Left in the Sand, Found by the Sea novel · Chapter 16 of 24

Chapter 16: Live From the Pier

They came back at dusk, and they came back in numbers.

I was on Winnie's porch with my phone in my hand when the first pair of headlights turned onto the harbor road.

Then a second pair, and a third.

Six men got out of three cars, and the lean man led them down the slip without a word.

Carmine did not come with them.

He stayed in the long car at the gate with the window down and a cigar he did not light.

Rocco was sitting on a bollard at the end of the pier with his jacket off and a blanket Winnie had made him take.

Eli sat beside him on an upturned crate.

They had been there since noon, not talking, and I had looked out at the two dark heads against the water so many times that I knew the shape of them by heart.

I walked down the slip before I decided to.

"Orla," Eli said, standing.

"Don't stand in front of me."

"I wasn't going to."

"Good. Stand next to me."

Something moved in his face and he stepped to my left.

It was the first thing either of us had said to each other since morning.

The lean man stopped ten feet away.

"Mr. Rocco," he said. "Your father's car is waiting."

"Tell him I'm not getting in it."

"I have my instructions."

"I'm sure you do."

"I'm sorry."

He did not sound sorry.

He nodded to the others, and the six of them spread out along the pier, slowly, to cut off the way back to the gravel.

I raised my phone.

I opened the app, and I pressed the red button, and I turned the camera on the whole pier.

"Hi," I said, to the screen. "I'm Orla. This is Gannet Cove. The man in the car at the end of the road is Carmine Sarno, and he's going to take his son home against his will in front of a whole harbor. I thought you'd want to see it."

← Chapter 15 · All chapters · Chapter 17 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend