She held on for the last few steps, heaving the front end of the boat higher on her hip as she maneuvered it through the patchwork of leftover walls and fallen rocks. They barely cleared the building when her anger swamped her. At him. At the situation. At her luck.

“This is a terrible plan.” She meant to think the words and not say them but they tumbled out of her. The longer this day dragged on, the less of a filter she possessed.

“It will work.” He barked out the assessment as he slammed the door shut behind them.

“Once the storm passes, maybe.” She hitched the side of the boat higher on her hip. Let it dig into her side. “Until then it’s a suicide mission.”

“That’s enough whining.”

She wasn’t nearly done. There was a lot left inside her. “We don’t even know if this will float.”

“We will test it. Case closed.” He sounded exasperated now.

She shut her eyes, trying to think this situation through. She would not drown today. “What if we—”

“I’ll decide what we do and . . .” Pebbles crunched under Evan’s feet as he came to a stop. “You. I wouldn’t have said you had it in you.”

She opened her eyes. Connor stood there, wearing a protective vest and holding his hands in the air. He practically begged to get shot.

“No!” She dropped the boat with a crack and lunged for him.

“Stop right there.”

Evan grabbed her arm, wrenching it behind her as he yanked her to his side. He took a few steps back, bringing them under the framework of an old doorway. Connor stood out in the open. Evan didn’t have that risk.

Icy pain raced up her arm and tears sprang into her eyes. She didn’t care. He could pull her arm off so long as Connor got out of there.

What the hell was he doing?

“Run!” She screamed the word and heard it bounce off the walls and trees around them.

Evan wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed. “That’s enough helping.”

The vise-like grip choked off her breath. She gasped, trying to drag in air as she pounded her fists against the arm banded across her middle.

“Connor.” His name came out on a harsh whisper. She didn’t have the strength to break Evan’s hold or loosen the constriction.

Connor glanced at her face and held her gaze for a few seconds before he looked behind her to Evan. “There’s no way off this island. You’re a smart man. You have to know that.”

Evan just laughed. “Says the businessman who doesn’t know shit about survival. Though I am impressed with your attempt to compliment me. That’s Negotiation Tactics 101.”

“You’d be surprised about the things I know.”