Louise rolled her eyes. “Get the device and come on!” Her gaze settled on Chloe. “You’re next. After I get this one delivered, I’ll be back for you.” She flicked a glance at Thelma. “Get this place cleaned up and then be at the boat.”
“I know how this works. You don’t have to tell me every time.”
It was the first hint of discord Chloe had seen between the two.
Louise huffed. Rachel found her monitor and tucked it into the pocket of her shorts with a glance at Chloe. Chloe gave her a short nod and Rachel lifted her chin.
Chloe frowned and rubbed her bare arms. If they were going to be riding in an open boat, it was going to be a chilly trip in their skimpy clothes.
The door shut behind Louise and Rachel.
“Get over by the door,” Thelma said. “She’ll be back as soon as she gets rid of her.”
Chloe walked toward the door, then spun and landed a kick on the woman’s hand that gripped the weapon. Thelma cried out and backpedaled, trying to get her feet under her, but Chloe moved fast and aimed her heel at Thelma’s stomach. A solid hit.
Air whooshed from Thelma and she went to her knees. The weapon clattered to the carpet while Chloe was moving in for yet another punch.
“No! Stop!” Thelma held her hands up in surrender. “Don’t hit me anymore.”
Chloe grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. “Keep quiet or I’ll snap your arm. Then your neck. Understand?” A whimper escaped the woman. “I’ll take that as a yes. Get in the bathroom.”
Her prisoner acquiesced with no fight left in her. The woman could bully teenagers, but when confronted by someone willing to stand up to her, she lost her bravado. Once she had the woman shut in the bathroom, Chloe grabbed a chair and shoved it under the knob. It might hold her for a few minutes, but if Thelma tried hard enough, she’d be out in no time.
Chloe grabbed Thelma’s weapon, checked to find it loaded and ready to use. She stepped to the door and opened it slowly, praying she wouldn’t find Louise on the other side.
She stuck her head around the corner. Clear. But which way?
Approaching footsteps answered that question. Chloe ducked back into the room and shut the door. She stood off to the side and waited. Seconds later, the knob turned and Louise stepped through. Paused when she saw the empty room.
Just a little farther inside.
“Thelma?” She took another step.
Chloe brought the butt of the weapon down on the woman’s head. Hard.
Louise crumpled without a sound. Chloe took the suppressor off the weapon and tossed it aside. If she fired, she wanted it heard. She searched Louise, found the twin to the gun she held, and stuck it in the waistband at the small of her back.
She stepped out of the room, shut the door, and turned the lock. The click gave her great satisfaction. Kicking the stupid heels off, she drew in a breath. Now to find the girls—and the men guarding them. They’d be on alert when she didn’t show up for her “turn” to parade in front of the camera for those wanting to bid on her.
She shuddered and slowed, her bare feet cold, the wind whipping around her. Waves lapped the side of the vessel and she crept forward, weapon held ready. With steady steps, she made her way to the lower level. As far as she knew, there were three men. Neal and the two guards who’d snatched her from the museum. And the two women she’d taken out.
Neal was the one she was most worried about. Then again, the two guards had been pretty efficient. Outnumbered and outgunned, she was going to have to divide and conquer.
Low voices caught her attention.
“. . . find her. She’s on the ship somewhere, so find her now,” Neal said. His low, vicious order sent shivers down her spine. “And get rid of Cass and Marie. They’re of no use to us anymore.”
“What about delivering the girls?”
“They can wait a few minutes. Tell Mike we’ll leave shortly. It won’t take long to find the cop. I should have known better than to leave her with those two. They can handle a bunch of scared teens, but that cop . . . just find her.” He cursed. “He isn’t going to like this.”
“We’ll find her, boss.”
“You’d better. Now hurry up.” He stomped off and the other man headed for the side. From around the edge, Chloe watched and waited. When Neal disappeared from sight, she breathed in. As soon as she stepped around the side, she’d be in full view of the boat that held the silent girls. They were on the other end. If she’d been able to come from the stern instead of the bow, she could be on him in seconds without him realizing it.
The vessel rocked with the undulations of the ocean. The man guarding the girls had his back to her as he reached for the rope to untie the smaller craft. She had no time to go all the way back around.
A splash from the other side of the small craft pulled her attention briefly from the man. Lindsey gasped. Several girls pointed and whispered.
“What was that?” their captor demanded.
They froze and huddled together.
Chloe scanned the faces and realized Rachel wasn’t among them. What had the girl done? And then she broke the surface about five feet away, swimming with long, even strokes as she headed toward shore.
Oh no. She couldn’t lose her now. Not when they were so close to being free.
“Hey! Get back here!” He pulled his weapon and aimed it at the swimming girl.
Chloe ran toward him, weapon held in front of her. Her bare feet made no sound as she drew closer to the stern and the bobbing craft next to it.
“Drop it!”
He jerked and spun.
“Drop the weapon!”
He aimed it at her instead.
She fired. Once, twice, three times.
26
Blake turned to Linc. “You hear that?”
“Yeah. Gunshots.”
“Where’d they come from?”
“To the left. Go.”
The driver gunned the motor and Blake shifted into a position that would enhance his view of the area ahead. Other boat owners who had heard the shots had come from below or were standing at the bow, holding binoculars and gesturing. Still others were moving away from the large yacht, probably afraid more gunshots were coming.
Blake nodded. “Follow where they’re pointing while I call it in.”
“Hang on.”
Chloe lowered the weapon as the man fell into the water. The girls’ screams echoed in the humid air. She held a finger to her lips and they snapped their mouths shut, even as hope started to gleam in their eyes.
“Be quiet, there’s still more. If anyone shows up, you’re not sure what happened, okay?”
They nodded.
“Behind you!” Lindsey cried.
Chloe spun and took a glancing blow to the side of her head. She stumbled, and fell into the boat next to Megan. On her way down, her hand slammed into one of the seats and pain radiated through her wrist and up her arm. Numb fingers lost their grip and the gun tumbled to the floor.
“I’m going to kill you!”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Neal raise the weapon and aim it at her. Three cracks sounded. Surprise flashed across his face before he, too, fell sideways off the vessel and joined his partner in the water.
She stood. And saw the Marine police boat heading for them. Choking back tears of relief, gratitude, and sheer happiness, she snatched the weapon from the bottom of the craft and climbed back onto the yacht. Linc joined her.
“Go get Rachel,” she yelled at Blake. And pointed.
He blanched and said something to the driver of the boat. The man turned and headed toward the still swimming girl.
Rachel’s arms ached. She might be out of practice, but she was also in her element. In the water, she was powerful and in control. But the farther she swam, the more the fatigue hit her. She knew it was because she wasn’t used to swimming in these conditions. Cold and with a strong current that wanted to tug her under. But she wouldn’t stop. She had to reach shore and get help. She would do this for Chloe and the other girls. She would prove to her father that he could love her.
Stroke, stroke, breathe. She had the rhythm now. She could make it. When she heard the boat coming up behind her, she put on a burst of speed. They wouldn’t catch her. Not again.
But she was tired. So very tired and cold.