Page 96 of All Along The Watchtower

“This is the only other one. It has to be here somewhere,” the second man growled.

I recognized these men. Oh, not their faces or voices. But their type. In her pursuit of drugs, my mother had exposed me to plenty of their ilk. They tended to fall into two camps—desperate or dangerous, always operating under someone else’s hierarchy. As a child, I’d learned how to avoid them, become invisible because I knew how quickly they could turn.

The girls worked their way around the sides of the massive rock formation, hands raw from digging. As the rain finally began to ease, my eyes caught a dark shape offshore. A boat running dark.

That couldn’t be anything good.

Please let Daniel see it. Please let him already be calling this in to the Coast Guard.

“Charon is going to be pissed if we come back empty-handed,” the first man muttered.

His partner’s eyes raked over Peyton and Madison in a way that made my skin crawl. “The profit will offset his irritation. If we don’t find it… Well, at this point, nobody else is gonna find it either.”

Bile rose in my throat as his meaning became clear. These monsters planned to traffic the girls.

Willa’s hand found mine in the darkness, squeezing hard. I returned the pressure, acknowledging the horror of whatwe’d just heard. We had to trust the guys to handle this, but God, waiting was torture when those bastards were threatening children.

Gabi tapped my shoulder and pointed. Through the drizzle, I could just make out Ford, Sawyer, and Daniel spreading out to flank the men. They’d left the cover of the trees and were creeping closer to the gunmen. The roar of the ocean would cover the sound of their approach, but if either gunman turned to look toward that boat, they’d be sitting ducks. Did the boat even have anything to do with what was happening here on the beach?

I strained to hear what the men were muttering about, but their words were lost in the crash of waves. One of them shifted, starting to turn toward the water.

My heart stopped. He was going to see Ford.

I burst from the trees before I could think twice about it, forcing a relieved laugh. “Oh thank God, you found them!”

Both men whirled toward me, but I kept moving forward, arms outstretched toward the girls. “Everyone’s been so worried. The whole island’s been searching.”

“Lady, stop right there.”

“The radios are down from this nasty weather.” I kept my voice bright, pretending I didn’t see the weapons they were trying to conceal. “I guess that’s why you haven’t called it in yet. But seriously, you guys are going to be heroes. Finding these girls in weather like this?”

These were definitely not the two men we’d been on the lookout for because of Dax. No time to think about that right now. I reached for Peyton, who was staring at me with wide eyes. “Come on, sweetie, let’s get you home.”

The distinctive click of a safety being released stopped me cold. One of the men had given up trying to hide his gun and now had it trained directly on my chest.

I raised my hands slowly. “Whoa, what’s going on here? I promise I’m not trying to hurt them.” I gestured toward Peyton with my chin. “I’m dating her father. We just want to take them home. Everyone will be so relieved to see them safe.”

The gunman’s eyes raked over me in a way that made my skin crawl. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Look, I don’t want any trouble.” I kept my hands raised, shifting my weight to move fast if I had to. Behind him, I caught glimpses of movement in the darkness. Ford, Sawyer, and Daniel were getting closer. Just a few more seconds.

“What are you doing?” The second man stepped forward, agitated. “We need to get out of here.”

“Relax.” The first man’s smile turned predatory. “She’s a little long in the tooth, but I’m sure they can find a use for her too.”

“Dude, I don’t?—”

Three dark shapes launched from the shadows.

I grabbed both girls’ arms. “Run!”

We sprinted across the sand as the sounds of fighting erupted behind us. Peyton stumbled, and I hauled her back to her feet, pushing them both ahead of me.

A gunshot cracked through the night.

I didn’t hesitate. I threw myself over both girls, driving us into the sand. My heart hammered as two more shots rang out.

Then silence fell, broken only by the crash of waves and our ragged breathing.

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