Page 104 of Shielding Instinct

Hawkeye said his ears got messed up during his time in the military. He probably couldn’t hear the changes in the sounds of Cooper’s travel patterns. From what Petra heard, she would surmise they were homing in on something.

When Cooper changed again, moving slower, feeling things out, Petra reached out and grabbed Hawkeye’s arm.

When Hawkeye stopped, she stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. “Cooper found something he doesn’t like. Do you want to recall him silently and let him take you in quietly until we know what we’re dealing with?”

“Are you psychic?” he whispered with a bewildered look.

“Not in the least,” Petra said. “I’m listening to him.”

Within minutes, Petra, Hawkeye, and Cooper were crouched outside a hillside house.

Hawkeye was surveilling the situation with his field glasses. He lifted to speak into her ear. “I see three adults. A fighting-age male is brandishing a gun. An adult couple is tied to a column. Two young boys are playing with a ball in the yard.”

“Well, shit,” Petra whispered, then stuck a finger in the air as Cooper perked his ears. “There’s a car coming,” she said.

An off-road vehicle with the fabric top folded down popped over the ruts and roots and found its way to a stop.

Petra and Hawkeye moved closer. They inserted the earbuds for Hawkeye’s parabolic ear, so they could hear what was said.

The guy with the gun came out and leaned onto the hood. “What’s happening down there?” the house guy asked,

“It couldn’t be better. Lots of boats are missing, people. It’s a mess. Also, there’ve been people over at Molly’s house.”

“Her boat didn’t come in yesterday,” house guy said. “Was it supposed to?”

The car guy reached for a bag and dragged it to him. “The letter on the table said she was out for a day cruise. I bagged upeverything that was edible. She likes the vegan crap, so it wasn’t much.”

“Do we go?” house guy asked. “Do we not go?”

“I called the Prokhorovs for instructions. The issues all over the Caribbean make this so much easier. But since Molly’s missing, this area is going to get attention. I told them our boat was the only one in the slip, and people might wonder why it’s not out helping. They said to wait until ten or eleven o’clock and head out as planned. The Coast Guard and searches will be happening north of us.”

Prokhorovs?Wow. Well, now Petra knew why Rowan and two other members of his joint task force were headed to the island.

“Are we going to doit?” house guy asked.

“Get this guy’s money? Hell to the yeah, I am. You do what you want. But if you help, we get half in your Bitcoin account, half in mine. Get down to Panama, sell the boat. Go off in the world.”

“But if we have the money, why are we putting up with the family?” house guy asked. “We get the money and move on.”

Car guy was twirling his keychain on his finger. “Because you’re an idiot. What’s happening down there?” He lifted his chin toward the boys kicking the ball.

“Parents are still tied. I let the kids run around in the yard for a bit. They’re kids.”

“So first, what happens if we go and we don’t take them?” car guy asked. “They’re here, and they tell the cops about us. We’re fugitives instead of them being the fugitives. Right now, they’re not breaking any new laws. Second, the Prokhorov family paid us to do a job.”

“So?” house guy asked.

“So, the Prokhorovs can’t let someone off the hook, even a small fish like us. If they let us off the hook, everyone thinksthey can come and go as they like. We deposit the family as we said we’d do. We never said we’d deposit them as anything other than healthy. I never said a word about depositing them as wealthy. That’s a separate transaction, as far as I’m concerned.” Car guy stopped talking for a moment. “Hey, I’m only counting two kids.”

“What?” house guy asked.

“There are three kids. I’m only counting two.” Car guy motioned toward the yard.

“The house guy looked into the vehicle and held very still. “I thought you had the girl.”

“What do you mean you thought I had the girl?” car guy yelled. “I told you to watch the family.”

“But you were gone. The girl was gone,” house guy whined. “I don’t know what gets your freak on, man. You want the girl? Take the girl. Not my thing, but you do you.”

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