Page 56 of Break Out the Girl

Fuck.

Tally powers down and brings us broadside to the little wooden boat.

London looks a mix of exhausted, relieved and deliriously happy. “Kitten! Fuckwad! Jacked Sparrow!”

That’s when I notice a collection of little heads ducked low in the boat. Children.

Little kids. And no Sky.

Don’t think about that. No time. Worry about the babies.

As the cold wind whips at our bodies, London passes child after child over to Tally, who hands them back to me. “Ditch the Sadie-Mae,” he yells at London. “The drag will slow us down too much.”

“On it!” My faun leaps from the little boat onto the seat next to me, throwing the tow line overboard. Before another word can be spoken, Tally roars us out into the fog, heading away from our pursuers.

And François.

“Where’s Shane?” London asks, crushing me in a hug.

I gulp. “Back there fighting the shark.”

“Cool,” he shrugs carelessly, making me want to slap him. “Meet our new friends. This is Pepper and Sheena. Our little dude is Ricky, and this bean is Lil’ Hare.”

He dumps the sleeping girl into my lap. Her physical weight pulls me from my despair. I realize I really have to get my shit together. “OK, kids, is anyone hurt?”

Basil already has his arms around Ricky, holding him tight. Pepper and Sheena cling on to each other. They look like sisters. Thank Gods they have each other.

But poor, poor babies. What have they been through?

I don’t have it in me to ask about Sky. If she’d been there, London would have brought her to me. But she’s not dead.

She can’t be.

Above the whine of our engines a siren from out across the water starts blaring. “What now?” I shriek.

“Abandon ship, all ye who sail there,” London grins.

“Huh?”

“The circus boat will be too busy sinking to worry about us. Good old Shane. Can’t wait to give him an oops-a-daisy next time I see him. If he makes it, that is. Fingers crossed!”

“He’ll make it,” I mutter, mostly to myself. “He’ll kill the enemy and then come find us.”

It’s François de Vaux.

He doesn’t know how to fail.

Please Gods.

19: AURORA

The adrenaline that kept my blood roaring through the raid is finally beginning to dissipate, leaving behind a heavy exhaustion and constant worry that settles deep into my bones.

François.

Sky.

These kids.