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Back Deception Cove Save as PDF
Chapters (78)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Prologue
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Thirteen
  20. Fourteen
  21. Fifteen
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Fifty-Seven
  64. Fifty-Eight
  65. Fifty-Nine
  66. Sixty
  67. Sixty-One
  68. Sixty-Two
  69. Sixty-Three
  70. Sixty-Four
  71. Sixty-Five
  72. Sixty-Six
  73. Sixty-Seven
  74. Sixty-Eight
  75. Acknowledgments
  76. Discover More
  77. About the Author
  78. Also by Owen Laukkanen

Then she rounded a little point to a rocky peninsula just wide enough for her to stand and look north toward where the island curved inland toward the beach. And there, a hundred yards off that beach, the Grady-White idled, rolling in the trough of what must have been six-foot rollers, pitching from side to side as the men aboard studied the beach.

They hadn’t seen her. And though they were a hundred yards out from where they were thinking of landing, they were only about fifty yards from where Jess was standing on the peninsula. She lifted the rifle to her shoulder, surveyed the boat through the scope. There were four men aboard, all of them holding on for dear life as the swell had its way with the Grady-White. Jess studied all of them in turn.

Kirby at the controls, gesturing inland. His nameless buddy with the helicopter and the grenade launcher riding shotgun, his expression eerily calm. Dale Whitmer, sullen as always, holding a long gun at the stern beside Cole Sweeney, who just looked seasick.

They all would have looked ridiculous if they hadn’t been aiming to kill her. And Jess didn’t know the man beside Kirby, but she knew enough to know she would have to respect him. If the boys made it onshore, he’d be the one to watch out for.

Well, she thought, let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.

She found the man in her sights again. Followed him as the boat rose and fell on another big wave. He was about Burke’s age, she figured. Slim, with a scar across his cheek and black, lifeless eyes. He carried that M4 with the grenade launcher below, and as she watched, he was saying something to Kirby, and she could tell from the way Kirby reacted that even the deputy was afraid of him.

Let me do you a favor, Kirb.

Jess kept the rifle trained on the newcomer. Slipped off the safety switch. Waited as the Grady-White dropped down into a trough, followed it back up again. Let out her breath as the boat seemed to hang there, waiting on the next wave, as time seemed to slow.

Then she pulled the trigger and watched as the newcomer went down.

Fifty-Six

Fifty-Six

Joy was flat on the deck before Harwood’s mind had even processed the shot. The Nigerian gripped his shoulder, writhing at Harwood’s feet and cursing unintelligibly, and Harwood stood slack-jawed and stupid at the control panel, trying to piece it all together.

The next shot shattered the Grady-White’s windshield, and Harwood didn’t hear that one either—the crash of the surf sounding like artillery fire—but he knew Jess Winslow wasn’t going to miss twice. He jammed the boat into gear and pushed the throttle full bore, knocking Sweeney and Whitmer on their asses at the stern, nearly sending Sweeney over the rail.