Page 96 of Austen

“You dropped that name to the guard on the boat.It triggered a memory.”

He lifted a shoulder.“He’s a little famous in FSB circles.Sergei finally figured out it was me.”

“I’ll bet.How long have you been working the Petrovs?”

“A few years.Back when the Russian Bratva tried to assassinate our president, I was approached by an old SEAL friend I knew from Afghanistan.He’d gone MIA last I’d heard, which made him a good fit for clandestine work.He was tasked by President White to start an off-books agency to keep an eye on the Petrov Bratva.They’ve been doing everything they can to drag us into another war.”

Steinbeck nodded.“I caught wind of this from Phoenix.She said that the Bratva was working with the Russian government to make a supersoldier.And you were their key player.”

“It looked that way, I know.”Declan had finished his nutrition cube.It tasted a little like grass.“Because it had to.I had to get the Russians to trust me so we could unravel their blueprint.”

“And the shell game you were playing with the boats?”

“I hoped they’d fall for it.Never did I intend for them to get the obsidite.”He watched as the falling sun rippled over the water, turning it a deep blue with gold-tipped waves.“Now, hopefully, they won’t.”

Steinbeck went quiet.“But you lost your lead, and your cover.”

“Probably.But...”He shook his head.“I’m ready to be done with all this.I hated lying to Austen.She deserved better.”

Steinbeck made a noise of agreement.He’d finished his nutrition bar too.“Sun’s going to get hot.You couldn’t have purchased a tented life raft?”

“It came with the boat.Austen is on the bigger, tented raft.There were two others—one on the port side and the other on starboard.They were attached to the walls, so they probably went down with the ship.”

Steinbeck looked away.“We hope.”

Declan frowned.And then—“You think some of those Russians got off the yacht?”

“Could have.There was a lot of debris in the water.”

“We need to find Austen before they do.”

Steinbeck lifted an eyebrow.“Great idea.Which way should we paddle?”

“Funny.But help is on the way.”

“How do you know?”

Maybe it sounded crazy to say “God put it in my heart.”But the surety had landed inside him during the night, and with the cresting of the dawn, settled into his bones.

And also, “I made a call to my contact before you grabbed me at the hotel.I saw Captain Teresa at a restaurant and was already trying to figure out how to get theInvictusback.I figured that the US embassy could impound it and maybe I could pull a few strings to free her.Didn’t see our siege on the radar, but I gave him my AIS signature to track.”

“You’re thinking that when theInvictuswent down, it would have blipped off their radar.”

“And they would have seen our EPIRB.”

“That’s my wild hope, but at this point...”He held out his hands.“We’re at the mercy of the sea.And hope.”

And he was back to“His mercies are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

“I can live with that,” Steinbeck said.He leaned his head back against the lime-green raft.

Hope.Yes.That’s what had seeded in him.

Please, God, show up.For Austen.For me and Stein.

And Phoenix,because looking at Stein’s drawn expression, maybe Declan was picking up his thoughts.

“How’d you meet her?”he asked.

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