Page 132 of Our Violent Ends
“Roma, it’s almost noon.”
“They’ll come,” Roma insisted. “I know they will.”
Juliette looked out onto the river, biting her lip. Along every ramp, there were boats jammed in tight capacity, making space for foreign warship after foreign warship, flags of red, white, and blue marking the sides. The foreigners had summoned them here as a threat. A reminder that they had won a war on this land once before, so they could do it again. A reminder that Shanghai could jostle up in civil unrest however much it liked, but it better settle down in due time before the foreigners got too annoyed and started using these war vessels.
“How about this?” Juliette said. She tried to wipe the rain off her brow. It was pointless when the downpour fell so fast. “I’m going to find my contact. I’ll have him at the ready and try to stall beyond noon. Soon as your cousin shows, we run.”
“Soon as he shows with Marshall,” Roma corrected. Then, seeing Juliette’s frown, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Go on. We’ll be here.”
Juliette was still worrying her teeth against her lower lip when she turned and started to pick her way along the boardwalk. The wharf she wanted was within sight—to the left of the one that Roma and Alisa were standing nearest. So long as the Montagovs didn’t move, she had them in the corner of her eye as she walked, careful not to slip on the wet surfaces.
These wharves were usually bustling with activity. Today, Juliette couldn’t tell if it was merely the ruckus on the streets that overshadowed everything or if the fishermen were too afraid to venture out.
“Da Nao.” Juliette had spotted her contact, a big-bellied man chewing on his toothpick. He stood under the awning of his tiny boat, a vessel that looked pocket-sized in comparison with the warship docked on its right. Hearing Juliette’s call, Da Nao looked up, his whole body freezing before he could finish untying his boat from the wharf.
“Cai Junli,” he said. “I thought your cousin’s note was a prank.”
“This is no prank. Are you willing to take us away?”
Slowly, he stood to his height, his eyes darting left and right. “Where are you hoping to go?”
“Whichever coast you reach first,” Juliette answered easily. “I... I cannot stay any longer. Not with the Scarlets turning like this.”
For the longest moment, Da Nao said nothing. He bent down again and continued gathering the rope at his feet. Then:
“Yes. I can take you away. I can sail south.”
Juliette breathed out in relief. “Thank you,” she said quickly. “I’ll pay you however much you need—”
“Who else are you bringing?”
His question came abruptly, choked out like he couldn’t speak the words fast enough. A pinprick of suspicion registered in Juliette’s mind, but she brushed it aside, hoping it was only the stress of the situation currently unfolding in the city.
“Roma Montagov,” Juliette answered, praying that her voice would not shake. Da Nao was a Communist sympathizer, Kathleen had said. Even with his double life as a Scarlet fisherman, he cared little for the blood feud. “Along with his sister and two of his men.”
Da Nao had finished gathering the excess rope. There remained only one thin line keeping his boat docked. “You’re traveling with Montagovs now? The seas are still being watched, Miss Cai. We may have trouble leaving the territory.”
“I’ll pay you however much to hide us. Just get us out.”
Though Da Nao had finished tidying everything in his vicinity, he continued scanning the floor of his boat. “Are they forcing you to help them, Miss Cai? You can tell me if they are.”
Juliette blinked. The rain was stinging her eyes badly. She had not even considered that the fisherman might think she was acting against her will. Why was that his first thought, and not the easier conclusion that Juliette had simply betrayed the Scarlets?
“No one is forcing me to do anything,” she said. Her fists curled. “Roma Montagov is my husband. Now, can I come aboard and get out of this rain?”
The toothpick in Da Nao’s mouth bobbed up and down. If he was surprised to hear her admission, he did not show it.
“Certainly.” Only then did he finally look at her, taking the toothpick out of his mouth. “You will have to shed your weapons before you come on board. I mean no offense, Miss Cai, but I know you gangster types. All in the water first.”
Juliette stiffened, her gaze darting back along the boardwalk. Even at a distance, she could sense that Roma was watching her and had noted her unease. She raised a hand, signaling that she was fine, and with a sigh, pulled out the blades tucked against her thighs. Short of the cash in the bag hanging from her shoulders, she had thought the weapons on her skin could be traded as valuables.
“Okay,” Juliette said, her blades hitting the water with a slap. They floated for a second, then sank into the dark waves.
Da Nao threw his toothpick to the floor. “All weapons, Miss Cai.”
With a sigh, Juliette snapped off the garrote wire around her wrist and hurled it into the water. “Happy?”
“No, not really.”
