took over thirty minutes. She didn't leave a word out. And when she was finished, no one said a word
for a long while. Everyone was slowly filtering through the information she'd just related.
Then Colin spoke. 'All right then,' he began, his voice filled with enthusiasm. 'That very first letter was addressed to Thorton… that's Nathan and Jade's father, of course, and it was signed by a man named William.'
'They hadn't been assigned their operative names yet,' Jade volunteered.
'Yes,' Colin agreed. 'Then Thorton became Fox, and William became Prince. Ice is another matter, though. We don't have any clues as to his…'
'Colin, we can speculate about his identity later,' Nathan interrupted.
Colin nodded. 'I went to Willburn and told him all about the letters, Caine. Nathan and I decided we had to trust him. He was our director, after all, and he'd taken good care of us. To this day, I still don't believe he was involved with the Tribunal.'
'You're an innocent,' Nathan muttered. 'Of course he was involved with the bastards.'
'You'll have to prove it to me first,' Colin argued. 'Only then will I believe.'
Nathan shook his head. He turned back to Caine. 'We were sent to the south on what we now know was a setup. We were supposed to meet with two informants at the harbor. It was a trick, of course. Before we knew what was happening, we had both been bound and gagged, and tossed into the warm waters.'
'You aren't going to tell all of it, are you?' Jade asked. 'There isn't any need, Colin.'
Neither Nathan nor Colin picked up on the fear in her voice. Caine did, and immediately glanced over
to look at her.
'Get on with it, Colin,' Nathan muttered.
Jade, Caine noticed, was now clenching her hands together. He decided then that she must have witnessed something that had terrified her.
'I was the first to go into the waters,' Colin said, drawing Caine's attention again. 'After they'd made long, shallow cuts on my legs with their knives, they tossed me off the pier. Nathan understood what
they were up to, though I thank God now that I didn't understand at the time. I thought I still had a chance, you see.'
Colin's expression had taken on a gray cast. Nathan looked just as grim.
'Because Shallow Wharf was close by, we spent several days with Jade and Black Harry. Colin didn't know she was Pagan then, of course, and he developed quite a crush on my little sister,' Nathan continued.
'Yes, I did,' Colin agreed. He turned to wink at Jade. 'I'll still have you, Jade, if you'll only give me a chance.'
She blushed while she shook her head at him. 'You were quite impossible.'
'Colin followed her around like a puppy,' Nathan said. 'When he realized she wasn't at all interested,
he was so disappointed I had to take him drinking.'
'I fell in love with two other ladies that night, Nathan,' Colin remarked.
'They weren't ladies,' Jade remarked.
'No, they weren't,' Nathan agreed. 'How can you even remember, Colin? You were sotted, man.'
Colin laughed. 'I remember everything,' he boasted. Caine held his patience. He could tell, from their dark expressions, that they needed to jest with each other in order to get through their memory.
Jade didn't have as much patience. 'Tommy and I followed Nathan and Colin when they went to keep their appointment. They were so secretive about their plans, I became very curious. I also had this
feeling that something was amiss.'
'Who is Tommy?' Caine asked.
Jade literally bounded out of her chair and hurried across the room. 'Nathan, you finish this story while
I see to refreshments. I'm tired of talking about this.'
Nathan started to call out to her but Colin stayed the action by putting his hand on his friend's arm. 'It's still difficult for her,' he whispered. Nathan nodded.
'Of course it's difficult for her,' Caine interjected, his tone harsh. 'My God, she must have watched
you…'
'She didn't watch,' Nathan whispered. 'As Colin was explaining, I knew what their plan was as soon as they cut Colin's legs. I put up a struggle when they tried to use their blades on me, ended up getting shot for my trouble. My shoulder was on fire when I went into the water.'
'They cut us to draw the attention of the sharks, of course. The harbor is always full of the scavangers because of all the garbage that's thrown in. The blood did draw them, like flies to a carcass.'
Colin could see that Caine's patience was wearing thin. His brother was leaning forward in his chair with
a grim look on his face. 'Bear with us, Caine. This isn't a pleasant memory for us.'
Nathan nodded. 'It was just past sunset,' he began. 'I could still see their fins though,' Colin interjected. Caine was sitting on the edge of his chair. He now understood the reason for Jade's nightmares. She dreamed about sharks. My God, the terror she must have endured made his heart pound.
'Pagan told Tommy to fetch a boat, then she took his knife and came into the waters after us. The men who'd put us there were sure we were done for and had already left. Pagan… I mean, Jade, got to me first. I was closer, I guess. Anyway, she pulled me toward the boat. A shark got a fair nibble out of my leg when they were hauling me in. Tommy lost his balance and fell overboard. He never resurfaced.'
When Colin paused and turned to Nathan, his friend took up the telling.
