Chapter 19
Trusting that Bellamy would save Erika from her own stupid decision to dive into the ocean while wearing handcuffs, I scrambled across the deck, diving for Knix's discarded backpack. The teeth of the zipper scraped and caught as my fingers—wet from both the water spraying up and from my own sweat—slipped. I nearly tore the bagopen.
"Signal. Signal. Signal." I repeated the mantra. Surely there'd be a giant box in here markedSignal, right? Wrong. Of course, there wasn't. That would be way tooconvenient.
My fingers closed over something long and cylindrical, though. Quickly I yanked it out and gasped in excitement. A flare! This was it. This was the signal. The cylinder I held in my hand was red and about a foot in length. It was just a handheld flare though. How far would it be seen? Why hadn't the guys packed one that actually shot out? There wasn't time to think of that now. I had to find a way to let Marv and Texas know that we needed help. Knix and Grayson were busy. Bellamy was rescuing Erika from herself. I looked up. The cabin roof was there, just exactly what Ineeded.
I took the flare and rushed to the side I had seen Grayson go to earlier. How had he gotten up? I couldn't find a ladder, but there were some extra stacks of yacht seat cushions. Climbing onto the railing alongside it, I leaped from the edge to the cushions, scrambling up to the roof. The yacht rocked back and forth. My nails bit into the sides of the roof as I tried to keep myself from rolling right off.How the hell had Grayson managed to do this?I wondered briefly as the yacht finally calmed enough for me to rip the cap off the flare. It blazed a bright red. I screamed, holding it up and waving it in triumph as smoke billowed from the end and the bright lightemitted.
In the distance—what seemed much farther than we could have swum—Marv and Texas' Bowrider cranked to life. The sound of the engine echoed over the surface of thewater.
I laughed, tears of relief rolling down my cheeks. Looking down over the edge of the roof, I called to Knix. "They'recoming!"
Knix lifted his head, punched a guy in the face, and called for Grayson to get out. My eyes traveled across the deck. Grayson didn't argue, he simply ran for the railing and threw himself over the ledge. Knix followed, stopping at the railing and turningback.
"Let's go!" hecalled.
"Go!" I yelled back. "I'mcoming."
We had Erika. Bernard's security was demolished. Just as I was about to step back, to descend and follow them, a hand wrapped around my ankle and jerked. This time, I screamed for a different reason. My back hit the roof and the flare flew from my hand, rolling off the side and to somewhereunknown.
"You little bitch!" Bernardyelled.
My eyes widened as the grandfatherly old man climbed up, reaching for my neck as if to throttle me. I had no doubt that those dead eyes did, in fact, intendmurder.
"Harlow!" I heard Knix call from the water, probably wondering where Iwas.
"You're not going anywhere!" Bernard seethed as I tried to roll away. I didn't care if I broke something at this point. I just wanted to get as far from him as possible. "You think you can get away from me?" Bernard reached for me as I rolled. I didn't have anything to cushion me when I fell, so when my side hit the hard deck, I cried out as all the breath in my body rushed out. My back hurt. My side hurt. My damn hands hurt and...was thatsmoke?
Bernard crawled down from the roof and advanced on me. Clambering to my feet, I backed up to the railing. A strong wind whipped against my face as Bernard approached, rosy-cheeked, anger broiling in those snake-like eyes ofhis.
I coughed as the wind blew smoke into my face. Where was it coming from? I glanced over, my eyes catching on the cushions several feet away engulfed in flames. The flare must have landed on them when it went over the side of the roof. I watched, slack-jawed, as the fire from the cushions spread up the wall they were stacked against. Bernard didn't even notice as he came for me, hands outstretched. I ducked and moved awayagain.
"Harlow!" This time Grayson's voice rose above the wind and fire and ocean. I would have given anything to follow it. The entire front end ofThe Holdwas on fire. I needed off this shipnow!
The thing about danger was, it surprised you. It was never anything you expected it to be. I hadn’t expected that the man behind Erika's kidnapping, and Josh's debt and selling drugs to addicts in rehab facilities to appear as he did—old, weathered, now a dirty, refined man with wild eyes. That was the thing about monsters, too. They were not always who you expected them to be. Marv thought Grayson was a monster. But the truth was that most people were a little monstrous inside. So, when Bernard dove for me, screaming in a sharp, shrill voice, I bent down, stretching my arms out as I rolled forward, slipping under him and popping back to my feet. He slammed into the railing, going over the side, opposite the others. I flinched at the sound of the splash his body made when it hit the water—loud, echoing. The monstrous part of me liked it and wished that terrible man a hell of a lot morepain.
I turned back to dive off the other side, but heat hit my face and I stared, in horror, as the fire swept across the floorboards, blocking the side of the boat where the others were waiting for me. I looked over my shoulder as Bernard popped up above the surface of the water. There was no way, I’d jump anywhere close tohim.
"Harlow! Jump!" I heard Knix yell—he sounded more than worried now. He sounded terrified. I looked around and reached for the lip of the cabin roof. Using my tired arm muscles, I pulled myself up. I kicked my feet against the wall and scrambled over the edge, crawling back to my feet. At least there, I could see over the fire, down below where Knix was the only one left bobbing in the water. Flames danced around me and fear shot up my spine. What if I jumped and missed and landed in the blaze? What if I broke my leg and then burned to death on a boat surrounded bywater?
Knix's eyes met mine. "Jump, Little Bit!" he called. "I promise I'll catchyou."
Emotion clogged my throat. My nickname. He hadn't called me Little Bit once since Marv and I had—it hadn't been that long ago, not even 24 hours. But the absence of that nickname—the lack of that acceptance from him—had been tangible. Just hearing it made me feel better. I took a step towards the edge, my eyes seeking him out in the water. My fear ratcheted higher, my heart thundering in my ears, galloping in my chest. I found Knix's face again and he nodded. I remembered what I told Marv. To love, to trust, and to do anything worthwhile in this world, you needed to have faith. I had faith in Knix. I had faith in all of myguys.
When I closed my eyes, despite my racing heart and the fear that echoed in my ears, I still trusted Knix to catch me like he promised. I took a literal leap of faith. I lifted up and my toes left the edge of the roof and I was airborne. I could feel the fire sear close to the soles of my feet right before I landed into the cool depths of the ocean. Water closed over my head just as two strong arms gripped me and jerked me back above thesurface.
I coughed, reaching up to wipe the water from my face as Knix's deep blue eyes met mine. "Little Bit," his rough tone was broken, torn to shreds as he looked down atme.
I bit my lip, unsure what to say, but I didn't need to say anything because his lips said it all for me as they came down onmine.
If Knix thought it was difficult to kiss while treading water in the middle of the ocean—both of our heads just above the surface—he didn’t show it. His mouth swallowed any protest I might have made, and his hands gripped me impossibly tight. I was the one who had to pull away and warnhim.
"We should probably get on the boat with the guys," I said,panting.
Knix gazed down at me, brushing the wet strands of my hair back behind my ears. His lips touched my forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay, LittleBit."
"Are we okay then?" Iasked.