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Sadie no longer looks terrified. More … resigned. Calm.
She thinks there’s no way out of this.
As the man starts to back away, I worry Sadie’s right. My stomach drops.
“The three of you,” the man says, tilting his head toward the water. “Hop in.”
No one moves. I feel a surge of pride even as I hope we’re not being stupid.
But right now, the man has Sadie. He didn’t just shoot her and run the way he could have.
Which may mean he’s not supposed to, that he is planning to take her somewhere else. From the little I know, you never let someone take you to a secondary location. But if he has plans to do so, it means he’s less likely to hurt hernow.
“I can’t swim,” I say. “Sorry.”
“Does it seem like I care?” the man asks. “In.”
Still, neither Jake nor Hunter obeys, probably taking their cues from me.
“Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll pay you more to walk away now,” I tell him. “Double. Triple. Whatever.”
I doubt this will work, but I’m stalling, hoping German has some backup plan or that I can think of something—anything—to get Sadie away from this guy.
I meet her gaze, and she gives me a sad smile. Then she blinks, deliberately and dramatically, three times.
What doesthatmean? It's too short to be Morse code. We don’t have some kind of secret messaging thing between us either.
Sadie does it again and I rack my brain trying to figure out what she could be trying to tell me.
Behind her, I see German quietly climbing a ladder back up to the dock. Maybe stalling wasn’t such a bad plan. A dark car pulls up to the lot and two men jump out. From their dress and movements, I’m guessing they’re the other agents who have been on Oakley watching over Merritt and Lo.
“What do you say?” I ask, wanting to keep the man’s attention on me. “More money to walk away.”
The man gives me a sharp smile. “Tempting. But I won’t live to spend it if I don’t follow orders.”
I take a step forward. “What if the man who hired you is no longer a threat?” The man’s eyes narrow, so I keep pushing. “From what I understand, the whole thing is over. Done.”
I don’t really know that. I only know German said it was safe, that the main players were gone. If this is some hired gun, maybe he simply took an assignment and doesn’t know the men who hired him have been arrested.
This is my best hope, and I'm banking on it.
“Just name your price. Anything.”
He hesitates and his eyes narrow, but then he shakes his head. “I can’t walk away. Bad for business.”
He starts to back away again. But with his eyes on us, he doesn’t see German reach the top of the ladder, crouching along the side of the dock, waiting. The man also doesn’t see the two agents creeping forward, staying low, likely in case the man turns.
This still seems so very risky. I wish I could swoop in and save Sadie. That I had Jason Bourne or Jack Reacher skills and could figure out the best way to take this guy out without Sadie getting hurt.
She keeps up the blinking as they move away.
Blink, blink, blink.
Blink, blink, blink.
What is she trying to say?
And then, as I’m seriously debating taking my chances and rushing the man, she stops blinking, her eyes going wide as they shift to my right. I see a large, dark shape and movement just before a massive pelican dive bombs the man holding Sadie.
