Page 95 of These Rough Waters

“Wait for the ferry,” He demands, “You,” He points to a guy I recognize from my time with them before. He was the one who helped get me to the hospital when Trevor almost killed me. He doesn’t look like the same man I left behind, now his face is expressionless, emotionless and he passes his vacant eyes over me before he settles them on his boss. “With me. Get him, Maya, here now.”

I stumble to my feet, keeping myself positioned protectively over Rett so Trevor didn’t change his mind.

Rett grunts as he is grabbed roughly, forced onto the man’s small boat bobbing turbulently on the water while Trevor grabs me and hauls me forward.

“The weather is rough,” The old man tries, “It’s too dangerous!”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Trevor practically throws me into the boat and with the water so rough, I can’t keep my balance, falling onto the deck on my knees hard. I stifle my cry as the vibrations make my bones rattle, angering the broken rib.

Rett rolls onto his back next to me, eyes closed and still. His chest was moving but it didn’t look like he was getting up again. Tears sting my eyes at the same time the rain is unleashed from the clouds above.

Trevor gets in next to me, hauling me to my feet before he shoves me down into a seat, “Stay fucking there, Maya, or he goes overboard, you hear me?”

I nod weakly.

The man climbs in and drags Rett until I can no longer see him, dumping him behind a stack of containers that were covered in fishing gear, ropes, nets and hooks overspilling from the top. I stare hard at it but then the man’s eyes meet mine and he notices me looking. He raises an eyebrow as he stares at the contents, scanning it all. He reaches in and pulls something out, studying it in the palm of his hand.

It was a wicked looking knife, the blade curved and ending in a sharp point. Licking his teeth, his eyes bounce back to me as he places that knife right on top, leaving it in sight and reach.

My eyes widen but he says nothing as he goes to Trevor, listening to whatever instruction I can’t hear since the wind is roaring and the waves are crashing furiously.

It would be a miracle if we even made it to the mainland.

The boat is unanchored and with the guys on land watching and the remaining men standing there, we move away from the tiny island I’d called my home for the past few weeks. We move away from Imogen and Ruthie who had become my friends. From my daughter.

From Torin.

We’re far from the island when I see the flash of red on land, the truck beelining for the docks at speed. It was Torin.

But he was too late.

Forty-four

Tears freely fall the further we get from Ravenpeak Bay, mixing with the salty sea spray and the lashing of rain that stings as it hits my chilled skin.

Rett hasn’t got up.

Trevor hasn’t looked at me.

The man with us was driving the boat while Trevor stood next to him watching the water ahead, and holding onto the bars that run along the side of the boat with a white knuckled grip.

Torin had come for me, he wasn’t giving up, but it didn’t matter. He’d never find me again. Trevor would kill me after he was finished torturing me, but I was thankful to Torin. For saving Harper. For getting to her. Ruthie would have her, she would be okay.

I glance back at the knife left on top of all that equipment, did he leave it there to help me?

Was he expecting me to use it?

As if sensing my thoughts he glances over his shoulder at me, nodding his head so subtly I could have easily mistaken the motion. He had helped me before. But if he wanted to help me, why was he working for Trevor?

Fidgeting, I stifle the wince at the pull in my ribs, and lean to try get a glance at Rett. He was still laying too still. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing anymore. Rain batters the boat, soaking everyone through, making the deck slippery. Could I take out Trevor and get us to land safely? Would the man help?

I didn’t know what to do.

We were alone out here on the water, the weather and sea at war. I didn’t know how far we were from land, but I couldn’t see anything ahead of us and the island was so far away, a mere blip in the vast ocean, its dramatic cliffs and peaks barely anything at all.

A violent wave suddenly slams into the boat, rocking us dangerously to the side. I cling on, gritting my teeth. Maybe I would be lucky, and the sea would kill me before Trevor ever gets the chance. It would be a quicker death. The sea has more mercy than Trevor has ever possessed.

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