“Quinn, it’s Izzy. Santiago. From Rockport?”

The laugh on the other line was mocking. “Yeah, I remember you from a day ago, babe.”

“Right. Are you still on the mainland?”

“Yup, stuck and bored as hell,” Quinn said, clearly missing the tightness in Izzy’s voice.

“Any chance you can fly me back to St. Lucy’s?” Izzy asked, braking hard. She’d nearly blown through a red light without thought.

“No can do, babe,” Quinn said. “Storm’s still sitting just off the coast.”

Izzy pulled the phone away from her ear to keep the string of curses that sat on her lips from reaching Quinn.

“Is there any way to get back to the island? Other than you?” Izzy asked.

There was a long pause, a new kind of silence. Not the bored kind. Quinn must have finally picked up on something. “What’s going on?”

“I need to get back to St. Lucy’s, Quinn,” Izzy said.

Izzy could hear Quinn breathing, but she didn’t push. They were on the precipice of something, and Izzy didn’t want it to go the wrong way.

“Okay.”

Izzy closed her eyes for a heartbeat, afraid she was misunderstanding. “You’ll take me?”

“We both might die,” Quinn said, and she was back to the careless attitude from before. Izzy couldn’t tell if she was just confident or if it was gallows humor. “But there’s a small gap in the clouds. Normally I wouldn’t risk it, but . . .”

“Thank you,” Izzy said on an exhale.

“You gotta be here in like fifteen minutes or the deal’s off.”

Izzy glanced at the dashboard clock, trying to calculate all the possibilities. The only one that was realistic was driving directly to the docks. And even then, she’d be cutting it close.

“I’ll be there,” Izzy said, then paused. They weren’t going to beat Lacey by charging in, guns drawn. For one, they had no evidence. She’d made sure of that. And two, she was much too smart to be caught off guard. Izzy could bet money that she had a plan on how this was going to end. “Would anyone on the island think you could make it back in this storm?”

Quinn hummed in thought. “Nah. They’ll think I’m stuck.”

Izzy smiled for the first time all day. “Perfect.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

MIA

Mia didn’t take her eyes off Lacey as the woman stepped farther into the kitchen, closer to Robert. “Game?”

“The daring escape, of course,” Lacey said, tilting her head, a childlike smile on her lips. “I thought you’d appreciate the challenge, Detective. And this pup is so willing to play.” Lacey patted Robert on the cheek. “So eager for a treat.”