As the boat grew nearer, she squinted in the darkness. Was that her brother-in-law, Duncan? She shot to her feet and waved her hands. “Duncan, we’re here!”
The engine died on the small boat, and moments later Duncan climbed aboard. Faye rushed to hug him then stopped when she realized he wasn’t smiling. And why had the other man not tried to thwart the rescue? She stared at him.
“I wish you hadn’t interfered, Faye.” Duncan’s lips twisted and he shook his head. “I really liked you.”
Liked as in past tense. She took a step away from his cynical smile. “You—you’re behind this?” she whispered. “You’re going to kill me?”
“I wish I didn’t have to.” He sounded regretful. “I hate to hurt Curtis. He looked so long for someone to make him happy. You did a good job, I’ll give you that.”
“Don’t hurt the keiki,” she pleaded, glancing toward the sleeping Heidi.
“If you’d let my man take her, things would have been just fine,” Duncan growled.
He is going to kill us both. The knowledge sapped the strength from Faye’s limbs. She shrank back to stand over Heidi. “I won’t let you hurt her.” Her voice was a whimper.
Duncan looked away. “Sorry, Faye. But the kid has a role to play first.”
He wasn’t going to kill them yet. There was still time to figure a way out of this.
“Something’s wrong with the radio,” the other man told Duncan. The two went to the helm.
Faye glanced at the boat Duncan had arrived in. Maybe she and Heidi could get away in it. She held her fingers to her lips and started toward the ladder. She’d just reached it when Duncan came back on deck.
He reached her before she could react and grabbed her arm. He woke Heidi then thrust them both into the salon. “Stay there. If you move, you won’t like the consequences.”
Kaia strained to see through the darkness as Nani led them on a chase over the sea. The waves were smaller now that morning drew near, and the sea seemed glassy smooth. Nani had said “shark.” What did she mean? Could Nani have been talking about something other than an actual shark? Something else that represented danger?
Jesse cut the engine, and the boat bobbed in the water. “Why are we stopping?” she demanded. Nani’s dorsal fin was still cutting through the water ahead at a torpedo’s pace.
“I see a boat in the distance. We can’t get too close or they’ll see us.” He opened the locker on the boat and pulled out snorkel gear. “If we stand any chance of rescuing them, we have to surprise them.”
He tossed her a wet suit and she pulled it on, eager to get into the water with Nani. She saw Nani circling back to get her. She zipped up her wet suit then put her snorkel and mask around her neck. She squinted at the boat in the distance. “Looks like a Viking. Maybe fifty-foot or so. Nani can get us there quicker.” She glanced around for the dolphin and saw two more dorsal fins out there. “Liko and Mahina are here too.”
Jesse went to the radio and called in their coordinates, but told them to wait until he knew for sure if this was Duncan’s boat.
“Let’s go.” Jesse tucked Heidi’s stuffed bear inside his wet suit. “Boo will be soaked, but he might bring some comfort to Heidi if she’s there.” He tucked his gun into a waterproof bag.
How like him to care about his niece’s emotional state as well as her safety. Kaia followed him into the water. The water closed over her head, but she couldn’t see a foot in front of her face, although dawn was beginning to brighten the sky. They didn’t dare use their lights if they wanted to surprise the people on the boat. She just prayed Nani hadn’t led them astray. Nani brushed by her, and Kaia reached out and grabbed the dolphin’s dorsal fin. Breathing steadily through her snorkel, she tucked her body close to Nani and let her pull her along the top of the water. She could only hope Jesse would do the same with one of the other dolphins.
When she surfaced, she was six feet from the boat. Glancing around, she saw Liko’s dorsal fin approaching, then Jesse’s head bobbed up. She pulled her mask and snorkel down around her neck. Kaia swam toward the boat’s ladder. Jesse moved past her.
“Let me go first.” He began to climb the ladder.
“Be careful,” she whispered. She waited until he was at the top then followed. He paused and pulled out his gun.
On the aft deck, she shadowed Jesse as they listened. Nothing moved aboard the boat, and Kaia shivered. It was too quiet. She looked and saw Faye sitting in the salon. Heidi was on her lap. Kaia pointed to them, and Jesse nodded. She could hear his soft exhalation of relief.
Putting his finger to his lips, Jesse moved toward the helm. Before he’d gone more than two steps, a figure appeared in the doorway.