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They could only hope it was far enough in advance to give them time to factor new information into their plans. It was the thing that kept Ronan up at night, the thing that forced him from their shared bed in the house on the cliff over the ocean, and she often woke to find him sitting on the terrace, his eyes frozen on the water below, like it might hold the answers to what would happen when they finally boarded the boat holdingElise.
Julia didn’t try to allay his fears. That would be patronizing when his fears were all too real. Anything could happen: they might not be able to rescue Elise at all, something could happen to one of them during the rescue, none of them might make it outalive.
On those nights, she’d take the lounge chair next to him instead, reaching for his hand and sitting next to him until he was ready to return to bed. Then they would lose themselves in each other’s bodies all over again, trying to forget that the hourglass on their time together might already be running out ofsand.
She was pulled from her thoughts by the rumble of the boat’s engine under herfeet.
“Stow that gear,” Nick said, lowering the dive flag. “I’mstarving.”
Julia shoved her tank and mask under the boat’s seats and held onto one of the benches as the boat picked up speed. She looked at the water unfurling around them, wondering where Elise was at the moment. Was she out there somewhere, already aboard the yacht that would bring her to Greece? Had she given up beingrescued?
Julia willed her thoughts to her sister, sending them out over the water like a message in abottle.
I’m coming, Elise. Don’t give up. I’mcoming.
23
Ronan’s heartdropped when he saw Nora pacing the dock as the boat slowed down on its approach. It could only be bad news if she was waiting for them: god knew they hadn’t gotten a breakyet.
Nick had barely cut the boat’s engine when she startedtalking.
“There’s a new boat moving into the area,” shesaid.
Ronan tied the ropes onto the dock’s cleats and stepped off the boat. “OffKos?”
“Not yet,” she said, “but it looks like that’s where it’s headed.” She looked at Julia as Julia stepped onto the dock. “How’d the divego?”
She’d taken to Julia like they’d been friends forever, falling into an easy camaraderie that made Ronan’s heart swell. He’d been so wrapped up in his own grief after Erin’s death that he hadn’t thought about what it must mean for Nora to lose her only sister, to be stranded in a houseful of men without her mother or her sister, both of whom had died before theirtime.
No wonder she hardly ever came home to Boston. Emotionally shut down and busy with MIS, Ronan, Nick, and Declan didn’t exactly give her a reason tovisit.
“Good,” Julia said. “I stayed under for a half hour thistime.”
Nora lifted her arm for a high five. “Nice.”
“What makes you think the new boat is our mark?” Nick asked when he’d joined them on thedock.
They’d hacked one of the satellites for the HCG — the Hellenic Coast Guard, which was responsible for patrolling the waters off Greece — and had been watching the boats in the area since they’d arrived on Santorini. Most of them were easily traceable to wealthy owners hobnobbing in the area and were gone within a few days of their firstsighting.
“I ran the registration when I saw it heading for Kos,” Nora said. “It’sshady.”
“Shady how?” Ronanasked.
“Shady like all the other stuff surrounding Manifest. Shell companies leading to shell companies leading to shell companies. No clearowner.”
“Could be a legitimate someone looking for privacy,” Nicksaid.
“Could be,” Nora agreed. “But we’re four days out from Saturday, so I figured it’s worth keeping an eyeon.”
Four days until the date listed on the asset sheet with Elise’s picture that Julia had found at the villa in Florence. Four days until he had no choice but to let Julia walk back into the lion’s den with the sick fucks ofManifest.
It felt even more dangerous than the villa in Florence. He tried to tell himself it was because of the close call: his and Julia’s flight underground, the alarm squealing in the villa, the quick getaway with Nick at the wheel. He even told himself it was the location of their next mission, the yacht and the fact that there would be nowhere to run, no tunnel to provide an escape, just miles and miles ofsea.
But it was all a lie, or a distraction at best. The real problem was Julia. If Elise was on the boat, Julia wouldn’t leave without her, even if it meant sacrificing her ownlife.
And Ronan had a feeling that this time, Elise would bethere.
They couldn’t even begin to plan a way onto the boat until they knew what kind of boat it was, and even then, getting a handle on security would be next to impossible at this late date. It meant the whole job was a powder keg of potential problems, the very last kind of place he wanted Julia tobe.
