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But they definitely had a throttle and Harper hit it hard. Ryland needed her and she wasn’t going to let him down. As she plowed over the waves, heading straight for the superyacht as fast as she could, she tried not to think too hard about how she planned on stopping the motorboat.
???
Everything seemed to happen at once.
A security guard opened the door where Ryland was waiting and, using the element of surprise, he grabbed the guard, overpowering him, and dragged him down to the floor in a chokehold. The second the man passed out, Ryland jumped up and moved into the doorway.
Glock in hand, he peered out and came face to face with fucking Tillman.Goddammit.
“Fred?” Tillman’s eyes widened and he looked past Ryland, most likely searching for Harper, aka Annabelle Rogers. “What’re you doing here?”
He looked so utterly baffled that Ryland could only roll his eyes. Not wasting time on Tillman, Ryland focused on the four guards who just spotted him. “No time to chat, John. See you and Jackie back at the resort!”
“Drinks later?” Tillman called out, voice hopeful.
Christ. What a creep.Ryland ran down the corridor, turning the corner and skidding outside just in time to see the motorboat plow into the yacht’s rear swim platform.
There she was, right on time. His woman had come crashing in to rescue him.
Ryland quickly retrieved his flippers and took a running leap off the end of the yacht. He sailed through the air, landing in a crouch on the motorboat.
“I didn’t know how to stop it!” Harper yelled, throwing her arms up.
“You did good!” he assured her, wrapping an arm around her waist and planting a quick kiss on her lips. “Brilliant distraction, sweetheart.”
“I didn’t even get to my actual distraction.”
“Oh?” Luckily, there wasn’t any significant damage to either boat and Ryland jumped into the captain’s seat and spun the wheel. “And what was that?”
Shoving the throttle forward, he guided them away from the yacht, heading toward a cluster of cliffs.
“I was going to flash them,” she announced cheekily.
“Oh, hell.” That definitely would’ve worked and he was glad he’d made it out fast enough, so she hadn’t needed to do it. Right now, they needed to ditch the boat and—
“Ryland! They’re coming after us!”
Ryland glanced over his shoulder and saw two speed boats being lowered into the water. There’s no way they could outrun those things. At this point, their best hope would be to reach the cliffs ahead where they could ditch the boat and hide. Lucky for them, Jamaica’s landscape stemmed from its volcanic nature and a large limestone plateau covered most of the island. This meant there were hundreds of caves and caverns scattered all over the place which pirates had taken advantage of back in the day to hide their loot.
And now Ryland and Harper could hide themselves.
The steep rock face with endless crags loomed closer and closer. There were infinite crevices and coves where they could slip into and easily lose the thugs tailing them. However, they’d be dangerous, too, and they’d have to be careful. It would suck to outrun the men chasing them only to impale their small vessel on a sunken ship’s mast. Or get lost or injured in the labyrinth of tunnels dotting the area.
It didn’t take long to reach one of the sheltered coves and Ryland let the boat glide right up against the rocks. “C’mon. Let’s lose these assholes.”
He reached for Harper’s hand and helped her over the side and onto a large rock. After he hopped out, he looked back to see their pursuers were gaining ground fast. Far too fast for comfort, and he tugged Harper with him.
“Careful not to slip,” he said, hurrying forward, gaze searching for the perfect place to hide. They moved quickly, skirting along huge boulders and sharp rock walls until he finally found a cave that looked promising.
Leaving the bright sunshine behind, they moved into the dank cavern, winding along a narrow ledge and heading into the gloom beyond. The water was high, lapping over the edge, and their feet were getting wet.
Harper’s fingers tightened around Ryland’s hand and she hesitated.
“Just a little further,” Ryland coaxed. “They won’t come back here. It’s too dangerous with the tide coming in.”
At least, that’s what he was betting on.
???
