“Give her the sweats I had in the bag for emergency, Gus! We have to get her warmed up now!”
Gus rifled through Nick’s equipment backpack, retrieving the black sweat-suit he had at the bottom, while Nick rubbed the towel over the woman’s naked form. He and Gus helped her into the sweat-suit. Nick left the strapped on high heels in place that had made the journey, figuring to get her warm socks and tennis shoes when they joined their female companions. Nick stripped out of his dive gear while Gus kept warming the still shivering woman with his hands working her arms and body over. Once Nick had his shoes on, they then hurried her above to the dock area, where Nick put his own coat on her. The swim back had heated him sufficiently to not feel overly uncomfortable yet. He tied the hood tightly over the woman’s head.
“Damn, Nick. You picked up a date?”
“A guy drugged her and threw her off the boat. I filmed it, but I couldn’t get a good look at the guy’s face. He may be clearer on the video.”
“His… name is Fahid,” the woman mumbled, trying to walk with Gus and Nick supporting her on each side.
They reached the walkway, circling the docking area. The more movement the woman made on the paved surface, the better she controlled her steps. By the time they neared the more populated pier area, she was walking under her own power, with only a steadying hand from Nick. Noting the improvement in coordination, Nick decided to question her before they reached the crowded Pier 39 shopping and restaurant area.
“What were you arguing with this Fahid about? I saw the two of you fighting before he injected you with something.”
“He wanted me to drink with him, but I know better. Guys like him slip shit into your drink. The next thing you know, you’re waking in a strange place, coming down from a bad rape trip. I should never have gone on board with him. I let the asshole and his party gang talk me into it at the Wipeout Bar and Grill. I thought it would be fun.” The woman missed a step, and Gus steadied her. She took a few deep breaths, and they began walking again. A moment later she started talking once more. “He claimed to be a Saudi Prince on vacation. The yacht is incredible. I was having a good time. When he wanted me to go down to his cabin with him, I refused. That’s when he tried to get me to have a drink from his private collection of wine. I told him I was happy with bottled beer. He got mad, and said he wanted to talk with me on the bow where it was quieter.”
She stopped again as if gathering her thoughts while still walking. “I was an idiot for going out there with him.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You were smart enough not to take a drugged drink,” Nick said. “My advice is let my partner and I buy you an outfit at one of the Pier 39 shops, and you can go with our girls to get something to eat. I’m interested in that yacht. Did you ever get to see the cabins?”
The woman looked at Nick suspiciously. “What…what were you doing in the water, and why the interest in the boat?”
“Don’t, Nick.” Gus pleaded, seeing the cold eyed Terminator persona begin to surface.
“Saving your life, lady,” Nick answered after a moment’s pause.
The woman looked into her rescuer’s eyes, seeing something far more dangerous than being thrown off a boat to die. “I want to go home.”
“We’ll take you home, fully clothed, and with a meal in your belly. I’d like an answer to the question though.”
“Yes… they took us on a full tour of the yacht. Fahid has the master cabin. It was beautiful. Look… thank you for saving my life. It’s not that I’m an ungrateful bitch. It’s just that you look a lot more scary than the guy who tried to kill me.”
Nick grinned. “Relax. We’re not going to kill you. We’re going to buy you an outfit of your choosing, feed you at the place we’re going to eat called Lew’s Fish Shack, and give you a ride home in a limousine we rented for tonight. There’s nothing to worry about. I have my wife and nine year old daughter with me, and my friend Gus has his girlfriend Tina with him. Thanks for the info. My name’s Nick McCarty. My partner’s name is Gus Nason. What’s your name?”
“Tracy Aldirin. Your…your name sounds familiar. Wait a minute… I know you! You’re Nick McCarty… the guy who writes the assassin series, right?”
“That’s me, and now you know what I was doing in the water,” Nick rode the wave with a sigh of relief from Gus. “I was scouting a scene, and all its implications, of approaching a boat at night time from the water in complete darkness. Gus thought I was nuts, but some of these things you just have to experience in reality before writing them into a fiction scene. We made a night of it with our companions.”
Tracy stopped and hugged Nick. “I’m so sorry I doubted you. This is amazing! I’ve read all of your Diego novels.”
Nick hugged her back, before holding her at arm’s length. “May I ask a favor of you?”