“But you’re alive.”
“Yeah, there’s that.” Riley looked pale and in pain, but his voice was surprisingly stronger than it should have been for a man who had been shot very recently. “I had a dream…”
“What was it about?”
“The Ocean Star was sinking.”
“Sounds more like a nightmare.”
“I guess it was.” He peeked down at his bandaged side. “Andy shot me,” he said again.
“How much do you remember?”
“I remember that it hurt like hell.” He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s quiet. Why is it so quiet?”
“It’s one in the morning, Riley.”
“No wonder it’s so quiet.” He turned his head to look at her. “Is everything…okay?”
“You mean has Mercer sent anyone to attack the Ocean Star yet?”
He nodded.
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Thank God.” Then, “Did I almost die or something?”
“No,” Lara said, and sat back in her chair while trying to decide how much to tell him.
They were the only two people in sickbay at the moment, and except for Riley’s slightly labored breathing, it was as if the world outside didn’t exist beyond the thick walls. Zoe had returned to the Trident a few hours ago, satisfied that Riley was in good hands with the rig’s vet/doctor, George, taking over. Like everyone onboard the yacht, Zoe had a lot of work ahead of her.
“Hart took charge after you went down,” Lara said.
“Where is he now?”
“Overseeing the transports.”
“Transports?”
“We’re shuttling your people to my boat.”
“In the middle of the night?” he asked, eyebrows rising in either curiosity or alarm, she couldn’t really tell.
“We didn’t think it was prudent to wait any longer, in case more of Mercer’s men showed up on their way back to Black Tide.”
“Something happened, didn’t it? Besides Andy shooting me. What else happened while I was out?”
“Erin’s group came through. Hart did the best he could in your place, but they didn’t buy it. Something about the lack of civilians on the top deck spooked them.”
“Erin noticed,” Riley said. It wasn’t a question.
Lara nodded. “According to Hart, yes.”
“Is she…?”
“No. But you did lose a man, and someone named Troy was killed by Peters.”
“But Erin’s alive?”
“Yes,” she said, noticing the relief on his face. “It was bad, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.”
“Who was it? My guy.”
“I don’t know his name. You’ll have to ask Hart.”
“Was it a man or a woman?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” He ran his hands over his face. “I brought them here, Lara. They’re my responsibility. Every single one of them. Even Andy…”
The burden of leadership, Will. How did you ever shoulder it for so long? I’ve been at this for only a few months, and I already feel a million years old.
“Hart handled it,” she said. “He’s not a bad second-in-command.”
“He’d rather be fishing,” Riley said, and smiled. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to convince him to lead the mission to your boat.”
“It’s a good thing you did. If someone else were in charge, that night might have gone differently. We might not be having this talk right now.”
Riley nodded and scooted up to a sitting position, stuffing pillows between him and the wall. He grimaced the entire time but kept at it until it was done. She resisted the instinct to lend him a hand, mostly for his ego’s sake.
After finally settling back down, he said, “How’s it going? Moving everyone over to the Trident?”
“It’s going,” Lara said. “Everyone’s been very cooperative. We should be done by sunup, if not before then. I’m having Hart transfer the rest of the supplies over at the same time on different boats, but they’re going to take much longer than the people. Everyone’s handling the move surprisingly well. You could even say enthusiastically.”
“Must be the idea of cruising around in that sweet ride of yours,” Riley said, looking over at the sickbay’s only window, not that he could see anything but darkness on the other side. “Is there a reason you’re doing this now?”
“Between the time Andy shot you and now, we’ve already gotten five radio calls from Mercer’s people in Texas. The first group is supposed to be here by ten in the morning. There’ll be more by midday.”
“They’re moving much faster than I expected…”
“Is that good or bad?”
“For the war effort, it’s good,” Riley said. “But not for the people caught in the middle. If they’re already starting to return to Black Island en masse, it means they’re having a lot of success in Texas.”
I wonder how Mercer measures “success.” Maybe in body bags.
“Thank you,” Riley said, looking back at her. “I mean it, Lara. You could have bailed, but you didn’t.” He smiled, and it was probably a little too smug for her liking. “I knew the Lara wouldn’t back out of the deal.”
She frowned. “Please stop calling me that.”
“Don’t freak out,” Riley said, and she thought, Too late, “but some of my guys are carrying around iPods with your messages in a loop on them.”
Lara sighed. “I know. Hart told me.”
“I know it’s not something you’re comfortable with, but your messages gave a lot of people hope. To a lot of us, you’re not just Lara, you’re the Lara. You’re famous.”
“Glad to be wanted, I guess,” she said. Then, hoping Riley would take the hint and move on, “Maybe it’s time you filled me in on where I’m taking your people.”
“I guess I should tell you, since we’re in this together now.”
“I think so.”
“Have you ever heard of the Bengal Islands?” he asked.
Lara smiled. “I might have heard a thing or two about it.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yeah.”
He broke out into a big, stupid grin. “Maybe I was right the first time.”
“About what?”
“This.”
“What is ‘this?’”
“Fate. You showing up just when we needed you the most. It’s got to be fate, Lara.”
“I don’t believe in fate,” she said, and thought, At least, not anymore. Not after Will didn’t come back to me.
“I do,” he said.
“Then you’re a fool.”
“I’ve been called worse. I know what Mercer’s going to be calling me when he learns about what I’ve done.”
“You think he’ll come after you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You haven’t thought about it?”
“I guess I never got that far,” he said, and seemed to drift off.
He looked as if he was thinking very seriously about her question when there was a squawk and she heard Maddie’s voice coming through the radio hanging off her left hip.
“Lara, come in.”
She unclipped the radio, but said to Riley first, “She’s one of my people.”
He nodded, though she wondered if he actually heard her. He looked gone, as if he was still trying to come up with an answer to her question.
She felt like giving him some space and stood up and walked over to the window, where she keyed the radio. “I’m here, Maddie.”
“Uh, there might be a little problem,” Maddie said. “Well, maybe a possible complication.”
Riley, hearing that, glanced over.