Page 70 of Nowhere to Hide

The temperatures were already soaring, but I couldn’t help lifting my face up to the sun. The wind off the water was warm and comforting. He knelt on the bed-sized mat and set me down. “Be right back.”

He disappeared and I collapsed back to stare up at the sky. I knew eventually I wouldn’t be so weak, but right then I wanted to cry. I hated this so much.

He came back and I sniffled, dabbing at the corners of my eyes. He had an armful of cushions, blanket, and a ballcap. He dropped everything, then dug a bottle of sunscreen out of the pockets of his cargo shorts and tossed it at me. “The water magnifies the sun. You’ll burn quick.”

I caught it. “Thanks.”

He gave me a curt nod before setting up the cushions for me. He lifted me again and settled me into the middle of a nest, then handed me the cap. “Get some rest.”

With that last bit, he left me to go to the covered booth kind of thing. I glanced over my shoulder and could barely make out a steering wheel.

Were we sailing somewhere?

Going back to the wharf?

A clatter sounded from below us, making me sit up. What the hell was that?

Were we sinking?

He poked his head out. “Just pulling up anchor. I figured I’d take you over to the lighthouse.”

“Oh.” I rarely got out to see the lighthouse near Baker’s Island. “That sounds nice.”

He didn’t reply, just settled himself behind the wheel. The boat slowly glided forward as he headed back toward Salem. He ran around the edges of the boat to release the sail. Some of it was mechanical, but there were a fair bit of cranks that he efficiently worked until two sails billowed in the wind.

He quickly hopped back into the captain’s seat, sunglasses hiding his gaze. His focus was on the sails as he steered into the wind. It propelled us forward, faster than I was expecting. I gasped a little as my leg pulled, but the discomfort faded quickly as I lifted my face to the sun.

The beach had nothing on a boat.

Why had I taken so long to actually get on one? The ferry was one thing, but this was so much better. I drew in a deep breath of sunny sea and for the first time since the attack, I finally felt my muscles relax without the help of drugs.

I stacked my arms behind my head and drifted into half sleep. I could hear the flaps of the sails, the wake of the water,the hum of the engine and it lulled me into a calm I’d never known before.

A shadow brought me back around.

“You’ll miss the view.”

I opened my eyes. Locke’s broad shoulders and tanned skin were completely on display. I definitely wasn’t missing a view. I shaded my eyes. “Are we close?”

“We’re there.”He knelt beside me, scooped me up, and lifted me with little more than a grunt. He brought me to the nose of the ship, letting me slide down the front of him until my feet touched the deck. He turned me toward the railing and braced me against it, with a hand on either side of me.

My breath backed up in my chest. The wind off the sea and the heat of him at my back instantly made my skin tingle. I tried to focus on the lighthouse with its traditional white and black.

His beard brushed my temple. “Do you want to go into port, or stay on the water?”

“Water,” I said quickly. “Just like this.”

He pulled back enough that I was standing on my own. He hovered close behind me to make sure I didn’t fall. Tears pricked again. It had been so long since someone had bothered to take care of me.

And this near stranger had stepped up so many times now.

Without complaint—or at least much of one.

Steady and quiet, his presence was more than enough of a blessing. Where would I be without this man?

Dead.

I had little doubt of that.