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Lann looked up at the body on the masthead. “Why would Tim kill Ilano?”
She shook her head. “I don’t get his motive. They were business partners.”
“It would make sense if,” Lann studied her intently, his head tilted, “he were avenging your kidnapping.”
Joss gave her a wide-eyed stare. “He loves you.”
“Loved like in past tense,” she said.
Joss said with renewed determination, “We’ll find Tim and keep him hostage to keep you alive until Eve comes up with a cure for this virus. Then he’ll pay for what he did to you.”
“I don’t want him to pay. You, of all people, Joss, should respect that.”
She was referring to the situation Joss had found himself in with Clelia. If anyone would understand, it was Joss. She loved Tim.
“We’ll discuss this later.” Joss started to make his way off the boat. “Let’s find Tim. I want to get the hell off this island. We’ll call Cain from the air.”
That meant Bono, their pilot, was waiting with the helicopter.
“How did you know where to find me?” she asked.
“By putting two and two together.” Joss took her hand and helped her back into the water. “When your smartwatch went dead, we knew it had been destroyed. The only explanation was that your identity had been discovered. Lann and I flew to Puerto Viejo. When we found no trace of you or Tim, we suspected Ilano had taken you. We already had the island’s coordinates, thanks to you. It was only a matter of launching a surprise attack.”
She looked at the ruins of the house. “How are we getting rid of the bodies?”
“Bomb,” Lann said. “We’ll drop it when we’re in the air.”
“Anything on infra-blue?” she asked.
They couldn’t destroy the island if Tim was hiding out somewhere. She hoped for his sake he’d gotten away with another boat.
Lann checked his smartwatch and shook his head. His eyes were apologetic. “Nothing.”
Maybe he’d managed to take a speedboat after killing Ilano. Maybe he did get away.
“Fuck,” Joss said.
He hesitated, seeming to fight an internal battle. Finally, he said, “We can’t waste any more time. We have to go. We’ll scan the sea from the air.”
They ran along the beach and cut inland to the east side of the island. Near a clearing in the vegetation, the noise of a helicopter became audible over the sound of the ocean. A second later, the familiar black craft became visible.
Bono was in the pilot seat. He saluted her when they climbed inside, adjusted his eye patch, and lifted them into the air.
Joss handed her a comms link. She fitted the earpiece.
“You all right, Maya?” Bono asked, his voice laced with worry.
No, she wasn’t. Inside, she was dying. “Fine. Thanks for the lift, Bono.”
“Scan for boats,” Joss said to Lann. “Bono, get us in a good position for a drop.”
Lann checked the screen of his smartwatch. Then he carefully lifted a silver case from a wall holster and clipped it open. He nodded at Joss.
“Ready?” Bono asked over his shoulder once they were higher.
“On your count,” Joss replied. “Lann?”
Lann shook his head. “No boats. Just Ilano’s and you checked it.”
“Infra-blue?” Joss asked.
“Sorry, still nothing.”
She stared down at the dark ocean. It could only mean Tim was dead. If he’d escaped, he would’ve been on a boat, on his way to Mozambique, or they would’ve picked up something with the infra-blue. The only plausible explanation was that he perished in the fight with Ilano, if it was indeed him who had impaled the vampire. He would’ve already been weak from the shoulder wound she’d inflicted. Maybe he’d fallen into the sea and drowned.
Her heart broke into a million pieces. She’d failed in everything—in keeping Darren alive, in her mission, and in saving Tim. She wanted to break down, but not now. She’d do it in private, when her team members weren’t there to witness her pain.
“If Tim is dead, then it looks like Maya’s mission was achieved,” Lann said, looking pointedly at Joss.
Joss’s tone was demure. “Yeah. Cain will be pleased.”
It was a gracious attempt at helping her save face with Cain, but the three of them knew the truth.
“On three,” Bono’s voice said into the mike. They were circling the island. “One, two, three!”
Lann dropped the box through the open door. The helicopter tilted and picked up speed and altitude. A few seconds later, a blast cut through the night. The destruction would make headline news.
“Damage control?” she asked, fixing her mind on the job to help keep from falling apart.
“Cain’s got a press release ready,” Joss said. “Going to blame the bombing on the Zim government. It’ll serve a double purpose in exposing the illegal arms dealings. The world now has to take notice. Pity we didn’t get Ilano alive. We were hoping to get to Godfrey.”
She nodded. At least something good came from this. No, that wasn’t true. Something else came from this. She’d learned to love, to make herself vulnerable, and it was worth every damn aching minute she had left to live.
