Exiting the boat, Sin stopped short.
“What’s wrong? Charlie asked.
“We can’t just leave this boat here―with the bodies on board.”
The corner of Charlie’s mouth rose. Sin could see his mischievous smirk in the moon light. “No, we can’t,” he said.
Sin didn’t even bother to ask, she just transferred to the boat Fletcher used and sat next to Troy, trying to keep him comfortable.
“Fletcher, you mind if I take the controls?”
He stepped aside as Charlie took the helm. He maneuvered the boat behind the larger one until the stern of his abutted the stern of the other.
“Hold on,” he yelled over the rumbling sound of the inboard motors. He gunned the boat in reverse and pushed the other boat forward. Suddenly he threw the throttle in the opposite direction and jerked forward at full speed.
Sin watched as the other boat drifted forward until a huge fireball lit up the sky. Even at their speed, pieces of fiberglass rained all around them.
A knowing smile overwhelmed Sin’s expression.
The buried IEDs.
Fletcher emitted a guttural laugh. “I think I’m gonna like it in the Keys.”
41
Dr. O’Rourke emerged from a back bedroom after she had finished stitching Troy’s leg back together.
She saw Sin pacing the hall.
“How is he?” Sin’s eyes bore the signs of exhaustion—hollow with dark circles surrounding them.
“The bullet missed the femoral artery,” Dr. O’Rourke said. “He will be fine after some rest.”
For the first time, something dawned on Sin. “Why are you here?”
“With everyone looking for you, Charlie decided to bring everyone here,” Dr. O’Rourke said. “The stress of the last few days has been tough on Thomas, so Charlie asked if I would come here to watch over him.”
“My father, is he―”
Dr. O’Rourke put her hand on Sin’s shoulder. “He’s sleeping. It’s been hard to get him to stay calm, so I don’t want you waking him.”
Sin wrapped her arms around herself, as if the gesture would supplement for her father’s embrace.
She heard Troy’s voice from the bedroom.
“Can I see him?” she asked.
Dr. O’Rourke nodded.
Sin opened the door and walked into the room. “You went through a lot to get me into your bedroom, Stubbs.”
His eyes opened to slits and closed again after seeing her.
“You look like shit,” Sin said, taking a seat on the bed.
“I look better than you,” he mumbled, wrinkling his nose. “Smell better, too.”
“All this sweet talk,” Sin whispered as she leaned toward him. “No wonder you were the quarterback.” She brushed her lips against his, kissing him gently.
Charlie made his way into the room. “I hate to break up a sweet moment, but I need you both in the library in twenty minutes.”
Troy was still a little groggy from this impromptu surgery, so Dr. O’Rourke helped him down the hall and into a recliner.
Standing around the room was Sin’s mercenary unit.
“Is this a house or a hotel,” Dr. O’Rourke remarked.
“If all the staff looks like you, I’m staying an extra night,” one of the soldiers said.
“At ease, Baxter,” Sin barked. The room became silent.
Sin stood next to Dr. O’Rourke. “Dr. Deborah O’Rourke, let me introduce my unit to you. They are little rough around the edges, but they’re harmless.”
“You’re a medic?” Baxter said. “Somebody shoot me, please.”
Dr. O’Rourke blushed at his overtly flirtatious manner. “It seems you all have things to discuss, so I will excuse myself.”
Sin rolled her eyes, and brought her attention back to the matter at hand. She stared at the monitors. “What do you have for us?”
“A few things,” Charlie said. He paused and looked up from the keyboard.
“Well?” Sin said biting her lip.
“While you were away, I was able to break the encryption on the video tapes and computers confiscated from the studio in Heap’s church, and . . .” He again started pecking on the keyboard.
“And . . .” Sin’s voice rose in frustration―or fear.
“And you were right. There is some sick shit going on in there.” He rubbed his tired eyes with his fists. “I really hoped you were wrong, but you weren’t.”
Sin motioned with her arm telling him to talk faster. “I know all that. Veloz told me all about it before I killed the son of a bitch.”
Everyone in the room suddenly shifted their attention to Sin.
“You killed Veloz?” Charlie blinked away his own exhaustion and rubbed his open palm across his face. “With everything that happened tonight, I forgot to ask what happened in Puerto Cabezas.”
“I’ll gladly give you a blow by blow later,” Sin said. “For now, it’s enough to know that the mother fucker will never hurt anyone ever again.”
“That’s good enough for us,” Fletcher stated.
She pointed to the monitor. “What else did you find out? What was on the hard drives?”
“There was email correspondence between someone known as―”
“El Presidente,” Sin interjected.
Charlie nodded. “I should have known you would milk Veloz for every bit of information.”
“Not every,” Sin said. “He didn’t know his real identity. Could you tell who he was corresponding with?”
“Someone he calls the Black Widow,” Charlie said.
Sin stared at and read the emails that Charlie put on the monitor. “Fuck,” she mouthed. “No name.”
“I’m afraid not.”
Sin dropped her head in her lap. “Any luck figuring out who Marilyn is?” Her words had the sound of a defeatist.
“No, but my money is on them being one and the same.”
“Why?” she said. “Why do you think they are the same?”
“She signs her emails, M.”
Sin stood and paced. “Back on the boat, you said the girls would be safe,” she said, “but how does any of this tell you that the girls are safe?”
“Ah,” Charlie held up a finger and switched to another page. “Troy managed to bug Bubba’s phone. Last night, Bubba spoke to someone who told him that the merchandise—the girls—had to be delivered to the studio and that the final show was going live at one a.m. tomorrow. His contact went on to say that it was vital that the ‘gift’ arrived safely.” Charlie eyed Sin. “I assume you’re the gift?”
Sin shook her head. “It’s Tia.”
“What?” Troy
