Page 64 of Beautiful Vengeance
He was alive.He was with her.It was enough.
For now.
The inlet was barely more than a sliver between the cliffs that had been getting higher the farther north they went.She would have missed the gap completely if she hadn’t been searching for it.She scraped the sides of the boat several times trying to maneuver in, but as soon as she did, she understood why Jude had chosen this place.The top of the cliffs curved inward, creating almost another cave.She found an outcrop of rock to loop the boat tie around, keeping them close enough to the edge that someone above would have to actually climb into the area to be able to see them.“Now what?”
“Now we wait until dark.”
She turned to find him trying to get medical tape on with one hand.“Let me help.”Sloan didn’t give him a chance to argue, taking the tape from his hands and ripping off several tabs.She took the opportunity to look at his injury.It was hard to tell with all the blood, but the entry wound didn’t appear too large.“What are the chances it hit something vital?”
“If it had, I’d be dead.”
She jerked back in shock, but then resumed taping the pad to him.“I see.”
“No point in pussyfooting around the truth.”He didn’t flinch as he sat up so she could do the same to his back, but she saw the way the muscle tightened in his jaw.“That brother of yours is a dick.”
“I’m not arguing with you at the moment.”She finished taping him up and carefully sat back.“I knew he was overprotective, but this was way too far.”
She’dtoldTeague she was fine, and he completely disregarded her, so sure that he knew better than she did.She loved her brother, but she could no longer trust him.“What’s our exit strategy?”
“I don’t know.”He closed his eyes, looking exhausted.“We can’t circle back and hope the plane hasn’t been tampered with.They’ll be watching the ferries in.This boat can island-hop to a limited degree, but we won’t make it far beyond that—and it would still require a ferry back to the mainland.”
No easy answer, then.She smoothed back his hair, taking comfort in the simple fact that he was alive and she could touch him to her heart’s content.Jude had carried them both since they left Callaway Rock—even before, if she was being honest.
It was time for her to return the favor.
“Do you have a phone in that bag of yours?”
“Yes.”He didn’t open his eyes.“Are you going to call in the cavalry?”
She hesitated, but he left it at that—just a question.He trusts my judgment.He trusts me.That realization shouldn’t have been so novel, and it said something truly sad about her history that it was.Not to mention my seriously dropping the ball with the tracker situation.Sloan cupped his jaw.“I’m going to try.”
“Front pocket.”
She found the pocket he’d indicated and pulled the phone out.Truly, there was only one person she could call.
Carrigan.
Sloan closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, and then opened them.What are the chances that Carrigan hasn’t changed her number?Not likely.Still, she dialed it all the same, reaching out to her older sister for the first time since she’d learned that Carrigan had forsaken the family for James Halloran.
No one else would understand where she was coming from, not about Jude and not about her plans.
No one else would be the least bit sympathetic to her plight.
No one else would stop to consider that she might be perfectly rational about the decision she’d made.
“Hello?”
Her throat tried to close at Carrigan’s familiar voice on the other end.“Carrigan…It’s me.”
“Sloan?”
“I…I’m in trouble.I need your help.”She held her breath.She felt like a terrible person for refusing her sister’s calls over and over again, andnowreaching out when she needed something.Carrigan would be well within her rights to rip Sloan a new one and tell her to deal with the mess she’d made.
Instead, she said, “Anything.”
***
Dmitri climbed out of his town car, motioning the driver to stay where he was.While he couldn’t be anywhere in Boston without a degree of danger, he was willing to take his chances for the time being.The building looked like every other warehouse in the district, nondescript and windowless.The street was almost deserted, though he caught the rustling of someone in the shadows.A place for ill deeds.
