Read The Night Charter for Free Online Page A

saw the woman take up two menus and head their way. Parker ignored his when the waitress put it down. He watched Camaro’s face with desperate eyes. She picked up her menu and looked at it carefully. “You ever been to Cuba?” she asked Parker without looking at him.
    “No.”
    “You ever run the waters between Miami and Cuba? At all?”
    “No.”
    Now she fixed him with her gaze. “So how the hell do you know it’ll be as simple as scooting in and scooting out? Is that your whole plan?”
    “Well, yeah,” Parker said.
    “Jesus, you guys are in trouble,” Camaro said.
    “That’s why we need an expert!” Parker said quickly. “Somebody who can captain a boat and keep it on the down low! I bet you’ve been halfway to Cuba more than once or twice. What’s a few more miles?”
    “It’s over two hundred miles to Cuba from Miami,” Camaro said. “How far out do you think I go?”
    “You see? We need expertise! You’re smart, and you know what’s up. With you on board, we can get this done no problem.”
    Camaro put her menu down and folded her hands on top of it. “Parker, I’m not interested.”
    “Please,” he said. “I have to go back to Matt with something.”
    “If you have to go back to Matt, you need to go back to him and tell him to get the hell out of your life,” Camaro said. “Anybody can tell he’s bad news.”
    “You don’t understand,” Parker said. “I need the money his deal is going to earn us. I can’t find work, and if I don’t get a job I’m not going to be able to keep a roof over my head. I’ll lose my house, and then I’ll lose Lauren all over again. That can’t happen. This is my big chance to land some serious money.”
    “How much is your end?” Camaro asked.
    “About twenty-three grand.”
    “That won’t last.”
    “It’s something, and that’s more than I have right now. I’m already a month behind on rent.”
    Camaro flagged the waitress down a second time. “On second thought, I’m just going to take the drinks,” she said. “Can I pay for them right now?”
    “Sure,” the waitress said, and she waited as Camaro peeled off a few bills. Out of the corner of her eye, Camaro could see Parker reddening behind his tan. She hoped he would not cry.
    “I’m going to go,” Camaro told him when the waitress was gone.
    “Camaro, I’m begging you.”
    She paused. “I’m not saying no,” she said.
    “What are you saying?”
    “I’m saying I’ll think about it.”
    “Camaro, I have to be able to tell Matt something. If I don’t have anything to tell Matt, he’s—”
    “You worry about me, not Matt,” Camaro said. “I’m the one who matters right now.”
    Parker nodded, attentive. “Right, right. I’ll hold off on telling him anything until you make up your mind. But if he asks, can I say you’re interested? Maybe I can get him to swing a few thousand more.”
    “I’m not looking for more money,” Camaro said.
    “What are you looking for?”
    “A reason not to say no. I’ll call you, Parker.”
    She got up to leave, and Parker caught her by the wrist. She gave him a look that made him let go as if his hand were burned. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I just wanted to say…this is for Lauren. I don’t care if you think I’m some kind of ex-con bum, but I have a little girl, and she needs me. I’m all she has.”
    “I’m going,” Camaro said. And she left.

Chapter Ten
    I N HIS HEAD , Parker turned over the time in the diner again and again on his way back to the house. He regretted putting his hand on her most of all. She was the kind of woman who let a man touch her only when she allowed it. He had violated an unspoken rule. They were not so close.
    He imagined saying things a different way, and he considered arguments that hadn’t occurred to him in the minutes he sat opposite her. Sometimes he could tell what she thought and other times she was closed. Today she had been a whirlwind of both, and he felt bewildered even