Page 118 of Nowhere to Hide

I pulled her back outside and down the stairs to the share ride station.

There was no reason for the man after her to find us.

None at all.

But the ride back to the port was a quiet one. Cilla stared out the window, worrying the simple silver stackable rings she’d picked up today at the market.

Unsure how to bridge the gap when I couldn’t relax, the silence became strained. I paid and got out, holding my hand out for her. She took it, but her gaze kept darting around.

I pulled her in close. “I’m sorry, Cilla.”

She finally focused on me. “It’s not your fault.”

“I wanted to have a day where you didn’t have to think about this asshole.”

“And you did.”

“Until I didn’t.”

She wrapped her arms around me. “It was bound to happen. Let’s just get back to the boat.” She drew away from me, and I caught her hand.

“If we get out of the port now, we can see the sun set on the way back to Maine.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Her smile was forced, but between the both of us, the lie was just what we needed.

CHAPTER 24

CILLA

Takingoff from Nova Scotia was harder than I expected. He’d been pissed off that gassing up took longer than usual, and I could tell his only goal was to get us back on the safety of the water.

We’d had a wonderful day, and now the old Locke was back. He was quiet and withdrawn. His mind obviously not with me anymore. At least not only with me.

And I couldn’t blame him, because I was the same.

I’d barely thought about the man who was determined to wipe me off this earth. A few times, I’d gotten nervous in the crowds of the market, but overall it had been just a touristy kind of day.

Until I’d heard the panic in Locke’s voice.

Not the clipped soldier that never was far away, but the kind of panic that makes your stomach lurch and twist. And now that it was in between us, I didn’t know how to get rid of it.

I wanted to strangle the man like he’d tried to strangle me. I wanted to stare right into those black eyes and watch the light go out. I wasn’t exactly proud of the need, but it was there.

I wanted him dead.

Nearly as much as he seemed to want the same from me.

I wrapped my fingers around the railing of the stern of the boat. The sky was a beautiful shade of lilac and pink with a hint of fire. I could tell he was pushing the engine. He hadn’t even bothered to use the sails.

He wanted us gone.

I watched the bay disappear in the distance as he navigated the gnarly currents before we were able to get far enough off the coast for him to downshift to a slow cruising speed I was used to.

I refused to let this day be all the way ruined. My leg was sore from all the walking, but I was getting stronger by the day. The pull of the muscles were ever constant, but I didn’t get the shocking pain nearly as much.

“Cil?”