She cut open the various packages in the MRE and laid them out. “Freeze-dried meat,” she muttered. “Yum.”
She added boiling water to the package with beans and meat and muttered, “I might just kill for one of Lucia’s casados right now.”
“Everly!” Bella yelled. “Look!”
All Everly’s training clicked on. She pulled the weapon from the waistband of her shorts and swung toward Bella, scanning the beach for predators—animal or human. But Bella was looking at the boat coming toward them.
Bella ran to Everly’s side and wrapped her arms around her leg. “Is it Daddy?”
“I sure hope so.”
If it wasn’t, she was going to have a hard time explaining why she was camped out in no-man’s land, eating MREs with a child. She really didn’t need anyone alerting Costa Rican authorities, but taking a prisoner was going to be really hard to explain to Bella.
The man at the wheel of the boat wore a baseball hat. He was Austin’s size, but with the hat and the distance, it could have been anyone.
Just the thought of seeing him again created all kinds of tension in her body—fear, regret, desire. These two days hadn’t only been tough for Bella. Everly had spent that time realizing just how much she cared about Austin. Just how badly she wished they’d met at another time, another place. Things could have turned out so differently.
The boat cut through the water at a good clip. As soon as it cleared a reef at the mouth of the bay, the boat took a sharp turn toward land and set a deliberate path toward the beach.
Everly’s heart jumped. That was either Austin or Roman. She stood behind Bella, her hands on the girl’s shoulders, and took a deep breath to quell the nerves in her belly.
It felt like it took forever for the boat to come close enough for Everly to identify the driver. When the boat approached the beach, the man behind the wheel stood.
“Daddy!” Bella screamed at the same instant Everly recognized him. “Daddy!”
Austin lifted a hand to Bella. He slowed the vessel, cruised past the other boat, and cut the engine.
Everly let Bella run to the water and wade in to her knees before calling, “Wait there, Bella.”
The girl obeyed, jumping up and down while Austin tossed out the anchor, cartwheeled over the side, and waded to his daughter. Bella was waist deep by the time Austin picked her up and doubled his arms around her, turning side to side as he hugged her hard.
The sight squeezed Everly’s heart and tightened her throat. She crossed her arms as tears stung her eyes. No matter what happened from this point forward, Everly knew without a doubt she’d done the right thing. Keeping these two together might have been against orders. She might have had to deceive her team to make it happen. But it was right.
She only hoped this feeling could hold her through the loss of his affection. The loss of her team. Her future. Her identity. Because that was what keeping them together would cost.
He finally started toward the shore. Everly was a little surprised he didn’t just take Bella back to his boat and leave. She braced for conflict.
He wore a white tank and tan cargo shorts. The baseball hat, sunglasses, and surprising sight of the beginnings of a beard gave Everly a whole different view of the savvy businessman who could wear suits as well as fatigues and wield power as easily as he could show raw emotion for his daughter.
She couldn’t read his expression as he set Bella on the ground and looked at Everly. She was more than a little disappointed he didn’t greet her the same way, even though she knew that idea was completely irrational.
Bella gripped his hand and jumped up and down at his side, telling him all about their time on the beach. Star-gazing and hikes and swimming, as if she’d enjoyed herself.
“Sounds like a pretty cool little getaway,” he told Bella.
Even the sound of his voice created an ache in Everly’s heart.
He started toward her, the lower half of his body dripping seawater. Everly took another breath and tightened the cross of her arms. She suddenly felt small and weak. And scared. Scared of what this would do to her emotionally. Scared of where she would go from here. She didn’t do scared well. Fear was a tool a Manhunter twisted and used to his—or her—advantage. Only, she wasn’t doing that very well with Austin approaching her now.
He stopped five feet away and whipped off his glasses. His eyes were hot with frustration. “Bella,” he said without looking away from Everly. “Why don’t you start cleaning up so we can head home?”
Bella bounced off in the direction of the hut.
“That was a stupid risk,” he told Everly.
She bristled—even though she’d said as much to herself a dozen times over the last two days. “A carefully calculated and orchestrated risk. One that kept Bella away from the harm Seaver could have inflicted.”
His jaw jumped with stress.