by Dale Mayer
“Stay where you are,” Levi said, his voice calm and steady. He hesitated, then asked, “Do you have a weapon?”
She gave a gurgling laugh. “Have a handgun in my pocket. I don’t even know if it’s loaded.”
Silence.
“I picked it out of the crate. But I don’t know how to check it, and I don’t know how to use it.” She gave a slight groan with her admission. “I was hoping I could bluff my way out of a situation with it.”
“Keep it hidden if you can,” he said. “You stay hidden too. If you have another place to go that will keep you out of sight, then go and stay there. Just know, Vince is on his way.”
She pocketed her phone and huddled against the sail, peering around it to see the cabin.
When the captain, as he liked to be called, came up the stairs, she realized he had already taken care of Shawn and Jared. And now, having searched all the rooms down below, he was looking for her.
She stuffed her fist into her mouth, wishing Vince was only a couple minutes away. She scanned the horizon looking for him. She definitely saw a canoe coming toward them, but it was a ways out. She didn’t know what this Matt guy was planning on doing. She just knew she dared not get caught.
She huddled deeper into the sails as the wind picked up, blowing the sails around her. Someone needed to pilot the ship because, if the wind picked up, it would send them way off course. Matt called out, “Hey, Violet or Vanessa, lunch is ready.”
She didn’t answer.
“You too, Tony,” he called out, looking over toward Tony as if thinking he was asleep.
And, if she hadn’t seen Matt actually knock Tony out, she would have assumed the same.
He walked around the lower levels, calling for her. He looked over the edge to see if she may have jumped, and then he hopped down into the powerboat he’d brought to see if she’d hidden in there.
All the while Vince stroked strongly toward her. She dared not make a sound. The slamming of her heart should have been loud enough for Matt to hear.
He climbed back up onto the boat. “I don’t know where you’re hiding, or why you’re hiding,” he called. “For all I know, you’re hurt and fell overboard.”
He went from one side to the other. All of a sudden he stopped. He had seen the men in the canoe paddling toward them. She could hear him swear. He dropped down and hid, pulling out a gun. Probably Tony’s gun.
She didn’t know what to do. Vince and Johan were targets. This man would not give them a chance to get on board and to rescue her. She bit down hard on her lip. She knew she had to do something; she just didn’t like the only answer presented to her.
She could see Matt. He was only about twenty or so feet in front of her. She pulled the handgun from her pocket, not even knowing if it would fire. She could see Vince coming closer to their boat. But no way would he see where Matt hid. She saw Matt lining up and putting his sights on the target, probably on Johan because he was in front.
She aligned her own hand with Matt’s broad back and whispered a prayer to the wind. Just as he looked like he was ready to shoot, she pulled the trigger. The gun bucked in her hand, sending her tumbling backward. She grabbed for the rigging, almost falling off. She didn’t know if she’d hit Matt or something else, or if she had just alerted Vince to the problem. She’d been so surprised that her gun had actually fired that she hadn’t realized just what a blowback it would give her.
When she regained her balance, she peered through the sailcloth to see Matt lying on deck. She stared, waiting to see if he would move. She wasn’t sure whether he would turn over and shoot her now.
The canoe came up alongside the speedboat, and Johan scrambled from the canoe to the speedboat and onto the boat. He was on top of the gunman in a heartbeat, checking to see if he was alive. He turned him over, checked for a pulse, and then stood and looked in her direction.
She stuck her head around the sail and called out, “Did I kill him?”
He nodded slowly, and she cried out in pain.
And suddenly, Vince was there. He climbed up behind her, his arms wrapping around her. He disengaged the gun from her fingers, tucking it into his waistband at his back, and wrapped his arms around her again.
She threw her arms around his neck and burst into tears.
*
Vince couldn’t believe when he saw her peeking out through the rigging. He knew Johan had caught sight of her face as he was too good to not be studying what was coming toward them. At the same time, silence was paramount. Sound built upon more sound. So even though they were gliding through the water making the slightest of noises, every noise that added to that amplified it many times over.
He understood that a third man had come on board and possibly had taken out the other two men, hit Tony on the head, leaving Vanessa alone and unprotected. Vince couldn’t believe her supposed guards had left her alone to be picked off like that, and it drove power through his arms and into his strokes like never before.
Levi had been very clear about the danger awaiting them, but there was only so much Vince and Johan could do about that. If they were approaching an ambush, then they would get prepared to be ambushed. Vince just had to have a plan in mind when he hit the boat. He hadn’t expected to see a gunman lining up his shot. He had expected him to wait until they got on board, when he could have taken them all prisoner. He had that part already worked out.
But, when he’d heard the gunfire and saw the man crumble behind the mast, he realized what had happened. She’d fired a gun and shot somebody. Potentially saved his life or Johan’s and, indeed, Tony’s.
Vince, still high up the mast with Vanessa, had exchanged a shocked look with Johan on the deck, who had just done a full sweep of the ship. He said, “Taking the speedboat to collect the others.”
Vince lifted a hand in response as he held Vanessa in his arms and waited for her tears to subside, which he knew were a reaction to being afraid of so many things—afraid she wouldn’t hit the guy, afraid she would hit Vince or Johan. Now upset she had killed him. He understood killing a man was never easy. It shouldn’t be easy. There should always be some pain and grief and regret, wondering if there had been another way.
When her crying didn’t stop, he squeezed her tight and whispered, “You’re fine. It’s okay.”
Suddenly she reared back, looked up at him and smacked him hard across the face. “It almost wasn’t okay,” she cried out. “I killed a man. Don’t you realize how close he came to shooting you?”
Something warm and silky slid through his heart. He gently wiped the tears from her face. “But he didn’t. You saved us.”
She stared up at him, a woebegone look on her face. “I killed a man. I’ve never killed anyone before in my life.”
“And I hope you never have to again,” he said, “but, as you saw, he was trying to shoot us.”
She nodded. “I was so hoping he wouldn’t do anything like that because I didn’t even know if the gun would fire.” She stared at her hand with loathing, as if the gun were still there. “I hate guns.”
“You might,” he said, “but imagine if you hadn’t taken that shot. Imagine if he had shot Johan or me or Tony or all of us. And then he would come after you.”
She dropped her forehead against his chest.
He whispered, “Worst-case scenario, he could have shot all four of us. We were all sitting ducks. He could have picked us off one by one. And then you would have been left with just him.”
He could feel the shudder rippling up and down her frame. He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed her to realize how serious this was. And the fact that what she had done had been necessary. He held her close, and, when he figured it was safe, he tilted her chin up and said, “And, for me, thank you for saving my life.” He kissed her gently. He expected her to just half smile and maybe look sad, but instead she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him back passionately.
The heat struck a live chord after his own panic when seein
g her hiding up in the top rigging. He’d been so desperate to get to her, and here she was in his arms, kissing him with all she had. He couldn’t believe it, and he didn’t want to leave her. He wanted her in his arms downstairs in a bed where he could spend time with her, exploring each other, finding out who they were, what they were, and if this was something they both really wanted.
When she finally drew back and cuddled up into his arms, her face against his neck, he felt something soft and tender encapsulate his heart.
He’d been on the road for a long time, hadn’t had a long-term relationship in years. His job had made it very difficult to do that. After he left the military and had signed up with Levi, he hadn’t expected to find anyone himself. He hadn’t been looking. There had been women, many over the years, but nobody he cared about. They’d all known the score, and none had ever lasted. He’d become a little bit of a loner over time, but now? … Now he was completely dumbstruck at the circumstances that had thrown this woman into his arms.
He slowly helped her off the rigging so they now stood on deck. She walked over to where the dead man lay. She bent down, placing her fingers on his neck to make sure he wouldn’t get back up. She bowed her head and whispered something. Vince figured it was an apology.
Then she walked back into his arms and just hung on. It wasn’t long before he caught sight of Johan, returning with the rest of the team. Finally they’d be all together again. Well, except for Dr. Sanchez. That would take longer.
As the others came on board, she looked at Johan and smiled. “I’m so glad he didn’t kill you.”
Johan gave her a gentle smile. “I am too.”
She walked over to Tony, still on the deck chair, and checked on him. By the time she turned around, she saw Jasper and Dr. Walker sitting on the deck surface. Slowly she walked over to them. She dropped to her knees beside Jasper.
“Oh my, what did they do to you?” she cried out.
“Beat me up pretty good,” Jasper said. “They were looking for information that Dr. Sanchez hadn’t shared, only I didn’t know anything.”
“They already had her, didn’t they?”
“Yeah,” he said, “but they moved her.”
“Oh, dear.” She turned to Vince. “Any chance of getting her before they take her back to Colombia?”
Vince shook his head, but then his phone rang. He pulled it out, realizing he hadn’t updated Levi. “Vanessa’s safe,” he said boldly with pride. “She shot her captor herself. Stopped him from shooting all of us.”
There was shocked silence on the other end, and then Levi laughed. “You know she’s a keeper, right?”
Vince frowned. “Don’t say that.”
“Don’t have to,” Levi’s said. “That’s not a term we use anyway. We’ll let Mason’s group keep that word.” He laughed a good long while. “However, it’s not over yet. You have to deal with your dead body. Besides, the reason I’m calling is, we’ve just got word a woman was loaded into a vehicle and was escorted to a yacht somewhere close by you.”
“Where from?”
“From your hotel, the first one, oddly enough,” Levi said. “We had men still at the hotel because we were trying to get the rest of your belongings. A small woman was led out, put into a privately owned Land Rover and taken to the docks. They’re going to board the yacht named Princess Marianna. She can’t be too far away from you.”
“Do we think it’s Dr. Sanchez?”
“We ran through the hotel cameras. We’re sending it to you right now, but, as far as we can tell, it’s her.”
Vince hung up and waited for the photos to come through. When they did, he showed Vanessa. “You recognize her?”
She looked at them and gasped. “That’s Laura. She’s wearing a scarf, hiding some of her face, but it’s definitely her.”
He held the phone up to Jasper and Dr. Walker. Both nodded.
“She was taken from our hotel less than thirty minutes ago.”
They stared at each other and then back at him.
“Can we help her?” Jasper asked, limping toward Vince. “They are going to take her home and marry her off where her life will be hell from here on in. She tried to leave and have a normal life away from them—and that is not allowed.”
Vince studied the big stalwart young man. He was in obvious pain; his face had been badly beaten, and he definitely had some heavy bruising in his rib area. But he was more concerned about Dr. Sanchez. Vince looked at Johan. “According to Levi, she’s being driven to the marina and will be on the Princess Marianna yacht. Does anybody know anything about that vessel?”
Everybody shook their heads.
Johan disappeared below deck and returned immediately. “Both guards are still unconscious.”
“Can we wake them up?” Vince asked. “We need answers, and we need answers now.”
Johan nodded.
As he went below deck once more, Vanessa turned to look at Vince. “How will you wake them up?”
They heard sounds of splashing water, and then one man roaring.
She raised her eyebrows and said, “Well, I guess that’s one way. I guess it’s a good thing he didn’t just throw them overboard.”
Within a few minutes, Vince helped Shawn sit on a deck chair beside the still unconscious Tony, while holding Jared upright, who was slowly waking up, but he wasn’t quite as alert as Shawn.
Shawn groaned. “Can’t believe we got sucker punched by that guy.” He looked over at Vanessa. “I’m sorry. You were right.”
She gave him a smart-aleck smirk. “Yeah, you think?”
He had a sheepish look on his face. “I wasn’t thinking we would get backstabbed by somebody we know.”
“You knew him?”
“Well, we spent a lot of time in the bar with him last night.”
Vince groaned. “That’s hardly a relationship of trust.”
“At a port it is,” Shawn said. He put a hand to his head. “But I’ll be a long time remembering this one.”
Vince figured he probably would. “Do you know anything about the Princess Marianna?”
Shawn’s eyes lit up. “It’s a beautiful yacht,” he said. “Comes into port every now and again. Belongs to some fancy rich dude.”
“Friendly? Not friendly?”
“I wouldn’t say friendly,” Shawn said. “The men always have weapons. And you can’t ever get on board. My buddy and I tried. We wanted to have a look around, but they weren’t letting us on.”
“Our Dr. Sanchez appears to have been taken on board.”
Shawn stared at him. “That is not good. You can’t just walk on and get her.” He snorted. “Any chance somebody already rescued her, and they’re taking her there in order to help her out?”
“It’s possible,” Johan said. “But, given the scenario, it’s not likely. More than likely, two warring drug cartels from Colombia have realized she was here. One would take her home and punish her, and the other would take her back and use her as a weapon against the family.”
Vanessa groaned. “So how do we save her?”
“You won’t save her,” Shawn said. “That’s not happening.”
“There has to be a way,” Vanessa cried out. “We didn’t come this far to leave her behind. We’ve got Jasper and Dr. Walker back. Tony, although he’s out cold, he’s here, and I’m here. So, we’re still missing her.”
“I don’t know that there’ll be a way,” Johan said. “We need more men in order to make that happen.”
“You need a lot more men,” Shawn said.
“Unless there’s some event or a reason for them to go on shore,” Vanessa said quietly. “What kind of diversion can we use to bring them to shore?”
“At the moment she is on shore,” Johan said, holding the phone against his ear. “Stone’s got them on satellite. They’re still moored. It looks like they’re stocking supplies.”
“So we need to hit them now,” Vince said quietly.
Johan turned toward the marina.
“They’re not very far away.” He looked at Vince. “How are your swimming skills?”
Vince grinned at him. “I used to work as an undersea diver, and, yeah, I did plenty of military time underwater too.”
“Good enough for me,” Johan said.
Vince looked over at Shawn. “If I leave you in charge, can we trust you this time?”
Shawn had the decency to look ashamed. “Absolutely.” He grinned. “And besides, if I slack off, apparently your girlfriend will take care of business anyway.”
Vince watched a flush of pride cross Vanessa’s face. He leaned over and kissed her hard. “Isn’t that the truth.”
She said, “We’ll stand watch here.”
Chapter 16
Preparations were simple. They would use the powerboat to head over to the marina and dock along the wharf several boats down. Even if they weren’t allowed, they would pick an area, as if they would tie up to an empty yacht, and go underwater, make an entrance onto the Princess Marianna, and see if they could take out the men and collect Dr. Sanchez.
It was risky, and Vanessa couldn’t believe they were even thinking about it, but Vince acted like it was no big deal. Even Johan laughed and joked. They doubled up on their firepower, both choosing handguns, which somehow they thought were waterproof. Then she watched them put them in plastic.
She didn’t even want to watch. She looked out into the ocean, both delighted and hating the fact that poor Laura was there so close, and yet, so far away. She turned to Shawn and said, “How fast can we get out of here once they collect her?”
“I suggest we get closer into port,” he said. “We can be within feet of them at that point.”
“Good,” Johan said. “We’ve got a good engine here for a fast getaway. Although, if we could disable his yacht that would be better yet. But his engine room will be hard to get to with security on board,” Johan said. “Have you any ropes, cables to spare?”
Shawn hopped to his feet, went down below and came back with a long rope. “It’s not very heavy-duty, but if you have a use for it …”
Johan looked at it, nodded, wrapped it around his waist and tied it up.