“Well, staying here isn’t really an option, so”—she shrugged—“let’s go for it.”
He nodded. “Agreed.” He moved a bit closer to the edge of the boat and took a good look at their surroundings. There was a small platform off to one side for swimming that was at water level. It would be best if they jumped off that, but then they would be totally exposed to anyone above them.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” she said, guessing at his thoughts. “We have to use the platform. Better angle and less chance of being sucked under.”
“I agree. I’m going to check it out. Stay back in case they spot me and start shooting.”
“Great.” She rolled her eyes. If they spotted him and started shooting, they were both done for. “How about we avoid that, hmm? Employ some of those stealth skills they must have taught you in the Navy. Even JAG lawyers must have to go through some sort of training.”
He glared at her and shook his head. Then, turning around, he flattened himself against the wall and moved out slightly. He took it one small step at a time, always looking up in case there was a guard outside. Lacy held her breath.
Finally, after an eternity, he reached the end of the wall. He glanced around the corner and then disappeared from view. She instinctively moved forward to follow him before stopping herself. No need for both of them to take that risk. It would only up their chances of getting caught. She drummed her fingers on her leg as she waited for him to appear.
Just when she was starting to get anxious, he popped back into view. It was so sudden she damn near screamed. He edged toward her, moving quickly and quietly. “The good news is that there are islands close by. I could see some lights at the ends of docks and on decks.”
She started to smile, but then his tension registered. “What’s the bad news?” She leaned back against the wall to physically brace herself for it.
“There’s a guard directly above us. If we go for the platform, he’ll see us for sure. If we go off the side, chances are excellent he’ll still see us. As a matter of fact, I can’t figure out a way to get off this yacht without being seen.” He dropped back to lean against the wall. “What we need is a distraction or cover of some sort.”
She nodded in agreement. She could practically see his mind working through the problem as he glanced around the room they were in. Besides the winch and the two wave runners, there was nothing much in there. And if they did anything with the equipment, he was right—it would just bring people down on them.
It was so dark it was hard to see anything. There was no starlight. She guessed their speed was about 20 knots, roughly 23 mph, but she had no idea what direction they were going. The running lights were on but their glow barely cut into the darkness.
She froze suddenly and then moved around Logan. It was too dark. Where was the moon? Edging toward the end of the wall, she studied the sky. It was inky black. Not a star. Cloudy. She could feel the moisture in the air. She whipped around and banged squarely into Logan’s chest.
He held her arms to steady her before pulling her back to their shelter. “What is it?” His hands were still on her arms, sending electrical currents across her skin, and his spicy scent surrounded her again.
“Gah.” She swallowed and then tried again. “Rain.”
“What?”
Pulling herself together, she stepped away from him. “Rain. It’s going to rain. Listen.”
He paused and then shook his head. “What am I listening for? All I hear are the engines.”
“Listen harder.” She was silent for a few seconds. “There. Did you hear it?”
Logan cocked his head. A few seconds later, a slow smile spread across his face as he nodded. “Thunder.”
“Yup. We just have to wait for the storm to come closer. It’ll give us the cover we need.”
Sighing, he studied her for a second, then said, “It’s a good thought, but we have no idea if we are moving away from or toward the storm. I don’t think we have a whole lot of time here before they come check on us.”
“Yes, I know that. I also realize the boat’s taking us away from those islands, but what choice do we have? You said it yourself—if we go now, we will be seen.”
“There’s a chance they won’t see us. It’s slim but still there.”
“Let’s give it ten minutes. If we don’t catch up to the storm by then, we’ll go for it anyway. I think we have ten minutes before they check on us, and besides, I know it feels like we’re going fast, but we’ll still be within reach of some islands in ten minutes.”
He gave her a long look and then he slowly nodded his head. “Ten minutes.”
“Great. Um, do you have a watch?
“No. I don’t wear one but, don’t worry, I’ll know when ten minutes are up.”
She opened her mouth to argue with him—how was that even possible?—but then closed it again. She always used her phone, which of course she didn’t have, but did it really matter if they waited for eight or twelve minutes? Probably not. Their plan was a crapshoot anyway, and they both knew it.
She leaned back against the wall and did something she hadn’t done in years. She prayed. She prayed hard. For rain. To get off the yacht safely. To see her father again. To be done with this mess. Seeing Logan watching, she said with great regret, “I’m sorry.. I had no idea all this would happen. I—”
“Then why are you sorry? You didn’t plan it. It’s not your fault. It’s just bad timing or bad luck. God knows, I’ve had plenty of both lately.” He rubbed his face with his hands. Then, turning sideways, he leaned on the wall next to her and gave her a small smile. “We aren’t done for yet, so don’t give up.”
“I’m not. I just wanted you to know.” When her eyes met his, her core started to tingle.
His gaze then flicked to her lips, and she licked them in an automatic response. He took a step closer, head tilted just so. Her breath caught in her throat. As her hands found their way to his chest, her heart hammered under her ribs. His lips lowered until they were suspended a fraction of an inch from hers.
Then it happened. The flash and crash made her jump and fall into his chest. He steadied her as he glanced back toward the end of the yacht.
She followed his gaze. A slow smile spread across his face. The storm. Rain was already slapping onto the surface of the waves. And not just any rain. This was a bona fide downpour. They both peered off the end of the yacht, watching the wall of water descend. The lightening flashed, and the thunder gave an answering growl. The wind kicked up the waves up and rocked the yacht. They were in the thick of the storm now. She grinned and gave him a high five.
They made their way carefully toward the end of the yacht. The sway of the boat was getting stronger. Logan scanned the upper deck and then gave her the all-clear sign. No guard. She wanted to break into a happy dance.
“Take off your shoes and anything extra that could weigh you down.” Logan gave Lacy the once over, his eyes lingering in all the right places. “Um...”
Lacy glanced down at her dress. It was somewhat looking the worse for wear, but there was no way she was taking it off. She didn’t want to be running around in only her black lace bra and matching thong. She kicked off her shoes. “There. That’s enough.”
“Ok. Are you sure?” Logan asked, a sexy grin spread across his face.
Lacy rolled her eyes. “Positive, thanks.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He winked. “Look, once we’re in the water, I’m going to take a second to do a couple of quick calculations to figure out the current, and then we’ll head out for the island.”
“Ah, sure.” She wasn’t sure about his skills, but she didn’t have any other choice. She didn’t want to be swimming for hours if she didn’t have to be.
The sound of the engines changed a bit, making them both freeze in place. The yacht was slowing down. It was now or never. Logan peered back at her, and she nodded. After nodding back, he raced to the platform at the end of the yacht and d
ove into the water. She waited a beat. If someone had told her some day she would purposely jump into the ocean during an electrical storm, she would have called them crazy, but there weren’t a lot of options.
Saying another short prayer, she leaped into the water and swam down and away as fast and hard as she could, making sure she was well clear of the propellers. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She finally changed direction and aimed for the surface, using strong kicks. With one last stroke, she broke the surface in a rush. She gulped fresh air and then immediately sunk back down into the waves. She needed to stay low. She didn’t want the guards to notice her.
All her effort was for naught. The boat was too far away for them to see her through the storm. She took in huge gulps of air, which was made difficult by the downpour. She was almost giddy with relief. But her euphoria was brief—the darkness and rain weighed down on her, reminding her she was alone in the middle of an ocean during a thunderstorm with only a vague sense of where land might be.
“Logan?” she called out tentatively. No response. Putting a little more force into her voice, she called out again, “Logan?” Nothing. The waves were getting smaller, but the rain made it hard to see any distance around her. The longer she scanned the surface of the water, the more terror built in her heart. “Loogaaan!” she yelled.
“Shhh!” said a voice at her ear. “They can still hear you. Sound travels on water.” She whirled around and threw her arms around his neck. “Ahh,” he gurgled as they both went underwater. She let him go, and they surfaced again.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I—I just thought something had happened to you. I was having visions of you drowning. ”
“I’m fine. Now…” he said, looking around. She followed his gaze. It was really hard to see through the rain, but she could make out a few far-off lights. He pointed behind her. “I think we want to head in that direction. There should be an island over there with those lights on it.” He was silent for a second, so she assumed he was doing his calculations. “It’s maybe a mile or so. Think you can swim that far?”
“Seriously? Not only can I swim it, but I can do it faster than you.” With that, she took off in the direction he had pointed. He swore and chased after her.
She knew she should save her energy and take it slow and easy, but her adrenaline was flowing. She let herself burn through a bit more of it before she settled into a smooth and steady pace.
Every once in a while, she’d glimpse Logan, slightly behind her and on her right. He was keeping up without any apparent effort, which pissed her off, but she figured saving her energy was better than showing off. They could have a long night of swimming ahead of them, and although she hated to admit it, she was already starting to feel the cold. The rain that had been a blessing when they jumped off the ship was now a curse. Her muscles were getting stiff.
A short time later, she felt a tug on her ankle. Logan swam up beside her. “By my calculations, we should have been very close by now. Do you see any lights?” he asked. The rain had slacked to a light drizzle.
He appeared tired, and his breathing wasn’t as regular as hers. She took a small bit of satisfaction in that, though of course she shouldn’t—they both needed all the strength they could muster to get through this. She peered around again, but everything around them looked a flat, solid black. Even so, she was pretty sure they had been heading in the right direction. He had corrected the course a couple times by tapping her and pointing. She didn’t think they’d strayed too far.
“It should be here,” she mumbled through stiffening lips. She was getting cold. She peered out into the inky blackness, fighting for calm. She could see worry building on Logan’s face—a look she knew was mirrored on her own.
Suddenly, she laughed. At Logan’s pointed look, she sputtered in response, “No, I’m not losing it this time. Look.” She pointed off to their right and slightly behind them. The clouds broke at exactly that moment, revealing what she had just realized. They had swum right past the island. The night was so dark the landmass had blended into the water line. A few lights flickered through the trees, but they could only be seen when the wind blew. There were no lights on this side of the island.
He smiled in relief and started swimming toward the island. Eager to be on dry land, she followed suit. Maybe there would be people and a nice warm house with a wonderfully hot shower and food. The thought of warmth spurred her on, and she easily overtook him to reach the shore first.
Chapter Five
Logan stumbled when he finally put his feet beneath him and stood. He was dead tired. Unlike his brothers, he spent most of his time in his office, not in the gym. His limited workouts paled in comparison to the save-your-life sprint swimming he’d just done. Seeing that Lacy was about to flop down on the sand, he grabbed her hips and urged her forward.
“What?” she said, sounding indignant. He shushed her and kept her moving to the tree line.
Once in the cover of the trees, he turned her around to face him. “We have no idea who, if anyone, is on this island. The lights could mean people, or it could be one of those small islands they use to take tourists to for the day. Why don’t we just take it slowly? No need to announce we’re here until we have a better read on the situation. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough surprises for one day.”
He looked down at her, his hands still on her hips. She opened her mouth to argue, and the slight motion was enough to draw his gaze to her lips. They were so tempting. He felt a sudden urge to kiss them, to trace them with his tongue.
She was an assignment he reminded himself. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand, namely staying alive, but he lost his ability to think straight whenever he touched her. That thought was enough to make him push her away slightly and drop his hands. “Let’s go check out the island.”
He stepped around her and walked into the woods. She stumbled, but he reached back and caught her by the arm. Grunting some unintelligible response, she leaned on a tree for a second and caught her breath.
“You’re cold.”
She nodded, her teeth chattering.
“Let’s see what we can find. The last thing we need is for you to get hypothermia,” he stated as he started forward again.
As they walked along the tree line, he realized it didn’t go very far. He stopped at the edge, taking in the view that had appeared in front of him as soon as the trees cleared out. There was a huge built-in pool reflecting the little bit of light that had emerged in the sky after the rain stopped.
He could see the hulking shadow of what had to be a ten-thousand-square-foot house. There were a few lights on, but they weren’t super bright. Solar, probably. The house was amazing and very expensive from what he could determine. It also appeared no one was home.
“What do you think?” she asked, her teeth still chattering.
He scouted around some more. “I think it’s empty, but someone could still be in there and there could be a security system.”
“W-w-well that would be our first piece of luck today, so I’m not going to hold my breath. If someone’s there, they can c-c-call for help.”
He still didn’t move. He was worried about her, but he was also worried about the kidnappers.
“W-what’s the big deal if the security system goes off? It’s not like ADT is going to send out a squad car.”
“It’s not the security company I’m worried about. If the system goes off, there are bound to be a lot of lights and a lot of noise. Assuming our captors have realized we’ve escaped, they are probably doubling back this way looking for us. If we engage the security system, it’ll be like a blinking sign that we’re here.”
She swallowed. “Shit.”
“Precisely.” He turned and looked at her. She was shivering more noticeably now. He sighed as he brushed his wet hair off his forehead. “Stay here. I’ll go check it out. I’ll be as quick as I can. Hopefully we can stay inside tonight…” He didn’t finish his thought ou
t loud. If he didn’t get her warm, and soon, she was definitely going to get sick.
He stuck to the shadows and circled the perimeter of the house. He didn’t see any signs that led him to believe anyone was there. Around the backside, there was a smaller outbuilding that, from looking in the windows, he surmised was the caretaker’s cottage. That it was empty could either be good or bad.
He was unsure of what he was hoping for at this point. If there were people, maybe they could get help, but those people could also be dangerous. There were a lot of interesting folks in the Bahamas, which was one of the biggest tax havens in the world. It paid to be careful. If only he had remembered that earlier in the day.
Which brought his mind back to Lacy. He hated to admit it, but she’d impressed the hell out of him tonight. She’d kept her cool during the kidnapping, had the wherewithal to pick up the plastic piece after being shot at, and handled getting off the yacht beautifully. Other than that one moment of hysterical laughter—which she’d been entitled to, he decided—she had been nothing short of amazing.
He gave his head a shake. “Focus,” he whispered aloud to himself. “That woman is going to be the death of you.” He started on his second run of the perimeter. This time he checked the windows to see if he could pick up a weakness in the alarm system.
When he looked through one of the kitchen windows by the back door, he saw an alarm control panel, red light on, meaning all the bottom floor windows were probably alarmed. But a small window had been left open a couple of inches on the second story. A bathroom, probably. There was nothing directly below the window for him to climb, but it wasn’t too far in from the corner. If he used the drain pipe to the second story, then balanced on the corner of the balcony on the front of the house, he could reach it.
He made his way up the drainpipe and then swung over and balanced with one foot on the balcony rail. He reached over and grabbed the edge of the window frame. There was a screen in the frame, but it was spring-loaded.
Smash and Grab: Action-Packed Thrilling Romantic Suspense (Callahan Security Series Book 2) Page 5