Brad motioned with his gun. “You heard him. Get moving.”
Jesse helped Heidi onto the ladder. Once she was in the inflated lifeboat, he climbed down himself. Faye went next, then Kaia.
“All of you sit on your hands,” Duncan said. His vessel floated about ten feet away.
Kaia looked at Jesse, and he shrugged.
“I don’t want any funny stuff,” he warned. Sweat beaded his forehead and upper lip. He swallowed hard then lifted the lid of the cooler beside him. He began tossing handfuls of bloody meat into the water. He wiped his hands on his jeans then pulled out his gun and aimed it toward the lifeboat.
He paused then wiped his forearm over his damp forehead. “I hate to do this, Jesse, I really do. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. We were friends once. But I’ve come too far to back out. I’m not ready to go to prison.”
Kaia felt sick as she realized what he intended. She looked at Jesse. They might as well try to stop him even if it meant getting shot. It was better than being shark bait.
“Don’t worry; the sharks will kill you quickly.” Duncan leaned over the railing to aim the gun into the bottom of the lifeboat. He fired a bullet into the raft, and air began to hiss from the hole it made.
Before either Kaia or Jesse could make a move, Nani launched herself from the water. As she passed Duncan, she gave a powerful flip, and her tail collided with Duncan’s body. Off balance from leaning over, he pinwheeled then pitched into the water. His head bobbed to the surface, and he swam toward the yacht’s ladder. Nani blocked his move and nudged him away from safety and farther out to sea.
Kaia saw several fins appear. “Sharks!” The raft was quickly deflating. She lurched toward the ladder, pushing Heidi ahead of her.
“Get him in,” Brad shouted from the deck of the yacht. He pointed the gun at Jesse.
“Throw your gun in the water and I’ll bring him in.” Jesse folded his arms over his chest.
“Shoot the dolphin!” Duncan screamed, still trying to evade Nani’s nudges.
Brad swung the gun toward Duncan and Nani. His hand wavered. “I might hit you,” he shouted. He aimed it back at the lifeboat. “Haul him in or I’ll shoot all of you.”
Jesse shrugged. “We’re about to die anyway. If you want to save him, you’ll throw your gun in the water.”
Kaia held her breath as the man hesitated. There was no time to waste. They had to get off this raft before it sank.
Duncan began to swear and scream. “Help me!” He batted at Nani, but she kept pushing him toward the approaching sharks.
Brad swore viciously then tossed his gun over the side. “Get him in the boat!”
Kaia grabbed the whistle around her neck and gave the command that told Nani to come. The dolphin left Duncan.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Duncan swam quickly toward the smaller motorboat. “Help me,” he cried.
Jesse grabbed an oar and started to reach it out to help, but Duncan reached the motorboat and managed to haul himself aboard. He lay panting and shivering.
“I need to get a weapon,” Jesse whispered to Kaia. He grabbed the ladder and climbed to the deck of the yacht.
Faye hurried to the ladder, and Kaia helped her aboard. Waves were beginning to swamp the raft, and one slapped her in the leg, drenching her with water. A shark was swimming nearby, so close Kaia could have reached out and grabbed its fin. She jumped to the ladder and clambered to the deck as the raft sank beneath the waves.
As she reached the deck, she saw Jesse grab Brad by the arm and spin him around. The other man brought up a speargun. Jesse grappled with him. Kaia held her breath, sure the man she loved would be killed.
The man she loved. She squeezed her eyes shut. What a time to figure that out. She looked around for a weapon, but even as she snatched up a rope, Jesse batted the speargun out of Brad’s hand and bore him to the deck. He put his knee in Brad’s back and pulled his arms behind him.
“Hand me that rope,” Jesse panted. Kaia rushed forward and helped him tie up Brad.
The sound of a motor firing startled Kaia. She ran to the railing and glanced over the side of the yacht. Duncan was steering the boat toward the island. “He’s getting away!”
“I’ll call the Coast Guard. They’ll pick him up. At least there’s no danger with the launch. All his equipment is here.” Jesse went to the helm to call on the ship-to-shore phone. He came back to the door with part of it in his hand. “It’s broken. I need to get to the radio on the Porpoise II.”
“How? All the boats are gone,” Kaia reminded him.
He rubbed his forehead. “Oh yeah.” He disappeared back into the helm.
Faye stood off to one side, holding Heidi’s hand. She was looking at Kaia with love shining out of her dark eyes. At least Kaia thought it looked like love. A lump formed in her throat, but she couldn’t look away.
“I am so proud of you,” Faye said softly.