Redemption in the Keys

by Matthew Rief

  We only saw a few of Carson’s men, but none of them stopped us or even said so much as a word. The two staff members at the end of the dock greeted us and lent a hand to Angelina as we stepped over to the Baia. Scott greeted each of us at the stern, telling us that we’d done one hell of a job. Jack was at the helm. He twisted his body around and revealed a massive smile covering most of his face.

  “How was the party?” he said in his usual laid-back tone.

  “Short and sweet,” I said, “just how I like them.” I handed Scott the laptop and added, “It’s Carson’s. Let’s see what we can get out of it.”

  Scott smiled.

  “Alright, Jack,” Angelina said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Jack grinned, backed away from the dock, and punched the throttles. In just a few seconds, he accelerated us up on plane, heading northeast around Richmond Key.

  We all sat in the cockpit, with Jack in the helm seat and the rest of us around the dinette. Kyle had been silent since we’d left Carson’s office, but after a few minutes, he looked at each of us and expressed his gratitude.

  “Thank you guys,” he said. “For everything. None of you had to do anything, but you did. You risked your lives and your careers for me.” Turning to Scott, he held out his hand.

  Scott shook it, then patted Kyle on the back.

  “I only wish we could’ve fixed this mess sooner,” Scott said. “I hate to rain on this parade, but it’s not over yet. You’re still a wanted criminal, Kyle. You will be taken into custody, nothing we can do about that. But, I’m confident that you won’t be held for very long. I’ve already contacted Wilson as well as other government and military officials that I know and trust. We will do everything we can to get you free and to fix the damage this shit has caused your reputation.”

  Kyle nodded and looked out over the dark ocean around us. We cruised back around North Key Largo and into the Atlantic, then turned south and followed the Keys down towards Key West. I grabbed a blanket for Ange, then we nestled up alongside each other on the sunbed. I leaned back into the soft cushioned backrest and wrapped an arm around her, bringing her beautiful body in close. I thought back on what we’d just done and had a hard time believing we’d actually pulled it off. But then, that wasn’t the first time I’d felt that way in my life. With Ange at my side, with guys like Jack, Scott, and Kyle fighting in my corner, I felt like there was nothing I couldn’t do. It was a chilling feeling, an empowering feeling.

  I kissed Ange on the forehead and thought about the question I’d asked her while in the resort.

  She never answered me, I thought. Though she had smiled. A good sign.

  I was close to asking her again but figured sitting at the stern of my boat beside my friends with a loud engine roaring beneath us wasn’t exactly the best moment. I tabled it for another time and just enjoyed the moment and the great company.

  We arrived back at the Conch Harbor Marina and pulled into my slip a few minutes before one in the morning. Scott headed straight for Key West International, where his private jet was parked. He took the laptop with him and said he’d get back to us soon. After I thanked Jack for everything, he flip-flopped down the dock and hopped into his blue Jeep Wrangler, heading to his house. I locked up the Baia and switched on the security system, then Ange, Kyle, and I hopped into my Tacoma and cruised over to my house. We had a quick bite to eat, then Kyle had a long and emotional phone call with his wife as Ange and I passed out on my king-sized bed.

  The next morning, I woke up to a phone call from Sheriff Wilkes. He informed me as a friendly courtesy that he and a group of other law enforcement would be coming by my house to get Kyle and take him into custody.

  “I understand,” was all I said.

  At 1100, I heard a squad of police cars as they pulled into my driveway.

  A group of CIA agents and police officers filed into my backyard. They cuffed Kyle and hauled him off. Charles was there, and he looked uncomfortable. Once Kyle was out of sight, a few of the agents approached Ange and me and said that they’d need us to make statements. I sighed. I wasn’t looking forward to having to deal with so many government employees. I’d worked for the government for eight years and there’d been a reason I’d been so anxious to get out. The protocols, the paperwork, the never-ending red tape. But I was ready to do everything I could to help Kyle and to fuel the karma that was cracking down on Carson.

  Within two weeks, the evidence of Kyle’s innocence became overwhelming. There was the recording of Carson admitting to being responsible, the intel recovered from her private laptop, and the cockpit recorder from the crashed flight that was found and salvaged by MDSU 2. The charges against Kyle were dropped and, following his continued involvement in the investigation, he’d be free to go. He was even working with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to have his discharge upgraded to honorable, the one he rightfully deserved after years of honorable service.

  The story had garnered so much attention that the president himself had mentioned the situation during a briefing, stating: “The tarnishing of Petty Officer First Class Quinn’s reputation and the impact this has had on him and his family is a stain on our nation’s history. We will do everything we can to rectify this situation and restore this American hero to his rightful position within our nation.”

  The president was then asked by a reporter what he had to say about Carson Richmond, her involvement in illegal activity, and the supposed corruption within certain political and military chains of command. He refused to comment on specifics, saying only that there was an extensive investigation taking place.

  The day Kyle was released from his temporary holding cell at the Jacksonville Naval Complex, Ange and I surprised him by picking him up in her Cessna and flying him back down to Key West. We’d also worked with Scott to fly his wife and two daughters via private jet from Southeast Asia, where they’d been living in hiding for much of the past ten years. They were standing on the tarmac in Key West when we landed. His wife was smiling and crying tears of joy; his daughters were waving. Kyle was one of the toughest and most masculine guys I’d ever met, and as soon as he saw them, he broke down.

  Ange slowed the Cessna, bringing it to within just a few hundred feet of them. Before we’d come to a stop, Kyle opened the door and hopped out. Ange brought us to a stop, and we both watched through the windshield as Kyle wrapped his arms around his family. Uncontrollable tears streaked down the sides of my face. I couldn’t take my blurry eyes off them.

  Ange wiped a tear from my cheek, then leaned over and kissed me.

  “You did a good thing, Logan Dodge,” she said.

  I smiled as I turned to look back at her. Her eyes had welled up as well. Watching Kyle and his family was one of the best things I’d ever seen in my life.

  “We did a good thing,” I said, then brought her in for another kiss.

  A longer and more passionate kiss.

  EPILOGUE

  A week after Kyle’s release, I surprised Ange with breakfast in bed and told her I’d booked her for a full spa package at Paradise Spa. It included an aroma tub soak, a facial, a foot scrub, and an hour-and-a-half-long Swedish massage. It was her birthday, and I wanted everything to be perfect.

  While she was at the spa, I packed up both our bags for a little getaway I had in mind. The past week had been a blur. We’d spent the days celebrating Kyle’s freedom with barbeques, evenings at Salty Pete’s, and boat rides around the Keys. We fished, we dove, we snorkeled, and we island-hopped our way around our beautiful paradise. It had been a hell of a time spent with the best friends a guy could ask for.

  The previous day, Kyle and his family had left for their hometown of Newark to reconnect with family they hadn’t seen in ages. I realized that I hadn’t spent very much alone time with Ange since she’d gotten back from California and figured that her birthday would be the perfect occasion to spend just the two of us.

  By the time Ange had finished at the spa and met me ove
r at the marina, it was midafternoon and I had us ready to go. In the salon, I had our two bags along with my four-person tent, a big sleeping bag, a hammock, tiki torches, and my portable propane grill. My Yeti was resting on the deck in the cockpit, filled with food, drinks, and ice. And lashed against the port gunwale was my two-person sit-a-top kayak and two paddles that I usually kept stored over in Gus’s shed. I’d also gotten Jack to watch Atticus for a day or two, depending on how much we were enjoying ourselves.

  Ange looked incredible as she walked down the dock. I met her at the swim platform and held out my hand to help her aboard. She was wearing a white sundress and leather sandals and had a pair of aviator sunglasses covering her eyes. She was relaxed and refreshed and had a big cherry-red-lipped smile on her face.

  “A girl could get used to this,” she said as she stepped towards me.

  She pressed her chest against mine, wrapped a hand behind my head, and pulled me in. I wasn’t sure how long we stood there, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that I was enjoying the company of the most beautiful and amazing woman in the world. She stepped down into the salon and I prepared the Baia to make way. She came back up just as I started up the twin six-hundreds.

  “What have you got planned, Dodge?” she said in her sexy, smooth Swedish accent.

  She motioned her head towards the kayak, then looked back at me.

  “It’s a surprise,” I said. “Just sit back and relax. I’ve got everything taken care of.”

  I opened my Yeti, grabbed a coconut water, and handed it to her. Grabbing the helm, I eased the throttles forward and cruised us out of the harbor. Once we were clear of the no-wake zone, I quickly brought us up on plane, heading west into Key West National Wildlife Refuge. It was a beautiful day in paradise, clear blue skies from horizon to horizon, barely any wind, and temperatures in the mid-seventies. The following day’s forecast called for perfect weather as well, making it an ideal time to enjoy a night out in the great outdoors.

  After two hours of cruising west through the Gulf, we reached Dry Tortugas National Park, a remote one-hundred-square-mile park consisting of beautiful blue waters, an abundance of bird and marine life, and picturesque islands. The area is also rich in history. Off the port bow, we could see the impressive Fort Jefferson. Brilliant red brick walls rise up forty-five feet from the water and sand below, creating a massive hexagon that encloses over sixteen acres. In recent years, you’ll spot mainly tourists brought in by the ferry that runs back and forth from just down the street from Conch Harbor Marina. But in its heyday during the Civil War, nearly two thousand Confederate soldiers lived in the fort.

  Up ahead, I could see the largest of the seven islands in Dry Tortugas: Loggerhead Key, its black-and-white-striped lighthouse rising high into the air. After passing the northern tip of Loggerhead, Ange looked over and shot me a confused look. I smiled, enjoying her reaction. She’d assumed that we would be camping out on Fort Jefferson or Loggerhead, but I had a better, more private location in mind.

  After fifteen more miles of blue open water, my desired destination came into view. By outward appearances alone, the island was nothing more than tall cliffs jutting up into the air, reaching sixty feet at their tallest point. According to any map or chart I’d ever seen, the island we were heading for didn’t even exist. I cruised us around to the northern side of the island, then killed the Baia’s engines. After dropping anchor, I climbed down into the salon and took a few trips bringing our gear up on deck.

  “So what’s the name of this pile of rocks?” Ange asked.

  She was sprawled out on the sunbed, wearing a turquoise bikini, and had her hair down. Her right hand shielded the side of her face from the sun as she looked towards the island.

  “Well, officially I don’t think it has a name. But my dad and I always called it Monte Cristo.”

  Ange laughed. “An excellent book. I love Dumas. But what exactly made you name it that?”

  “I’ve always loved the book as well. And we called it that because this pile of rocks shares a few similarities with the fictitious island.”

  “Like?”

  I leaned over her body, unlashed the kayak, and slid it over to the swim platform.

  “Well, from all appearances, this island looks barren and uninhabitable, just like the island from the book. It also holds a secret, like the one in the book did.”

  Her curious reaction was just as I’d hoped.

  “Alright, you’ve got my interest. What secret does this sorry excuse for an island have?”

  I grinned. “You’ll see.”

  We loaded down the kayak with all of our gear, including my cooler and grill, then I headed down into the main cabin to grab a few final things. Pulling open my nightstand drawer, I reached all the way back and grabbed a small wooden box. I stashed it away in my Camelbak, then returned topside and locked up the Baia. I kept the kayak steady as Ange sat down, then handed her a paddle and sat down in the seat behind her. Reaching behind me, I pushed against the Baia’s hull to give us momentum, then we paddled towards the island.

  “Those are some sharp cliffs,” Ange said. “You got any rock climbing gear in those bags?”

  I smiled. It had been the same thing Scott had said when I’d first taken him to the island last summer. She was right, though. The cliffs were sheer and would be a challenge even for an experienced climber.

  “We won’t need it,” I assured her.

  She chuckled, and shook her head, no doubt thinking that I was out of my mind. But as we came closer and closer to the rocks, a narrow opening revealed itself. It was difficult to spot even up close and practically impossible from far away. A small cut in the rock no more than ten feet wide that turned twice and blended in well with the rocks surrounding it.

  Ange picked up her pace. We paddled through the opening, following its turns, then entered an untouched tropical oasis. Ange froze, unable to believe what she was seeing.

  Not so crazy anymore, am I? I thought as I continued to paddle us slowly into the beautiful lagoon.

  The water was crystal clear beneath us, allowing us to see the various colorful marine life below. I paddled us up onto a brilliant white sandy beach roughly thirty feet wide. I sloshed up onto the sand, then helped Ange to her feet and kissed her. She was stunned speechless and kept looking around us at the beautiful secret island oasis.

  After dragging the kayak all the way up onto the beach, we unloaded the gear and hauled it up a steady slope towards the top of the island. Most of the ground was covered in palm trees and various other tropical plants, but there was a narrow path that my dad and I had created, which led up to our favorite place to camp.

  We soon reached a small patch of grass with views looking out over the empty blue ocean to the west. We set up the tent, strung the hammock across two palms, and set up a perimeter of tiki torches. We spent a few hours swimming in the lagoon, enjoying each other’s company as we splashed down from the cliffs and snorkeled our way back and forth.

  As the sun began to fall, we toweled off, then made our way back up to our campsite and cooked a delicious dinner of steak, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob, all cooked on my portable propane grill. To watch the sunset, we climbed up onto the rock face, allowing us to have a 360-degree view as the red sun sank into the ocean.

  I grabbed Ange’s hand in mine softly, then kissed her on the cheek and looked into her blue eyes.

  “You know,” I said, “you never gave me an answer back at the resort.”

  She gave me a big smile and turned to look out over the brilliant artwork nature was creating.

  “Well, you never showed me a ring,” she said playfully.

  She glanced back at me and took my breath away. I couldn’t speak, so instead I bent down to one knee in front of her. I loved her and I knew that she loved me, so why was I so nervous? I’d spent much of my life going toe to toe with some of the baddest and deadliest guys around, but this was a whole other animal. This was commitment, lifelong commi
tment, and a promise to love her and only her forever. My heart pounded in my chest harder than it ever had before. Her eyes, her smile, her perfume, the way her hair danced in the ocean breeze. She leveled me.

  “You know I’m not the most sentimental guy,” I said, getting off to a rough start. “But you make me feel ways that I can’t explain. I want to love you and hold you in my arms forever if you’ll have me. My dad always said that there’re a lot of people you can live with, but there’s only one person you can’t live without. That person is you, Ange.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small handcrafted wooden box. Holding it in front of me, I hinged the top open, revealing the diamond and letting it sparkle in the distant, dark red sun. “Angelina Fox, will you marry me?”

  We spent much of the night right there on the edge of the cliff, then moved down and nestled up in our tent with the rain fly off so we could look up at the sky full of stars. Ange had her body draped over my chest and pressed against mine as she slept. Her left hand rested gently on my right pec. Glancing down at her fingers, I smiled as her new piece of jewelry sparkled in the moonlight. Taking a deep and satisfied breath of the fresh evening air, I kissed her on the forehead, then closed my eyes, wondering how I’d managed to be so lucky.

  THE END

  Logan Dodge Adventures

  Gold in the Keys

  (Florida Keys Adventure Series Book 1)

  Hunted in the Keys

  (Florida Keys Adventure Series Book 2)