It didn’t work. Jesse Matthews just took leave and is patrolling the water on his own time with the dolphin lady. If anything, they’ll be more of a nuisance.”
The man looked up from the papers on his desk. “He can’t be allowed to stop our strike. Not now. We’re too close.” He tapped his teeth with the pencil he held in his hand. He needed leverage. His thoughts lingered on the kid. He couldn’t do that, could he? He sifted through the emotions clouding his thoughts: regret, pity, hatred. His hate was strongest. Just like a butterfly had to fight to emerge from its cocoon, so he had to struggle through emotions that would paralyze a weaker man.
He glanced up and grabbed his can of Red Bull. “We might need a hostage to keep him in line. I hadn’t thought to do this yet, but maybe it’s time. Get his niece.”
His assistant nodded and left. Best not to think about it. Just do it.
Jesse’s eyelids were heavy. He fought to stay awake. Glancing at the luminous dial on his watch, he realized he should awaken Bane or Kaia and let one of them take over. It was nearly 2 a.m. and they’d both been sleeping over four hours.
He knew Kaia needed her sleep. If he could just stay awake, he’d let her sleep the whole night through. Maybe Bane could take over for an hour or so.
But it was so pleasant to sit here and watch the moon on the water. The sound of the surf was soothing as it ran toward shore like a playful sea lion. He’d get one of them to relieve him soon. But not yet. His eyes did a slow blink. He’d close his eyes for just a minute. The boat would troll along at this slow speed for a long time before it ran aground on the rocky shore. Jesse closed his eyes.
He awoke with a start and sat up. He dug his nails into his hand, and the pain sharpened his senses. He glanced around to get his bearings and realized he couldn’t have slept more than fifteen minutes. What had awakened him?
He listened, but all he heard was the throb of the engines and sound of waves against rock and sand. Then the noise that had been out of kilter came again. A soft thump. It came from below. Maybe one of the others had awakened.
But it didn’t feel right. The sound was stealthy, but he told himself it was because whoever it was didn’t want to wake up the rest of the sleeping passengers. He listened, but the noise didn’t come again. His gaze swept the horizon, then he frowned and squinted. Was that a small boat moored about twenty-five feet away?
He grabbed the night goggles beside him and adjusted them to his eyes. The boat sprang into focus. A man sat hunched in the bow of the boat. He seemed to be looking right back at Jesse. That couldn’t be good.
He put down the goggles and started to rise when something came crashing down on the back of his head. Falling heavily forward, his face smashed into the steering wheel. Warm blood gushed from his nose, and the coppery taste filled his mouth. Splatters of blood sprayed the dash in front of him. He reached out and grabbed the goggles again, using them as a shield against his bigger, heavier attacker.
He grappled with the man in the darkness before being struck again. Heidi and Kaia were sleeping below deck, he thought. He had to save them. He vainly tried to force back the darkness that rolled over him like a crashing breaker.
Kaia awakened in the darkness. She rolled over and glanced at the dim glow of the alarm clock. Jesse should have come to get her by now. He was going to get a piece of her mind. Reaching out her hand, she felt for Heidi’s warm presence but felt nothing but empty bed. She raised her head and saw a dark shadow pass by the door. The moonlight illuminated the room enough to see that it was a man. Not Bane or Jesse though. The guy was too bulky.
He was carrying Heidi up the galley ladder.
Galvanized into action, Kaia sprang from the bed. “You there. Put her down!” She ran forward, tripping over her slippers lying on the floor. “Bane, Jesse, stop him!” The cry was hard to force out of her tight throat.
Heidi murmured, and Kaia felt a sense of rising horror at the scent of chloroform that drifted toward her. The man had drugged the little girl.
The boat tilted in the waves, and Kaia staggered, nearly falling. She righted herself and barreled through the doorway. She threw herself onto the intruder’s back. He thrust an elbow into her stomach and tossed her aside like an empty clam shell. She went down hard.
“Bane, help me!” she screamed. She could see her brother’s sleeping form on the bed. He rolled over, his mouth open. He’d been drugged too.
She had no idea why the man had left her alert. Maybe he’d thought she would be no match for his strength even if she awakened. Was Jesse unconscious as well? It might be up to her to save Heidi.