Emily Kimelman - Sydney Rye 05 - The Devil's Breath (27 page)

She slid into her own seat just as the helicopter lifted off the ground, ascending straight up and then banking east, toward the ocean. Once her seatbelt was secured Malina handed me a pair of headphones with a microphone that I slipped over my head. The noise was instantly muffled.

Malina put her headset on and set the microphone against her smiling mouth. The pilot’s voice came over the headphones and my eyes jumped to the back of his head. Short blonde hair came to a point at the base of his neck. He turned toward me so that I could make out his profile, strong jaw, roman nose, a microphone curling around to touch pink lips.

“Welcome aboard, Miss Rye,” he said with a smile before turning his attention back to the front. The buildings below seemed like trees reaching toward us, while a bank of clouds formed a ceiling above. I thought I saw lightning but didn’t feel its pulse so wondered if I’d imagined it.

“Sydney?” Malina said. I jerked my attention back to her. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“You remember my friend Lenox?”

“The man on the phone.”

“Yes, he is expecting us.” Malina smiled.

“What?” 

“Everything will be explained soon,” she said.

“Will Blue be there?”

She nodded. “Yes.” Then Malina turned to look out the side, down onto the city below. I looked at my feet and saw that I’d lost a slipper along the way. I felt the vibrations of the helicopter through my bare foot. I could see that it was resting on metal but I felt soft, dead leaves tickling at my toes.

The trip was short—no more than ten minutes and we began to descend. We were lowering toward a helipad next to a marina. The boats bobbed gently in their slips. When we were ten feet from the ground the surface of the bay shimmered from our wind. With a soft jerk we landed.

Malina’s seatbelt was off and she undid mine. I felt like a child as she pulled off my headset, the door opening. Our captain stood there, his back hunched forward, short hair flattened to his head. He held out a hand and I took it. Using him to steady myself I climbed out of the helicopter, keeping my head low, glad to have my feet back on the ground. 

He put his arm around my back and walked me out from under the blades. “Thanks,” I said once we were far enough away to stand up tall and be heard.

“Happy to help,” he said before hurrying back to his craft. Malina stood next to me, watching him climb in.

“Gorgeous, no?” she said.

He waved once before lifting the helicopter back into the air. “Yeah,” I said. “Who is he?”

“A friend,” she answered before taking my arm again. “We must keep moving.” 

“Where are we going?” I asked again.

“Trust me,” she answered.

I followed her out an unlocked gate and through the marina where she used a keycard to gain access to one of the docks. We passed massive yachts, sparkling under the marina’s lighting. They had names like “Botox Barbie” and “Never Enough”. At the very end of the dock a massive boat loomed. It was three stories tall, white and black, sleek and fast looking. I was staring up at it when Malina called my attention to her. “

Here,” she said, pointing to a very small but awesomely cool boat resting in the shadow of the large one. It was squeezed in at the very end of the dock. Wooden, painted bright red, with a low windshield and two tan leather seats, it looked comfortable and fast. Malina undid her shoes and tossed them into the back before hopping aboard. The key was in the dash and she turned it over once, the boat revving to life with a small plume of smoke rising out its back end.

“Untie the lines,” she said.

I kicked off my remaining slipper, tossing it in next to her shoes and then started on the lines. First the bow line, tossing it onto the deck. The boat began to drift off the dock ever so slightly. Hurrying, I unraveled the stern line and with it still in hand leapt into the small boat. It rocked as my weight hit but stayed steady. Malina steered us away from the dock and out into the bay. “Secure those lines,” she said, not taking her eyes off the horizon.

I ravelled the thick rope around my elbow and over my thumb forming a loose oval before dropping it onto the deck and then climbed onto the front to do the same with the bow line. Malina smiled at me as I took the seat next to her and then pushed forward on the throttle.  The little boat’s bow rose out of the water, while the stern with its strong engine dipped lower and thrust us forward. Moving over the smooth surface, staying in the lines of a channel marked by glowing, bobbing buoys, we followed the path out toward the ocean.

“Malina?” I said.

“Yes?”

“Are we going through there?” I asked, staring at the narrow inlet we were zooming toward. Waves rolled up to the inlet and then curved up, foaming at the top, and broke, rushing into the bay in a turbulent mess.

“Yes,” she said, her hands relaxed on the wheel, long hair blowing behind her, tangling in the rough air.

“Are those waves?”

Malina laughed. “Yes, Sydney, we are going into the ocean.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Malina timed our exit from the safe waters of the bay into the deep blue of the ocean perfectly so that we raced through on a lull, rising up the next wave, caught air coming off its crest, and surfed down its back, up the next and then we were out in the Atlantic.

The moon shone above us reflecting white off facets of the water’s surface. The rest of the seascape was a rich black. Electric lights from other boats dotted the waterscape. The engine of our little boat roared and we raced up the long, large rollers and then down them. It was almost like driving between low hills. At certain moments, when we were at the base of one, the nose of our boat just beginning to climb, I couldn’t see anything but walls of water around us, the clear black sky twinkling with stars above.

#

“T
here it is,” Malina said, pointing to a large yacht in the distance. As we got closer I could make out that it was strung with lights, the sound of music and laughter carrying across the water to us. Groups of people were on the decks. Some were dancing, others talked. They all seemed to be drinking.

“A party?” I asked.

“It’s a cover,” Malina yelled over the wind. She picked up the radio next to the steering wheel and hailed the ship. “This is Red Bird. Do you hear me Sea Dragon?”

The answer came back instantly and I recognized the accent, the sexy baritone, even over the crackling of the radio. “Yes, I see you Red Bird. Approach.”

The music seemed to grow louder and people started flocking toward the bow of the boat as we approached the stern. Malina shifted into neutral and let the wind push us up to the swim deck where a man waited, a rope held loosely in his hand. He had olive skin, dark hair, and was wearing a sailor outfit more suited for a strip club than an actual vessel.

The sailor threw the line and I caught it. Malina pointed to a cleat in the center of the boat and I tied it off. Malina threw him our bow line and the sailor hauled us in using the two ropes and some pretty impressive biceps. His shirt was so tight I thought that his sleeves might burst. Malina threw small bumpers over the edge and we tapped against the swim platform gently. Looking up I saw a tall, broad man wearing a finely cut suit in dark blue looking over the railing at us. He smiled, exposing perfectly white teeth. His skin was deep black, the same rich color as pure cocoa powder.

The sailor offered his hand and I climbed out of the small boat, leaving my remaining slipper behind. The teak deck was cool and damp under my bare feet. He motioned to the metal ladder leading up to the deck and I grabbed at it, wrapping my hands around the cool rungs, excitement building as I remembered Blue was aboard.

When I reached the deck the man waiting held out his hand. I placed mine in his and he raised it to his lips. “I am Lenox,” he said as his smooth lips brushed the back of my scarred hand. Without letting go of me he looked up, his brown eyes bright and excited looking. “It is my pleasure to have you aboard.”

Malina climbed up next to me and laughed when she saw Lenox over my hand. “Come on,” she said, grabbing my arm.

“Take me to Blue,” I said. Malina nodded, leading me down the deck and to a wooden staircase. We climbed three levels to the top deck of the boat, Lenox right behind us.  As we stepped back out onto the deck, I stopped and holding onto the railing looked down on the party below. Handsome sailors, dressed in whites, wandered around with trays of drinks and food. Well-built men, some in jeans, others in suits almost as nice as Lenox’s, grinded on the dance floor with women who looked older and wealthier than their gyrating partners. Directly below me, on the second floor, a man and woman moved in the shadows, her moans only slightly louder than the slap of flesh.

Lenox stood next to me, his large hands wrapping around the railing close to mine. “Quite an operation you have here,” I said. I heard the boat’s engines start up and the sea behind the ship turned turbulent as she eased forward.

He smiled down at me. “Thank you.”

“Come on,” Malina said. She stood by an open door and I walked through. It was a ship’s hallway, narrow and lined on one side with rounded doors and on the other windows looking out to the passing ocean. “That one,” Malina said, pointing to the last door. I turned the handle and heard an excited bark. When I opened the door Blue spilled out into the hall. I crouched down and he buried his head into my chest, crying once. Wrapping my arms around him I leaned my face in his fur. He whined again and I squeezed harder. “It’s okay,” I said. “Everything is okay.”

Looking up I saw Merl standing in the well-appointed state room next to a double bed. His dogs sat around him. The puppy barked once at Blue, a sharp cry. But Michael, the largest dog, glared at the youth, who pinned his ears to the back of his head in apology.

Standing up I walked to Merl, Blue pressing against my hip. We embraced. “Thank you,” I said.

“My pleasure,” Merl answered.

I sat on the bed and Blue snuggled up to me. I petted his ears and kissed his snout, right below his eyes. “You are such a good boy,” I told him. He closed his eyes and sighed appreciatively.

“Is everyone else here?” Malina asked.

“We’re just waiting on Mulberry,” Lenox answered.

“Sydney,” Malina said. I looked up at her. “You want to get changed?” I laughed and nodded. She grinned. “I have some clothing for you there.” She pointed at a built-in desk where a folded pair of jeans and a top sat. “I tried to get them to put you in something else at that place but was overruled.” I laughed again. “What?” she asked.

Merl started for the exit, his dogs moving with him. “Let’s give her a minute, come on,” he said. They left and then it was just me and Blue in a strange room on a yacht full of male prostitutes. I slid onto the floor and sat down with Blue’s head and chest in my lap. I stroked his face and whispered to him about how good he was and how much I loved him. I thanked him for saving my life, again.

#

T
here was a knock at the door and Blue quickly righted himself, standing next to me, his ears perked forward. Dan walked in. He hadn’t shaved either and from the dark circles under his eyes it didn’t look like he had slept much since I’d left him at his place in Key West. “Sydney,” he said, smiling as he crossed the room. I stood up, using the bed to help. Dan leaned over me and, burying his face into my neck, wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I stroked his back. “I’m so glad you’re back,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said. “You okay?” I asked.

He let go of me and smiled. “I am now,” he said. 

“Were you there when they found me?” I asked.

“I found you,” he said, a frown pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Mulberry and I. Why didn’t you tell either of us what you were doing?” he asked, his eyes dark and serious, almost angry, but he looked too tired to be angry.

“I thought I had it under control. Besides,” I smiled, “aren’t you always tracking me?”

Dan sat on the bed with a sigh. “Sydney, I track your phone. If you go for a swim with it in your pocket it stops working.” He stared up into my eyes. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling it in my gut. While I tore myself apart trying to make sure no one I cared about got hurt when I put myself in danger, I hurt them just the same. Dan scratched at his beard. Blue leaned against me.

“I’ll forgive you,” he said. “But will you promise me something?”

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t do anything like that ever again.”

“I don’t know what I did,” I said with a weak smile. “How did you find me?” Fear flicked across Dan’s face. “What?” I asked.

He licked his lips. “When I saw Blue I knew you were close.”

“Saw him where?” I asked, reaching down and rubbing under Blue’s chin.

“At the edge of an apple hammock. He barked at us.”

“When was this?”

“You’d been missing for almost two days.”

“How?” I asked.

“When Mulberry didn’t hear from you, he called me. I tracked your car and he drove out there. Mulberry found Professor Nablestone’s corpse. At that point the storm was really in full swing.” I imagined Mulberry standing next to his car, the headlights illuminating a gruesome scene spread out across the cement launch area, lightning cracking around him as sheets of rain pelted the ground. “The storm kept us from searching much until it died down around dawn. Then Mulberry got helicopters in the air, men out on boats, we combed that swamp looking for you.” He rubbed at his beard again.

“But it was you two who found me?”

“It was Merl’s idea to call Blue.”

I felt a tear in my eye. “And he came,” I said, swiping at the tear. “He answered.”

Dan smiled. “After almost two days of searching. I think it’s my favorite sound that I’ve ever heard.”

“Was I with him?”

Dan licked his lips. “You weren’t with him but we knew you were close. Mulberry and I barely fit between the tree trunks but Blue urged us forward, crying and barking until we reached you. I was in front and when I saw you there, curled up in a ball, lying on the ground holding the laptop case.” He took a stuttered breath. “I just stopped and stared down at you. Blue sat next to you and whined at me. Then I saw your chest rise and I realized you were alive.” Dan looked up at me. “But I was still so scared, Sydney. Mulberry and I both were. You were lying so still, and you were covered in mud and blood. And,” he licked his lips again, “you were lying on a patch of ground. Blue had dug a bed for you, in the dirt, deep in the hammock.” He paused for a moment looking down.