Someone got something seriously wrong. He didn’t know who or what it was, but it all came down to Daniel at that moment.
“What do we do?” Daniel demanded.
Edward frowned. This was probably the stupidest thing he could do, but he didn’t see much choice. “Get my backpack out of the bench seat. There’s a gun in there.”
“A what? Why the hell did you bring a gun to a freaking boat outing?” Daniel shouted.
Edward reached down and jerked open the drawer by his knee. “I brought two guns, actually.” He picked up his hidden weapon and aimed it over his shoulder, squeezing off a couple of rounds. Between the waves lifting and dropping the boat and the spray of water, his aim was shit, but he hoped the fired shots would get the other people off his damn back.
“What the fuck!” Daniel cried. “This was supposed to be a relaxing day in the sun. Why does everyone have a gun?”
“Why don’t you get my other gun and join the damn party!” Edward bellowed.
“No! I can’t use a gun. I-I-I haven’t even held a gun in years.”
“These people are going to kill us if you don’t get my other gun!”
Edward looked over to see Daniel glaring at him for a moment as if them being pursued was somehow his fault, but a second later, he started to carefully edge his way to the stern and his hidden backpack. Unfortunately, he didn’t get far before more gunfire strafed across the side of the boat. Daniel dove for the decks, flattening himself while Edward ducked down behind the captain’s chair. Several bullets ripped across the rear bench seat and hammered into the engine. The motor sputtered and choked.
“Fire!” Daniel yelled.
Edward jerked back to see flames jump from the aft. Oil and gas were going to fuel those flames. More bullets hit the craft. If the boat didn’t explode, the engine was surely going to give out. They were sitting ducks regardless.
The enemy boat moved to circle them as they continued to lose speed. Releasing the wheel, Edward pushed away from the chair and grabbed Daniel’s arm as he was trying to get his feet.
“We have to jump,” he said.
“Are you serious? What about the pirates?”
“No choice.” At least, he had no intention of giving Daniel a choice. Keeping his hand firmly locked on Daniel’s arm, he pulled the man to the side and braced one foot on the rail.
“But—”
Edward didn’t give Daniel a chance to finish that thought. He jumped over the side, pulling the other man with him. The cool ocean water swallowed them up for a moment, blocking out the sound of gunfire and boat motors. Edward had no choice but to release Daniel as he got his bearings and swam to the surface with his gun still in his hand.
His head popped above the waves a second before Daniel surfaced, gasping and coughing. His sunglasses were gone and he was squinting. Their boat had continued on several more yards, the flames growing higher as they consumed more of the hull. A small explosion blew apart the craft, throwing a wall of heat toward them as the flames finally reached the gas tank. The CIA was not getting its deposit back.
The sleek enemy boat had slowed down and was cutting back to circle around them. Edward could now more clearly see the four men in the craft. They all had swarthy complexions and dark hair. Their clothes didn’t exactly scream tourist, and neither did the machine guns three of them were holding.
Daniel swam closer to Edward, treading water as he followed the boat as it circled. “What do we do now?”
Edward sighed. “For now…whatever they want.”
Not his best plan. But it would keep him alive until he could come up with a better one.Chapter ThreeDaniel carefully twisted his wrists and pulled against the rope that held his hands tied behind his back. The pirates had done a good job of binding them. There wasn’t a bit of give, and it felt like they were starting to cut off circulation. At least that was a problem he could worry about rather than just being a dead body bobbing somewhere out in the ocean for the fish to feed on.
As soon as the other boat came to a stop, they were scooped out of the ocean and tied up. There were no demands or threats. He could only assume that they were going to be ransomed off. Lovely. Neither he nor his family was considered rich. The pirates were going to be sorely disappointed. They weren’t going to get much for him.
But Edward. Why the hell did he pack a pair of guns for a freaking boating trip? That didn’t make any sense. Had he known there was a threat of pirates in the area? Daniel couldn’t recall anyone mentioning pirates in Bermuda. Somalia, sure. Pirates had loved the Caribbean centuries ago. But this was the twenty-first century. There weren’t supposed to be pirates in Bermuda.