Page 95 of The Pilot

Knox’s fingers were flying over the screen of his phone, and he turned toward the door without looking up.

“Come on,” Linc told Harper, pushing her around the far end of the desk, away from Donny, after Knox’s retreating form.

“I’ll stay and relay any other pertinent info,” Chad said as they passed.

Linc nodded but didn’t stop as he exited the small office.

Another officer continued to question Donny, while the police chief and the principal followed Harper, Linc, and Knox out the door.

“I can call the fire department and get them to bring a boat around to the Rockville dock,” the chief told them.

“No need,” Knox said, with a shake of his head. “I’ve contacted my boss at the Coast Guard. They already know my nephew’s missing and have been on standby. They’ll meet us at the dock in five minutes.”

Harper stared at him in disbelief. His nephew. Tears sprang to her eyes. Not only had Linc claimed her and Kash, but his brothers had as well.

“I’m still sending an officer out there.”

“Fine. But we aren’t waiting,” Linc told the man.

“I understand. Assuming you both know first aid . . . just in case.”

Harper’s blood turned to ice. She’d been so excited about finding out exactly where Kash was that she hadn’t even stopped to think that he might be hurt . . . or worse. She closed her eyes for a short moment, praying that they hadn’t found him only to find out that he hadn’t survived three days in the freezing-cold Maine weather.

“We know first aid,” Linc said, his voice quavering.

Knowing that he was just as affected by the police chief’s words did nothing to make Harper feel better.

“Come on, they’re on their way,” Knox said firmly. “Let’s go get Kash.”

“Wait, is someone going to tell Ginger’s family?” Harper asked, as they began walking toward the main doors. She didn’t know the girl, but her family had to be just as frantic.

“They’re on their way,” the principal said. “I’ll let them know what’s happening.”

They were probably going to be pissed that they didn’t get to come with them to the island, because that’s how Harper would’ve felt, but she wasn’t willing to wait. They could catch a ride with the fire department. Nothing was going to keep her from getting to that island and her son.

They practically jogged back to the car, and before Harper even had her seat belt on, Knox was pulling out of the parking space.

Before she knew it, Harper was watching a Coast Guard boat come screaming into the harbor, ignoring the no-wake-zone signs. Since it was winter, there weren’t many boats in the harbor anyway, so there was no damage done.

Then she was on board, Linc was putting a life jacket over her head, and the boat was already on the move back to open water.

Linc held on to a railing inside the small cabin with one hand and kept his other arm wrapped around Harper’s waist. No one spoke, the only sound the radio crackling with intel going out about the emergency situation. Because Ragged Island was so far offshore, and it wasn’t prime lobster season, there were no boats anywhere close to the area they were headed.

They would be the first boat to arrive, and Harper could only pray they weren’t too late. That even with the odds against the two kids, they’d found a way to survive.

Feeling sick to her stomach, Harper held on to Linc and stared blankly out the front windshield as they zoomed across the water.

Chapter Twenty

They hadn’t come.

Kash had been so sure that yesterday would be the day. Everyone would figure out that he and Ginger weren’t where they were supposed to be, and they’d discover what happened and would come and get them. Or Donny would come back, laughing his ass off about how pathetic they were.

But no one came. The island was just as silent as it had been when they’d been left there on Friday afternoon.

It was disheartening, but Kash refused to get depressed. Yes, there was always the chance that they’d be there for weeks or more, but he knew his mom. She was like a dog with a bone, she wouldn’t give up until she found him. That’s just how she was.

He and Ginger had spent another night on the couch, huddling together for warmth. Both their bellies were growling because they’d eaten all the canned food they’d found in the house. Kash really didn’t want to break into another cabin, but he would if no one showed up to rescue them by dinnertime.