Page 52 of Hidden Depths

“No. It’s like with your bag of belongings. It’s the life you’ve had to live. But I think when you go to this new place, you’ll make some good friends. You’ve been alone because you’ve been scared. But you’re not anymore. It won’t be long and you’ll forget all about me.” The look of dismay on her face made him smile. “Come on, don’t make me feel bad.”

“Do you feel bad?”

“Look, Sara, we both know our only course of action from here is to send you away.”

“And what about Balthazar and Dutch?”

“I told you, I’ll do whatever is in my power to bring them and their operation down.”

“I guess I’ll have to watch the news to see what happens to them. If it makes it into the news.”

“You gave me Peter’s number. I can pass the information onto him, and he can give it to you.”

“Boy, you really can’t wait to get away from me.”

“Don’t be fooled by my professionalism. This has been a very interesting vacation for me. I’m glad we had the chance to meet, even if we never see each other again.”

The man buying his ticket in front of them, slammed his hand on the counter. “This is ridiculous.”

Tom took half a step so he was in front of Sara.

“I’m sorry for the inconven—” The man behind the counter stopped talking when the customer stomped away, trying to smash open the door, but the hinge kept it from being forced too hard, and he had to push a second time to get clear.

Tom waited until he was gone before leading Sara forward.

“Quinn,” Tom said after reading his name tag. “Rough day?”

“It is for you if you’re looking to leave on the next bus.”

“Why’s that?”

“There’s been an accident. Nothing’s coming or going. It’s bad from what I understand. The highway will probably be closed for hours, if not longer.”

“That would explain the booked out flights,” Tom said to Sara.

“I apologize for any inconvenience,” Quinn said in the rote voice of the line he’d been given to repeat too many times already. “You may still purchase a ticket available to redeem on the next available bus. You are welcome to wait here, but you may find it more comfortable to find a room for the night and come back in the morning.”

“We’ll take one.”

“Just one?”

“Yeah, but we won’t wait here. We’ll come back later.”

After handing the ticket to Sara, he took her arm and led her away.

“It’s almost like I’m not supposed to leave the island,” she said as they walked back to the car.

“That’s not funny.”

“It will be fine. I get one more night in the boat. It will be nice.”

“You can’t go back to your place.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not secure enough.”

“It’s one night.”

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