Page 76 of Winter’s Fire

She was smiling—actually smiling. Maybe she was just crazy enough to fit in the unit as a field officer after all. Logan could recognise an attempt to cover up fear when he saw it. Even so, he played along with a shrug of his shoulder and a half-smile, as if it were no big deal. “Let’s go.”

They followed the path—a shortcut to the dock, negotiable only on foot—through the undergrowth. Logan led the way, keeping a look out for any unfriendly wildlife—along with signs of even more unfriendly humans—with Lucy bringing up the rear. He wasn’t so foolish as to believe they’d find their way unhindered—at any moment, the guard he’d killed could be missed or found and then the hunt would be on.

And their captors would be playing for keeps. Lucy and Diana had a price on their heads, one the bad guys were committed to collecting. Since he’d just about outlived his usefulness, they’d have no qualms about terminating him.

With the auction imminent, everyone’s attention was concentrated on getting ready for the arrival of the wealthy bidders. Logan wanted to think they too would be brought down with the perpetrators of the trafficking operation, but chances were, their money—and they would have a hell of a lot of it—would buy them a way out of paying for their crime.

The end of the track joined what passed for a road at the top of a series of almost hairpin bends leading down to the dock. Logan signalled to Lucy and Diana to remain hidden in the undergrowth while he made sure the coast was clear. With no vehicles around and no sign of anyone down on the dock, the chances of discovery were slim. Even better, a small cabin cruiser was moored at the end of the low jetty. With no visible means of refuelling, he could only hope there was enough gas in the tank to get them to safety.

“Come on, it’s not much further.”

“I hope not, we’ve been walking for miles.”

The grumble came from Diana, of course, who made a great production out of clambering to her feet, while Lucy simply straightened up from the crouch she’d adopted to wait for the all-clear. God, she was beautiful. He didn’t see the torn clothes, the smudges of dirt, the cuts and bruises—just the brave, brilliant, gorgeous woman he loved.

“There’s no one around, but keep to the side and stay low. If you hear an engine, take cover and stay there until I tell you otherwise. Is that clear? Diana?”

Sullen and insolent, she rolled her eyes at him. How he hadn’t wrung her neck Logan didn’t know, but the sooner he got her back to her family, the better. He needed to be with Lucy so he could come clean about his past, set things right with her—and God willing, plan a future with her.

They made it to the boat without incident. Logan helped Diana aboard, hovered while Lucy followed her, then cast off fore and aft, and jumped on board before the vessel could drift too far. The engine started at the first attempt, so he lost no time in setting a course for the open sea.

“Are we safe now?”

“Not yet. This operation’s been going on for years and never made the headlines—local law enforcement’s probably being given a cut of the proceeds to keep quiet.”

“That means we can’t trust anyone at the resort or on the island, right?” Lucy looked to him for confirmation.

“Right. Our best chance is to get a few miles out and send a distress signal.”

When they were far enough out, Logan picked up the radio handset, selected the emergency channel, and pushed the button to transmit their GPS coordinates. He glanced at Lucy. No matter what had gone wrong between them, she still had faith in him. For her sake, if nothing else, they had to get out of this alive.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Blue Pagoda, Blue Pagoda, Blue Pagoda. Mayday.”

Chapter 20

“Jesus, what the hell have you been up to now?”

Even as Sam wrapped the survival blanket around her and gathered her to him in a ferocious bear hug, Lucy still couldn’t believe the Royal Navy destroyer that had plucked them to safety was her brother’s ship. She should have had more faith in Logan’s assurances that they hadn’t been abandoned.

“Sam, please—”

“I’m taking you down to the sick bay.”

“I’m okay—”

“You look like you’ve gone ten rounds with a heavyweight champion. You need to be checked out—the medical officer’s waiting for all of you.”

So he was in that kind of mood, the one that wouldn’t take no for an answer. The bad news for him was that she’d inherited the stubborn gene too. “I told you, I’m okay. You need to take a look at Logan. He has a knife wound that needs attention—”

“It can wait. Chief Winter, I’m sorry, but I need to speak to the captain urgently.”

Lucy looked around at Logan, and immediately wished she hadn’t. It wasn’t just that he was standing behind Diana, with his hands on her shoulders—he looked like he could barely stand upright and his face held a febrile flush.

She glanced back at her sibling, and caught the look of understanding flash between the two men. She’d seen that look of silent communication before between her brothers when they were talking about their work, usually just before they clammed up to prevent her listening in.

This time, Lucy already knew what it was about. Their position hadn’t been all Logan had reported on the distress call. He’d given a brief summary of what was going on at the resort, and been told the ship’s commanding officer would want to talk to him.

“I know, Mr. Simmonds. AB Moore’s here to escort you to the bridge.” Sam nodded to Logan’s right. “When you’re finished with the captain, Moore’ll bring you to join us in sick bay. Just try to make it as quick as you can. Lucy’s right, you don’t look too good.”