Page 28 of Grayson

U-Jin emerged at a run as smoke folded around him.

“Jump!” Sonny shouted.

U-Jin vaulted the rail without slowing and vanished into the water. For one terrible second there was only foam. Then his head broke the surface, already turning toward the rafts.

Sonny swung the last raft toward him. Brunson clipped a line to his vest and threw hard, the rope uncoiling across the waves. It landed short.

“Again!” Hunter yelled.

Brunson hauled it in, threw a second time, and U-Jin caught it as the freighter groaned behind him. Together they dragged him through the black sea until hands reached down and pulled him aboard.

“How much time?” Sonny demanded. U-Jin rolled onto his back, coughing seawater. Somewhere deep in the freighter, metal shrieked against metal. He looked at the men surrounding him.

“Not enough to argue about my timing.” Hunter grabbed the tiller and drove the raft away at full power.

The first explosion punched from the freighter’s lower decks, buckling the hull with a sound that rolled across the water. A second blast tore open the cargo holds, and orange fire climbed through the containers as burning debris arced into the sky.

Everyone watched the night turn white above the sinking ship. Hunter, Sonny, and Brunson stared without speaking, their faces lit by the distant fire. Only U-Jin smiled, seawater running from his hair as he looked toward the flames.

“Miller would be proud of me.” Sonny frowned at him.

“Who the fuck is Miller?”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The women and children were turned into the custody and care of the agency that Jennifer had been working for. They were all identified and their families immediately notified.

The freighter was now at the bottom of the sea, her entire crew somehow unable to escape. It would be a mystery for the French authorities to figure out. The media was questioning every move Moreau made.

“Mr. Moreau, the ship was registered to one of your companies. What was on that ship?”

“Mr. Moreau, what about the crew? What will happen to their families?”

On and on as he attempted to leave the government building, diving into his own vehicle and taking off.

“Well done,” nodded Grayson. “All of you.”

“All of us,” smiled Moose.

“Is anyone going to tell me who the fuck Miller is?” frowned Sonny. The men all chuckled, laughing at him. Striker gave a smirk.

“He’s one of the Robicheaux Rangers. One of many back home,” he said with a straight face.

“You’re joking,” frowned Sonny. The men just stared at him and then turned to Jennifer. “He’s fucking joking right?”

“Nope. They’re all back home, still working in some capacity alongside sons, grandsons, daughters, granddaughters. Grayson’s mother was a Robicheaux.”

“Dude! What the fuck?” whispered Rowe.

“I think I already told you that,” he smirked.

“I don’t remember the words, ‘my mother is the daughter of one of the most famous Rangers who ever lived’. I would remember that.”

“We’ve got a lot of the originals still working back home,” said Moose. “You age well at Belle Fleur.”

“What now?” asked Iggy. “We know Moreau is going to be pissed about losing two sets of hostages in one night. He also lost quite a few men.”

“Pissed off men make mistakes,” said Gunner. “I think we make him more pissed off. Iggy and Kai, you two make a call in the morning. Let him know that considering the controversy around the incident from last night, the producers have decided to move forward with someone else.”