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With his hands on his hips, Knix then turned to Marv and Texas. "Tex. Keep Alex up to date. Call the others and let them know we found the ship. Marv, keep watch. Wait for the signal. We may need a hotexit."
Marv nodded, his steel eyes serious as he looked from Knix to me and back. "Do you want fire?" heasked.
Knix shook his head. "No, I'm hoping to get in and outquietly."
"And if you needit?"
Knix grimaced. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but if necessary, Bellamy and I will have what weneed."
I frowned when Marv reached beneath another seat and then handed Knix and Bellamy waterproof backpacks. "Why don't Grayson or I get one?" I asked. "And what's the 'signal'?" I reached up and curled two fingers on each of my hands, air quoting the lastword.
"You'll know when you see it," Marv answered with a small smile. "And you and Caruso haven't been trained yet on firearms, so Bellamy and Knix will handlethat."
I watched as Knix and Bellamy each took a bag and strapped them on, buckling them across their wide chests. The small backpacks made their size appear that muchbigger.
"Let's head out," Knixannounced.
Grayson and I moved behind them. "Alright. Grayson and Bellamy in first," Knix directed. As soon as they were in, Knix had me sit on the edge and swing my legs over the side. He took my wrists and helped to lower me into the water where Bellamy waswaiting.
"I got you, Sweetheart," Bellamy said, his hands sliding against my hips beneath the surface of thewater.
"I'm fine," Isaid.
Knix got in last and despite his agility, his size still caused ripples of waves to circle outward even making the Bowrider rock back and forth. I turned my head and squinted atThe Holdin the distance. I hoped like hell there were no sharks in thesewaters.
* * *
Water splashed against my face and I slicked my wet hair back, pushing my legs to kick harder. Though my arms felt like strained noodles, I kept my face above water and tried to keep pace with the others. Even so, I was still lagging behind. Bellamy ducked back in the line we had carved out as our path—with Knix taking the lead—so that he could remain by me. He continued to look back at me, but I didn't say a word. Knix hadn't left me back on the Bowrider for a reason. Erika was my friend and I was meant to be here, chasing after her. That's what best friendsdid.
"Are you doing okay?" Bellamyasked.
Too out of breath, I nodded sharply and nearly cried in relief when I realized we were nearly uponThe Hold. As a group, we circled around to the back. I froze when I heard the telltale sound of male conversation drifting out over the water. They'd see us! I tapped Bellamy on the arm and flicked my gaze up when he looked back. He paused, treading water and then it cameagain.
"What do you think the bitch is gonna do?" one guy asked, sounding raspy andbored.
"What the fuck do you think she's gonna do?" the second snapped with a peculiar accent that rounded his vowels, lengthening them. "She's gonna do what they all do—choose to sign and fuckinglive."
"You don't think the boss would actually want us to kill her, doya?"
My heart pounded as Bellamy caught Knix's attention and then we swam, as quietly as possible, closer to the hull of the ship, inching along the side of it away from the large front end. I dipped my mouth into the water when I realized how loud I was panting. Now was not the time to gettired.
Knix reached the back lip first, climbing aboard and then reached down to help me up too, as Grayson and Bellamy swung their legs over and scrambled to stand. My chest rose and fell with effort. Silently, Knix met each of our eyes and then pointed to Bellamy and me. With two fingers, he directed us to a door that led inside the main portion of the yacht. Then, with those same fingers, he directed Grayson to followhim.
Bellamy and I started off. I rushed forward and grabbed the handle before Bellamy could say anything and flung it open. I had expected the steps leading down, but not the man—gaping in shock—staring up at me, his hand still outstretched as if he meant to push the door open before I had gotten there. Without thinking, Ijumped.
There was a grunt as I landed on the man's chest, pushing him down the remaining few steps. Air rushed past my ears, lifting the wet strands of my dark hair and making them slap my cheeks. His back hit just before his head cracked against the wooden flooring at the bottom of the stairs. When he didn't respond by throwing me off and calling for security, I turned back and peeked up where Bellamy stood on the top step, blinking in surprise. In the next instant, he was down the stairs and at my side. He pulled me off the strange man, felt for a pulse on his neck and then sighed inrelief.
With an amused, albeit relieved, smirk, Bellamy reached up and ruffled my hair. "Maybe think before you react next time,Sweetheart."
"Well, what were we gonna do?" I asked. "Tell him we werelost?"
Ignoring my reasonable inquiry, Bellamy moved to lift the man's shoulders. "Get his legs," he said. "Let's find a place to hide him for the timebeing."
I moved to do as he asked, and we ended up stuffing him in what appeared to be a very small utility closet. There was no room to lay the man down. So, instead, we propped him up against the shelves and closed the door with the locking mechanism turned so that he wouldn't fall unless someone else came by and opened it. Leaving the man to a very nice nap, courtesy of my quick-witted skills—or panic mode as Bellamy said, chuckling under his breath—we headed further into the quiet interior of theyacht.
I listened intently, straining to hear anyone else coming as we moved down an aisle of doors. Bellamy opened each quietly, waited for any sort of noise, and then slipped inside while I waited for several seconds. But each time he returned shaking his head. We still hadn't foundErika.
After the fifth door, I was about ready to slam my face against the wall in frustration and anxiety. Every time Bellamy left me in the hall, I experienced a minor heart attack—worried that in those brief seconds someone else would come around the corner and discover me. We got through the entire hall without finding a single person and, when we reached the kitchen, I was starting to wonder if maybe everyone else was uptop.
