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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

“I don’t know you, Ms. Winslow, but I know what you did in the marines, and I know why you came home.” Davis looked her in the eyes. “And I don’t know what kind of mess you’re into right now, but I do know my cousin, and Hank doesn’t take sides in a fight unless he’s sure it’s the right one. You’ll take the Blazer, and you can keep your money.”

She stared at him. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Consider it a heartfelt ‘Thanks for your service,’” Davis replied. “Now, are you going to let me close this deal so I can find that truck of yours, or what?”

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Five

Jess took the highway back to the motel. The drive took about thirty seconds, and it was long enough for Jess to catch sight of Kirby Harwood’s big red truck again and squeeze her foot down a little harder on the gas pedal.

Harwood’s truck was parked outside the next motel down the road, the Harbormaster’s, about a two-minute walk from the Land’s End. Jess pulled the Blazer into the lot and up to the door to their room. Climbed out, left the engine running, circled around, and rapped on the door a couple of times.

“Pineapple,” she said. “You in there, Burke?”

The lock unlatched and the door swung open. Burke was dressed, and he’d piled his overnight bag and the blanket and his junk food provisions by the door with the shotgun. Had Lucy sitting there too; she wagged her tail and stood and came over for a butt scratch, but now wasn’t the time.

“Kirby’s just up the road,” Jess told Burke. “Throw the stuff in the truck and come on if you’re coming.”

Burke was already slipping past her with the bags. He opened the passenger door and tipped the seat forward, chucked his stuff back there and laid the shotgun down, gentle.

“Come on, girl,” he told Lucy.

Lucy gave Jess a look, gave the Blazer a cursory sniff. Then she leapt into the back and settled on the seat.

“Get in the back,” Burke said, closing the door to the room. “I’ll drive.”

She looked at him. “Excuse me?”

“Better if I drive this stretch,” he said. “You—”

“I’m not going to have another episode, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she told him, her face flushing. “That doesn’t just happen whenever. I can drive.”

He met her eyes. “Those deputies know your face too well,” he said. “And they’re looking for two. I’m not suggesting you can’t drive, just that maybe I should. You stay back there and keep Lucy out of sight until we get out of here a ways. They aren’t going to recognize me at speed.”