Page 97 of Haze of Obedience

I double-check that the coast is clear, open the door all the way, and step out.

The rain is a steady drizzle.

She walks a few feet ahead of me.

"You're going the wrong way," I tell her.

She spins. "This is the way we came."

"Keep your voice down."

She glares at me.

I point out toward the water. "We can't kayak in those waves. Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

I put my arm around her, and this time, she doesn't shirk out of it. I follow the trail to the resort docks.

"What are we doing?"

"Stay quiet."

There's a locked, metal key box that is attached to a cement pole. I dig into my backpack and pull out my toolkit and unlock it.

"Pick," I tell her.

She takes the keys from B12, and I lead her onto the dock to that slip. The boats are all smaller fishing boats with no shelter except for a small area over the drivers and passengers seats, but it's the best we're going to get.

I help her on the boat, unhook the ties, and push the boat away from the dock then jump on.

The boat starts, and I try to navigate through the dark rain, but it's challenging. When we get far enough away from the resort, I turn to her. "Let's hope there isn't any lightning."

She sits in the passenger seat and ignores me.

"You aren't going to talk to me?"

"It's early. Can we be quiet for a bit?"

"Zoe, I didn't—"

"I don't want to talk right now."

"You're pissed at me. I get—"

"We're fine. Can we ride in quiet, please? I'm tired, and I don't want to fight."

I turn away from her and concentrate on finding our path.

The sun rises as we're going around the peninsula. I stay close enough to see the coast, but I worry about it being too shallow, and the depth finder isn't working, so I am farther out than I would like.

The waves are rough, and the boat slams hard onto the water.

"Zoe, you okay?"

"Yeah. You?"