That’s all she allowed herself before she pushed onto her knees, crawling her way to the helm. Several inches of standing water covered the floor, one side of the inflatable tube flat against the hull.
The engines started on the second attempt, growling to life as hints of gasoline wove through the air. She babied the throttle, surging the Zodiac ahead without crashing into the hull. Zain stood on the bottom of the ladder, reeling in the rope as she maneuvered next to the ship, hovering directly below.
He jumped on, nearly tripping when another pulse echoed through the air. Strong but not as deafening. Heshook his head, then grabbed the ladder, helping Greer down, next. He bent his head low, then Greer took his place, holding the two boats together as Zain climbed back up, shouldering half of Maddox’s weight as he and Chase shimmied down. They all but fell into the boat, rocking it hard to port, nearly sending them into the hull before Saylor banked over — put some distance between them.
They scrambled back under the hardtop, Maddox propped up in the last seat as Saylor hit the throttles — got the boat up to speed.
Zain moved in behind her and wrapped his coat around her. “Christ, you’re fucking blue.”
She nodded, hating that her teeth chattered for a second. “I thought blue was your favorite color?”
“Yeah, when I’m staring at your eyes, or the way your ass looks in your jeans. Not because your body temp’s edging toward ninety.”
“On a positive note, at least my side doesn’t hurt.”
Zain grunted. “I knew you’d gotten hit.”
“The vest held, unlike what I suspect’s under your shirt.”
“Not bleeding.”
She gave him a quick once-over. “Not on the outside.”
“Right now, that’s all that matters, unlike your worsening hypothermia.”
“Still shivering. Not dead, yet.”
“Give it time. With the winds this bad…”
She simply let it slide, angling the craft northeast. Dropping into a trough before shooting out onto anadjoining crest. But even with a spotlight illuminating the surface, she barely kept the Zodiac afloat.
The swells intensified, more water spraying over the bow, adding to the slight flooding along the floor. She veered right, narrowly avoided capsizing the boat in a cresting breaker before popping up on the next wave.
She glanced at Zain. “I think we might need Foster and Mac.”
Zain frowned. “You want to abandon the Zodiac?”
“If it means we actually live through this.”
“I’ve got him on speed dial. I’ll… Damn, left. Now.”
Saylor didn’t ask for explanations, just banked the boat hard to port, hitting the throttle and bleeding a bit more speed out of her. A black boat roared into view, nearly colliding with her stern as it soared past, turning on a dime and falling in behind them. Bullets pinged off the metal struts, the loud pop barely discernible above the storm.
Zain readied his rifle. “Give her everything you’ve got, sweetheart. This isn’t over, yet.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Insanity.
Just like back in Buck’s RV, with Saylor’s photos plastered across the wall. That same sense of disbelief before his anger had settled in. Replaced the shock with cold determination. Only this time, it might not be enough.
Zain fired off two rounds, punching one through the other boat’s windshield before the craft dodged right, his next shot missing wide. “Chase. Saylor’s got her hands full. Try to get Foster on the radio. We need serious backup.”
He fired again, missing when the other boat disappeared behind a massive swell. “I thought you said it was suicidal to chance this storm?”
Saylor glanced behind her, weaving through the waves, bouncing over one, then dropping into the next. “It is, which is why I was willing to sacrifice my boat to hitch a ride on the chopper. I can only imagine Maddox’s paying them an obnoxious amount of money.Or maybe he has damning intel on them, and they don’t want him to squeal.”
“Which means they’ve got nothing to lose.”
