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He blew out a breath. “Oh, man. Sorry, not sorry?” He shook his head. “I mean, I’m glad we have a way to open the drive, once we get it, but I’m sorry all this falls on you again.”
“Thanks.” She fingered the plastic casing. “The Lord did this for a reason, right?”
Cody grinned faintly. “You’re asking me? I’m the newbie, remember?”
Right.
She stuffed the sequencer in her backpack. “I just need a second.”
She spread her father’s notes on the warped breakfast table, snapping quick photos of every page. The last page caught her attention: a handwritten note. Her father’s familiar scrawl made her throat tighten.
Paige, if you’re reading this, trust Cody. He sacrificed everything to keep you safe back in college. If he’s still alive, you should know he’s always loved you. You’d make a great team. Just thought you should know. Love, Dad
She blinked hard,unsure if her father really knew what he was talking about. But a part of her, a part she’d been trying to ignore, wished it were true.
The deep thrum of a motor suddenly cut through the stillness, shattering her reverie.
Cody’s urgent voice broke through her thoughts. “We’ve got company. The old guy from the other island is pulling up to the dock.”
Paige’s head snapped up, adrenaline surging through her veins. She saw Cody unholster his handgun, his expression grim.
“Let’s handle him outside,” he said, already moving towards the door.
After shoving the file into her pack, Paige followed. The letter’s words echoed in her head, mingling with the sound of approaching footsteps on the creaking dock.
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The old man approached,his weathered face a roadmap of sun-baked wrinkles. Cody guessed the guy was in his mid-sixties at least, but he moved with the fluid grace of someone half his age. His Florida beach tan couldn’t hide the unmistakable bearing of an ex-military type, a fact that set Cody’s nerves on edge.
“Find what you’re looking for?” the guy asked, his voice rough and gravelly, as if unused to much conversation. His eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, zeroed in on the file in Paige’s hands.
Cody tensed, ready to move if necessary, but the old man’s next words caught him off guard.
“None of my business, I know. Just want to make sure you got whatever it is Atticus left for you. I’m thinking about moving north. Closer to the grandkids. But I didn’t want to leave Atticus’s place unwatched until his business was complete. I’ll follow you back to town. Make sure you get off-island alive.”
Paige’s voice was steely. “How did you know we’d be coming?”
The man’s lips twitched into a smile. Deep grooves radiated out from the corners of his light eyes. “Your father had friends in high places. That’s all I can say about that.” He gestured at theirboats. “Tide will be heading out soon. The channels here get real shallow real fast. Best we get you back to real land ASAP.”
Cody exchanged a quick glance with Paige, noting the wariness in her eyes that matched his own. But they couldn’t afford to linger and play twenty questions with this mystery man.
And declining his offer felt like it would draw more attention than it was worth.
He nodded at the other man. “That would be great.”
The dock creaked under their feet as they made their way back to the boats. Cody helped Paige aboard, his hand lingering on her arm a moment longer than strictly necessary. Once she was settled, he hopped in and started prepping for departure.
The old man untied their mooring lines himself, tossing the ropes into the boat with the casual expertise of someone who’d spent a lifetime on the water.
“I’ll follow about fifty yards behind,” he announced, gesturing at his own gleaming boat. “Don’t mind me. Just making sure you get back safe.”
Cody nodded, not entirely sure if he found the man’s presence reassuring or unsettling. As he fired up the engine, he caught Paige looking back at the cabin, her expression unreadable.
The boat’s engine rumbled to life, and they pulled away from the dock. The channel stretched out before them, a darker blue cutting through the shallow turquoise waters. Cody focused on navigating the twisting waterway, all too aware of the old man’s skiff maintaining a steady presence behind them.
What had they really stumbled onto here? And more importantly, what were they going to do next? One thing was certain—their lives had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.
Once they reached Rusty’s Clam Shack docks, the old guy had his go-fast powerboat tied up before Cody could even get their borrowed cruiser into neutral. He helped Paige onto the dock with surprising gentleness.