Page 90 of Austen

Steinbeck handed over the Beretta.

“I think your instincts are pretty good, Steinbeck.You suspected I was lying about something, and it wasn’t really a lie, but I didn’t want Austen to get involved.Maybe that was stupid, but I’m a little tired of living two lives.”He gave him a solemn look.“I’m falling in love with your sister.I hope that’s okay.”

“I think I can live with that,” Steinbeck said.“But first we need to find her.So let’s get going.”

Declan stepped back and shot.

The batteries sparked.

“Let’s move.”He turned and scrambled out to where Steinbeck stood by the anchor chain.

“Help me get this out.”Stein had hold of a large bag.

Right.The secondary life raft.“How did you know this was here?”

“We did a couple of ops on boats like these back when we trained to repel pirates.”

Declan grabbed the other side of the life-raft case, and then he and Steinbeck unzipped it, walked over to the bow, and dropped the case into the ocean.The water activated the raft, and it exploded out of the case, inflating.A four-man life raft, the boat wasn’t big, and it was floating away in the night.

Shouts rang out behind them, and a bullet skimmed off the edge of the prow.

Smoke started to roll out of the garage.

“Go, go!”Steinbeck said even as Declan fired over his head.

“You go!”Declan kept firing.

Steinbeck took a step up to the bow and dove.

Declan tucked the gun into his belt, then followed.

The water shocked him, brisk on his body, and he surfaced as bullets pinged the water around him.

“Stein!”

No answer.He searched for the lifeboat in the darkness.It had floated away, but he spotted it some twenty feet into the swell.

He needed to catch it before the waves took it into the night.He swam hard for the raft, his hand catching the rope.

Behind him, the yacht caught fire.The flames burned across the bow toward the bridge.It lit up like a torch on the water.

Declan turned, searching again for Steinbeck.

Nothing but darkness, the waves cresting over him, burying any sight of Stein.

Then, just like that, theInvictusexploded as the flames hit the engine room.A billowing cloud of fire and black smoke churned into the night, reflecting upon the waves.

Declan treaded in the water, watching theInvictusburn, the decks, then the stern, and finally, the fire climbing to the pilothouse.

“Steinbeck!”

No answer in the orange glow of the sea.

No.No!

He nearly let go of the rope, the urge to swim back to search for Steinbeck rising through him.But if he lost the rope, well, he lost any hope of surviving.

Any hope of finding Austen.

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