Kiss On The Bridge (14 page)

“There’s no need to apologize. Darryl
deserved it. My brothers are just as bad.”

“How did you know what I might be
thinking?”

“A while ago you confessed how you know what
people are thinking by any slight movements they make. I don’t need
the talent. I know due to the fact I am a woman.”

Wade grinned at her confident expression.
“Your father strikes me to be a man who doesn’t give up too
easily.”

“He doesn’t. I’m sure by now he’ll be working
on a way to follow us. Wade, I don’t care for his thoughts. I’m my
own person. It’s the way I’m determined to stay. There’s one
vitally important piece of information you must always remember
about my family. Darryl is only my stepfather.”

“I’ll remember the fact. What happened to
your biological father?”

“He’d been a soldier; deployed to Vietnam. He
died. Please, don’t say another word on the subject.”

Wade returned a silent signal stating. ‘I
respect your wishes.’ He tethered the wheel in place using two
short pieces of rope to hooks screwed into the dash. He took Anneli
by the hand and led her outside.

“Why are we going outside?” she asked.

“We need to check the weather.”

The sunshine felt warm. The sea looked
crystal clear and inviting. Wade walked to the amidships. Reaching
out he pushed the button to activate the aluminum dive ladder. He
watched it slide into the water up to the bottom rung.
Sidestepping, he lowered the main sail. Glancing around the deck
Wade expected Anneli to be standing by his side. Feeling slightly
puzzled over her vanishing act he got ready to call out when she
appeared on deck dressed in a towel.

Wade swallowed the lump in his throat. The
whole time the pair looked at each other he wondered what she wore
underneath the towel.

“The moment you lowered the dive ladder I
thought you might have been thinking of a swim?” confessed Anneli,
a mischievous expression plastered on her face.

“Yes,” he stammered. “Care to accompany me in
a swim?”

“I’d love to. There’s only one problem I
didn’t bring a bathing costume. I thought this big old towel might
suffice.”

Wade’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently for the
second time when he tried to swallow another lump in his
throat.

“Wade boy, you look slightly embarrassed,”
taunted Anneli. “I’m not an expert on what people are thinking. At
a guess, I believe you’re wondering what I might be wearing under
this towel.”

“The thought has stuck in my
consciousness.”

Anneli waltzed over to the dive ladder.
Looking over her shoulder a seductive expression swept her
face.

She winked at the man staring at her.

“Come on, the last one in gets to cook
dinner.”

She dropped her towel on the deck and dived
overboard.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DARRYL COLLECTED his sons before running back
up the beach. At the start of the rubble he turned to face the
ocean. He spat at the disappearing yacht. Her main sail looked to
be already full of wind. Soon she’d be picking up speed. Shortly
after, the yacht will be out of sight.

“Any guesses where the ship might be
going?”

Darryl glared at his eldest son through
murderous eyes. “How could I know the destination?”

The man shrugged. “What are you going to say
to Drake Campbell when he asks where Anneli is? They’re supposed to
meet in four hours.”

Darryl glanced back at the ocean. The yacht
now appeared only as a white speck on the horizon. He slowly
nodded. “We won’t be here.”

Dirk side stepped so he could join in on the
conversation. “If we’re not here, where will we be?”

“We will be out there on the ocean, hunting a
yacht. At a guess the vessel in question is heading for
Melbourne.”

The five sprinted over the rubble. They
circled around to the back of the mechanic’s shed before running
down the road. They jogged past upturned cars and skirted around
many ruptured gas lines. Eventually they were closing in on what
remained of the hotel. They spied Meredith sitting at a table
sunning her tanned body in the warm sun sipping a Margarita. Two
empty wine glasses were on her left.

“Meredith, follow us,” called Darryl.

Instead of standing, Meredith remained
seated. She waited for their shadows to cover her face before
talking. “What’s wrong?” she asked, slurring her words.

“What’s wrong?” puffed Dirk. “I’ll tell you
what’s wrong. Your sister and the bloke, what’s his name have done
a runner and are ocean bound.”

None of the men noticed Meredith’s fox like
smirk. She swallowed the rest of her Margarita she insisted the
chef make her before bringing up the rear of the group as they
marched for the wayward side of the lagoon.

Darryl waved at the man in charge of the
small craft coming in from his ship. “I want to be taken out to my
ship right now,” he barked.

“Yes Sir,” replied the young man in the
sailor’s outfit. “Mr. Vandenberg in case you were wondering where
your ship went, I did wait till the last second hoping you’d show
before ordering the vessel to be moved out to deeper water. I’m
glad you made it through the cyclone.”

Darryl slapped the man on the shoulder.
“Thanks for caring.” He beckoned the others to climb into the
run-a-bout. Shaking his head at Meredith, he spat. “If you don’t
hurry we’ll leave you behind.”

Dirk only just managed to pull her into the
boat when the motor revved.

The small craft motored away from the sand at
speed. The sea rapidly calmed helping the craft to make quick
progress. In a shade under nine minutes Darryl could be seen
climbing up the ladder of his ship. The moment his feet touched the
deck he bailed up the Captain giving him instructions to head back
to Melbourne.

The Captain stood at attention shaking his
head at the orders.

Darryl marched off to the bridge. “Weigh
anchor. I want my ship moving.”

“If I may take a minute to explain our
dilemma,” began the Captain, stepping onto the bridge.

“I don’t want to hear a word against my
proposal. I want my ship moving right now.” Darryl spat his words
through a locked jaw.

The Captain answered provocatively. “There
are a couple of small matters which supersedes what you want.”

Pacing the floor Darryl wore a look of
thunder. He suddenly stopped and grabbed hold of the Captain’s
starched white shirt. “I don’t pay you to go up against what I
want. I think I need to remind you of your job description. Drive
my ship. Now, weigh anchor. Every second we delay my daughter who
is on the yacht I want to chase is slipping further away.”

The captain brushed the finger prints off his
collar, staring at Darryl. “This ship will be stationary for a
further five hours. The cyclone has damaged one engine. The
maintenance crew you assigned to this vessel is working frantically
to fix the problem. The only other remaining problem is.”

Darryl raised his fist, shoving it at the
man’s face, interrupting his report. “I don’t care for excuses.
There are two engines on my ship; start the other. My daughter is
leaving us behind. God only knows what the bloke is capable of
doing to her if we don’t catch the yacht.”

The Captain glanced over his shoulder at the
first officer. “Stow the anchor. Start the remaining engine.”

“Sir, what should be done about the one
remaining problem?”

“You heard my orders. Start the engine.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

WADE GLUED his gaze on Anneli. She dropped
the towel and dived into the ocean. If she hesitated, he couldn’t
tell. Smiling, he threw his shirt to the wind. Diving overboard the
water felt cool against his hot skin. He swam underwater to Anneli,
surfacing in front of her face.

The kiss they shared lasted only a
second.

Slipping his arm around her waist, Wade
completed a strong lifesaving back stroke. In seconds they were
touching the side of Charlotte.

Wade didn’t wait for Anneli to step onto the
deck before climbing the ladder. The moment he stood next to Anneli
he pushed the button to retract the ladder.

“I didn’t plan on a quick swim,” she blurted,
sounding disappointed.

Wade pointed to a five foot grey nurse shark
swimming their way. “He must have picked up on your dive and came
over to investigate.”

White faced, Anneli sat on a deck chair
looking up at Wade. Goose bumps were surfacing on her arms. “I
didn’t think of checking the water.”

Wade knelt, rubbing her bare arms. “It’s
okay. I have a bad habit of checking before I dive into the sea. By
the way, you look magnificent in my khaki shorts and an oversized
faded green shirt. The black belt adds perfection to your
attire.”

Anneli slowly leaned forward to see if he’d
kiss her. He easily took the bait. Wade didn’t know Anneli sat
frozen in fear. The tone in her voice quickly rose to fever
pitch.

“Wade, behind you, it’s too big.”

Looking over his shoulder, Wade stared at a
giant wave. He’d read about the occurrence in books back in high
school. He never dreamt he’d see a wave anywhere so large. The
almost vertical wall of water appeared to be dark blue. It seemed
to stretch towards the sky forever. The monstrous wave tore through
the water dwarfing the small yacht. They didn’t have the time to do
anything except dive for cover, praying for the best outcome.

In seconds the wave will hit Charlotte side
on. Wade knew the yacht will roll over. Diving overboard to escape
the giant rogue wave would be impossible. In a heartbeat he grabbed
hold of Anneli’s hand, pulling her down the stairs. They were half
way down when Charlotte started to roll.

Wade and Anneli dived for the small table.
Everything unsecured around them became air borne.

“Hang onto one of the table legs,” yelled
Wade. “Whatever you do; no matter what happens don’t let go. We’ll
have an air pocket after the wave has gone.”

Charlotte rolled over three and a half times.
Sea water poured into the cabin through the open storm shutter,
easily smashing the glass in the port hole closest to the
table.

In the time it takes to strike a match the
wave hit and rolled away. Charlotte settled heavily upside down in
the mill pond calm water. An air pocket no larger than the boot of
a car formed exactly as Wade described.

The two prisoners broke surface in the air
pocket, inhaling the life saving oxygen.

“Are you okay?” asked Wade. Stress from the
wave hitting Charlotte looked firmly planted on his face.

“I’m fine. You do realize we can’t stay in
here forever. Once the air has been depleted the air pocket will be
replaced by water. How long Charlotte will stay afloat is anyone’s
guess.”

“You’re right. We don’t have long. Stay here,
I’ll make sure the way is clear to the outside.”

Anneli stood on the underside of the deck.
She slowed her breathing to prolong the air bubble. To help pass
the time she started to feel for cracks in the hull where they
might have to dig their way out. She nearly finished her search
when Wade reappeared, his chest heaving from the lack of
oxygen.

“I almost didn’t make it back,” he puffed.
“The door to the storm shutter is blocked from the outside. It must
be the mast.”

“We can’t get out?” questioned Anneli,
keeping her voice in check.

“Not up the stairs. I apologize for taking
too long. I stopped to study the porthole. Seeing how the glass is
gone I think you’ll be able to squeeze out once I’ve unscrewed the
cover. The only thing you have to do is clear the obstruction and
we’ll be home free.”

Anneli’s face fell serious. “What if I can’t?
You’ll be trapped.”

Wade put his finger to her lips. “Let’s not
think about the ‘IFS.’ Let’s focus on the positive side.”

Wade beckoned Anneli over to the other side
of the yacht. They dived under the water to have another look at
the porthole. Wade swam off towards the kitchen. He yanked open the
cupboard. In the small tool box on the middle shelf he found what
he needed; two Phillip head screwdrivers. Wade and Anneli surfaced.
They took a huge breath before diving back under the water. They
worked furiously on the screws holding the cover in place. Anneli
finished first and immediately started on the second. There were
five screws in total. Wade signaled a halt. They surfaced in the
middle of the air bubble.

“We were almost finished. Why did you stop?”
questioned Anneli.

“For a breather,” replied Wade.

“I’ve been practicing to hold my breath for a
lot longer.”

“I’m impressed. You might need to put the
skill to good user when you’re trying to squeeze out of the
porthole. Wait here relaxing while I finish the job. When I’m back
it’ll be you’re turn.” Frowning he took the screwdriver from her
hand, pushing it deep into his back pocket. “I want to make sure
you relax.”

Anneli waited for Wade to finish the job.
Slowing her breathing, she saw him pull the cover away, drop it
onto the floor before breaking surface next to her.

“Your turn,” he said. “You’re right about the
air. It’s starting to turn musty. The pocket has diminished by at
least fifty percent.”

Anneli gave Wade a nervous kiss. “If for some
reason I don’t make it.”

Using his index finger, Wade again touched
her lips. “What did I say before? I don’t want to hear the rest of
the sentence. I’ll see you at the top of the stairs.”

Anneli dived under the water. In a strange
way she loved the serenity of being submerged. It seemed to have a
calming influence. The quiet took her away from the turmoil of her
stepfather.

Anneli poked her hand through the porthole to
the open ocean. Dread swept her mind. Looking out into the void,
she froze. Fear closed in, wrapping her mind in a strong bind.