Sinners' Playground (The Harlequin Crew #1) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,216

got close enough to see me.

I quickly spun the wheel towards the mainland, pushed the throttle to full speed and dove over the far side of the boat before the water settled and any of The Damned Men could spot me.

I swam fast beneath the surface as the boat tore away, completely empty but drawing a whole lot of attention.

I surfaced beneath the jetty once more and tried not to laugh as the guys all leapt into the only other boat remaining moored up with Maverick at the wheel before they sped away after my decoy.

The moment I was certain they were far enough away, I pulled my cellphone from my back pocket and quietly thanked Fox for spending stupid money on getting me the waterproof model before texting JJ to tell him to use Fox's stalker skills to come find me. I made sure the tracking software was working, shoved the phone back in my pocket and turned my attention towards the horizon.

I steeled myself for a long swim, prayed the sharks weren't hungry today and headed off into the blue.

I wasn't sure if I was happy to be heading back to the Harlequins, especially after finding out they’d been lying to me this whole time. But I was damn proud of myself for my little escape and I was pretty sure the Green Ranger would have been proud of me too.

I stood steering the speedboat out across the dark sea, my heart in my fucking throat as I hunted for Rogue in a boat somewhere ahead of us. JJ stood beside me, my phone clasped in his grip as he held it up to track the signal. Chase was waving a heavy duty flashlight out ahead of us as we searched for her.

“She should be right in front of us, where’s her fucking boat?” I snarled.

I’d gone from raging to full on panic mode when we’d received her message. I didn’t know if she was being pursued or what, but the little dot in the ocean had kept moving toward us, so I’d prayed to fucking God she was still free. She was moving slow enough that she had to be having engine trouble and worry clawed at me as I hunted for her out here, desperate to find her before Maverick or his men did.

The bottom fell out of my stomach as the flashlight swung onto her. In the fucking sea.

“Rogue!” I roared, cutting the engine.

I kicked off my shoes and dove from the boat, crashing into the water. I swam toward her through the cool waves, tugging her against me and she clung on without complaint, panting heavily.

“Wow,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t know badgers could swim.”

I’d never thought I’d be glad to hear her calling me that as I hugged her against my chest and kissed her forehead. “Any creature would figure it out to save you, baby.”

She chuckled. “Even a pigeon?”

“Even a wingless, legless pigeon.”

She grinned at me and I smiled back, my heart pounding out a happy beat as I remembered swimming in the ocean with her when we were kids. We’d been thirteen when her board had once gotten pulled out to sea on a riptide. I swam the fuck after her and waited with her until the coastguard had picked us up. We’d gotten one asshole of a sunburn, but it was still one of my favourite memories. She’d held onto me like it wasn’t her surfboard keeping her afloat, but me.

“I think we’re still drifting out to sea,” Rogue said, gazing towards the endless horizon as she bit her lip in concern. The shore was becoming smaller and smaller, but the coastguard would get to us soon. We just had to hang on.

“I’d drift right off the edge of the world if that was where you were heading, hummingbird.” I clutched her hand and she wound her fingers between mine.

“Is it weird that I don’t care what’s out there beyond the horizon? I just want to stay here in Sunset Cove. With you and the others.”

“It’s not weird,” I said firmly. “Too many people think travelling the world will make them happy, more fulfilled or some shit. But the real stuff happens right here. On the dirt we grew up on. This place will remember us when we’re gone, nowhere else will. So I want to keep making it ours, brand our names in the earth itself. I like belonging here. And I like that you belong here too. Nothing