J.B. took her hand into his and squeezed it. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
She smiled and kissed him, unshed tears glinting in her eyes. “I know it will be. I just wanted to hear you say it. I’m glad we can talk like this.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Gonna be dark soon,” Morse commented, squinting up at the darkening canopy of trees over the river.
Ryan stood next to the boat’s captain and scanned the water. The color had gone from green to black as the sky lost the sun. “Is there a place nearby where we can put up for the night?” He’d taken Jak’s place watching over the man, letting the albino grab a quick nap.
“Along here, we can put up damn near anywhere.”
“We can’t all sleep on the boat,” Ryan pointed out. “Got to have defensible coastline wherever we put to.” All of them sleeping on the boat wasn’t what he wanted to do, either. It was one thing when the boat was under way; then they had the wind to push them along. At rest, the boat left little space on board to run to. Open terrain offered a better chance to flee or fight.
Morse nodded. “There’s a cove farther ahead. But there’s no chance of us getting there before dark.”
Ryan glanced at the thick underbrush along the banks. Over the past hour, he’d seen snakes, insects and animals he wanted to keep plenty of distance from. “Then that’s where we’ll head.”
Morse shook his head in disgust. “Make more and better sense to stay aboard Junie if you don’t want to sleep out. Running in the dark is triple stupe. Junie ain’t lighted for night running.”
Ryan turned on the man, fixing him with his one-eyed glare. “You do it or I do it. Either way, it gets done.” Worrying about Krysty left him even more short-tempered than usual about having his decisions questioned.
“I’ll do it,” Morse said, “but I ain’t gonna like it. Gotta get my boys to use poles as we go along. And running slow speed with the wind strong like this is triple hard.”
Ryan ignored the man’s comments with effort. If Morse and his knowledge hadn’t been necessary, he’d have heaved the man overboard.
ELMORE LOOKED UP as Ryan approached, squinting through the darkness that had blanketed the river. Now that the sun had fully gone down below the western rim of the world, the temperature had cooled, drawing up a thick gray fog that surged restlessly in the pale moonlight.
“What do you want?” Elmore demanded. He’d remained taciturn since they’d left Idaho Falls, acting more like a prisoner than a freed man. Of course, it hadn’t helped that Dean had kept such a close watch on him.
Ryan stopped in front of him, out of reach of a quick effort if Elmore decided to attempt to seize a weapon and take his chances overboard. “You never did say where we’d catch up with Donovan.”
Elmore shook his head. “You’re asking to take a peek at my hole card.”
“No.” Ryan stood with the Steyr canted on his hip. He and Jak had already spotted a dozen large amphibians crawling into the water in the boat’s wake. Neither of them had been able to identify them properly, but they’d felt they were a mutie strain of raccoon. The creatures had possessed fur and the familiar mask of a raccoon, but they’d been nearly four feet long and had no problem going under water for long periods of time. “Heading up north the way we’re going, things are liable to get dicey. Be good to know where we can look for Donovan.” He paused. “In case.”
“In case I get chilled?” Elmore asked. He laughed bitterly. “You’re a hard man, Ryan. Got no reason to expect any sympathy from you. Nor even a fair shake.”
“Wouldn’t give it,” Ryan said honestly. “Sympathy’s a waste of time, a down payment on getting a ticket for a seat on the last train to the coast. A fair shake’s out of the question when your needs conflict with mine or those of my friends.”
“So as long as your woman’s afflicted, I’m necessary?”