Whitney tossed her head to get some of the hair out of her eyes. “It’s too bad we couldn’t get one of those guy’s phones. I know you didn’t have service on the island, but hopefully we’ll get somewhere eventually where we do.” She pursed her lips then pressed on. “Look, I’m really sorry you got dragged into this. This is my problem, not yours. As soon as we get back to the mainland, I’ll make sure you get to safety immediately. After a few days, hopefully you’ll be able to pick up your life right where you left it.”
He frowned. Was she serious? “I don’t think you asked to be attacked by drug dealers on that boat yesterday, so I’m not sure you can classify it as ‘your problem.’” He took off his glasses, cleaned the water away with his shirt and then put them back on, giving her a direct look. “Regardless, I think at this point it’s our problem, don’t you? Sure, they may have come after you initially, but after what just happened on my island, I believe we are both on their hit parade.”
“I’m still sorry,” she said again, her voice contrite.
As much as Theo wanted to blame her for their current situation, he found that he couldn’t honestly lay the fault at her feet. Whitney had started this adventure by merely going on a wildlife cruise. She was supposed to be on vacation, and hadn’t set out to wash up on his island. Or to be chased down by criminals.
He studied her face, which radiated a strong will and determination, and once again, he felt a spark of attraction toward her. Then, as he watched the wind play with her hair, his heart that had been beating with fear suddenly began pumping with an entirely new emotion that he refused to identify. He quickly looked away, trying to focus on driving the boat and on the ocean around them. Why had God brought this woman into his life? She was a complication he just didn’t need.
Sighing, he tried to push the sentiments away and stay focused on the conversation at hand.
“Thank you for saying so, but you’re not responsible for any of this.” He glanced at the sky, surreptitiously searching for a safe topic that would not make him think about Whitney Johnson’s beautiful gray eyes. There was a storm building on the horizon. He had been tracking a storm in the Atlantic and moving their way before all of this had happened. Apparently, it was moving faster than the meteorologists expected. Instead of giving him a harmless topic to talk about, though, the churning clouds made him think about her eyes even more. He groaned inwardly and searched for another subject. “So, you know I’m a biogeochemist, but I still don’t know what you do for a living. Want to enlighten me?”
Whitney laughed. “I’ll give you three guesses.”
Theo grimaced. Her laugh was like music. He hadn’t picked a safe topic, after all. He pushed forward. “Either a sharpshooter for the military,” he said in a serious tone, “or a prison guard at a maximum-security facility. I still can’t believe you bested Jose. That guy was huge!”
She laughed again, apparently pleased by both of his guesses. “Well, I grew up with three older brothers. I learned early on that I had to hold my own if they were going to take me seriously.” She brushed some more hair out of her eyes. “As far as my profession, you were closest with your first guess. I’m a deputy US Marshal up in Tallahassee. There are two of us on the team that they call when they need a sharpshooter—either me or Jake Riley. We’re about equal when it comes to accurately firing a weapon, not that the others on the team are slouches by any means. They keep Jake and me both on our toes.”
Ah, everything about her was now starting to make more sense. The more he uncovered, the more the picture of Whitney Johnson came into focus. And Theo liked what he was discovering. She was not the typical female that he was attracted to—which made the entire situation stranger in his book—yet he had to admit the interest was there. He couldn’t explain his growing feelings, but he couldn’t deny them, either.
Theo was never going to act on them, though. Attraction or not, losing his wife and child had devastated him. He never wanted to experience that type of pain again, and he would never willingly open himself up to that sort of vulnerability. Once this adventure was over, he would retreat to the solitude of his island and Whitney would return to Tallahassee, and their worlds would never again collide. That would be the end of it.
He was sure of it.
So why did that thought bother him so much?
SIX
The US Coast Guard station at Islamorada, which was smaller than Whitney expected, was housed on the end of a short peninsula. Theo piloted the boat up Snake Creek and turned right before the Overseas Highway drawbridge. As they pulled up, she noticed a T-shaped, two-story building that took up most of the space on the land, and a forty-five-foot Coast Guard Response Boat–Medium and a thirty-three-foot Special Purpose Craft Law Enforcement tied to the dock. There was room for another boat and Theo pulled into the space.
She didn’t see any Coast Guard personnel around, but it was lunchtime, and it was a small station, so the lack of people wasn’t too surprising. A large sign advertised the many missions of the station—to aid navigation, conduct search and rescue, marine environmental protection and, most important, drug and migrant interdiction.
A measure of relief swept over Whitney as Theo docked their boat. She’d never worked with the Coast Guard directly, but if their sign was accurate, this was the perfect place to come for help from her plight with the drug dealers.
“So how many people work at this station?” she asked as Theo helped her out of the boat.
“A dozen or so, if I remember correctly,” he answered. “I’ve only been here once and don’t remember much about their setup.”
“Hey, you can’t leave your boat there,” a voice called.
Whitney turned to see a young man in a navy blue uniform approaching. “We need some help,” she said, her voice filled with authority. “I’m Whitney Johnson, US Deputy Marshal, and this is Theo Roberts.”
The young man shrugged. “I don’t care who you are. You can’t leave your boat there. This dock is strictly off-limits to all except Coast Guard personnel. Captain Baker’s orders, ma’am.”
Whitney and Theo shared a look and Theo raised an eyebrow. Clearly, the name the young sailor had mentioned struck home with him, just as it did with Whitney. “Baker” was the name the drug dealer had mentioned on Theo’s island. The implication had been that Baker was dirty. The last thing Whitney wanted to do was to jump from the fry pan and into the fire. Apparently, they would need to go elsewhere if they wanted help.
“And where can we find Captain Baker?” Theo asked.
The young man’s eyes flitted over to Theo, giving both of them a suspicious look from head to toe. “Out on a mission, but he should be returning shortly, and he will want to dock his boat right where yours is now. A boat capsized just east of Plantation Key and he’s out on the rescue. If you want to meet with him, I can contact him, set up an appointment and show you where to dock your boat so that it won’t be in the way.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Whitney stated flatly. “We’re sorry to have bothered you. Do you think Captain Baker will be in tomorrow?” When the young man nodded, she smiled, hoping this entire event would be erased from his memory. The last thing she wanted to do was to bring any more attention to Theo or herself. At this point, she just wanted to get out of there before Baker heard about their visit and sent one of those large Coast Guard boats after them. If Captain Baker was corrupt, as she suspected, her life would be in even greater danger the moment he arrived. “Thanks for your help. We’ll come back and go through official channels tomorrow. Sorry to have bothered you.”
She and Theo both jumped back in the boat. As soon as Whitney untied it from the dock, he quickly pulled away from the small station and headed back out to sea.
Theo grimaced as they cleared the last of Snake Creek. “Well, that didn’t work out so well.”
“At least God protected us. If we’d showed u
p an hour later, Baker would have probably been there and who knows what would have happened.” Whitney brushed some hair out of her eyes as the boat’s speed picked up on the open water. “Got any other ideas?”
Theo shrugged. “It might be safer if we head into the Everglades. Doing the unexpected might just throw them off. Captain Baker is probably well respected in the area. Even local law-enforcement agencies in the vicinity will probably be looking for us on his say-so. I doubt it’s safe to contact any of them.”
“At this point, I just need a phone. I can call the Marshals in Tallahassee and get the protection we need.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s safe to stop and try to find one anywhere around here, especially if Baker and that huge Coast Guard boat come back and chase us down.” He grimaced. “There’s no way we could outrun them in this little boat. I think what we need to do is put as much distance as we can between us and these drug dealers before we reach out for help.”
Whitney sighed inwardly. Running and hiding wasn’t usually the way she operated, but this was a new situation she had never faced before, and she had to think about Theo’s safety as well as her own. “Any law enforcement in the Everglades besides the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission?”
He shook his head. “I doubt it, but those guys patrol on a regular basis. I don’t know the towns along the Keys that well, but if these drug dealers are determined to find you and have a friend in Captain Baker, they probably have the other Coast Guard stations already covered, too. I’m telling you, I really think our best bet is to head for the Everglades to see if we can find someone in authority who isn’t influenced by the Coast Guard.”
Whitney fisted her hands. She knew very little about the Everglades, but had avoided the area on purpose when she’d planned her vacation. “Is there anything in the Everglades besides alligators and more alligators?” she asked, hoping she was successfully keeping the trepidation out of her voice.
“Sure. They have mosquitos the size of horses.” He looked over at her. “You have a problem with alligators?”
“Just when they try to eat me. That’s all.”
He grinned. “This from a woman who spent almost a whole day in the ocean and successfully avoided sharks for her entire swim?”
The smile warmed her. It was the first time she had seen Theo smile, and it lit his entire face. She liked the way his blue eyes shone with humor and crinkled in the corners, and how a dimple appeared in his left cheek. His expression made her feel like anything was possible. And, despite the circumstances, she found herself enjoying their playful banter. “Yeah, well, sharks don’t seem quite as scary as those huge lizards with mouths full of teeth.”
Theo laughed. “It’s actually the other way around. Alligators are scared of humans. They will usually leave you alone unless you bother them. Sharks will swim up and take a bite, just to see if you taste good and to satisfy their curiosity.”
“Why doesn’t that thought make me feel any better?” she quipped. She glanced at Theo, who was expertly driving the boat. He looked totally at ease behind the wheel, and she liked the way the wind played with his hair. He was a good-looking guy. Scratch that. He was a great-looking guy. Yet it was obvious he wasn’t looking for a relationship of any sort. Otherwise, why would he isolate himself on a deserted island in the Atlantic?
She cringed inwardly. It didn’t matter anyway. After what the doctor had told her, no man would ever want to date her, let alone marry her. She had very little to offer with her current medical prognosis. She would end up alone, and at some point she would sit down and plot out a life for herself on this new road she was being forced to travel. She sighed and turned her thoughts to their current situation. She could figure out the rest later. Now wasn’t the time or place to dwell on her problems.
“Do you know how to find help in the Everglades? I’ve never been there before.”
“I know of a few research stations...that kind of thing,” Theo replied. “There’s a camping pavilion with some chickees I know about. We can stay there tonight, but it is no five-star hotel. After that, we’ll probably have to start walking until we find a person with a phone.” He seemed oblivious to the turmoil inside her, and Whitney was grateful that she had at least successfully hidden her distress from her companion. She had already brought danger to his life. She didn’t want to involve him in her personal strife, as well.
Suddenly he motioned to her with his arm. “Get down! Quickly!”
* * *
Whitney immediately sank to the deck of the boat, her eyes filled with questions. Theo continued to look straight ahead as he drove, hoping he had gotten Whitney out of sight in time.
“There’s a Coast Guard boat off to our left. It is still pretty far away, but I could see at least two of the seamen looking at our boat through binoculars. My guess is, the young sailor called Captain Baker and now he’s on the lookout for two people fitting our description in a boat like this.”
“Great,” she responded, her voice filled with sarcasm. “Are they coming this way?”
“Not yet, but I’m going to—” He increased his speed. “I spoke too quickly. They’re headed right for us.” He had been moving toward the open sea from the Cotton Key Basin, but now he adjusted his course and turned back toward Plantation Key. They would be sitting ducks out in the open. There were a couple of other boats visible on the water, but not enough to effectively camouflage them, and the Coast Guard boat had much bigger engines and could overtake them in minutes with very little effort.
The boat turned smoothly at his direction and Theo navigated carefully through Cowpens Cut, a narrow strip of water separating two small uninhabited islands. He knew the Cut well and also knew it was commonly used by the locals as an easy way to return to Plantation Key. He glanced behind him. The Coast Guard boat was definitely following them, and was starting to gain ground. He had to do something to escape this new threat. His heart started beating against his chest like a bass drum, and adrenaline rushed through his veins. How had his life changed so drastically in such a short time? Yesterday morning he had been innocently running experiments in his lab. Today, he was on the run from the Coast Guard and a bunch of bloodthirsty drug dealers.
They made it through the Cut and Theo once again turned to look over his shoulder. The Coast Guard boat was still gaining on them and now he could see three or four men on the bow, all wearing the standard navy Coast Guard uniform. There was still a significant distance between the two boats, but Theo knew it couldn’t last. It was only a matter of time before the larger boat overcame the smaller vessel.
“What’s going on?” Whitney asked. She was still flat on the deck, trying to keep out of sight, but looking up at him, her steel-gray eyes were full of questions.
Theo glanced down at her then back to where he was driving the boat. He imagined it was incredibly difficult for a woman of action like Whitney to be crouched on the floor of the boat, hiding. Still, he figured it was better if she stayed out of sight. “They’re still following us and are gaining pretty quickly. Maneuvering into the Cut bought us a little time, but not enough. I give them ten minutes or so before they overtake us.”
Instead of looking worried, a mask of determination settled across her features. “Do you have a plan?” she asked.
Whitney believed in him. He could see it in her eyes and the way she looked at him. The idea itself startled him. She didn’t even really know that much about him, yet the look of confidence she gave him was staggering to say the least. In fact, he realized that she seemed to have more faith in him and his abilities than he did himself. Her strength bolstered his own, and he felt his spine stiffen and his own determination grow. He could do this. He’d been driving a boat since he was a teenager, and was well acquainted with how to handle a vessel in all sorts of situations.
“Actually, I do. There’s a group of canals up here to the east. If we can mak
e it there before they overtake us, we can try to hide in one of the boathouses.”
“Works for me.”
He made it into the canal that led to the Plantation Key marina, and slowed his speed to lessen his wake, trying his best not to do anything that would draw attention to either them or the boat they were using.
Suddenly they were passed by at least a dozen boats of various sizes, all heading in the opposite direction and out to the open sea. A sign on one of the boats advertised an armada race sponsored by the Coral Shores High School boating club, and most of the drivers were teenagers with a few parents sprinkled among the various boats for good measure. The boats not only clogged the canal, they also hid the boat Theo was driving as he continued down the waterway, looking for a good hiding place. The timing couldn’t have been better, and he said a quick prayer of thanks. Maybe God was looking out for them, after all.
He quickly turned on the first canal to the right that he came across, still effectively blocked from view by the group of teenagers and their boats. The canal led into a crowded housing area, with dozens of boat docks and covered boat lifts.
He glanced behind him and saw no sign of the Coast Guard boat, which was probably still starting to maneuver into the mouth of the canal that led out to the ocean.
A large boathouse caught his attention to the left and he quickly noticed that it was empty. He pulled their boat in against the covered dock then quickly shut down the engine and jumped out of the boat.
Whitney started to stand but he waved her back down. “No, stay there. I’ll be back in just a moment.”
She followed his directions and waited where he’d left her, watching with interest as he rapidly tied off the boat then covered it with a blue tarp that had been rolled up and stored at the back of the boathouse. He dove back onto the boat and under the cover, just as he heard the telltale engine noise of the large Coast Guard vessel heading their direction down the canal.
Everglades Escape Page 5