MAXIM
These are my waters and mine alone. I might share them from time to time but they either pay their dues or find out how deep the waters are five miles out from the coast of Florida. Luckily, I’ve never been tested on that front. I have no qualms about ridding the world of men like myself.
The second my security detail warns me the East Syndicate is on the move over our section of water we head out. They have a nasty habit of trying to gain ground that does not belong to them. They’ve wanted what is mine for a long time. Any chance they get the slimy fuckers test my limits and it looks like they want to have a little game of pirate at sea today.
I’m inclined to oblige. I’ve been feeling a little restless lately and some high-speed boating and picking off water rats in my territory sounds like a good way to blow off some steam.
And before you start getting all preachy on me about thou shalt not kill, trust me when I say these fuckers need to be cleared out. They kill for sport. I kill out of necessity.
Two different things in my books.
But you can be the judge in the end. I just know when it comes time for me to cross over, I’ll have a pretty damn good story to tell.
I raise a hand and single for my right-hand man to push the speedboat to top limits as we glide across the waters toward the dot on the screen. It tells me the East Syndicate is up to something in my waters. No one speeds out five miles and just stops to stare at the water. The nearest place is my friend Lucas’ private island and that’s miles away.
Weeks ago, I ordered trackers to be placed on the hulls of the East Syndicate’s boats and cars so I know it’s not Lucas I am chasing down.
The task was monumental and could have started a war in the streets of Miami but it looks like the risk just might pay off.
I take out my binoculars and the second I hone in on the white and blue boat bobbing in the water an unspeakable fury ignites inside me at what I see.
“Get us there fast, Gray!”
“Got it. We’ll be coming in hot, brace for when I kill it, boss.”
He means to perform a dead stop in the water. A maneuver he’s perfected for high acceleration and a faster stop over water. Whiplash will be a bitch if I’m not careful.
I start stripping off my shoes and shirt. I toss them on the bench behind me, the boat in my sights already long gone in the other direction.
No worries. We’ll catch up with them later. I know exactly where they will dock.
We come in and I tuck low, bracing my body against the side of the boat for the instant back throttle.
As soon as Gray kills the engine, I take a lungful of air and dive overboard.
In this part of the Keys the waters are crystal clear. I have no problem seeing the red-headed siren dropping several feet below the water line.
I reach for the blade strapped to my calf and slice through the rope tying her to the block of cement first. I don’t worry about the rest. They can come once I get her topside.
I wrap an arm around her middle and put the hours at the gym to work as I power kick. It feels like it takes me forever to get back to the surface but when we breach Gray is there to help me haul the mysterious and very lifeless beauty onto the back of my speedboat.
I pull myself out of the water as quickly as I can and clear her face of hair as Gray starts in on the rest of the ropes. Tilting her chin up I blow into her mouth as Gray throws off the ropes and starts pumping her chest.
“Come on, sweet siren, breathe!” I demand and repeat all the same moves with the exact same effect. Nothing. “Fucking animals,” I seethe. This isn’t the first time they’ve been caught dumping their garbage in my territory. But this one isn’t trash, I correct. What could she have done to end up tied to a cement block?
I look at Gray and he’s wearing the same worried look on his face that I feel knotting into my chest. This doesn’t look good.
I pinch her nose and blow again.
Then again.
On the fifth try spurts of salt water pour from her mouth and the fiery siren rolls coughing and gasping, nearly falling back into the water.
I hold her shoulders and when she gets the last of the water out, I slowly pull her trembling body against my chest. I hold her tucked into my arms as we bob on the water. My skin sizzles the second her skin makes contact with mine. The electric buzz of energy between us is tangible as she breathes and I capture them both in my memory.
Jesus Christ, she’s perfect. I stare down at her and all I can think, all I can feel is the need to protect her. A wound opens up in my chest for the injustice she was dealt. I feel like howling in rage. An ungodly amount of guilt settles over me and if that doesn’t seem fucked up, how about the unearthly tether linking me to a woman I’ve just met?
I can feel the hum of energy tingling at every contact point. I cradle her head in my hand and I tilt her face up toward mine.