Page 97 of Chain Reaction

“That’s right,” he said. “You and your father.”

“Because of that, you lured me here to Lantern Beach by planting that fake bomb, and you did all this just so you could eventually abduct and kill me? Why didn’t you just kill me while I was up in DC? Why all the theatrics?”

“We needed to make sure to send the right message.”

“And what’s that?”

“That evil people won’t get away with their evil deeds.”

There was clearly a misunderstanding here. “But I’m not evil.”

He cast her a look.

She wasn’t going to change his mind, was she?

“And what do you plan on doing with me now?” Her throat ached as she asked the question. “You said kill me but . . . I’m tied up.”

“The bomb behind you is set to detonate in thirty minutes. That will give me enough time to get off this boat and get out of here, all while sending a powerful message.”

Her breath caught at the implications of his words. “Who else is on board?”

A smile curled his lip. “That’s not important.”

Yet Raven knew it was. This boat had been chosen for a reason. Were more supposed enemies of the state on board? It seemed like a possibility.

Then another thought startled her.

Kingston wasn’t the man who’d gotten her from the walk-in freezer.

That had been someone else.

She had a feeling there was a whole network of people just like Kingston . . . people who thought they were working for the government.

But in truth, they were working for the enemy.

The Coast Guard and marine police had been called.

But there was no way Jake would stay on Lantern Beach and not do everything within his power to help Raven. He could recover from any of his injuries later. His aches and pains would still be there.

Colton had already secured a Zodiac boat.

Now he, Ty, and Colton were on board and heading across the water.

The Coast Guard was twenty minutes out.

Jake hoped they could make it to the yacht sooner.

He kept his gaze focused on the horizon as he searched for the boat Jimmy James had told them about.

The three of them had already talked about their plan and what they’d do if they arrived at the boat before the Coast Guard. Jake personally thought his team would have more of an advantage in that situation. There was less of a chance someone would see them approaching in the Zodiac. When the Coast Guard arrived, it would be obvious, and that could make somebody panic.

“There it is!” Jake saw the boat in the distance.

“Perfect.” Ty angled the boat toward the large vessel.

As they got closer, he saw a smaller boat beside the bigger one.

“What’s that about?” he muttered.