“Don’t touch her!” Bridger yelled. He started forward again. A man stepped in his path and pushed his gun into Bridger’s chest.
“No,” Avalyn breathed. Maybe Bridger was a pawn in this too. She should’ve been terrified, not hopeful, that Bridger wasn’t one of them.
“Where do you want me to shoot him, sir?”
Ramsey smiled. “We can’t kill him … yet. But a bullet in his arm would slow him down and help me win the competition.” Ramsey sauntered away from Avalyn and up to Bridger. “And I think you’ll want to win this competition. The winner each round … gets to spend the night with Avalyn Shaman.”
“Nobody wins me,” Avalyn shot at him, horror racing through her. She would never be with a man like Ramsey. The mere thought made her want to throw herself off the yacht and take her chances with the sharks. Instead, she stood straighter and glared at him, pretending he was a politician trying to tell her she couldn’t help children because of their stupid and ever-present red tape.
Ramsey arched an eyebrow at her. “You have no control here, Miss Shaman. I suggest you shut that pretty mouth.”
Avalyn strained against the men holding her.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Bridger ground out.
Ramsey laughed. “I can see that you two haven’t figured out yet that I’m in charge. I guess the eight automatic weapons pointed at your heart isn’t proof enough. How about the fact that we’re in the middle of the Caribbean Sea with no help in sight and both of your phones have been shattered and sunk in the sea?” He smiled. “But soon enough you’ll feel real fear and you’ll know who’s in charge.”
Avalyn couldn’t imagine what more fear she could feel. Already she was close to hysterics, passing out, or hyperventilating. How had she gotten involved in this nightmare? Was it just because this Ramsey guy thought Bridger loved her, or was there something deeper? Bridger may have wanted her, but he didn’t love her. She wasn’t sure Bridger Hawk was capable of real love. Sadly, that was the least of her concerns at the moment.
The thugs manhandled her toward the back deck of the boat. The yacht wasn’t moving, so at least she wouldn’t be sucked into a motor when they pushed her overboard, but the hope of swimming with her arms secured behind her back and an anchor tied to her ankle were pretty much shot.Please help me, Lord, she pled in her mind.
Bridger hurried after them. “Ramsey, don’t do this,” he demanded. The men stopped at the edge, and Bridger reached for her. He got pushed back by the wrong end of an assault rifle. He held up his hands and beseeched the men. “She’s innocent. Please don’t do this.”
Ramsey approached them on the back deck, sauntering along like they were walking on the beach.
“Ramsey.” Bridger turned to him, holding out his hands. “Come on, man, we’re friends.”
“Best of friends.” Ramsey grinned.
Avalyn’s stomach dropped. Ramsey was Bridger’s friend? What kind of monster had his thugs point guns at his friend?
“Don’t do this to her,” Bridger begged.
She had never seen Bridger beg, for anything. Even as a child or young teen, she’d seen his brothers teasing, sometimes torturing him, and he’d just smirk and yell at them to bring it on. Her heart twisted and expanded toward him at this moment. She was going to die and Bridger would do anything to protect her. Sadly, with all the armed men and the psychotic Ramsey, protecting her might be impossible.
“Come on, man. I’ll do any publicity stunt. I’ll lose to make you look good. Anything you want.” Bridger’s voice dropped low. “Please don’t hurt her.”
Ramsey grinned. “I knew I’d found the perfect woman. Let the games begin.”
Then he shoved Avalyn into the water.
“Ava!” Bridger yelled.
Avalyn’s instinct was to scream, but luckily she clamped her mouth tight and held her breath. She flailed, but the anchor on her ankle dragged her down fast. Pressure built in her head until she thought it would explode. She tried not to breathe in and speed her demise.
She stopped descending suddenly. The anchor must have hit the bottom of the ocean. She’d done free dives and scuba dives many times, and the instructor always claimed that if you slowly blew bubbles out, you could hold your breath longer. She tried, she really tried, but darkness edged in on her vision and the need to breathe in was all-consuming. She prayed to the Lord above for a miracle as she struggled to push the rope off with her other foot and somehow contort her body to get her hands to her ankle and free herself.
Bridger. Would he come for her? Could he save her?
ChapterEight
“Ava!” Bridger screamed as Avalyn was shoved off the boat deck and quickly sank in the clear, blue water. Ramsey had gone insane! Bridger ripped off his shirt and kicked off his shoes.
Arms grabbed him from behind and held tight. “Calm down, man,” said Ramsey’s voice. “You’ve got to give her time to sink.”
Bridger elbowed the guy holding him and was rewarded with his elbow making contact with his fleshy nose, a scream, and one of his arms was released. The guy holding his other arm clung tight. Ramsey was grinning and cameras were rolling. Bridger was going to kill Ramsey … right after he rescued Avalyn.
“You gotta say your line or we can’t let you go after her,” Ramsey said.