Mackenzie surfaced again. ‘I can’t find it,’ he choked. He took shuddering, shivering breaths.

‘We’re not leaving until you find it,’ said Ahab. ‘Again, Mackenzie.’

Mackenzie gave him a helpless look. ‘Please, Ahab.’

‘You’re not a man until you find it,’ said Ahab.

Mackenzie took another run of breaths and then dived down.

‘Now you’re definitely being heartless,’ said Forest with heavy disdain.

Ahab didn’t reply. The truth was, he doubted that Mackenzie could find the chain that far down. But when Mackerel finally stood up to Ahab and refused to dive down again, Ahab would say that Mackenzie had passed the real test: standing up to him. Or maybe he’d tell Mackenzie that the test was giving up something that cost that much. It didn’t matter what the test was, only how Ahab delivered his judgement afterwards, making sure someone else was there to witness it so Mackenzie knew it was the real thing.

A full minute passed.

And Ahab began to grow a little worried.

Another minute passed, and still no sign of Mackenzie.

And then Mackenzie surfaced, gasping and clamouring for air.

He held the chain aloft in his hand.

Like Poseidon with his trident. Like a man who’d found a name.

Forest jumped up and down, cheering and shouting.

Ahab smiled to hide his surprise. It had seemed an impossible feat. There was kelp covering the ground, and the sand down there shifted minute by minute . . .

Mackenzie climbed shakily up the ladder and turned to Ahab, his eyes red from the salt water.

‘Here,’ said Mackenzie, holding out the chain, shivering. ‘I found it.’

‘It’s not for me,’ said Ahab, pushing Mackenzie’s hand back to his chest. ‘Put it on. You’ve earned it.’

With trembling hands, Mackenzie clasped it around his neck.

‘What’s your name, son?’ said Ahab.

‘Mackenzie,’ he said. ‘Mackenzie Arlo Dempsey.’

‘And don’t you forget it.’

CHAPTER 45

MACKENZIE

Mackenzie steered the dinghy back to the marina. His body ached but his mind was clear, the gold chain cold around his neck.

Mackenzie.

It made sense. Why had he ever doubted he was a man? He’d been a millionaire, for fuck’s sake. He’d been to prison. He was tougher than almost all the men in this town.

Now he was doing the world a favour. He was going to save his brother, and he was going to protect his home town from Blackbeard. And he wasn’t going to listen to the siren’s call of the drug world, now that he knew he was strong enough to resist it, and while he was at it he’d protect Shelby from it too.