Page 59 of Steinbeck
Steinbeck leaped out over the water.Slammed against the railing.
She got a hand on his shirt and reached for his belt, but he was already scrambling up, working his feet onto the side, hooking a foot into the railing.
Winding an arm around his torso, she pulled him over.
He landed right on top of her on the deck, her arms around him, holding on as he breathed hard, his back to her.
“Welcome aboard,” she said.
He rolled onto his hands and searched for Luis.Then his eyes landed back on her and he grinned.
What?
“I hope this is a dinner cruise.I’m starved.”
SEVEN
Stein refusedto believe this was the end.
Mission accomplished, andthank you so much—you can go home, Steinbeck.He was no longer necessary.
He sat in a Learjet, across from Phoenix and the empty box of some kind of Portuguese hamburger she’d picked up on the way to the airport.And a Snickers bar, of course.
Good thing Portugal kept European late-night hours.
Luis lay across a sofa in the back, probably getting his first decent sleep since he’d escaped from the Russians two days ago.Or had he really escaped?
The entire event nagged at Steinbeck.Something...
Or maybe he could blame his grumpy mood on his aching knee.The area around his artificial joint had swollen, burning, a deep bruise forming, maybe from the dog, maybe from the leap onto the ferryboat.
Probably the all-out sprint.Because while he could run, his lack of speed and stamina had disqualified him from returning to active duty status with the teams.
Really, it had not been a bad showing for Mr.Slow and Annoying.
Still.He should have seen the guy following them from the upper deck.He was losing his touch.At least he’d caught the guy on his six.
“Stop.”
He looked over to where Emberly—no,Phoenix—sat, under a blanket, her legs stretched out onto the seat next to her.“What?”
“You’re pacing.”
“I’m sitting here.”
“In your head.I know that look.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“Krakow.Trying to figure out what went south.And what to do next.”
She leaned up.“For the record, me too.I keep rounding back to the idea that they had to have been tracking us.”
“Or him.”He glanced at Luis, then back at her.“But yeah, I keep going back to Sintra.How they didn’t guard you...You just walked out.”
She nodded, sighed.“I can’t help but think they’ve been one step ahead of us the entire time.”
“Us.”He didn’t correct her.
