When he glanced up, he saw the shoreline getting closer as they drifted toward it. If the boat didn’t start soon, they would end up beached, and the vessel would be useless to them.
More gunshots rang out, but these weren’t as metallic sounding. Mike lurched back when a bullet racing past his nose kissed the tip of it. His head rose as he realized these shots weren’t coming from Jack.
Glancing at the shoreline, he spotted a woman standing there with her legs spread and a two-handed grip on a gun. He suspected she’d been the one firing at them from the loft in the beach house. Sand sprayed up in front of the woman as bullets rained down from above, but Jack’s rounds were a good ten feet in front of her as his angle on the cliff made it impossible to get a good shot at her.
“Get down!” Mike roared as more bullets peppered the side of the boat.
Mollie lunged for Aida as a Savage who had managed to climb into the boat tore the extinguisher from her sister’s hands. A bullet pierced the boat at her feet as she grasped Aida’s shoulders and shoved her down.
Releasing Aida, Mollie bashed the butt of the rifle into the Savage’s face as a bullet whizzed past her ear. For a second, Mollie almost pissed herself as the whistle of the bullet replayed in her mind, and the Savage staggered backward but didn’t topple out. It wouldn’t do her any good to hit the ground with this thing still in the boat; she may not get shot, but she would get eaten, and she’d rather take a bullet than be vampire steak tartare.
Grabbing the Savage by the collar of his shirt, Doug yanked it backward and tossed it overboard as a fresh wave of gunfire rang out. Doug spun away from the railing and leapt in front of Mollie when more bullets riddled the boat.
Mollie screamed and lunged for Doug when his body jerked from the impact of the bullets piercing it. Blood trickled from his mouth and bloomed across his chest as he seized her arms and pushed her down next to Aida before falling on top of them.
“Son of a bitch!” Mike spat as the shield in front of the steering wheel spiderwebbed and a wooden bullet embedded in the center of it. “Mollie! Doug!” Mike shouted. He’d seen the blood on Doug’s shirt before he pulled Mollie beneath him. Mollie hadn’t been hit, but Doug was. “Doug, are you okay? Mollie? Someone answer me!”
No one responded though as the engine chugged, caught again, and purred for a few seconds before bogging down. Mike’s heart sank, but then the motor roared back to life, and the boat lurched forward. Mike clutched the handle beside him and threw the vessel into reverse before it crashed into the dock. Water sprayed up around him; the side of the boat dipped down as he twisted the wheel to steer the vessel away from the dock.
On top of the cliff, the woman with Jack grabbed his arm and pointed to something on their right. Jack swung the rifle onto his back, clasped the woman’s hand, and fled toward the woods. With a heavy heart, Mike watched them go; he wouldn’t be able to get to them and get them off the island now that he didn’t know where they’d gone. He’d have to come back for Jack after he got Mollie to safety and made sure Doug was okay.
Mollie remained still beneath Doug’s heavy weight as the boat lurched backward. She couldn’t see anything beyond his body, but water sprayed the fingers she’d dug into his shoulder. Tears burned her eyes as his blood soaked through her shirt to coat her skin.He’s a vampire; he’ll be okay.She tried to convince herself of this, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread creeping over her skin.
“Doug?” she whispered, but he didn’t respond.
Beside her, Aida’s arm rested against hers, yet her sister remained abnormally still. Had Aida also been shot before Mollie pushed her out of the way?
“Aida?”
“I’m okay,” Aida said in a choked voice.
Mollie realized Doug’s weight and the way he’d landed on her sister was making it difficult for Aida to speak. When the boat suddenly shifted into forward, and the engine roared, the three of them slid back a few feet before coming to a stop. Something smashed off the bottom of the boat, but she felt no sympathy for the Savage who probably just had their skull bashed in.
“Doug?” she asked again.Please be alive. Please be alive.
If he replied, she didn’t hear it over the hum of the engine and the waves slapping the sides of the boat as it skimmed the surface of the ocean. Mollie closed her eyes to hold back her tears, but some slid free. There was no rise and fall in Doug’s chest against hers, and no breath tickled her cheek though his mouth was next to her face.
“Doug,” she choked out as she hugged him closer. She feared he was already gone, but if not, he needed to know she was here for him.
The boat continued across the ocean for what was probably only another minute or two, but it felt like an eternity before their speed eased. Mollie couldn’t bring herself to release Doug as the boat came to a halt and the engine purred while they bobbed on the waves.
Then Doug’s body was eased off hers. Mollie’s fingers remained curved into cramped hooks when she released him. She blinked against the influx of light as the sea breeze cooled her flesh. Getting her elbows under her, she pushed herself up a little as Mike carefully lifted his friend and placed him on the bench seat.
“Doug?” Mike croaked.
The broken sound of Mike’s voice and the suffering on his face as he knelt at Doug’s side tore at her heart. Mike pressed his fingers against Doug’s neck to check for a pulse and then frantically moved them to another location and then another.
“No,” Mike moaned.
Tears slid down her face when Mike bit into his wrist and placed it against Doug’s partially open mouth.
“Come on, Doug, drink,” he commanded in a hoarse voice.
He willed his friend to swallow the blood filling his mouth. There had been no pulse, one of the bullet holes in his shirt was dead center through his heart, but that didn’t mean anything. Doug was a vampire,hewas a vampire, and anything could happen. If Mike succeeded in getting some of his blood into his friend, he could still save him; he was sure of it.
“It will heal you, drink!” he ordered.
Mike waited for Doug’s throat to make the motion of swallowing and for the healing effects of the blood to take hold, but Doug didn’t move.
