Page 75 of Lost Truth
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As Hayden strode down the beach toward the nearby marina, he periodically glanced at his phone to see if Collins moved his boat. Hayden had hoped for a clear night—something that offered visibility and spared them the hassle of rain. So far, the skies held back, despite thick clouds drifting across the moon, dimming the light. The wind showed no such restraint. It came in hard off the ocean, whipping sand at them and stinging their skin. His instinct was to duck against the blast, but they all needed to stay sharp, scanning for any sign of danger.
Reece, Abby, and Gabe had their rifles slung over their shoulders, gripping them tightly each time a gust of wind rolled through.
Jude fell into step next to Hayden. “Nice night for a stroll on the beach, right?”
Hayden shook his head, but his mind was on Collins and the lack of movement on his tracking app. “You sure you hid that tracker on Collins’s boat well enough.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jude squinted against the wind-driven sand. “Collins will never find it, and it’s secure enough that it can’t easily be dislodged.”
“Let’s hope that’s true.” Hayden checked the tracker again, but Collins still hadn’t moved.
“Hey, man, I’ve probably placed more trackers with the FBI than you all have put together, so I know what I’m talking about. Our only potential downfall is battery failure. I put fresh ones in when I placed the device, and there’s nothing I can do if they fail abruptly. So barring that, we have months to go with the extended battery models we use.”
“Thanks, man,” Hayden said, even though the information about the batteries wasn’t new to him.
They still had a five-minute walk to the other marina, and he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Reece, so he hung back until she came alongside him.
“You gonna be okay with this?” he asked.
She shifted the rifle on her shoulder. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I’m not talking about today’s mission or your skills, but seeing Sawyer Ellis again.”
Reece planted a hand on her hip. “No need to worry about me. I can do my job no matter who I have to work with.”
She was sidestepping his obvious point. “I don’t know what you have against Sawyer. He seems to be a great guy. Maybe he’s a little pushy—wanting to be in charge all the time—but otherwise an all-around good guy.”
“I’ve only seen him in action on that one mission, so I wouldn’t know about that.” The team had partnered with him to travel to a secluded island where a young girl’s kidnappers were keeping her prisoner.
For Hayden, it only took one mission to determine Sawyer’s qualities, but obviously not for Reece. “I don’t think he would’ve reached the rank of commander if he weren’t a decent guy.”
A sharp wind whipped off the water, and Reece steadied her rifle. “He also wouldn’t have made commander if he weren’t pretty straightlaced and decisive. So focused, he can’t see life unfolding around him.”
“Where you’re more a free spirit and like to take things as they come.”
She nodded. “Literally two ships that should just pass in the night.”
“Except neither one of you want to pass,” Hayden said, catching sight of Sawyer’s twenty-five-foot sport boat.
Reece frowned. “I don’t know about that, but I’m done talking about it. Time to psyche myself up for the mission.”
She stepped ahead of Hayden, ending their discussion.
He double-timed it past her to reach the boat first. Sawyer waited in a wide-legged stance at the stern, overhead lights outlining his body. He wore black tactical pants and a black T-shirt, clearly showing off his time spent in the gym. He still had the same neatly trimmed, dishwater-blond hair, fitting for an officer in the Coast Guard.
“Ahoy,” he called out in his deep voice.
Hayden stepped up to the boat that had to set the guy back a couple hundred grand. “Sawyer. Thanks for offering your boat again.”
“Are you kidding?” He grinned. “Another opportunity to run this baby at top speed and see what she can do? I’d never pass that up.”
“Life isn’t all about speed,” Reece muttered, but it came out loudly enough for Sawyer to flash her an annoyed look.
“Our suspect’s in his boat but hasn’t left the dock,” Hayden said, keeping them on task. “Permission for us to come aboard.”
“My boat’s your boat.” Sawyer stood back but picked up a handful of lifejackets.
