Page 86 of Snow

Maybe tomorrow he would find a reason to get her alone. Invite her to lunch or dinner. Who knew, maybe without Iverson hovering over her shoulder, she might prove considerably more receptive than she had so far.

A light flashed on the navigation, pulling Brett’s attention back to the present.

He checked the coordinates. He was far enough away.

He eased back on the throttle until the boat slowed. He killed the engine, and the sudden silence seemed to expand around him. Without the steady rumble of the engine, there was little more than the soft lap of water against the hull and the occasional creak of the boat beneath his feet. He glanced toward the distant platforms for another few seconds, but from this far out, they looked insignificant against the endless darkness of the Gulf.

He moved toward the stern and released the latches securing the protective case he’d brought aboard. He had intentionally come alone. He had learned with Capperson that secrets became liabilities the moment too many mouths were attached to them.

Besides, he didn’t need anyone’s help.

He opened the case and stared down at the UUV.

It still amazed him how something relatively unimpressive to look at could be worth so much fucking money and be so destructive.

If Andre’s buyer was as serious as he claimed, this deal alone would put enough money in Brett’s pocket for him to finally start thinking about getting out. He was getting tired of constantly looking over his shoulder.

Maybe he’d finish this deal, let things settle down, and call it quits while he was still ahead. He’d accumulated enough over the years to live comfortably, especially if this buyer paid what Andre claimed they were willing to pay. He could disappear to the property he bought and spend his days doing whatever the hell he wanted instead of babysitting idiots on an offshore platform.

That didn’t mean he had to retire completely. If Andre brought him the occasional request that was too profitable to ignore, Brett could always pick up a job here and there. There was no sense turning his back on easy money.

He just wouldn’t make a habit of it anymore.

Brett smiled at the thought as he prepared the device for the test. Once everything was ready and the capsule of chemicals secured inside the device, he carefully lowered the UUV over the side and watched it disappear beneath the dark surface.

He returned to the console and activated the controls. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then the signal appeared on the screen.

Brett watched the tracking information as the UUV moved away from the boat, following its programmed course exactly as intended. A surge of adrenaline moved through him as the distance increased.

Andre’s buyer wanted proof that the device could do exactly what they’d been told it could do. Brett intended to give it to them.

He watched the numbers change on the display until the UUV reached the designated location, then rested his finger over the command.

“Let’s see what you’re made of.”

He activated it. A second later, the water surface surged upward, sending a plume of water into the air before it collapsed back into the sea.

Then everything became still again as Brett stared at the spot where the device had detonated.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Perfect. Fucking perfect,” he muttered.

Brett leaned back against the console and stared across the dark water, feeling some of the tension that had been riding his shoulders for weeks finally ease.

Tomorrow, while everyone else was holed up inside the main building waiting out the storm, Brett would slip away to his secret room and start the build-out for the buyer. With the entire platform shut down and everyone distracted by the weather, the storm couldn’t have handed him a better opportunity if he had planned the damn thing himself.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

By late afternoon the next day, the massive storm had turned the Gulf into something Snow barely recognized.

He’d ventured outside earlier that morning, mostly because he wanted to see the conditions for himself instead of relying on reports being passed around the platform. He had lasted less than five minutes before deciding he’d seen enough. The wind tore across the exposed deck with enough force to make walking difficult, while rain drove nearly sideways and pounded against every available surface.

Every outdoor operation had been suspended hours ago. Personnel had been ordered inside unless absolutely necessary, equipment had been secured, and anything that could wait until the storm passed was going to wait.

Unfortunately, Snow wasn’t feeling particularly patient, especially with the key card currently burning a hole in the front pocket of his jeans. Not his key card, the extra one Nova managed to make for him.

His fingers brushed over the edge of it through the denim as he stared toward one of the windows, unable to see much beyond sheets of rain and the occasional glimpse of angry gray water. That card was his ticket onto the elusive platform, and after hearing the unmistakable sound of a boat engine leaving from that direction last night, Snow wanted to be over there more than ever.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing from last night that kept replaying in his head.