The Ashes of Pompeii (Purge of Babylon, Book 5) (15 page)

He didn’t answer right away. It was a tempting offer. Gillian may or may not be out there, but Carrie was here, now. That was a certainty. And he’d always been more pragmatic than a dreamer, so what was keeping him from accepting her offer?

Tonight. The answer was tonight.

It’s going to be a bloodbath. Only an idiot would stay behind.

“You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying,” Keo said. “There won’t be an island after tonight.”

“Maybe,” Carrie said. “Maybe not. Lara’s friends are coming back.”

“The Rangers.”

“Yes.”

“They won’t be enough.”

“You don’t know that.”

“It’s just an island, Carrie. There are other islands.”

“The one in Texas is just an island, too, but you’re doing everything you can to get to it anyway. What’s the difference?”

He sighed. Christ. She had an answer for everything. The woman was going to drive him crazy if he spent any more time arguing with her.

And she was right, too. That was probably the most galling part. Dammit, she was right.

“So you’re staying,” he said. “You’ve decided?”

“It’s not about the island,” she said. “It’s about the people on it. It’s always been about the people. Stay with us, Keo. There might not be anything for you out there, but there’s something here, now.”

“Not after tonight.” He walked to the dresser and picked up the Glock and holstered it. “I guess there’s nothing left to say.”

“Yeah,” she said, the disappointment showing on every inch of her face. So she had come here with a mission after all: To convince him to stay. “I hope you find her waiting for you in Texas. I really do.”

He nodded. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say next, because everything he was thinking of at the moment would have come out sounding too obviously forced.

Carrie, thank God, decided to take mercy on both of them and left before he could come up with something.

*

He stepped outside
onto the front patio and breathed in the fresh air. The island had cooled down noticeably, and he was glad he had on a long-sleeve shirt. The grass
crunched
under his boots as he made his way to the beach, using the road that wound around the island like a stone serpent, each different pebble like scales. He glanced over at the Tower and saw a figure moving behind one of the windows. Judging by the height, he guessed it was either Carly or Jo, Bonnie’s little sister.

A motor started up as he neared the beach, the noise rudely breaking through the quiet. He walked across the mushy sand and toward the pier, where Maddie was revving one of the boats. It was an ugly aluminum vessel with chipped navy blue colors, but judging by the sound of its outboard motor, it would do just fine.

She shut down the boat when he was halfway to her. “Lara tells me you know your way around boats.”

“Just enough to get in trouble.”

“Like last night?”

“They started it.”

“Right. So,” she said, doing a
Price is Right
gesture at the boat, “it’s not the best-looking specimen we have on the island, but the motor’s good and it should get you where you need to be. That is, unless you run into pirates out there in the Gulf.” She glanced at the big
Trident
anchored nearby, moving slightly back and forth with the wind. “Which would have been an absurd idea until last night.”

Keo looked over the boat. It was a sixteen-footer, one of those deep-V vessels with a stainless steel stern and bow, and had fishing decks that took up plenty of space. The windshield above the center console was tinted, the glass cracked in places with something that looked like a fresh bullet hole near the center. He decided not to ask about that.

“Don’t let her looks fool you,” Maddie was saying. “She’s a sturdy little one.”

“It’ll do.”

“Where’s your stuff and that cute German gun of yours?”

“Back at the hotel,” he smiled. “I was thinking about picking up one of those M4s you guys like so much for insurance.”

“How many guns do you need, Keo?”

“After everything that’s happened, you’re actually asking me that question?”

Maddie chuckled. “Sorry, total brain fart.” She tossed him the key, then climbed up onto the pier. “Tank’s topped off and I’ll bring out the extra gas cans when you’re ready to shove off.”

“How many?”

“It won’t get you all the way to the Texas coast, but that’s what the 12-volt trolling motor is for. Battery’s fully charged, and I’ll give you a spare just in case. Also, two livewells, twenty gallons each, to stash your supplies, and plenty of compartments for everything else. First aid kit, flare gun, et cetera. Oh, and two paddles. You know, just in case.”

“Looks like you got everything covered. Thanks.”

“Boss lady tells me to do it, I do it.”

“You believe in her,” Keo said, looking at Maddie.

“She’s got us this far. Her and Will. I’m not going to start doubting them now.”

“That kind of loyalty’s hard to come by. I respect that.”

“What can I say? They earned it.” Maddie nodded at the white yacht. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to take that monster.”

“Too rich for my blood.”

“I think Lara’s already coming up with some ideas on how to use it.”

“Oh, I’m sure of that.” He remembered the look on her face when she had first seen the
Trident
last night. “She strikes me as the kind of girl who thinks two or three moves ahead of everyone, including me.”

“I’m just glad she’s on our side.” Then, “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“What’s that?”

“What kind of name is Keo, anyway?”

“George was taken.”

Maddie snorted. “You got that down pat, huh?”

Keo smiled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Absolutely no one has ever asked me that question before.”

“Riiiiiight. Well, I wish you’d stay. I won’t lie; we could really use another gun around here. But I get that you have to go. If I don’t see you again,
vaya con dios
, Keo.”

“What if I don’t believe in God?” he asked.

“I’m sure he’ll get over it,” she smiled back.

*

The last time
he was in the Tower’s basement, he had been looking for something with explosive capabilities. This time, Keo was content to pick up an M4 carbine with a decent optic and a collapsible stock. He liked the MP5SD, but there was nothing wrong with loading up on firepower—especially since he didn’t know what was waiting for him out there. The absent Rangers had stockpiled plenty of silver ammo, and he loaded up on as much as he could carry.

He climbed out of the basement with the weapon and spare magazines in his cargo pants pocket. As he was closing the door back up, he heard voices coming through a radio from two floors above him. Foreign accents, some thicker than others, floated through the open doors.

The idea that people around the world were contacting each other made him feel strangely optimistic. Of course, those good vibes always faded when he realized what some guys in China, Russia, or France were doing had zero impact on his life at the moment. The world was a vast place, made more distant by the lack of convenient transportation. Unless, of course, you could find a pilot somewhere with a working plane and the fuel for it. Talking to some guy over the radio was one thing; actually getting together to form some kind of plan was another.

Good luck with that, guys. I’m just looking for a girl to hook up with again.

He headed out, feeling strangely content. What Lara and the islanders did from now on was their business. He had done his part—more than his part, actually—and it was time to go.

There was no one working the nascent garden outside because everyone was sticking to the hotel these days. Keo wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good idea and thought about bringing it up, but decided against it. Lara was a smart girl, and she probably knew what she was doing. And if not…

Not my problem anymore. Time to go.

Carrie wasn’t in his room when he returned, but there was a large faded gym bag sitting on the bed. Keo opened it and found stacks of sealed beef jerky, along with bottled water, nonperishable canned goods, and a dozen shiny bags of MREs. There was enough inside to last him weeks on the ocean. More than a month, if he conserved. Of course, if he needed a month’s worth of food out there, he was already in trouble. Whoever had brought it over had also generously tossed in a couple of metal sporks and a can opener.

Keo shoved the newly acquired magazines into the same tactical pack he had put his spare clothes in earlier, one of many the Rangers had stashed around the hotel. He slipped the nylon bag on and picked up the much heavier gym bag (the damn thing weighed a ton) and left the room.

The faster he moved, the faster he climbed into the boat, the faster he took off, the better things would be. For him. For Carrie. For Lara and the others.

He decided he wouldn’t tell Gillian about Song Island when they finally reunited. Hell, he’d like to forget about this place too after tonight, but somehow he didn’t think that was going to be possible anytime soon.

*

He returned to
the beach just in time to see Lara and Maddie cruising toward the
Trident
in one of the bass fishing boats while Blaine watched after them from the yacht’s main deck. It was just as well. He had been dreading another encounter with Lara anyway. He respected the hell out of her, so the prospect of having to face her again while he was
(running)
leaving wasn’t at the very top of his to-do list.

Bonnie saw him coming and stood up on the boat shack, where she was standing guard. She was easily the tallest woman on the island, but that wasn’t what he noticed most about her. He didn’t have any trouble believing she used to be a model. In another time, another place, Keo might have decided dying tonight was worth it if that meant the possibility of getting into her good graces.

But that was then, and this was now. And right now, he had to get the hell off this island before he did something stupid…like decide not to.

“So you really are leaving,” Bonnie said.

“Afraid so.”

“Too bad. We were hoping you might stay awhile.”

“‘We’?”

“Everyone on the island.”

He sighed. He should have run instead of walked to his boat.

“Can’t,” he said.

“She must be some woman.”

“What makes you think there’s a woman?”

“Oh, come on. There’s always a woman. Plus, Carly told me.”

“Ah.”

“Is she pretty?”

“What do you think?”

“Must be. I just hope she’s actually there.”

Great. Who doesn’t know I’m the world’s biggest sucker?

“Gotta take the chance,” he said.

“So this is all on faith?” Bonnie chuckled. “Somehow, I never took you for the kind of guy who went on faith, Keo.”

“People change.”

“I guess so.”

Keo stopped next to Bonnie’s shack and glanced in the direction of the luxury yacht moored nearby. Maddie had expertly sidled the boat toward the back, as if she had done it a million times.

“What’s going on over there?” he asked. “Still searching for the eighth guy?”