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If she could only relax and not worry about Kylie. She’d always been the one to care for her daughter, and she found it impossible not to fret.
The sound of another motor rose above the sound of the water, and a bright headlamp shining their way nearly blinded her. Bright-blue lights flashed as well.
She shielded her eyes with her hand. “Who on earth is doing that? Coast Guard maybe?”
A voice amplified through a bullhorn shouted, “Coast Guard. We are boarding.”
“Guess that answers the question,” Jon murmured in her ear.
This shouldn’t take long. Any boat on the water was subject to boarding to ensure papers were in order and no smuggling was going on. She’d been stopped a time or two over the years, though they always backed off when she displayed her identification.
The blinding light prevented her from seeing much detail of the men in the patrol vessel, but the catamaran dipped a bit as two men came up the ladder. She turned her back on the patrol and focused her attention on the boarding officers.
She dug in her purse for her credentials. “I’ll handle this.”
Jon caught at her arm. “I don’t like this, Annie. I’ve never known the Coast Guard not to ask a few questions before boarding, like what was the last port of call and what is our destination.”
He had a point. She pulled her gun from her purse and the weight of it helped steady her. “You’re right. This isn’t usual behavior.”
The captain stepped from the wheelhouse to intercept the men boarding. In the dim lighting she saw the first man step aboard. He was not in uniform and carried an assault rifle. From here it appeared to be an HK416. Lots of firepower. Her measly SIG Sauer .45 wouldn’t be a match for his. A ski mask covering his face convinced Annie they were in trouble. This wasn’t a Coast Guard checking credentials.
She caught Jon’s hand as the boarding man jabbed his rifle into the captain’s belly. “Come with me. We need to hide so I have a chance at these guys.” Jon gestured to the ladder to belowdeck, but she shook her head. “We can’t let ourselves be trapped.” She spotted a metal cabinet and dove behind it with Jon. “Text Mason. I think we’re close enough to shore for you to have a signal. Tell him to call the Coast Guard.”
Peering around the edge of the cabinet, she held her gun ready. What did the men want? She’d never heard of any pirates out here on Lake Superior. With her blood roaring in her ears from adrenaline, she didn’t hear the words the man barked at the captain as a second man joined them.
They argued for what seemed an eternity, but Annie couldn’t hear well with Jon’s bulk blocking her.
He gripped her forearm. “They’re looking for you!” he hissed the words softly in her ear.
“What?” That made no sense.
“They said they wanted the female ranger-cop turned over to them, and they’d let everyone else go.”
She gave a slight shake of her head, then peered around the cabinet again. Neither man looked familiar. Even if they had, their ski masks would have obscured a clear ID on them.
Wait, Shainya had mentioned a modification to the hat she’d given Joel. She tried to examine the hats on the men, but there wasn’t enough light to see well.
“Can you snap a pic of them with your phone?”
“The flash will get their attention.”
“If they’re asking the captain to turn me over to them, they might want me alive, so I don’t think they’ll shoot. I’ll aim for their legs if they come this way.”
“Okay, get ready.” Jon leaned around the other side of the metal cabinet and aimed his phone toward the two.
The light flashed from it, but the man in the back seemed tobe the only one who noticed. He whipped toward them, and his rifle came up. Jon had already ducked back, and Annie didn’t think he’d spotted their location. He’d reacted too slowly.
The guy jabbed his buddy with his elbow. “I saw a light. Toward the back of the boat. Maybe it’s the ranger.”
The first guy seemed in charge, and he barely glanced away from the captain. “Check it out.” He stuck a finger in the captain’s chest. “Where is she? We know she’s here.”
“I don’t have a park ranger aboard. Just a couple on a romantic dinner cruise. You’ve stopped the wrong boat.”
The captain’s strong assertion and steady gaze was having an effect on the leader. He took a step back and pulled out his phone. The other guy raised his rifle as he took a step in the direction where Annie and Jon were hidden, but the gun shook in his hands. He didn’t seem too eager to explore on his own.
The leader spoke into the phone with a hushed voice that didn’t carry to where Annie crouched. Was he calling for verification or more backup?
“Did you hear from Mason?” she whispered to Jon.
