by Linda Bond
She sucked in air and batted his hand away. But it boomeranged back and stopped right on top of her bosom.
“Your heart is racing. You found the pictures, didn’t you?” He sneered at her. “The photos make my heart race, too.”
Sick bastard. She smacked his hand away again, this time as hard as she could. “Why did you take those pictures?” She struggled to keep her voice calm.
He laughed at her. “Besides the obvious? They were good.”
“Good for what? Jerking off?”
“Good for blackmail.”
“That won’t work.” Screw this! She tried to push past him.
With one sweep of his arms, he stopped her. “I know. And I’m sorry about that.” He shoved her up against the bunk.
“Stop!” She grunted as she hit the solid wood. Something sharp spiked her upper back, sending a searing heat through her flesh. She flinched and yelped.
“Be quiet,” he ordered, running one cool finger down her cheek.
She cringed, her back still burning.
“You still have no idea what’s going on, do you?”
Fury beat the words out of her. “Did you kill Maxwell Wentworth?”
He didn’t seem surprised by the accusation. “How badly do you want to know?”
He ran his finger down her chin to her throat and pressed against her carotid artery. “Your heart gives your fear away. Let me ask you something.”
She didn’t respond. She could barely breathe. Terror nearly suffocated her. Did he want to kill her? How was he going to pull off this murder and make it look like an accident?
“Don’t you hate these rich fuckers who have it so easy?” He let up a little on her artery.
She blew out a breath. “I don’t think about it.” You piece of shit.
“Sure you do.” He backed off just enough to look into her eyes. “How’s your mother?”
A chill shimmied down Sam’s spine, paralyzing her. She couldn’t answer.
“When was the last time you checked on her?”
Her bottom lip quivered involuntarily.
Robert shook his head. “I know. Too emotional to speak.” He sneered. “Money would solve so many of your problems. Mine, as well. Yet we have none, and they”—he gestured above him—“they have vast wealth and waste it on foolish things, like diving with sharks.”
She struggled to find her voice. “So, you kill them?”
His hands shot around her neck.
She screamed, but his grip cut off the sound as he constricted her airway.
“Only doing what I’m told,” he said. “Trying to say something?” He lessened his grip.
“I…can’t…breathe,” she croaked as she struggled to loosen his hands.
His eyes narrowed, and he squeezed harder. “Where you’re going, you won’t need to breathe.”
“Hey, Samantha? Where are you?” Monica’s voice advancing from down the hall.
Thank God! Who’d have thought she’d ever be grateful to hear that voice?
Robert released her and stepped back.
She fell forward, her hands on her knees as she braced herself, dragging in oxygen.
“Whoa! What’s going on? Ian?” Monica asked suspiciously.
She stood in the doorway. Sam stood up and reached for the bunk bed to steady herself. Still short of breath, she struggled to speak. “Monica, this man just tried to—”
“Help her with her mother.” Robert stepped in front of Monica, blocking Sam from the manager’s view. “She’s ill, you know, and I was offering Samantha some sound advice on how to keep her mother healthy and alive.”
Her mouth dropped open. He had just tried to kill her, and now he was threatening to kill her mother. Was he bluffing? What did he know about her mom? Had he done anything to her already?
Automatically she reached for her cell phone. Crap! Not on her. And she couldn’t get a signal out here, anyway. Until she could call and check on her mom, she couldn’t risk exposing the son of a bitch.
Monica twisted a lock of her hair. “Look, there’s something you need to know. Zack just surfaced. He’s had an accident.”
Sam’s blood pressure plummeted. A light-headed feeling washed over her. “What? Is he okay?” She sat on the bunk to keep from swaying.
Monica shrugged. Her face white, she didn’t look Sam in the eye. “He looks okay, but I’m not sure. The doc is about to check him out. And George…”
“What about George?”
“A tiger shark attacked him.” The words flew out like arrows, piercing Sam in the heart.
“Oh, my God!” She addressed Robert, wanting to kick the shit out of him. “Did you know about this?”
“How could I?” he said. “I’ve been down here playing with you.”
Asshole.
“Are you coming up?” Monica’s voice shook.
As Sam’s stomach somersaulted, she got to her feet and sprinted toward Monica. “Let’s go.” Sam tugged on the manager’s arm. “Is George alive?”
“I don’t know. The team is pulling him up right now.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sam bolted up the companionway, two steps at a time, making it to the deck of The Great Escape breathless and dizzy. She blew past Monica, almost knocking her down.
Her brain cells fired an electrical storm of bad thoughts, and she couldn’t tell if the burning sensation in her chest came from her heart or from oxygen deprivation. Either way, her gasps of air barely carried her around the corner of the wheelhouse and onto the main deck.
She searched the deck, desperate for a face she recognized. The topside buzzed with activity, a flurry of feet, and a sea of dark wet suits mixed with frequent flashes of bare skin.
Two crewmembers helped a diver over to a bench. He was still in full gear except for flippers. His body shape was familiar, but he wasn’t George.
Her gaze darted across the bow. Where was George? There was no sign of the tall, lanky redhead. She quickly pushed through the bustling bodies and made her way toward the diver on the bench.
He pulled off his mask.
“Zack.” Sam took a knee at his side. “Ohmigod, what happened down there?”
He didn’t look at her.
Her heart stilled. That wasn’t right.
The two other crewmembers unstrapped Zack’s tanks. Odd that he would let them. He did everything for himself. The deck hands pulled his arms out of the black harness and vest, and moved the tanks away from his body. The whole time he seemed to be dazed.
“Zack?”
She touched him. His body convulsed. He stared right through her.
“Come on buddy, stand up.” The crewmember on the other side of her helped him into a standing position. Another person pulled down the zipper on the back of his wet suit and helped him out of it. Once he was stripped to his swim trunks, he sat back down, and his head crashed forward into his hands.
She held her breath. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Breathe in some of this, mate.” A man she recognized as the doctor handed him an oxygen mask. It was attached to a portable machine.
“Why does he need the oxygen?”
“In case he’s got the bends.”
She looked at Zack, who now stared at her above the mask. His eyes were red, but at least now they’d started to look focused. When he threw her a slow wink, she knew he’d finally recognized her.
That small movement brought a lump to her throat. She blinked back hot tears and smiled, placing her hand gently on his arm. She’d heard of the bends, but didn’t know much about the condition other than it could kill.
The doctor knelt down in front of Zack. “Feeling short of breath? In any pain?”
Zack shook his head. He wasn’t talking, maybe due to the oxygen mask, so she sent a slew of questions the doctor’s way.
“What happened to him down there? Were you there? Did you see it? How did he get the bends? Is it dangerous? Is oxygen going to cure it? Where’s George? He was
diving with Zack.”
Zack pulled the oxygen mask away from his face. “Relax, I’m fine. I can tell you what happened.”
“No, you can’t. Put the mask back on.” The doctor forced the mask back onto his face.
Zack flinched.
“You know the routine. If you have nitrogen bubbles in your bloodstream, you’re in trouble, mate. You don’t want an embolism in your brain. Breathe in.”
The doctor’s words sent another rush of anxiety through her. “Will the oxygen stop that from happening?” Her chest started to tighten.
“The pure oxygen helps the nitrogen bubbles dissolve. But he may eventually need treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. We won’t know for 24 hours. In 95 percent of cases, symptoms show up within a day.”
“Where’s George?” Zack had the mask off again.
“You don’t know?” She stood up, and her gaze quickly swept the deck. No sign of him, but she did spot Monica standing close by. Her arms were crossed against her chest, and a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. Why didn’t she come over and check on Zack?
“George? That’s the tall, red-headed guy?” the doctor asked.
“Yes.”
“He’s coming up. Probably on a decompression stop.” The doctor gestured to Zack. “Unlike your friend here, who just shot to the surface.”
Zack pushed the mask away again, obviously irritated. “My vest inflated. I had to use my dive knife to cut the damn hose.”
“You saw George? He’s all right?” she asked.
“He’d just beat off a tiger shark when I started to surface. I don’t know if the tiger got a piece of him, but he was still alive last I saw.”
She searched Zack’s face for any information he could add. He wouldn’t look at her. “Go check on him.” His voice sounded hoarse.
“Okay.” She hesitated. He didn’t look so good. Maybe she shouldn’t leave him. But George could be in even worse shape.
“What a freak accident,” the doctor said as she got up to leave.
She froze. “Accident?”
“His vest inflating like that.”
“They don’t usually inflate?”
“Not unless you inflate them on purpose.” The doctor sounded impatient.
“I’m a reporter, not a diver, Doc.”
“Right.” He held up a hand, an apology in his eyes. “The vest is a glorified life preserver. It lets you float on the surface, but also gives you neutral buoyancy underwater. You control the amount of air in the vest.” He directed the next comment to Zack. “Why didn’t you just press the manual deflate button?”
“It didn’t work,” Zack mumbled through the mask.
“Did you try the emergency dump valve?”
“That didn’t work, either.”
The doctor rocked back on his heels. “Holy shit, mate, you could have died.” He shook his head. “Like I said, freak accident.”
Her gaze locked into Zack’s. He shot her a look that said We’ll talk about this later.
“If you feel any numbness, tingling, or paralysis, let me know right away,” the doctor said.
Zack took off the mask again. “I know what the symptoms of the bends are. I don’t feel anything but aggravated that my vest failed, and pissed off because no one will tell me what the hell happened to my dive partner.”
Jenny appeared in front of them, wide-eyed, wet, and dripping blood. “That TV guy is in the water getting ready to come aboard.”
“Jenny! What happened to you?” Sam knew Jenny hadn’t gone scuba diving. The girl was still in her shorts and company tank top, but they were now wet, her shirt clinging to her like a spring breaker in a wet T-shirt contest.
The cook had both hands covering her nose, but the cloth she held there couldn’t stop the flow of blood leaking through her fingers.
“I think I broke my nose.” Jenny mumbled through the wet towel. “They told me the doc was over here.”
“Sit here.” Zack made room for her on the bench. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. Jenny jumped in to help me. When I cut the hose with my dive knife, it deflated the vest to stop my ascent, but once I surfaced I could barely stay afloat with all the heavy gear.”
“I saw you struggling. I didn’t really think about it. I just jumped in.” Jenny appeared to blush under all the blood. “I landed on his tank. My bad. I was trying to save him, and he ended up helping me get to the boat.”
“Luckily, another diver surfaced and helped us both. Thanks, though.” Zack nodded at Jenny. “Seriously. Does it hurt much?” His voice still sounded shaky.
Jenny tried to shake her head, but had trouble moving while holding off the nosebleed. Zack flipped the oxygen mask back onto his face.
A wave of guilt sloshed through Sam. She should have been up on deck waiting for him. She could have helped. She wanted to let Zack know she would have, but at the time, Robert Fitzpatrick had his fingers wrapped around her neck like a boa constrictor.
Instinctively, her hand moved to her shorts where she’d stuffed his phone and driver’s license. Despite her mad dash up the stairs, they were still there. She searched around. Too many people stood within hearing range. She couldn’t divulge what she was hiding, and it wasn’t the time or place to share what had just happened to her.
Zack stared at her with a question in his eyes. “You okay?” he mumbled through the mask.
She offered him an unsure smile, her pulse fluttering.
Without a word, the doctor who had tended to Zack began working on Jenny. He told her to keep her head back and called for tissue and his medical bag.
A flash went off.
The unexpected light caused Zack to squint and Jenny to flinch on the bench.
Sam knew what was happening and whipped around to face the enemy, the hair on her neck standing on end.
Robert’s smile spread across his alabaster face.
The asshole was taunting her. He knew she wouldn’t call him out in front of all these people, especially now that he’d threatened her mother’s safety. She feared what Robert could do to her mother, even from this far out at sea. Maybe he wasn’t working alone, and someone back on shore could get to her mother easily. Hadn’t he said something about just following orders?
Her muscles tightened with worry. Zack must have sensed the energy shift. He tried to stand, but swayed and sat back down.
The doctor glanced at Zack. “Mate, I wonder if we should call the Coast Guard? You aren’t looking so great.”
“No way. I’m not leaving.” He had the mask in his hand as he flashed a look at Robert, who still snapped shots of the group. “Enough.” His tone left no doubt of his intentions if the jerk kept taking pictures. Then to the doctor, he said, “I’ll hit the hyperbaric chamber when we get back to West Palm Beach.”
“All right mate, you’ve got a few days,” the doctor said.
The photographer took one last photo.
“I said enough.” Zack rose and took a step toward Robert.
“Hey, George is up!” another diver yelled from the back of the boat.
Sam swung around toward the voice in time to see her skinny friend pull himself up the dive ladder, flip over the side of the boat, and crash onto the deck with a loud thud.
“Holy balls!” George’s voice boomed. “That was sick!” Her cameraman landed belly down on the deck with his arms stretched out in front of him and the dented camera casing above his head. His forehead rested on the floor, but his words bounced off the wood and reverberated across the stern. Tentatively, he rolled to one side, his tanks still strapped to his back.
Another diver, just off the ladder, slapped him on the butt. He put his hands under George’s armpits and pulled him to his knees. “Unbelievable, man. I thought you were a goner.” The vacationer, the guy from Los Angeles, dropped to his knees in front of George. They pulled off their masks at the same time. “That was one big fucking shark.” The two exchanged a high five, then struggled out of their gear, their mouths movi
ng faster than their hands. The doctor rushed over to George.
Sam’s shoulders dropped in disbelief. “He’s fine.”
“I can see that.” Zack attempted a grin, but only managed to get halfway there before he grimaced. She grimaced with him.
“Want to go check on him? I’m headed below deck to change.” He stood up, still a little unsteady on his feet.
She worried about this bends thing, but knew better than to baby him, especially in front of all these people. He was the last man on earth who wanted to be coddled.
She moved closer to him. “I need to talk to you.”
“About Robert? You talked to him?”
She nodded, and stood on tiptoe so she could whisper into his ear. “He confessed to taking the picture, and I have proof he lied about his name. It is Robert Fitzpatrick. I have his driver’s license.”
Zack’s eyes seemed to light up, but his face was still ashen. “Good job. Very good.”
There’s more, she wanted to say. He tried to kill me. Would attempted strangulation be enough to convince the police that the crazy man was also a killer? But instead, she remained quiet. There were still too many people standing nearby.
George was summoning her by cupping his hands around his mouth. “Holy shit, girl, you will never believe what just happened to me. Get over here.”
“Go on.” Zack gestured for her to join George. “Go find out what happened to that wild friend of yours.”
“Okay,” she said reluctantly. “But you still need oxygen.”
“I’ll change and come right back up.”
She nodded, still not moving.
“Sam?” His eyes narrowed.
She knew she had to shake it off and let him take care of himself first. Then she’d fill him in on what had happened to her below deck. She shivered. “I’m fine. Go.” She waved him off.
Zack struggled to smile and headed below deck.
She watched him go, rooted to the spot until he disappeared from sight, her heart aching to go with him. She wanted to wrap herself in his strong arms. By the time she made it over to George, her cameraman looked like the popular kid in class telling dirty stories during recess, with all the wanna-be kids gathered around him, staring in awe.