The night sea had become a battlefield of shadows and uncertainty.
Caleb stood at the bow of the lead boat, the wind tearing at his coat, his eyes fixed on the dark shape that loomed on the horizon. The pursuing ship was larger than they were—a sleek, fast-moving vessel that cut through the black water with a predator's grace. Its lights were dimmed, but the faint glow of its bridge illuminated the outline of armed figures moving along its deck. The buyers had found them, and they had come with force.
"Can we outrun them?" Nyla shouted over the roar of the engines.
"Not in these boats!" Vance called back from the helm. "They're too small, too slow. That ship's built for pursuit!"
"Then we outsmart them." Caleb's mind raced, calculating the options. The open sea offered no cover, no pla
