The Lost Bones (Widow's Island #8)(28)

Henry nodded.

Rich pulled Ashlee across the beach and onto the dock. Michelle’s husband followed them. He was silent, but Ashlee continued to plead with her husband to slow down or let go. “The baby’s coming,” she begged. “I need to lie down.”

“Shut. Up.” Rich pulled her along the flimsy dock.

“He’s going to put her on the boat!” Henry said.

Shit.

Rich shoved Ashlee into the boat, and she nearly toppled into the water. He jumped in and started the engine.

Cate stepped out from the woods and started to sprint across the beach, Henry close behind her.

Rich threw off the lines as the engine sputtered and gave off a loud whine before continuing. Rich stepped back to the wheel. The boat roared and lurched away from the dock.

Cate leaped up the steps to the dock, but Michelle’s husband put out his arms, stopping her.

“He doesn’t want his wife to see a doctor,” he told her.

“I’m not a fucking doctor,” Cate yelled at him, furious that he was defending Rich. She watched Rich’s boat speed farther and farther away. He looked back, and even though he was too far away to make eye contact, Cate felt his stare burn through her.

Then he flipped her off.

Does he know who I am?

“I need one of these boats!” Two boats were still tied to the dock. They’d seen better days, but Cate would risk it over flying with a stoned pilot.

He shook his head. “A man has the right to do what he wants.”

Cate got in his face. “Give me the keys to another boat!”

“His wife is in labor,” Henry told Michelle’s husband. “There’s a chance she and the baby might not survive.”

“He’ll take care of her.”

“No, he won’t!” Cate was ready to push the man into the water. “Did you know he’s wanted by the FBI for kidnapping? And possibly murder?”

Michelle’s husband took a step back, looking from Cate to Henry, disbelief on his face. “Is that true?” he asked Henry.

“I’m not making it up,” snapped Cate. “Do you have boat keys or not?”

“True,” said Henry. “Where are the keys?”

“No keys.” He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask someone else. Rich was furious that we let strangers on the island who saw his wife.”

“Dammit.” Cate could barely make out Rich’s boat now. He was speeding east, where she knew there were several other empty islands.

We’ve lost him.

A faint rumble sounded, and she turned.

It was a boat entering the cove. The sheriff’s boat with Tessa and Logan.

Cate ran to the end of the dock and waved her hands, resisting the urge to jump up and down. Tessa gunned the engine, closing the distance between them. With a series of deft maneuvers, she slowed and edged close to the dock. Logan held out a hand, and Cate leaped across several feet of water.

“Your timing is almost perfect,” she said to her brother as they stepped out of the way so Henry could do the same.

“Almost?” Logan asked.

“Head east,” Cate told Tessa. “Open it up. Rich took Ashlee, and I don’t think he plans to return.”

“We saw a piece of crap boat leave the cove,” said Tessa as she accelerated.

“That was them.”

“They’re no match for our power. We’ll catch up in a few minutes.”

Only if we can see them.

The sheriff’s boat left the cove, and Cate scanned the horizon. To the east she could make out four more islands. One closer and the others quite far. To her knowledge, the islands were empty. Logan used binoculars, searching the horizon.

“There!” Henry pointed.

Cate turned. The boat hadn’t gotten as far as she had expected and was running parallel to the shore on the closest island. She could clearly see two people, one with a long ponytail. “Is he looking for a dock?”

“There’re no docks on that island,” said Logan. “He’ll have to run it up onto the beach.”

“Why would he pick the closest island?” asked Henry. “I’d think he’d want to get as far away as possible.”

“His engine sounded like crap,” said Cate. “Maybe it’s worse now.” She couldn’t hear anything over the roar of Tessa’s boat.

But she heard the sudden crack of the gunshot.

The four of them dropped low, all keeping an eye on the boat ahead of them.

“Was that aimed at us?” Henry asked.

“Yes.” Logan continued to watch through his binoculars. “Shit. Now she’s fighting with him.”

“She’s going to have a baby on the damned boat,” said Cate, tension filling her spine. “Get us closer.”

“Working on it,” said Tessa. “But we’re not bulletproof.”

“She’s pulling on his arm,” said Logan. “He can’t drive, shoot, and hold her back at the same time.”

They were close enough that Cate could clearly see the fight on the other boat. Ashlee and Rich were in a close struggle. The boat weaved and jerked as she wrestled with him and he tried to steer.

She’s a brave girl.

Their boat hit a bunch of chop as they moved closer to the island, and Cate’s teeth snapped with every rough bounce. Tessa was focused, her gaze locked on the boat several hundred yards ahead. Henry was rigid, one hand on a rail for balance and the other on Cate’s shoulder. They drew closer to the little boat, its struggling engine no match for the county’s powerful boat.