Skyla tapped her lip, then she stopped, finger frozen in mid-tap. “You’re coming kayaking with me.”
“I am?” My stomach flipped over. I ran cross-country in high school, sometimes went hiking with Mani, and swam in the neighborhood pool in the summer, but I never much went in for the “granola” sports like climbing and paddling. When I had told her I always wanted to try kayaking, I was mostly being friendly.
“Sure. I’ll give you a quick lesson tomorrow, out here in the bay. A trip like this will be good for you. It will take you off the radar for a little while and give us a chance to figure out what to do next.”
“You sure we shouldn’t call the police?”
“You think you haven’t pissed Mani’s killer off enough already?”
But the police had guns, and bulletproof vests, and backup. “No, Skyla.” I sighed. “I’m probably just getting started.”
In the lights outside the bar, Skyla’s teeth gleamed when she smiled. “That’s my girl.”
Skyla and I went back into The Pits. She turned to the bar and ordered a beer, and I went to search for Val. I found him playing darts and winning. Trouncing. Val hit spot-on, but when he missed, he grinned like the Cheshire Cat, as if he missed on purpose. He was a shyster, but a charming one, and he knew it. Val caught my eye and winked. I sniffed and turned away.
“He makes me crazy,” I said, leaning on the bar beside Skyla.
“Guys do that. It’s why I tend to stay away from them.”
“But not Mani?”
“Mani drove me insane above all others. That’s how I knew I loved him.”
“I do not love Val Wotan.”
Skyla scoffed. “Well, he’s definitely got the hots for you.”
Val pushed his way through the crowd to my side, blatantly ignoring Skyla. “Solina, you ready to head home?”
“What, no jukebox dancing?” I said.
Val flicked a glance at the old record player. “Well, we could—”
I cut him off. “I was joking.”
Val tugged my hand and pulled me away from the bar. “You’re not happy with me—for what exact reason, I’m not sure—but if we can get out of here, I’d be glad for you to tell me all about it.”
I stepped closer and smiled my sweetest fake smile. “Oh, we’re getting out of here all right. I’m going on Skyla’s kayaking trip, and you’re going backpacking for a week, which you neglected to tell me when you were demanding I had to come stay with you.”
Val’s face flushed as he ushered me toward the exit. “You needed to be safe last night. I needed to know you were okay. I was going to figure out something for when I was gone.”
“I don’t take well to being manipulated, Val.”
The emotions on Val’s face ran the gamut from annoyance, to hurt, to indignation. “You’ll be putting Skyla at risk, too, remember?”
“That excuse isn’t working for me anymore. Besides, the point of this trip is to get away from the trouble for a few days. Lie low, you know?”
“You could do the same thing on the backpacking trip with me.”
I scowled at him. Going on a trip with him required trust, and my confidence in Val was at low tide. “No, Val.” I put my hand up, a gesture meaning I would take no arguments from him. “I’m doing this my way.”
He inhaled and blew the breath out fast. “I don’t like it.”
“Of course you don’t, because it means you won’t be in charge. It will be fine. Nothing’s going to happen.”
Val frowned; a wrinkle formed between his eyebrows. “That’s what they always say right before something bad happens.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I said, “but it doesn’t matter. I’m going.”
Chapter Twelve
Skyla met me at the store at first light, an hour so indecently early even the wildlife refused to get out of bed. She helped me find a wetsuit, gloves, and neoprene booties before we hiked to the marina. She led me to a storage shed on the bank near the docks.
“Thorin keeps the rental stock here,” Skyla said, “so we don’t have to haul it back and forth. I keep my boat here too.” She unlocked a door and towed out a silver and neon-green kayak. “This is Molly.”
“Your kayak has a name?”
“It’s good luck.”
“I thought that was only for ships.”
“Shhh,” Skyla said, patting her boat. “She thinks she is a ship.”
“What’s my boat’s name?”
Skyla returned to the shed and lugged out a smaller, faded red kayak, plain and well used. “The rentals don’t get names. You have to form a bond before you can name it.”
“But I need good luck.”
