Ball & Chain(113)

“The locals, they all thought this was about money, about getting their island back. But that was just because we needed a smoke screen. It wasn’t even about the stuff on the flash drive! Our job was to retrieve the information, then plant it in Garrett’s computer so he’d go down for the theft,” Frost admitted. “All de la Vega wanted was for Garrett to go down. That’s it. I asked him, why not just kill the guy? And he said he wanted Garrett to suffer. That’s all he said.”

Nick and Kelly were both staring at Zane, but Zane’s world was narrowing as he listened. Ty’s hand came to rest on his back.

Frost’s voice was going higher, pleading as he explained. “But when the flash drive scrambled his laptop, the mission should have been aborted. I swear to God, Boss, that’s when I retreated. These fucking island hicks don’t know when to stop or we’d have just walked away!”

Zane sat heavily, his heart and head throbbing. “This was never really about Stanton’s company. This was about me.”





They stood on the edge of the cliff, staring out at the moon sparkling on the waves.

The boat bobbed in the distance, its emergency beacon blinking and reflecting on the water like Christmas lights. It made Nick miss his boat. He always lined the vessel with strings of lights for Christmas.

“Do we try for it?” English asked.

“I want to go home,” Kelly grunted. “I say we swim for that bitch, fuck waiting for the ferry.”

Ty, Nick, and Zane murmured in agreement. Park merely nodded.

“Who’s physically capable of making that swim?” Nick asked, looking down the line at all of them.

Ty shook his head. Kelly had put his shoulder back in joint, to the tune of much squabbling and name-calling and Ty screaming in the end.

Zane wasn’t injured at all, but he looked dubious. “I can try for it,” he said, “but I’m not a very strong swimmer.”

“I’m good for it,” English said with a nod.

Nick looked him up and down. “Dude, is there a wet suit that will fit you?”

English laughed. “Probably not on this island.”

Nick shook his head. The sea was far too cold to swim without a wet suit. He’d die before he got halfway there.

“I can swim,” Park said. His arms were crossed, and he was still wearing his sunglasses even in the dark of night. “But perhaps we should use that canoe on the beach instead.”

“The what?” Ty and Zane blurted at the same time.

Park nodded toward the beach below. None of them could see what he was seeing, so Nick lay out on the edge of the cliff and shined his light down there. A battered red canoe reflected back at them.

“How the hell?” Nick asked over his shoulder.

“His sunglasses have night vision,” English answered, deadpan.

“Seriously?” Ty and Kelly both said.

“No.”

Both their shoulders slumped in disappointment, and Nick laughed. He wasn’t sure if it was really that funny or if he was just at the end of his sanity. He didn’t really care either. He stood and brushed himself off, then patted English on the chest and jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the beach below. “It’s all you, buddy.”

English nodded, gesturing to Park.

“Wait, we can’t send them alone. What if they leave us here?” Kelly asked.

Nick raised an eyebrow at his lover, but it was a valid question. He glanced at English, who was nodding.

“Fair enough. Who wants to go with me?”

“I will,” Zane offered. He and Ty exchanged a glance, communicating silently for a few seconds. Then Zane checked the ammunition in his gun. Nick handed him his knife with a nod.

They turned to English to see if he’d object. The big man shook his head. “He’s already told me he can’t swim. If I want to kill him, I’ll just tip the canoe.” He gave them all a cheeky grin, then turned to make his way down to the beach.

“Oh,” Ty said. “Oh, hell no.”

Zane laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.” He followed after English, leaving the four of them up top to watch their progress through the real set of night vision goggles they’d found in the stash of weapons Frost had cleared from the mansion’s stalking room.

Park turned to them, frowning. “Garrett know how to drive a boat like that?”

“No, why?” Ty answered.

Park shrugged. “Neither does John.”

Nick rolled his eyes and shoved the night vision goggles at Kelly, then began to strip himself of any unnecessary accessories.

“What kind of Green Beret doesn’t know how to handle a boat?” Ty asked.