Page 84 of Lost Truth
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“There!” Cady pointed at the docks ahead of her. “It’s Collins’s boat pulling into the marina. He was dumb enough to come back here.”
Nolan raised his binoculars and scanned the area. “It’s his boat, all right. Let me try to get Mina on the horn and see what she wants me to do.”
He grabbed his phone and dialed.
Cady could hear the ringtone from across the SUV. She continued to watch Collins through her binoculars as he aimed his boat into the slip.
One ring. Two. Three. Nolan’s call went to voicemail.
He slammed his fist into the steering wheel. “She’s not answering.”
“She must be getting a signal because it didn’t go straight to voicemail.”
“She’s probably caught up in something that’s keeping her from her phone.”
Cady agreed, but terrible visions of what could be occupying Mina’s time raced through Cady’s brain.
Ugly visions, like criminals on a ship, pinning them down with gunfire.
Rifle reports blasting through the air. Bullets flying. Lives being risked. Lives lost. Hayden may be injured and clinging to life.
Oh, please, please, please. Keep them all safe.
Collins’s boat coasted fully into the slip, and he killed the motor.
“I can’t let Collins get away—I’m going after him.” Eyes fierce with determination, Nolan pressed the keys into her hand. “Call 911 and get backup. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, take the SUV and get somewhere safe.”
What?He was leaving her? How did she respond to that? Fear kicked up her pulse.
She searched for something to say, but he’d hung a binocular strap around his neck and bailed out of the driver’s seat. By the time she could come up with a single-word reply, he’d silently closed the door and started toward the marina.
A rifle slung over his shoulder, he took slow, even steps toward the marina’s main gate, moving in and out of hiding spots. He paused behind trees. Behind structures. Behind shrubs.
Good.At least he was being careful. Gave her confidence in his abilities. But on the other hand, his furtive movements scared her half to death. Being less careful only meant one thing. He believed if Collins saw him, he would come for him, and Nolan’s life was on the line.
She prayed for his safety, her heart thumping wildly. Should she just sit here as he told her to do or should she call Hayden? Tell him what was going on?
What good would that do? If he wasn’t tied up in whatever preoccupied Mina, hearing about his fellow teammate in danger would make him worry. Right now he was responsible for an entire team, and his mind would be too occupied to be worrying about her or Nolan.
That settled it. She wouldn’t call anyone other than 911 as Nolan directed.
Facing facts, she got out her phone and dialed.
She would be alone. On her own. Forced to rely only on herself. Not something she expected to happen today, but it did. At least until she talked to the 911 dispatcher and backup arrived.
She could do this. She had to. She’d gather enough bravery to face whatever might come her way, or as Nolan said, flee the area to safety.
Hayden ignored the heaviness in his heart and faced Mina. “We’re missing one woman. We have to look again.”
“Agreed,” she said. “But it’s unlikely someone survived this long in such frigid water.”
“Still, let’s get lights on the water.” Hayden leaned out to Sawyer’s boat. “There’s one woman unaccounted for. Get the spotlight on the open area. Everyone else, binoculars up and search.”
His team threw off their silvery blankets and sprang into action. Hayden couldn’t stand still either. He took off after Mina, who’d already raced to the front of her boat and climbed onto the bow. He rushed around the covered pilothouse to reach her, working hard to keep his footing on the slippery deck.
The wind had picked up sharply, and the rain came down in bursts—not in soft drops, but in fierce, angled sheets that slashed sideways under the force of the gale.
