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Chapters (98)
  1. Author’s Note
  2. Tuesday
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. Wednesday
  21. 1
  22. 2
  23. 3
  24. 4
  25. 5
  26. 6
  27. 7
  28. 8
  29. 9
  30. 10
  31. 11
  32. 12
  33. 13
  34. 14
  35. 15
  36. Thursday
  37. 1
  38. 2
  39. 3
  40. 4
  41. 5
  42. 6
  43. 7
  44. 8
  45. 9
  46. 10
  47. 11
  48. 12
  49. 13
  50. 14
  51. 15
  52. 16
  53. Friday
  54. 1
  55. 2
  56. 3
  57. 4
  58. 5
  59. 6
  60. 7
  61. 8
  62. 9
  63. 10
  64. 11
  65. 12
  66. Saturday
  67. 1
  68. 2
  69. 3
  70. 4
  71. 5
  72. 6
  73. 7
  74. 8
  75. 9
  76. 10
  77. 11
  78. 12
  79. 13
  80. 14
  81. 15
  82. Sunday
  83. 1
  84. 2
  85. 3
  86. 4
  87. 5
  88. 6
  89. 7
  90. 8
  91. 9
  92. 10
  93. 11
  94. 12
  95. 13
  96. Tuesday
  97. 1
  98. Afterword

He repeated this three times at top volume before deciding that they weren’t going to hear him over the storm. He pulled out the Ruger and pointed it skyward. He’d never fired one of these, and had only heard of the .454 Casull round. He knew it was a monster so he was ready for a loud report and a wrist-jolting kick when he fired two shots in the air. Even so, the boom surprised him.

That ought to wake them up.

He replaced the two rounds as he began calling again.

5

“You’ll never guess who’s out there,” Luke said, grinnin’ and drippin’ as he came in from the deck. He wore a yellow slicker and a Devil Rays cap. Corley and a couple of the other men trooped in behind him, shakin’ the water off theirselfs like dogs.

Semelee didn’t feel like guessin’—specially if she’d ‘never’ guess the answer—so she waited for him to tell her.

Everybody in the Bull-ship had jumped at the sound of those two shots a moment ago. It’d sounded like a cannon goin’ off. Luke and the others went out to see what was up. Semelee had heard some shoutin’ back and forth but couldn’t make nothin’ out of it due to the poundin’ of the rain on the roof and sides of the boat.

Finally Luke told her: “It’s your boyfriend.”

Boyfriend? Semelee thought. What’s Luke—? Oh, shit.

“You mean that Jack guy? He ain’t no boyfriend of mine. I hate him.”

She did. Sort of. But that didn’t keep her heart from flutterin’ for a second at the passin’ thought that he’d come all the way out here in this for her. But that thought flew out the window soon as it came. He’d made it awful clear he wasn’t interested in the likes of her.

“Good,” Luke said. “Cause I hate him too. I hate anybody who thinks I’m stupid, and he must think we’re pretty damn stupid. Know what he said? Said he was from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s office and that he’s got a whole passle of cops out there in the dark with him.”

“You sure it’s him?”

“Sure I’m sure. Recognized his voice, even through the rain. Couldn’t see him, but it’s him.”

“What’s he want?”

“Says he wants the old lady back. Callin’ her ‘Anya’ or somethin’ like that.”

Semelee felt her stomach plummet. “Then he knows we was there.”

She went to one of the little rectangles of glass that served as windows on Bull-ship ‘s deckhouse and looked real hard into the storm. The rain splashin’ against the glass and runnin’ down its outside kept her from seein’ even an inch beyond it.

“He knows somethin’,” Luke said, “but he don’t know everthing, that’s for sure.”