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But he’d given up trying to convince her not to come along. She’d fought him every step of the way so far, and he had no reason to believe this would be any different. The fact that she knew how to fire a weapon gave him only modest comfort. Beyond that, he could only hope to keep her close, get Elise, and get the hell out as quickly aspossible.
On his best days, he thought the operation in Greece might be the beginning of the end of the barrier between them. On those days he was hopeful that they would rescue Elise and bring her back to Boston. Julia would see that he still loved her, that what they had wasn’t just a product of Elise’sdisappearance.
That it wasreal.
Other times he wasn’t so sure. He would catch Julia looking out to sea, her eyes shadowed with thoughts she didn’t want to share, and he’d wonder if she would ever fully trust in hislove.
And there was another fear, one that lurked in the deepest recesses of his mind, one he didn’t dare speak aloud: that Julia would feel she owed him if they rescued Elise. That once they brought Elise home, he would never truly know if she loved him or if she was repaying adebt.
He’d tried in vain to break down the last remaining wall between them during their weeks in Greece, but it was still there, invisible to the eye but as impenetrable as granite. His desire to turn it to rubble was starting to feel like a mandate, the only way he’d be sure she loved him if they managed to rescueElise.
June 25th was only four daysaway.
Four days to identify the boat carrying Elise and come up with aplan.
Four days to destroy the wall Julia had spent a lifetime building between her and the world, the one she’d spent months maintaining betweenthem.
It wasn’t enoughtime.
24
“What can I do?”Julia asked Nora, standing at the counter in the kitchen, laying out crumbly chunks of feta, stuffed grape leaves, and olives on aplatter.
Nora smiled up at her and Julia was struck again by her eyes, as clear and blue as Ronan’s. “Nothing. You’ve been in the water all day. You must bewiped.”
Julia smiled. “I’m fine. I canhelp.”
Nora turned to the fridge and removed a six pack of beer. “You can take these to the terrace and put them in the icechest.”
“That’sit?”
“That’s it. Seriously, I’ve been inside most of the day running the registration on that Oceanco. I’m happy to bebusy.”
Nora had explained on the way up to the house that the boat picked up by the satellite heading for Kos was a three-hundred-foot Oceancoyacht.
“Let me know if you change your mind,” Julia said, taking the beer and heading to theterrace.
She’d been surprised by how much she liked Nora Murphy, surprised by how natural their friendship felt. After living in close quarters with Elise her entire life, Julia knew she missed her sister, but she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the companionship of another woman, especially in the testosterone-fueled Murphyhouse.
Nora was quick to call the men on their shit — Braden included — and just as quick to ruffle their hair like they were still little boys even though they all loomed over her. It was clear they adored her, and equally clear that the vacuum left by Erin’s death was still present, a jagged, invisible hole everyone stepped carefullyaround.
“Anyone need another beer?” Julia asked as she stepped onto theterrace.
Nick stood over the grill, brushing tuna steaks with olive oil and squeezing lemon over them while Braden and Ronan sat around a laptop at the other end of the patio, looking at the satellite images of the Oceancoyacht.
“I’ll take one,” Nicksaid.
She handed him one of the bottles and took one for herself, then bent to put the rest in the cooler on the ground near thegrill.
“Those smell amazing,” she said, looking at thetuna.
“Fishmonger said they were caught this morning,” Nick said. “It’s one of the things I love most about thisplace.”
She took in the sweeping views of the Aegean sea, the white stucco houses stark against their blue tiled roofs and the water that surrounded everything. “It must be one of amillion.”
He smiled. “You have apoint.”
“Do you come here often?” sheasked.
