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Chapter Forty-eight
Rylee knew if she didn’t do something to stop their escape, Jake, her silly, lovable hero would come forward to trade himself for her, and she’d lose out on a possible happy future.
That couldn’t happen. She’d never be able to live with herself or… without him. In a panic, she looked for a way to stop this fiasco. An answer in the form of a distant craft creating a rogue wave suddenly appeared.
One minute, Hakim had the gun on her, and a split second later, a watery force hit the side of the boat. He stumbled backwards. Taking advantage, she shoved him, and he tripped over the dude near the front.
Her head-slapping, cranky nemesis, clutching the outboard motor handle, steered them in the direction away from the pier and wasn’t paying attention.
It was her chance, and she took it. No hesitation, she flipped overboard and dove as deep as she could, knowing Hakim and his men wouldn’t hesitate to shoot at her.
Thankful that her swimming skills were lifeguard quality, she forced her body down deep and moved like an eel, using her hands to stir the sand and make the water murky.
When the time came to breathe or die, she headed to the surface just in time to watch her shining knight’s dive from the pier in her direction. Heart thudding, spooked with alarm, she tried to wave him back, but he didn’t see her movements. He was too busy slicing through the water like an Olympic champion.
Seeing their chance, they began shooting at him.
Hoping to confuse the shooters, she spread her arms and legs, in a pose that one would assume her a goner. Sadly, this dumb maneuver incited Jake – not her plan at all. He swam harder in her direction… and to his peril.
In the craziness, she spied a motorboat from the ship speeding in the direction of Hakim’s craft. She hoped this would prove to be a deterrent, and they’d give up trying to kill her or Jake and save themselves. Then she heard an FBI helicopter heading in their direction.
Thank God! Between the helicopter and the boat, the idiots had to skedaddle – right?
Wrong!
A series of developments resulted. Jake got close enough to see her signal for him to save himself. Knowing she was alive, his body sagged long enough for the bullets creating the spurts in the water around him, to all miss their mark. He dove, giving her a chance to thank God for having listened to her prayers.
Soon after, panic obviously a problem with their attackers, she saw the offenders in their boat tussling and Hakim’s body being flung over the side, his robes being picked up by the breeze as if he had golden wings. Without a thought of reconsidering, she started swimming in his direction, knowing the weight from his heavy clothes would surely force him underwater.
Jake, most likely seeing her direction through the clear water, came up close behind her. Backup in case she needed him. Warmth flooded, and her heart recognized how strongly she’d accepted the man to be a part of her future, her life, the one… hers.
Diving continuously in the area where Hakim had been seen last, they both patrolled, looking for some sign of his clothing, his body, until she suddenly spotted him about six feet away to the right.
He’d given up the struggle and looked to be drowning, the final moments before his life force eased out and made its way to whichever direction he’d earned.
As a last resort, tired beyond reason, her own clothes slowing her down, she moaned with relief when Jake streaked past her, grabbed the man’s hair and hauled him to the surface.
