Page 48 of Austen

A hand covered her mouth.“Don’t scream.”

She froze, her heart caught, and a voice bent into her ear.“It’s me—Steinbeck.”

He let her go and she whirled around.“What the—” Again, he slapped his hand over her mouth and pressed a finger to his lips.

Oops.She peeled off his hand, cut her voice to a whisper.“What on earth are you doing here?I thought you left the boat.”

“I did,” he growled, his tone low.

“I’m so confused.”

“I knew something wasn’t right.”In the semidarkness, he was a warrior, dangerous and shadowy.She’d always seen him as capable.Now the sight of him, the power of his presence, shook her.

Steinbeck was here.

And sure, he was her brother.But he also looked like a protector, fierce and lethal.So this was how people felt when heroes showed up.

She let out a breath.Still,“What, do you have a radar on me?A twin radar?”

“Something like that.”

“Wait,” she said, her eyes narrowing.“Are you surveilling me?Have you attached some super-sneaky SEAL gadget to me to track my every move?”

“No,” he said, “but that’s not a bad idea.”He grabbed her elbow.“Listen, we’re going to get you off this boat.In a few minutes, you’re going to hear pops and see fire at the bow.Flares will go off.I want you to make for the trawler tied to the stern.”

“What?Who’swe?”Her mouth gaped.“Oh no, you didn’t drag Hawkeye into this, did you?”

“Of course not.I’ll explain later.Just do what I tell you to do.”

She held up her hands.“If you get killed, I will be so angry.”

“Love you too, sis.Stay here until you hear the chaos, and then run for it.”He turned away.

She stopped him with a hand on his arm.“No, I can’t do that.They’re waiting for me back in the salon.”

He paused.

“Listen, Declan’s in there, and so is the crew.If I don’t come back, they’re going to come looking for me, and I don’t know, maybe find you or whoever your sneaky partner is.”

He studied her for a second.“Right.Okay.Get back to the salon.But when the chaos starts, get down.And when you hear the wordrun,you run.”

“What are you gonna do?”

He looked at her.“Just do what I say, okay?”

“Aye, aye, captain.You don’t have to get snippy.”

His eyes widened.

She held up a hand.“I will run when you say run.”

“Not me.When somebody—yes, anyone—says run?—”

“I will run!I promise.”

He put a finger to his lips again, and she nodded, then walked out of the room, through the hallway into the salon.Elise had returned too, and the two thugs stood by the window.

Okay.They just had to get across the deck and down to the swim platform and then leap aboard the trawler.Hopefully, there was a ladder.

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