“Dawson,” she said, lips twitching, hand smoothing the ends of her braid.
Behind them, a darker form emerged. All in black. The long wool overcoat he had on made him look like someone from a video game. Ken’Ichi.
“Here’s to everything?everyone?making it safely,” Ken’Ichi said.
Jada stiffened as his hand landed on her shoulder just as I stiffened at the innuendo he’d dropped. His eyes went from Jada to Violet to me, and my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. Bringing Vi to New York had been exactly the mistake I’d worried it would be. Before, he’d only seen her as Jada’s friend. Now, he saw her as mine.
A foghorn sounded. Time to cast off.
Jada hugged Dax and then turned to me. I wrapped my arms around her and whispered, “Stay safe,” into her hair. “Keep both of you safe.”
“You’ll be back before you know it,” she said and pulled away.
Violet repeated the motions, and I couldn’t help squeezing her tighter than I had our friend. “Look after each other. I’ll be back in five or six days.”
The problem was, we both knew, from experience, that life could change dramatically in a much shorter time than that.
They left the boat, Dax threw off the ropes, and we pushed away. As we headed toward the buoy that would be our starting point, the crowd rushed toward the end of the pier. I could see Violet’s blue coat even from a distance. I tried not to stare. Tried not to hate the fact that she was being overshadowed by a man in black that Jada and I both despised.
“I’m going down to check the pressure,” I said.
“You worry too much,” Dax tossed back, but he took the helm from me.
Down below, I opened the engine compartment, checked the special pressure gauges we’d installed. They were perfect. Just like Dax and I both knew they would be. I pulled out the phone I’d hidden on the lip of the compartment and sent off a text.
ME: Whatever he does or doesn’t know, it’s put Jada and Violet at risk. You still set up at the neighbor’s?
Seeing Violet’s name mixed with danger was a splash of cold water on me. Shit. So many reasons I shouldn’t have indulged in kissing her. So many reasons I shouldn’t have indulged in lustful dreams of her in my arms.
Malone’s response eventually came through.
M1: We’re here. Get your head on your current task. Just get to Spain in under fifty-eight hours.
ME: You’ll have to risk the satellite phone if you need me.
M1: You’re telling me stuff we’ve already covered. Should I be worried?
Should he have been worried? I wasn’t nervous about the race. I wasn’t nervous about the hold full of cash I had below. I was worried I was leaving two women with Ken’Ichi on that side of the ocean while I traveled in the opposite direction.
ME: If anything happens to them, I’m holding you responsible.
M1: I’m not the one who invited the Banner girl to New York.
“Dawson! Everything good?” Dax shouted down as the boat slowed to a stop at the buoy.
“Yep,” I said. I turned off the phone with reluctance, stowed it back away, and returned to the deck.
Demario had come to a stop next to us. His very Italian features were lit with a smile so large I could see it all the way across the space between the yachts. Angelica was at the helm of their boat with her dark hair wrapped in a scarf, making her look like some forties movie star throwback.
Behind us, a third yacht holding members of the New York, Spanish, and Italian yacht clubs sponsoring the cup pulled up. Their ship’s bullhorn would signal the start.
“Ready to make history?” Dax looked at me with a wide grin.
A chill went over me. I’d almost lost sight of it. The fact we were attempting to break a world record held for well over twenty years. The fact I was doing the one thing that had always been in my veins. Racing boats. I wanted to take a picture with a middle finger sticking up and send it to my dad. Fuck it. This was a real job.
Dax stepped away from the steering wheel. “You should be here to start.”
My friend was humbler than someone of his upbringing should have been. I was grateful his bright-yellow cigarette boat had broken down in New London five years ago and found its way into the shop where I’d been working as a mechanic. I was honored that he’d had enough faith in me to build this business together.
