“Cai Junli,” he said. “I thought your cousin’s note was a prank.”
“This is no prank. Are you willing to take us away?”
Slowly, he stood to his height, his eyes darting left and right. “Where are you hoping to go?”
“Whichever coast you reach first,” Juliette answered easily. “I . . . I cannot stay any longer. Not with the Scarlets turning like this.”
For the longest moment, Da Nao said nothing. He bent down again and continued gathering the rope at his feet. Then:
“Yes. I can take you away. I can sail south.”
Juliette breathed out in relief. “Thank you,” she said quickly. “I’ll pay you however much you need—”
“Who else are you bringing?”
His question came abruptly, choked out like he couldn’t speak the words fast enough. A pinprick of suspicion registered in Juliette’s mind, but she brushed it aside, hoping it was only the stress of the situation currently unfolding in the city.
“Roma Montagov,” Juliette answered, praying that her voice would not shake. Da Nao was a Communist sympathizer, Kathleen had said. Even with his double life as a Scarlet fisherman, he cared little for the blood feud. “Along with his sister and two of his men.”
Da Nao had finished gathering the excess rope. There remained only one thin line keeping his boat docked. “You’re traveling with Montagovs now? The seas are still being watched, Miss Cai. We may have trouble leaving the territory.”
“I’ll pay you however much to hide us. Just get us out.”
Though Da Nao had finished tidying everything in his vicinity, he continued scanning the floor of his boat. “Are they forcing you to help them, Miss Cai? You can tell me if they are.”
Juliette blinked. The rain was stinging her eyes badly. She had not even considered that the fisherman might think she was acting against her will. Why was that his first thought, and not the easier conclusion that Juliette had simply betrayed the Scarlets?
“No one is forcing me to do anything,” she said. Her fists curled. “Roma Montagov is my husband. Now, can I come aboard and get out of this rain?”
The toothpick in Da Nao’s mouth bobbed up and down. If he was surprised to hear her admission, he did not show it.
“Certainly.” Only then did he finally look at her, taking the toothpick out of his mouth. “You will have to shed your weapons before you come on board. I mean no offense, Miss Cai, but I know you gangster types. All in the water first.”
Juliette stiffened, her gaze darting back along the boardwalk. Even at a distance, she could sense that Roma was watching her and had noted her unease. She raised a hand, signaling that she was fine, and with a sigh, pulled out the blades tucked against her thighs. Short of the cash in the bag hanging from her shoulders, she had thought the weapons on her skin could be traded as valuables.
“Okay,” Juliette said, her blades hitting the water with a slap. They floated for a second, then sank into the dark waves.
Da Nao threw his toothpick to the floor. “All weapons, Miss Cai.”
With a sigh, Juliette snapped off the garrote wire around her wrist and hurled it into the water. “Happy?”
“No, not really.”
There was a sudden motion from behind Da Nao. A man stepped out, a pistol held to Da Nao’s head, his expression tight. Juliette recognized him. He was a Scarlet—he had once run a message for her.
“Please understand,” Da Nao said, his voice barely audible as the river rolled beneath him, “that as much as I want to help you, Miss Cai, your Scarlets have always been watching.”
The Scarlet fired, and Da Nao fell with a spray of red, the bullet in his head killing him instantly. With a horrified gasp, Juliette lunged forward, preparing for a fight, but the Scarlet did not turn his pistol to her next. He turned it upward and fired once, twice, three times, each bullet piercing through the awning of the fishing boat and studding into the sky, its bang! bang! bang! loud enough to be heard over the storm.
It was a signal.
No.
Juliette turned fast on her heel. She sighted Roma and Alisa’s blurry forms immediately, but by then there was countermovement in the crowd, and the Scarlets who had been playing guard were on their way to the waterfront, merging into a task force.
“ROMA! ALISA! RUN, RUN NOW!”
Someone tackled Juliette from the side.
“Stop!” she shrieked. “Get off of me!”
Sheer instinct kicked in. She threw her head back as hard as she could, colliding with her attacker. There was a sickening crunch that sounded like a nose breaking, and when her attacker momentarily loosened his grip around her arms, she pulled free and ran.