Falling Light (Game of Shadows #2)(61)

Also, he belatedly realized, it was Friday of Memorial Day weekend. All of that conspired to work in his favor.

He stayed low in the water until he reached the slips. Then he surfaced underneath one, alongside a metal railing. He had come in close to his boat, just three slips away.

The rest of the maneuver went as smooth as butter. When he reached the correct slip, he climbed up the railing and eased over the side of the boat. He untied it, started the engine and accelerated gently out of the marina. The whole thing took less than three minutes.

When he reached open water, he increased his speed until he traveled at a carefully sedate pace. The wind sliced through his wet clothes, cooling him rapidly from the heat of his swim, until his body tightened into a miserable knot. The farther out he maneuvered from the other craft, the faster he accelerated, until he hit over 120 mph and the boat skimmed along the top of the water with a high, smooth growl.

The sight of land slid away behind him. He adjusted his course to travel at a slight northwestern angle while he scanned the horizon. With Jerry’s trajectory, they should come in sight soon.

They did. As soon as he spotted a likely speck on the horizon, he headed straight for it. The speck grew rapidly. Soon he could make out identifying details on the other vehicle.

He didn’t relax until he knew for sure it was them. Then the tight snarl of tension between his shoulders eased. He grew aware all over again of how cold he had become. Shudders wracked his body. He kept extra clothes, plus other supplies in the tiny cabin space below, but he didn’t want to stop until he had reached the others.

Jerry had been keeping an eye out for his appearance, because the other boat slowed to a stop as he came closer. He shifted down and approached them slowly. Jerry left the cabin to catch the ropes that Michael tossed to him. Together they hauled the two boats close together. Michael leaped aboard the other boat.

“Your lips are blue,” Jerry said with a frown.

The other man started to shrug out of his lined jean jacket. Michael waved at him to stop. “I have clothes I can change into in a minute. We need to finish this and separate.”

Mary and Jamie sat close together on the deck. Jamie had a blanket wrapped around his broad shoulders, and Mary had her arm around him. Her face was smudged from recent tears, but she looked calm enough.

Michael was pleasantly surprised. She had found some way to wash some of the blood off of Jamie. His clothes were still bloody, but his face and neck looked somewhat cleaner. So did his long, dark hair, which spilled loosely down his back. Dark hollows etched the skin around Jamie’s eyes, and the rich copper tone of his skin carried an ashen hue, but he looked a hell of a lot better than he had earlier when he had been covered in blood and unconscious.

Jamie lifted his head and met Michael’s gaze briefly. Michael paused at the power and intelligence in those dark, too-old eyes. He had underestimated the younger man.

That was good. That meant Jamie would be a real asset to Jerry and his mother with the challenges they would face over the next several days.

Precious time was ticking away. Michael said to Mary, “Ready?”

She nodded, turned to Jamie and they came together.

Michael had intended to turn away and sort through what he would give to the other two men, but the sight of Jamie and Mary’s tight embrace held him in place. Jamie put a hand at the back of Mary’s head, closed his eyes and bowed his greater frame around Mary’s shorter, slender body.

“I have no words for what you’ve done for me,” Jamie said, very low. “Simply no words.”

“Not everybody gets a second chance,” Mary said. “It was the right thing to do. You can do this. It’ll be hard, but it’s going to be okay. Remember, be sure to protect your head for at least a couple of weeks. It’s going to take a while for the bones in your skull to finish regenerating.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed as he listened to them. What was the right thing to do, and why would it be hard?

“Poor kid’s been rattled since he came to,” Jerry muttered to him. “Near death experiences can do that to a body.”

Jerry’s words brought Michael back to his purpose. He knelt in front of his canvas bag and pulled out an envelope of cash, two handguns and printed directions to one of their safe houses. He handed everything to Jerry.

“This house is in northern Illinois, about a half an hour outside of Joliet,” he told the older man. “It’s quiet and rural. You should pick up supplies at one of the strip malls just after you exit I-80. There’s a thousand dollars in the envelope, which should be more than enough for five to eight weeks of food for all three of you, if you’re frugal. You’ll have to figure out transportation once you reach land. Don’t use your IDs to rent a car.”

“I understand,” said Jerry. “We’ll get there.”

“You have a cell phone?”

“Yes. Astra has the number.”

“Good.” Michael grabbed his combat boots and shoved them into the bag. Then he grabbed four bottles of water from Jerry’s cooler and shoved those into the bag as well. He zipped it shut and straightened. “We will call you when it’s safe for all of you to return home again.”

He didn’t bother with any further instructions. If they didn’t call Jerry, it meant that they had failed. Jerry, Sara and Jamie would have to figure out the rest of their lives on their own.