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He did the same, then secured the knife he had strapped to his calf. “Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” she said.
“Follow my lead.”
Slipping off the side of the raft into the cool, dark water, they swam toward the boat in nearly silent strokes, their noses just above the water.
When she reached the dive platform, Andi rested her hand on the metal surface.
Christian raised himself out of the water and onto the platform. He assessed their surroundings. No sign of anyone on deck. He turned to offer Andi his hand, but she was already up and getting to her feet.
Moving along the port side, with guns ready to fire, they worked their way onto the bridge, clearing it as they moved. Christian waved two fingers aft, and they moved for the cabin door leading to the stairs, if he remembered correctly.
Please,Father,keep us safe. Protect us and the crew.
Muffled noise came from down a level. They climbed down the steps, and Christian saw two people—a man and a woman, bound to two chairs, duct tape over their mouth, tears streaming down the woman’s face. She whimpered, but then her eyes widened. She’d seen them.
Christian held a finger to his mouth, trying to indicate they were there to help. He longed to unbind them, tell them to run for safety, but safety was miles away, and they needed to move, to subdue Cyrus and Ethan.
The man’s gaze moved to him too, and he nodded. He understood.
Christian pointed toward the bow of the ship. No reaction from either of them. He pointed to the stern. The woman nodded. He pointed up, though it appeared dark and silent above deck. She didn’t respond. He pointed down. The man nodded.
So another level down. He mouthedThank youand signaled for Andi to follow him. She positioned herself at his six, and they moved for the stairs. Several steps down, voices carried up.
“Look at this loot,” Ethan said.
Christian released a controlled stream of air. It’d been years since he’d heard Ethan’s voice, and it brought a flood of memories rushing back, but he shoved them aside. He signaled for Andi to hold. If he listened well, he could place where each man was in the room.
“This vulture vessel is worth a hundred grand alone,” another man said.
Cyrus.
“And this ugly stone frog will bring in forty grand,” Ethan said. “Look at this.”
“Not that,” Cyrus said at something Ethan must have picked up or pointed to.
“Why not?” Ethan questioned.
“Too big to transport,” Cyrus said.
“Okay.” Something hit the floor.
“You broke it,” a third man said.
That had to be Mr. Beaumont.
Christian took a stiff inhale, and Andi’s assertive gaze said she was ready for this.
Placing his left hand palm up, he used the fingers of his right hand to indicate where he believed Cyrus and Ethan were in the room.
She nodded.
He pointed to Cyrus’s position based on the sound of his voice and movement, then to himself. She nodded. Then he did the same with Ethan’s position and pointed to her. Again, she nodded.
Please,Lord,keep us safe. Protect us fromevil men.
He held up three fingers, and again she nodded.
