The Bones of Valhalla (Purge of Babylon, Book 9) by Sam Sisavath Read Free Book Online Page A

dead, what does that mean for Keo?” Bonnie said.
    The question caught her by surprise, and Lara actually had to take a moment to think about it. The truth was, with everything happening today—Danny and Gaby’s return, the chest, Will —she hadn’t had time to think about anything else. Or anyone else. Not even Keo, who had gone to Black Tide Island to kill Mercer.
    You still alive out there, Keo?
    If Mercer was dead—or as Riley hypothesized, somehow incapacitated—then someone would have had to put him that way. Keo had the motive and the skills to be the culprit. So what did that mean for him?
    She still remembered the last (the last, last) conversation they’d had on the Ocean Star :
    “Don’t be an asshole, Keo,” she had told him. “If you won’t stay with us, if you won’t come back to the Trident with me, at least promise me you’re not going out there just to get yourself killed. Tell me you’ll at least try to make it back, and mean it.”
    “What if I can’t?” he had answered.
    “You can. You just have to make the choice.”
    “Okay.”
    “Okay, what?”
    “I’ll do my best. How’s that?”
    She had nodded, and said, “Good enough.”
    So had it been good enough , after all? Had Keo reached Black Tide Island with Erin’s help and done what he had to? Was he on his way back to them right now?
    That last part was a stretch because he wouldn’t know their current location. The last time he had seen them was on the oil rig, preparing to leave. But Keo would know not to go there after last night. So where would he go instead? What would he do?
    “He hasn’t radioed?” Lara asked.
    Bonnie shook her head. “Blaine’s keeping the emergency channel open, but so far there hasn’t been a peep.”
    “With Keo, you can never tell. How many times have we given up on him only for him to pop up again? That guy has nine lives.”
    “So how many has he used up so far?”
    “I don’t know, but let’s hope he has a few left to spare.”
    “Hope springs eternal, is that it?”
    “Have faith, Bonnie.”
    The other woman sighed. “Hey, it’s not like I’m married to the guy or anything. We haven’t even done the horizontal dance. I’m just worried about him, that’s all.”
    “We both are. But Keo can take care of himself.” She picked up her Glock from the nightstand and slid it into the holster. “I need volunteers to relieve Benny and Carrie in a few hours.”
    “Gwen and Jo have already offered. Though from everything I’ve heard, we could have everyone down there and it still wouldn’t do any good. I’ve never actually seen them in person—one of those blue-eyed types—but I was talking to Nate and…” She actually shivered. “I don’t think I want to, after hearing what they can do.”
    “I know,” Lara said, heading for the door. “But the guards aren’t down there to keep him inside the cabin. They’re there to keep people out. ”

    * * *
    T hey found Riley back on the bridge with Blaine and Hart. Besides her cabin and Zoe’s infirmary, the bridge was the only other place on the yacht that wasn’t constantly filled with people, the din of which faded as soon as Bonnie closed the door after them.
    It was already dark on the other side of the wraparound windshield, and the bright floodlights around the boat were the only thing visible for miles around. She might have been slightly alarmed at how lit up they were (Like a Christmas tree, right, Will?) if not for the fact that the vessel was still moving. Their speed, just as it had been since they left the Ocean Star , was hampered by the refueling ship following closely behind them.
    “You wanted to talk to me?” Lara said as Riley and Hart glanced over.
    Riley nodded. “We just came from a meeting with our people. We had a long talk about what to do next.”
    “That was fast.”
    “I didn’t think we had time to waste. We’ll be at the Bengal Islands soon if we keep on this course.”
    “Okay,” Lara