Clutch grabbed his crutches and pulled himself to his feet. “He’s going to see it that way because you’re going to tell him the truth. You’re going to tell him what you were doing here and exactly what happened. I’m going with you to make sure you do.”
Tack stepped forward. “No, Clutch.” He sighed. “I need to go. She was mine to watch.”
“Bullshit,” Jase said. “She was as much my responsibility. I’m going.”
Tyler watched Tack and Jase for a moment before speaking. “Okay, by morning, the Lady Amore shouldn’t be more than thirty miles or so south of here. You are both going, but under no conditions are you to board the Lady Amore. You drop Sorenson’s daughter and his men in a raft and double-time it out of there. I’ll write a note to make sure he knows the truth. It’s our only shot at keeping our trade agreement. Whatever you do, don’t let them get a bead on you. That’s Sorenson’s daughter lying on the bottom of Number Three. I don’t trust him to be rational when he sees her. You drop the package and run. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” they both replied.
“You-you can’t just dump us in the water,” Philip said. “There are zeds in the water. If it’s shallow at all—”
“You should’ve thought of that before you tried to steal from us,” Tyler interrupted. “The only reason I’m allowing you to return to the Lady Amore—instead of staying on the Aurora for trial—is because of our trade agreement.”
“Just let us go,” Bill cried out. “We’ll tell the Captain the truth. I mean it. You don’t have to worry about anything. Please. Just let us go. Nothing will happen. I swear!”
Tyler ignored Bill’s pleas and instead looked at the scouts holding the thieves. “Get these two out of my sight. Put them in the galley for tonight and keep at least four armed scouts on them at all times.” He then looked to all of us. “I need volunteers to prep Sorenson’s daughter for the trip in the morning.”
Deb, one of the Fox survivors who volunteered for everything, unsurprisingly stepped forward. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I’ll help,” Tack said in a rush.
Deb gave him a sweet smile. “Okay. Thank you.”
As the two headed into the barge, I couldn’t help but grin. Deb may have been ten years his senior, but Tack didn’t seem to care. The two had hit it off the moment she’d arrived at the park, and even though they thought they were hiding their relationship, everyone knew about it.
The crowd dissipated.
“I’m going to hit the sack,” Jase said, sounding utterly exhausted. “I’m guessing Tyler is going to want us to get those guys off the Aurora at the crack of dawn.
“Listen, Jase,” Clutch said. “If you want me to go, if you want an extra gun—”
“Relax. No worries. Tack and I’ve got it.” Jase patted Clutch’s shoulder. “Like Tyler said, we just toss them into a raft and bust out of there. Trust me, I don’t plan on getting anywhere near Sorenson.” With that, he turned and started walking away.
Jase spoke the words so nonchalantly, yet I had a hard time believing that an accidental death wasn’t tearing him up inside. He’d seen so much death that he’d built quite the mask. So good that I couldn’t even tell anymore if something was bothering him.
“Good night,” I said, watching him. “I’ll be in soon.”
Clutch sat down in his chair and set his crutches across his lap.
The edge around the barge and deck had mostly cleared. Lanterns and flashlights blinked off one by one. I looked out over the river, the water peacefully reflecting the moonlight. In the far distance, wolves bayed. While people and domesticated animals had been devastated by the outbreak, some wild animals had flourished. Packs of wolves had become a new risk to scouting runs. I took in a deep breath of cool air. “Well, isn’t this is a mess.”
“I don’t have Tyler’s optimism,” he said. “Any hope for a trade agreement is lying dead at the bottom of the barge.”
“With the grain, we have enough food. We don’t need a trade agreement,” I said, pushing his chair. “So we’re on our own. Then again, we’ve always been on our own.”
“Yeah, but you’re assuming Sorenson is going to let us be.”
WRATH