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Back The Abyss Surrounds Us Save as PDF
Chapters (37)
  1. Dedication
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. Acknowledgments
  37. About the Author

“It’s okay,” I tell her, but I know she doesn’t think I mean it. I shake my head, pushing off one of the dock’s support struts and drawing us toward the knot of hulls in the inner harbor. I don’t know where I stand now. I don’t know what my next move is, or even what will happen to me once we get back to the Minnow. But one thing’s for certain: if I wasn’t in over my head before, I sure as hell am now.

25

25

When we rush back up the ramp and onto the ship, Santa Elena is waiting for us. She keeps her arms folded, and a sleek pair of sunglasses shade her eyes. “No one else spotted you, then?” she asks, sizing us up. Lemon and Chuck lurk just behind her, leaning on a railing that looks out over the bay.

Swift nods. We’re soaking wet and panting, but at least we didn’t run into Murphy or any of his goons on the way back to the ship.

“Cas, you wanna explain who that was?” Swift asks, and I notice the harsh edge she’s forced into her tone.

I stare at the shiny black discs where the captain’s eyes should be. “Fabian Murphy. Works as a liaison between Reckoner stables and the International Genetically Engineered Organisms Council. He’s an old friend of my parents.”

“He’s powerful,” Santa Elena says, but it’s not quite a question.

“He’s well-connected.”

“Boss,” Swift says. “He made the connection. Cas to Bao. Bao to the Minnow.”

“He’d be an idiot not to.” The captain shrugs. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Cassandra. Come here.” She draws the handcuffs key from her pocket, and a shudder of relief courses through me. Swift and I stick our wrists out, and she pops the metal loops open one at a time, tucking the cuffs back into her belt once we’re free.

I shake my hand, wincing as the sea wind cuts across the chafed skin. I almost thank her right then and there.

“Stow her,” Santa Elena snaps.

And suddenly Chuck’s at my side, wrenching my arms behind my back as Lemon grabs my hair. My eyes roll back in my head as they yank, the pain searing through my scalp like wildfire.

Swift steps forward, but the captain snares her by the wrist. “You and I are going to have words. Right. Now,” Santa Elena snarls.

I watch, helpless, as she drags Swift toward the bridge. Chuck and Lemon haul me into the ship’s interior and throw me down a ladder. I hit the ground in a heap and pain shoots through my hip. They don’t bother waiting for me to get up; Lemon takes my right wrist, Chuck takes my left, and together they tow me down the shadowy hall.