Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals

black boat brought me to my senses, and when I thought about what I had done, how I had put you at risk, I had no choice but to fake my death and vanish. Believe me, I’m trying to make things right.”
    “Why not go to the police?” Jack asked.
    “I can’t.”
    “Why not?’ snarled Max.
    “I just can’t.”
    “So what are you doing here?” asked Jack.
    Still looking at Max, he replied, “I had to see you one more time. I needed to explain. It was impossible back in town, so when I saw that the boat was gone, my friend Freddie agreed to help me look for you. It’s a wonder that we found you.”
    “How do you know that you can trust Freddie?”
    “I just can.”
    “So what do you intend to do?” asked Jack
    “I have a plan. I just needed to see you, to warn you, to apologize, before …” He looked down without finishing what he had started to say.
    “Before what?” Jack demanded. But before Daniel could answer, Max squeezed his hand.
    “Can we have a minute?” Max said to Daniel.
    “Sure,” he said.
    Jack pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go up front.” He released her hand, climbed out of the cockpit, and went forward to the bow.
    Without a word, Max followed. Behind her, Daniel looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching and then silently slipped below.

CHAPTER 33
    FOR A LONG MOMENT , Max looked out toward the empty horizon, not saying a word. Finally, she spoke. “Do you really think that he has a plan, and that there’s a chance it will work?”
    With his eyes locked on hers, Jack said, “I don’t know. But I believe that this Kurt guy means business. As much as I hate the idea, we might need to trust Daniel. If this gets him out of our lives for good, then it’s worth the risk.”
    Max turned and looked out toward the empty horizon not saying a word. Jack touched her shoulder and she leaned back against him. He put his arms around her and he felt her relax. He whispered in her ear, “Everything will be all right. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
    “I know.” But he didn’t hear her reply, because that was the moment when Daniel’s voice, back up in the cockpit, broke the silence.
    * * *
    “Listen, I have to go.” He waved to Freddie and they heard the throaty roar of his boat’s engine start. By the time Jack and Max reached the cockpit, Freddie was pulling up alongside. Before either Max or Jack could say anything, Daniel jumped across into Freddie’s boat. As soon as he was on board, Freddie gunned the throttle, spun the wheel, and accelerated away, leaving Irrepressible rocking violently in his wake.
    * * *
    Stunned into silence they stared out over the now empty sea. Jack was the first to say something. “You okay?”
    Max nodded yes.
    “Time to go home.”

CHAPTER 34
    JACK MOVED AFT , positioned himself at the wheel and pressed the throttle forward. The diesel, which had been idling the entire time that Daniel was on board and had seemed nearly silent now became noticeable as Irrepressible began to pick up way once again. Jack spun the wheel to the left and she responded by leaning into a turn to port. Max, taken by surprise, was sat down with a thump.
    “Hey!” she shouted to Jack.
    “We’re going back.”
    “I can see that.” She said with more than a touch of sarcasm. “You could have warned me you were turning, I could have been killed.”
    Realizing that he had reacted a bit impulsively, Jack blushed and mumbled, “Sorry.”
    “You’re forgiven,” and with that she picked up a cushion and went forward, leaving Jack alone at the wheel. Little else would be said during the long ride home. Satisfied with the course set, Jack scanned the horizon and saw nothing but the vast emptiness of the flat ocean. The diesel droned on, pushing Irrepressible onward, toward home, while Jack stood by the wheel, one hand resting on it more out of habit than of necessity, the other raised, shielding his eyes from the sun which was now well on its way toward the horizon.
    Max rejoined him in the cockpit as they rounded the Isles of Shoals. The sun’s steady descent seemed to increase in speed the closer it got to the horizon and as soon as it began to slip behind the land the movement became even more obvious. It would be another hour before they would be safely back in the harbor.
    As the distance decreased and darkness increased, lights began to dot the shoreline. Streetlights appeared and the headlights of cars moving along the shore road were