There were no lights on the boat other than his weak torch, but there was a depth gauge by his left hand, and he used that to steer into what he thought was the middle of the firth. He could basically make a straight line towards the island; he just had to hope he wouldn’t stray too close to shore and hit one of the off-shoots. It was nerve-wracking, driving blind, but he took deep, steady breaths and tried to focus. The wind fought him, seeking to nudge him off course, and he had no real way of making sure his corrections were right.
Some time later, though it was impossible to tell exactly how long in the dark, he spotted lights moving in the distance, seemingly suspended above him. That had to be the A9 which meant he was halfway there. And, since the lights were just about perpendicular to him, he wasn’t about to crash into anything. That was certainly a relief.
Alec held his breath as he passed under the bridge. He wasn’t entirely sure why. It just felt like the right thing to do. He glanced behind him every so often as he continued on, using the occasional streak of light to make sure he was still headed in a straight line, though eventually the bridge and its cars disappeared in the distance, and he was left alone again with only the waves splashing against the hull.
As a thief, Alec often worked in silence, so he found it easy enough to allow the pontoon to carry him along, his mind blank but for the adjustments he needed to make at the wheel. It was better that way. Too much thinking, especially about Finn, would lead to--
He cut the thought off and focused back in on the feel of the wheel in his hands and the rumble of the boat beneath him.
And then he spotted lights up ahead, twinkling in the dark. It could only be the estate on the island, and he angled the pontoon slightly that way, increasing his speed a little, his heart beginning to race in his chest. The lights grew closer, though he couldn’t yet make out their source as he glided past a dark, lumpy shadow to his left. After a few minutes, he could see the outline of a large building, an orange glow speckled across its face, and two bright white lights shone in front of it, reflecting off the water and the impression of a chain-link fence.
Alec killed the engine, and the pontoon rapidly lost speed. The silence roared in his ears at the sudden absence of the boat’s constant drone. The waves continued to lap gently at the hull, but it was like the light brush of fingers across the cheek rather than a hard slap.
There would no doubt be someone watching the dock. They would spot the pontoon as soon as it hit that circle of light, maybe even before. Alec groaned. There was one obvious option, but it was not one that he liked.
Alec made sure everything was secure within his pockets, walked to the front of the boat, and then dove into the icy water.
Twenty-Two
My team shut off their engines and split up as soon as we saw the orange lights in the distance, spaced as if illuminating windows. The night quickly swallowed the other two fishing boats, leaving Fletcher and I alone, bobbing in the water. There was nothing left of Fletcher’s snack stash except a pile of empty wrappers at the bottom of the boat. The tang of brine was strong in my nose, ever-present even with the heavy wind and rain, and I took a deep breath of it to clear my head one last time before we made our approach.
“Ready?” I asked Fletcher.
“Ready.”
We each picked up an oar and began to paddle our way towards the lights. Luckily, the tide was with us, sweeping us further into the firth. Before long, my arms and back began to ache, every bruise I’d sustained over the past couple of days alight despite the cold. We kept our strokes as quiet as we could as we approached the island, though it was impossible to silence them completely. Hopefully, the sound of the waves against the shore would cover any sound we made.
As we drew closer, I could see the outline of the building in the orange glow of the lights. It looked to be three stories tall and heaped upon the island like a plate of food piled too high, but I couldn’t make out any other details. I didn’t spot any roving torches along the shore, which was a relief, but Fletcher stowed her phone anyway as we didn’t want anything giving us away before we were ready.
The bottom of our boat scraped against rock, and suddenly, we were there, on the island which had sprung up so quickly in the darkness. I secured my oar and then carefully stood and stepped one foot out of the boat, wobbling until I found the ground, almost up to my knee in frigid water which flooded my previously dry boot and immediately soaked into my socks. I swung my other foot out and then held the boat steady for Fletcher, who bit her thumb at the shock of cold. Together, we dragged the boat higher onto the shore and hid it beneath a rocky outcropping.
We paused there and listened. I could hear nothing by the sighing of the wind and the lap of water against stone. My phone buzzed, and I hid it within my coat as I took it out to check the text
