His head broke the surface of the water, and he gasped, the cold air like knives against his lungs. The island was right in front of him, and he kept his head low as he kicked towards it. He aimed for the end of the dock, planning to climb out between two sleek, white speed boats moored next to each other. There were no guards on the dock itself, but Fletcher could see three people stationed by the fence gate.
Alec hauled himself out of the water, hidden between the boats, trying not to make too loud a splash. He crouched on the dock and shivered as the cold wind cruelly hooked its fingers into his sodden clothes and dripping hair. The boat was lost in the darkness behind him, set to drift until it bumped ashore or someone came across it. He hoped it wasn’t some poor bloke’s primary money-maker.
If he didn’t move, he was going to turn into an ice pop on the dock, feet welded fast to the wood, his frozen form a curiosity to any who might stumble upon it. Joints creaking, he stood and poked his nose out from behind the boat in front of him. There was a stretch of shadow between him and the fence, but he would need a distraction if he was going to get through the gate because he certainly wasn’t fighting his way through in his current state. Not that he was much of a fighter in the first place. He generally tried to avoid confrontation at all costs.
Alec slunk forward, keeping low, his eyes on the guards. Two of them were deep in some kind of heated conversation if the manic wave of their hands was anything to go off of while the third seemed to be doing their level best to ignore the others. He couldn’t pause, else he’d seize up, but he also didn’t have a lot of dock left between him and the edge of the pool of light, and he had yet to come up with a suitable distraction.
He was three steps from being seen when a gun went off somewhere on the southern side of the island, and the guards’ conversation cut off abruptly as they jerked to attention and snapped their heads towards the sound. No doubt it was MacBain and his team. Alec knew he should let them handle it, but he’d come too far to turn back now. The guards talked briefly amongst themselves, though Alec couldn’t make out the words, and then two of them ran off in the direction of the disturbance. The other one drew their gun and began to scan the darkness beyond the fence for threats.
Alec froze, knowing a single movement could give him away, and instantly, his whole body began to stiffen. He dug the now dead burner phone from his pocket and threw it to his left as hard as he could, and it landed with a thud that immediately drew the guard’s attention. They raised their gun, pointed it towards the sound, and began to walk in that direction, torch sweeping the ground. Alec crept forward, using his hands for balance as his knees unstuck. He stepped into the light. The guard’s back was still him, so he kept his feet feather soft as he moved towards the gate. It was a lot harder to maintain a silent tread than it usually was. He reached for the gate latch, positive the guard was going to turn around and spot him at any moment, but they were down by the water’s edge, still hunting for his thrown phone.
The gate was locked because, of course, it was.
“Anything on your end?” the guard’s radio spat.
“I thought I heard something, but there’s nothing.”
Alec had seconds to act, but the cold had slowed his brain. He stared at the latch, trying to think. It didn’t seem terribly sturdy. He picked up a fist-sized rock and smashed it against the lock just as another gun went off. The mechanism was mangled, but the gate swung open, and he stepped swiftly inside, swinging it shut and diving behind a bush just as the guard turned around.
His heart thundered in his throat as he lay among the branches and waited to see if he would be discovered. He kept his head tipped towards the ground to hide the white of his face, but his ears strained for any noise of alarm.
“We’ve got intruders on three sides of the island,” the person on the other end of the island said. “I think some of them got inside.”
“What should I do?”
“Keep guarding the main gate. There might be more of them.”
Alec tilted his head until he could see the guard’s legs. They stood with their back to the gate, and it didn’t seem like they’d noticed the broken mechanism. Alec held his breath and scooted out from under the bush, keeping its branches between him and the guard. He cast his gaze around, but the brick building seemed otherwise unattended, everyone’s attention drawn to the shore.
He scanned the building. If he were a rich and despicable businessman, where would he hold a young child? Holden would have his office on the top floor, but would he keep Finn near him or somewhere else like a basement? If he went for the head, he could force Holden to take him to Finn, but he wasn’t entirely sure how he would manage that with a can of mace and a penknife. He also didn’t know how long he would last simply wandering around in and out of rooms looking for Finn.
He decided to go for Holden. He wanted to make the man pay.
One of the windows on the top floor was cracked open, no doubt to be able to
