Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 21

"What'd you do to him?" the second man snapped, his voice characterized by a raspiness that suggested he smoked several packs a day. He nudged his partner with a foot, got no reward for the effort.

Jake struggled to regain his vision. He mumbled under his breath, something incoherent.

"I should skull crack you again," the man said, the gun jabbing at the air as he spoke. He ran his fingers through a buzz cut of dark hair. "But I need you able to talk."

"I'm not up for a chat right now." Jake faked a smile. A spark of anger rippled across the man's cheeks, highlighting pot marks from teenage acne.

"You're a funny guy, huh? You won't be laughing when I get through with you." Acne Face offered a wide grin. "I know who you are, Mr. Soloman, and we'd like to talk with Ms. Lawson and Mr. Cruze too."

The guy's partner had yet to move. He was face down, a dark pool of blood gathering on the pier beneath his shattered nose, draining between the cracks in the wooden planks.

"Come on," Acne Face said, waving the gun. "Let's see if I can coax your friends out of hiding."

The man yanked Jake up by the arm and stabbed the barrel into his back. As soon as the muzzle dug into his spine, a realization struck him. Tonight could be the last night of his life. Jake's breath froze in his lungs. Goosebumps raced over his neck and arms. He could kill me, kill my friends too, and there would be nothing I could do about it. He cringed at the thought of a bullet blasting a hole through his back, pulverizing his beating heart, and then ripping through his sternum and snuffing out any hope of a future with Sarah.

As Acne Face prodded him down the pier toward the marina's office, Jake wondered if he might glimpse her and Tony. He needed to warn them, but how, he didn't know.

They neared the building with no sign of them.

Then Sarah stepped around the corner from the shadows. Her shorts came within a few inches of her knees, but one of her tank-top straps hung off her shoulder on the side of her arm. She pulled her wavy hair around the back of her neck and draped it across her shoulder, spilling over her chest, all the while offering Acne Face a tight-lipped smile as he directed Jake toward her.

Jake's pulse quickened at the sight of Sarah's vulnerability and her sheer beauty. He dragged a foot, not on purpose, missing a step, drawing a glare from his captor.

Footfalls thundered toward them.

Jake spun as someone rounded the other corner of the office complex. With an outstretched arm, Tony clothes-lined Acne Face before he could react. The man's feet flew out from under him and his head swung down like a see-saw. His body walloped with a thud, his skull smashing into the sidewalk as his pistol clanked on the concrete without discharging.

Jake blinked... took several controlled breaths. Then he smoothed a hand over his burnt orange shirt, struggling to wipe away trembling nerves. "Nice timing."

"You always say I show up at the most opportune moments."

"Well, this time, I'm much obliged."

Jake touched a bump beneath his hairline and winced. The pain reminded him of an accident he had back when he and Tony were studying at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in Southern California. It happened the same summer they sailed across the Pacific to Hawaii. Jake was bringing the main sail down when he slipped on the wet deck and clunked his head on the edge of the boat. Tony reacted out of instinct and fished him out of the water. Close to a decade later, the memory of the incident still made him grimace.

"Maybe that will teach you a lesson, Jake," Sarah said, tugging her spaghetti strap back into place on her shoulder.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Not to poke fun, but you should consider your friends before you take on two people by yourself."

"Speaking of our pals here." Tony nodded. "If we leave them behind, they might wake up and bring in reinforcements."

"Can you drag a hundred and sixty pounds?" Jake asked.

"Hey, I'm not forty yet, buddy."

"Then let's load these guys up and get on with our evening, shall we?"

Jake hauled Acne Face to the speedboat next to their vessel. It was the same one Sarah and Ben used the day before. Behind him, Tony showed little mercy on the other man, dragging him by his feet, head bumping up and down on the wood planks of the dock. After dumping both unconscious men into the craft, the three of them boarded the Saint Charles.

While Jake started the engine and maneuvered the larger boat into position, Tony rummaged through a storage compartment and discovered a tow rope. After securing the rope to the cleats on the speedboat's bow, Jake eased the throttle forward and sped away from the marina, leaving Paradise Island behind.

Jake maintained a slow pace as they ventured out to sea. He wanted to avoid an accident. As the waves grew larger the further they traveled, towing the smaller craft became tricky. Thirty minutes later, the lights from shore faded, reduced to tiny beacons.

"I think we're far enough out to drop these knuckleheads off," Jake said to Tony, who stood at his side at the helm. He backed off the throttle and powered down the engine to a grumbling idle.

Jake followed Tony to the stern, where he tugged on the rope and pulled the speedboat close enough for them to board. He held Acne Face's gun on the bleary-eyed men while Tony ripped the ignition wires from the dashboard.

Jake looked back at Sarah, who observed from the Saint Charles. "This is a lot more humane than what they planned for us."

"Point taken." She folded her arms, fingers of one hand lightly tapping her bicep.

He turned to the bewildered pair. "We need you guys to stay adrift for a while. Your buddies damaged the engine in the drive by shooting, but we felt the need to add some insurance in case one of you turns out to be a mechanic."

The smaller man with the broken nose rose from his spot on the rear bench. Dried blood trailed over his lips and down his chin, staining his shirt. "You can't leave us out here."

"That's where you're wrong." Tony slapped the man on the shoulder and drove him into the seat. "Adios, amigos."

Tony climbed aboard the Saint Charles while Jake unwound the tow rope from the cleats on the speedboat.

"Don't worry," Jake said as Tony helped him up to the stern deck of their vessel, "somebody will find you tomorrow... maybe."

After that, he stepped into the wheelhouse and revved the engine. The large boat's carburetor sucked in a ration of fuel and sounded a mighty gargle as he aimed the bow on a northern heading.

"I marked yesterday's position on the GPS computer." Jake tapped the screen mounted to the side of the helm. "From there, it'll be about fifty yards to the sunken cage trap."

Sarah nodded. "Smart thinking."

He punched in the coordinates and made the adjustments. "With any luck, we might drop anchor above the site dead on."