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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

She muscled Burke the last few feet, ducked low enough that Sweeney could wrap his arms around Burke’s armpits, and then she lifted with her legs as Sweeney hauled. Together they muscled Burke into the boat. Sweeney lay him down at the stern, crawled down into the cabin and came back with a couple of pillows and blankets, then tended to Burke like they hadn’t been trying to kill each other just hours before.

Men.

Jess picked up Lucy, who didn’t like it one bit and complained more than Burke and Sweeney put together as Jess hefted her over the side and dropped her into the boat. The dog gave Jess an aggrieved look, then went back to the stern and curled up beside Burke. Jess lifted herself aboard with the last of her strength, sat splayed in the cockpit, and wondered if she would ever stand straight again.

There was nothing to do now but wait. The tide continued to flood, and Burke was still breathing, and all that remained was to hope the tide lifted the boat before Burke stopped breathing, and that the hull wasn’t too damaged to get them to the mainland.

It was a ridiculous fantasy, but it was all Jess could cling to. She lay in the cockpit and listened to the water and waited as evening turned to night.

Sixty-Six

Sixty-Six

The rocks clawed at Harwood’s boat, but the rising tide lifted her. The twin engines turned over. And in near pitch-black conditions, Jess somehow managed to navigate the Grady-White over the treacherous shoals that ringed the little bay and out into the open ocean. All that in itself was a miracle, Jess knew. But their luck began to run out again midway across the channel.

At least, she hoped they were midway. It was full dark by now; Dixie Island to the north was nothing but the sound of waves crashing in the blackness, and the mainland to the south was just more of the same. She’d been going easy on the throttle, sailing as fast as she dared but not so fast that Burke felt it every time they caught up with the swell. The engines weren’t running smooth, either; she could hear something was wrong with the port-side propeller, and there was smoke coming out of the motor on starboard. But the boat was moving, and if Jess could keep it that way, she knew they’d make Neah Bay in an hour.

Then Sweeney ducked down into the cabin to look for fresh water, and when he came back, he was swearing, and he didn’t look right.

“We’re flooded,” he told Jess. “There’s about a foot and a half of water in the galley, and it’s rising fast.”