Page 131 of Tin God

Raj sat up. “And I misjudged you. I thought you and your mate were bullies.”

Carwyn laughed a little bit. “There’s nothing my wife hates more than a bully, but she can be a little abrasive at times.”

“I don’t mind abrasive.” Raj shrugged. “Abrasive gets results.”

He nodded. “Yes, she does do that.”

Brigid stood on the bridge,a paper map spread in front of her, as pelting rain bashed the glass enclosure. “We’re passin’ through the narrows. If Paulson has any security at all, he’ll be able to see us soon.”

Jennie was the captain at the helm. She glanced at Brigid over her shoulder. “I think there’s already someone following us. Don’t ask me how I know—it’s a gut feeling.”

Brigid nodded. “Not a shocker.” The real question was: If someone was following them, how fast could they get back to Paulson with a warning?

Unless someone intercepted them before they could do that.

She poked her head out of the cabin. “Raj!”

Gavin’s man stood and turned, giving her a terse nod.

“You ready to channel some of that aggression on an unwelcome guest? Make sure they don’t make it to Paulson’s ship before us?”

Raj nodded. “Someone following us?”

“Captain thinks so.”

He looked at the churning water behind them. “Are any of Oleg’s people in the area?”

Brigid shook her head.

Raj raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”

Carwyn stood up and wiped water from his eyes. “Too much tension between his and Katya’s people. They agreed that Oleg would focus on hunting down Paulson’s shadow fleet for now while Katya’s people planned this attack on the cruise ship.”

“Good,” Raj shouted as he walked toward her. “Too many unknown vampires in a fray just equals friendly fire.”

“You have military experience,” Brigid said.

Raj nodded but said nothing else.

“Then get to it, soldier.” She nodded toward the rear of the ship. “You have your sticks?”

They’d given all of Katya’s people bright pink glow sticks that had been left over from Jennie’s granddaughter’s birthday party to signal if any of them needed a pickup. Designated wind vampires were circling overhead, watching for the color in the water, while others joined the assault.

Brigid ducked back inside the boat as Raj leaped overboard into the freezing waves.

“This is goin’ to get messy.” She wiped the water from her eyes.

“It’s already messy,” Jennie said. “Paulson made it messy when he decided to get ambitious.”

“I don’t think it’s ambition that Katya and Oleg object to,” Brigid said. “Pretty sure it’s the murder.”

Brigid felt the boat shift to the right, and a looming black point of land rose in front of them before Jennie turned the wheel to the left and pointed the cruiser toward a channel that appeared between what looked like two pointed islands.

“There’s another island running lengthwise down the center of this bay as I recall,” Jennie said. “Though I haven’t been here in years. The water’s cold but the fishing’s always been bad in this area.”

“Any particular reason?”

She shrugged. “Personal opinion? There may be a water elder somewhere in the area, and the fish keep away from a powerful predator instinctively. But sailing boats love this area in the summer because the water stays calm.”

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