Then he flipped her off.
Does he know who I am?
“I need one of these boats!” Two boats were still tied to the dock. They’d seen better days, but Cate would risk it over flying with a stoned pilot.
He shook his head. “A man has the right to do what he wants.”
Cate got in his face. “Give me the keys to another boat!”
“His wife is in labor,” Henry told Michelle’s husband. “There’s a chance she and the baby might not survive.”
“He’ll take care of her.”
“No, he won’t!” Cate was ready to push the man into the water. “Did you know he’s wanted by the FBI for kidnapping? And possibly murder?”
Michelle’s husband took a step back, looking from Cate to Henry, disbelief on his face. “Is that true?” he asked Henry.
“I’m not making it up,” snapped Cate. “Do you have boat keys or not?”
“True,” said Henry. “Where are the keys?”
“No keys.” He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask someone else. Rich was furious that we let strangers on the island who saw his wife.”
“Dammit.” Cate could barely make out Rich’s boat now. He was speeding east, where she knew there were several other empty islands.
We’ve lost him.
A faint rumble sounded, and she turned.
It was a boat entering the cove. The sheriff’s boat with Tessa and Logan.
Cate ran to the end of the dock and waved her hands, resisting the urge to jump up and down. Tessa gunned the engine, closing the distance between them. With a series of deft maneuvers, she slowed and edged close to the dock. Logan held out a hand, and Cate leaped across several feet of water.
“Your timing is almost perfect,” she said to her brother as they stepped out of the way so Henry could do the same.
“Almost?” Logan asked.
“Head east,” Cate told Tessa. “Open it up. Rich took Ashlee, and I don’t think he plans to return.”
“We saw a piece of crap boat leave the cove,” said Tessa as she accelerated.
“That was them.”
“They’re no match for our power. We’ll catch up in a few minutes.”
Only if we can see them.
The sheriff’s boat left the cove, and Cate scanned the horizon. To the east she could make out four more islands. One closer and the others quite far. To her knowledge, the islands were empty. Logan used binoculars, searching the horizon.
“There!” Henry pointed.
Cate turned. The boat hadn’t gotten as far as she had expected and was running parallel to the shore on the closest island. She could clearly see two people, one with a long ponytail. “Is he looking for a dock?”
“There’re no docks on that island,” said Logan. “He’ll have to run it up onto the beach.”
“Why would he pick the closest island?” asked Henry. “I’d think he’d want to get as far away as possible.”
“His engine sounded like crap,” said Cate. “Maybe it’s worse now.” She couldn’t hear anything over the roar of Tessa’s boat.
But she heard the sudden crack of the gunshot.
The four of them dropped low, all keeping an eye on the boat ahead of them.
“Was that aimed at us?” Henry asked.