Page 42 of Uncharted

“I left her enough fish for lunch and dinner, Sassy. She’ll be fine, and you know I would miss you more.”

“You are going to be far too busy gathering all your pots,” Zane says.

Dante makes a noise that’s in agreement. “But I’d miss you in here, Sassy.” He puts his hand over his heart and slides it south.

She playfully slaps his knee as I’m getting us out of the breakers. “I do wonder what Pepper is going to think of Penny, though. When they finally meet.” Haley hooks her arm over Dante’s leg and sets her hand on my bare foot.

Easton twists back to the chef. “Breakfast was really good, Dante.”

“Thanks.” He salutes.

“It was amazing.” Haley pats her belly, and I miss the touch of her hand.

“Anything for you, Sassy. But it’s the spices. We’ve been eating like a backwoods New Englander with our food just salted.”

“It was still good.”

“Fresh is always best, Sassy.” He pulls on her so her back rests against his chest. He tilts the side of her head and kisses her ear.

It’s a perfect day to be out on the water. The drizzle has stopped. I worried what it would be like next to the cliff, but it’s not too rough, and the tender cuts through what little chop there is.

“I didn’t think I would ever want to get in a small boat again after the raft, but this is kind of fun.” Haley reaches back, touching me again. “You doing okay? Running over your plan of what to investigate first?”

“Yeah, you called it, Chiefie.” Because that’s exactly what I should be doing, not thinking about the conversation Sam and her are going to have when they finally get to be alone. What the hell am I going to tackle first? The wiring looks like cut spaghetti. The engines first. Damn, I hope they didn’t do anything to the engines. But whoever did this had it planned out. Those stickers were diabolical. How the hell did they have them? I’ve gone over and over this so many times. At one point, I convinced myself that it was someone who just went crazy, like Candy, and they decided to take us all down with them. But making stickers and moving water from one tank to the next... Yeah, the best thing is to keep an open mind, let the evidence point to who did it. Hopefully that will help me undo what they’ve done.

The tender edges around the cliff, into the cove. Dante, Haley, and Easton cheer. I catch Zane’s eye. Fuck, it isn’t going to be easy keeping the truth from them—about how bad the Rock Candy is or the level of sabotage.

Haley looks up at me. “I know; she’s a hot mess, but she’s our hot mess.”

“Just like you, Sassy.” Dante’s deep laugh carries on the waves, and Sam’s head pops up from the back sundeck. “Thathe hears? But me singing for hours on end, nothing.” He laughs again.

Haley rights herself in her seat, leaning forward. Maybe it’s for docking and prepping, getting off the tender. But more likely it’s so Sam doesn’t see her touching me or the other guys.

I pilot closer, shooting wide and turning back to the swim deck. Sam’s there wearing a crisp white polo—but then we all are looking and smelling better than we have in weeks. Penny’s beside him. She sits back on her haunches and howls.

Haley laughs.

And damn, I can’t help but smile on the outside. We are far from out of the woods. Really, we’re in the eye of the storm—it feels calm, good, but shit is going to happen on the other side. The other side of the storm holds the power.

Sam holds his hand out, and Zane tosses the rope like the pro he is. He hops out and helps Sam tie us up tight. There’s enough water now that the inflatable isn’t in danger of getting ripped open by the reef. But low tide? I look over the edge into the crystal-clear water and at the reef below. Yeah, later we’ll have to muscle the inflatable into the toy hauler space.

I’m the last one to step out onto the swim platform. Sam has a tray of drinks, and Haley’s laughing.

“It’s boxed orange juice, but I thought we needed a toast.” Sam holds it out for me to take one. That’s when I see the second tray.

“Towel?” Easton offers me one, a smirk on his lips.

“I’m good.” But I shake my head and take one. Damn, it does feel nice to wash my hands and face.

Sam raises his glass. “To all of you. I’m glad we’ve found each other. I know together we’ll be able to work through our issues and find our way home.” Sam clinks his glass with Haley’s.

“Cheers!” Haley clinks back and does the same with the rest of us.

Sam goes around our circle too. When he gets to Dante, the chef cocks his eyebrow at him. I’m growling on the inside. Dante totally said something to Sam about what was going on back at camp. My eyes flick to Haley, but she hasn’t picked up on it.

I toss back the drink. It’s not cold, of course, but damn, it tastes like home. The sugar zings at the back of my tongue, and while we’ve been eating pomelos, this hits differently.

“Salut.” Dante drinks his and winks at me. That fucker; I’m not wrong. “I’ll be in the galley if anyone needs me. Sassy, come see me in a while.”

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