Page 65 of Austen

Steinbeck stood up.“Now comes the fun.”

Austen drew in a breath.

Declan couldn’t help it.He moved beside her.“No matter what happens, I will get you out of here.No matter what it takes.”He touched her hand.“I promise.”

For a moment, she gripped his hand back.“I know.”And then she touched her other hand to his face, her eyes sweet and gentle.“And that’s what scares me.”

He frowned, but the sound of a lock releasing clattered at the door before it squealed open.A couple of sailors stood in the opening.

“The captain wants to see you,” one of them said in Spanish.He pointed to Declan.

“What about my friends?”

“Just you.”

He turned to Steinbeck.“Sit tight.This will all be over soon.”

At least, if he had it his way.

* * *

“Stein.You and I need to get off this ship,” Emberly said as Declan stepped out into the hallway.

The door closed and locked behind him.

“Before we get into port.”She looked at Steinbeck as she said it, and she probably deserved the wide eyes that he gave her back.Because yes, shehadtried to ditch him earlier in the ocean.Maybe not her brightest move.Okay,she’d blame panic.And she didn’t do panic.It never worked out in her favor.So of course he’d tracked her down and she’d climbed aboard the tender without a fight.What was it that Mystique, her Black Swans boss, always said?“Live to fight another day”?

That day was here.

“How do you propose we do that?”Steinbeck said, leaning over her to look out the window.

“I’m not sure yet, but Idoknow we can’t go ashore.A background check on you is only going to land you in some dark hole someplace.You’ll disappear while they try to pry American secrets out of you.”

His mouth twisted.“They’re not going to get any.”

Yeah.That’s what really scared her.Because Steinbeck, at his heart, was a patriot.She’d met that patriot up close and personal three years ago.Sono way, no howdid she want him in the hands of some communist Cubans.

Or Russians.

And maybe she shouldn’t care that much, but,shoot, shehadstarted to care.Hadn’t even minded that much when he’d caught up with her in the ocean.The fact that he’d come after her despite her trying to ditch him made her feel, well, maybe not as alone.

Which was why she saidweand shot the idea across the bow.

“I watched these guys when we came in.They’re not armed.They’re just a bunch of fishermen who are tired and hungry from being out at sea.They’re not going to put up much of a fight.We get off the ship and we go from there.”

Steinbeck glanced at his sister and then back at Emberly.“I’m not leaving my sister.”

Austen had gone back to sitting with her back to the wall, her legs up.She was watching the two of them, frowning.And then, “I agree with her, Stein,” Austen said.“I’m nobody.They’re going to run information on me and find out that I’m just a tourist in the wrong place at the wrong time.You, however, are a different story.”She put her legs down and leaned forward.“I know you’re not active duty anymore, but you still have the SEAL history.”She shook her head, looked at Emberly.“You guys get out of here the first chance you get.”

Emberly could nearly see the war inside Steinbeck, fighting between reality and responsibility.

She didn’t need his help to escape this boat,thank you.She was very capable of breaking out of custody and going over the side into the harbor and disappearing in the murky depths.But if she was honest, she’d prefer to do it with him, although she couldn’t put her finger on why.

“Listen,” she said, “I’m not saying we leave Austen and Declan behind.”Although if she’d had her way, she would have left Declan on the yacht with the Russians.She didn’t buy for one hot second his explanation about how he got into this mess.But that was a chatty chat for another day, once they disentangled themselves from Cuban custody.“If we’re free, we can figure out how to help them better than if we’re stuck in a cell with them.Or worse.”

She met Stein’s eyes.So blue.They fixed on her, and for a second she was back in the water, searching for him right after he’d blown up his Jet Ski.She hadn’t been sure where he’d gone, but she knew he was swimming hard for the stern of the boat, where they’d parked the tender.So it wasn’t too hard to skim along the water in the glow of the ship and spot him.She’d scooted around him, pulled up beside him, and he’d grabbed her hand.She’d wanted to say something quippy like, “Miss me?”But he was winded, and the first question out of his mouth was, “Did they get the tender?”So maybe there was no time for quips.

And then of course, a few minutes later, she’d ditched him.Which again was simply panic.She just couldn’t imagine stepping inside the boat and chaining herself to the ragtag misfits who seemed to be going from tragedy to tragedy.

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