Page 391 of Hidden Depths

Neither did Thomas’s.

Only Ross’s final words remained inside my head.

James Sinclair took my father from me.

I didn’t know what Grandpa had done.

I didn’t care.

Ross had my sister.

He had the eighty-six-year-old man who had helped us.

And six armed men had boarded Sea Whisper.

The tapping continued through the radio.

Five.

One.

Four.

Ivy was still in the engine room.

Another pattern followed.

Two.

Three.

One.

“Willow,” I whispered.

Ward looked at me.

“What did she say?”

“Upper deck storage.”

“And Hazel?”

I waited.

Nothing.

My heart pounded harder.

“Hazel, answer me.”

Static hissed through the speaker.

“Haze, please.”

One faint tap came through.

Then another.