“Never ask about that. Never, never. Adore me some more, I deserve it.” He kissed her. “Nothing happened. He got hot, too, like the other one, and he offered me his world. All I had to do was give up my soul, like him, poor bastard. I was very cunning. It would have driven you crazy. I know you didn’t ask, and I’m grateful for that. At least I got this neat nightgown as a lovely parting gift.” She kissed him back. “But none of that is why Chino hit me.”

“Chino.”

“I showed him up in front of those guys out there, he thought. Macho assholes. He turned out to be the worst of all. Gregory was his idea of a pet human.”

“All right, take it easy. Let me get that motor started.”

She moved over, holding the tiller steady. “You would have hated me. I was such a bitch.”

“We’ll get through this.”

The sound of the diesels changed pitch. Merrill put the barrel of one of the automatics against the padlock and pulled the trigger. The sound echoed twice across the bay and the outboard rotated downward into the water.

“Hey, Sergeant York!”

“Ah, you’re getting back to normal?”

She smiled — for the first time since yesterday afternoon at the hotel pool. A screwdriver from the cockpit locker tool kit popped the sheet metal cover, and Merrill connected the wires.

“Look.”

The sport fisherman was running without lights from east to west a half mile behind them.

“Doesn’t he see us?”

“He’s going around the island to Bocachica — deep water. That will give us some time, but not much.”

Amy topped the gas tank and pulled the cord. A second pull got the outboard started. She was shaking with fear. He opened the throttle as wide as he dared, adding only a couple of knots to their speed. “Is he going to be out there waiting for us?”

“No. Tierra Bomba is a pretty big island.” Merrill was moving toward the cabin.

I’m feeling better, Sam. Thank you.”

He couldn’t let her think that her lie was giving him permission to relax. “Let’s get past six o’clock first.”

Amy could hear Sam on the radio when something made her stand up in the cockpit. “Sam! There’s a thing in the water! Clear across the mouth of the bay! Sam!”

“Head straight for it! Don’t turn!”

He turned his back to the hatch and bent over. The boat wobbled and the sails luffed and the boat passed over the brightness just below the surface of the water, and then Sam stood up and the boat squared away and responded to the tiller again. The boat rose and fell. They were out in the open ocean.”

“What the hell was that?”

“The Spanish built a wall across the entrance to the harbor two hundred years ago to keep the British out.”