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The music, Teo told me, was for show. If the police found us out here, they would ask what we were doing. They couldn’t know we had broken into my father’s lair. They could know anything about this.
“This vault is no joke,” I muttered, fingering the edge of the blueprint Jace had snapped and printed. “Where did you say the bodies were?”
“I’m not sure, exactly,” Jace said, looking up at me. “I think I went in through the Northside and you guys went in through the East, so any one of these rooms.”
“That place gives me the creeps,” Victor said, looking at the dark water.
“An understatement if I ever heard one,” Grayson agreed from across the table, his eyes dark. “I think it was rigged with enough traps to make a crypt look like a playground.”
Victor leaned back, arms crossed. “We’ve got one shot at this, Sofia. Can’t afford any slip-ups,” he said, chewing on the inside of his mouth. “Particularly if we’re going to involve the feds.”
“First, we’ve gotta get out of here in one piece,” Teo interjected, his voice cutting through the tension. He gestured toward the windows where the sky had turned an ominous shade of gray. “That storm’s rolling in fast, and this tub isn’t exactly built for a quick getaway.”
As if on cue, the first droplets of rain splattered against the glass, and the once gentle waves began to churn. We exchanged looks. Words weren’t needed. Action was.
“You might want to go below deck,” Teo said softly, looking at me.
“No. I’m not leaving your side,” I said.
A smile pulled at the corner of his lips. “Fine,” he replied.
Teo took the helm, his hands steady despite the boat rocking violently beneath us. Thunder rumbled, a deep growl from the belly of the beast that was Lake Apopka at its most ferocious. Lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the narrow waterways ahead.
“This is insane,” I breathed out, trying to keep my footing as the boat pitched to the side. Water sprayed over the deck, slick and cold.
I hadn’t been on a boat for a while, and I had certainly not been on a boat in waters like this before.
Jace looked up at the sky. “It wasn’t supposed to rain.”
“Let me see if I can get out of here,” Teo said. “Keep your head down!”
He shouted over the howl of the wind, weaving the sleek vessel between jutting rocks and hidden shallows that could tear the hull open without a second thought.
Every bone in my body tensed as another bolt of lightning seared the sky, followed by a boom that seemed to shake the very air. I knew boats, but this—this was a monster we were riding, a beast not meant for stealth or speed but for indulgence.
I focused on watching Teo. He was working the controls with a precision that belied the panic clawing at my insides. If the boat was out of its element, Teo certainly wasn’t. But for how long?
“Not long now,” Teo said.
I closed my eyes for a heartbeat, letting the roar of the storm fill my senses. I held onto the railing so I could keep myself upright.
I might have been the daughter of the Everglades Viper, yes, but more than that, I was the one who would end his legacy, come hell or high water.
The thrumming of the engines was like a frantic heartbeat beneath my feet, Teo’s hands steady on the wheel as we cut through the churning waters.
“Head’s up! We’ve got company!” Grayson’s voice cut through the storm, sharp and urgent.
I spun around just in time to see the jet skis slicing through the water toward us, angular shapes against the wrath of the storm.
“They’re out in this weather?” I asked softly.
“I don’t think the weather matters much to them, princess,” Victor said, standing and wrapping me in what I thought was a protective hug before he dropped me to the floor. “Get down and stay down!”
“Those are his men?” I asked, my heart kicking against my ribs.
He didn’t need to answer me. I already knew the answer.
They came at us with a ferocity that spoke of more than just orders—they were hungry for the kill.
