me. “Okay, you and I are going to locate Coaltar.” He pointed to Raven. “Go find the drugs.”
“They could be in food cartons,” I said. “And in other things that look like supplies. He wanted to hide them so no one would have a problem with people bringing them aboard.”
“Oh, so you’re saying they could be anywhere,” he said. “Sure, make it easy for me.”
Marc waved a hand to get my attention. “If we get separated, head back here and grab Axel.” He dipped into his pocket and he pulled out what looked like an ear piece. He caught my hand and planted it in my palm. “Here,” he said. “Put this in.”
“What is it?”
“Contact,” he said. “You always have to stay in touch.”
I sighed and shifted the ear bud in my fingers, trying to figure out how it was supposed to go. Raven pulled it from my hands and straightened it. He gripped my shoulder, aimed the thing at the side of my head and wriggled it into place.
“Brandon,” Marc said. “Say something so she can hear you.”
“You’re in deep shit, Kayli,” Brandon said.
“Can he hear me?” I asked Marc.
“I can hear you,” Brandon said in my ear, a little fuzzy, like he was standing in another room with the door closed, but I could make out what he was saying. “Just wait until I get a hold of you.”
“Raven,” I pretended to plea. “Brandon said he was going to hurt me.”
“I’ll kill him,” he said. He jammed his own ear plug into his noggin. “Corey? Yeah. Hit your brother once for me. No, in the dick. No, he won’t hit you back. I promise.”
“Cut it out, you guys,” Marc said.
“How come I can’t hear Corey?” I asked.
“I get Corey,” Raven said. “You get Brandon.”
“I want to switch.”
“I said stop,” Marc barked at us. “Okay, everyone go quiet.” He pointed a finger to Raven and then to the sliding glass doors in front of u
s that lead to the rest of the boat. When we were out of the glare of the sun, I could see through to an empty bedroom. Raven went to the doors, tried the handle and they slid open instantly.
“Not much for security,” Raven said.
“He’s probably not expecting company after he’s taken off from the dock,” Marc said.
The bedroom was as wide as the back of the yacht. There was a king sized bed on top of the immaculate cream carpet. The wide windows extended to three sides of the room, giving an almost overwhelming sense of being outside with the water surrounding. The headboard was done out in delicate gold with an overlaid painting of cherry blossom trees done in beige. Perfect. Decadent.
“Oh my god,” I said, staring at the large television off to the corner, the pillows that appeared to be without a single wrinkle or blemish, or the inlay of the woodwork against the ceiling. “I hate this boat.” It felt so opulent, too much.
“Don’t be jealous, little thief,” Raven said.
“Why?”
“His bed is empty,” he said.
“Enough,” Marc waved him off. “Go find what you’re looking for.
