Page 253 of Hidden Tide

“You killed them.”

“They entered my ship.”

“They were trying to save innocent people.”

“They should have stayed in the water where they belonged.”

Ben’s eyes change.

The warmth disappears.

The SEAL returns.

“Where is Naomi?” I ask.

“Beside me.”

“Let me hear her.”

A struggle comes through the radio.

Then Naomi’s voice.

“Calle, don’t⁠—”

Donald strikes her.

I hear the blow.

Ivy turns away.

“You have ten minutes,” Simon says. “Bring the real compass to the ferry landing, or I shoot Naomi and the other prisoner.”

“Who is the prisoner?”

“A man whose conscience became inconvenient.”

“What is his name?”

Simon doesn’t answer.

On the response boat, Robert Hale tries to sit up.

“He means the Coast Guard officer.”

Keating turns toward him.

“What officer?”

“The one who helped Daniel escape Blackwater.”

Mom goes still.

“Someone helped my husband that night?”

Robert nods.

“Daniel would never have gotten off the island without him.”