Page 76 of Lost Truth
“Well, good to hear,” Jude said, hopping over the back barrier. “Just remember that when I want to take someone sightseeing.”
“Hey,” Sawyer said. “I didn’t say this was the Love Boat.”
They all laughed, something they needed to break the tension before potentially engaging with human traffickers.
“Everyone wears a life jacket. No discussion.” Sawyer handed one to Jude, who took it but stared at it as if it were a creature trying to bite him.
“We’ll all cooperate.” Hayden gave Jude a pointed look. “I want Reece and Gabe up front. Abby, you have the rear.”
Reece planted her feet wide on the boat. “No offense to Abby, but I might do better covering the entire rear of the boat.”
Hayden assumed she was trying to get away from Sawyer, but that wasn’t an operationally sound decision, and he couldn’t allow it. “I need our best marksman in the front of the boat. Any other choice puts everyone in danger.”
“You got it,” she said, not arguing any further. She would never knowingly endanger other people. Even Sawyer. She snatched a lifejacket from his hand and marched past the captain’s seat toward a lower seating area in the bow. Kneeling on a cushion, she took her position on the side of the boat opposite Sawyer. Not a problem for Hayden or the mission as she was right on the front line where she needed to be. And as a bonus, being in front of Sawyer, he wouldn’t visually distract her.
Unusually quiet, Gabe trailed after her.
“Abby, behind us,” Hayden said.
She took a life preserver and then her respective position without any disagreement.
“And me?” Jude asked.
“Up front, too, with binoculars. Keep your eyes peeled.”
“Roger that.” He strode to the front, tossing the life preserver around his neck as he moved. “Make room for your daily dose of funny.”
Gabe groaned.
“Crack all the jokes you want now, but you better be serious once this boat is moving,” Reece said.
“Hey,” Jude said. “You know you can count on me when needed.”
“I know,” Reece said. “But we’ve never taken on a foreign human trafficking group before, and this feels different.”
“Better to laugh now,” Jude said. “So if we have to engage, you’re not already in meltdown mode.”
“Noted,” Reece said, but it didn’t sound like she was planning to relax.
Hayden wasn’t sure he wanted her to relax, even now. She was their front line of defense, and she had to bring her A-game, however she got there.
He put on the life jacket and took the seat across from Sawyer. “I have a tracker on the suspect’s boat, and his location is pulled up on my phone. I’ll get an alert when he takes off, and we can follow from a safe distance.”
“We’ll need to stay back to avoid being spotted—unless we encounter heavy fog or pouring rain.” Sawyer looked up at the sky. “They’re calling for a storm, but we’ll have to wait and see if it actually hits and how bad it gets.”
“You’re not worried about going out in a potential storm?”
“Yeah, man.” Jude glanced back at them. “Might be a little embarrassing to need a Coast Guard rescue.”
Sawyer snorted. “Trust me, I know my limits, and I’ll turn back long before that would be necessary.”
Hayden’s phone chimed, and his heart jolted.
“It’s go time.” He woke up the screen and ran his gaze over the team. Landing his focus on Sawyer, he held out his phone. “Your first coordinates. Do your thing.”
“We’ll need to wait until he’s about four miles out so our lights don’t give us away.”
“Any way we can run without lights?” Jude asked.
