The Fifth Avenue Series Boxed Set (154 page)

“They could be scuba diving.”

She shook her head.
 
“The harpoons came from above.
 
They drove
down
into the water, not horizontally.
 
They must be shooting at us from the shoreline.
 
We need to get to the other side of the hut and into my boat.”
 
She reached down and dipped her head into the water.
 
“You’ve got your sharks,” she said.
 
“The turtle brought them out.
 
Right below us, they’re tearing it apart.”

Another harpoon was released and this time it was clear that it was shot from the shore.
 
But instead of going into the water, the harpoon went straight through the house, smashing glass and sailing through open windows before it splashed into the water on the other side of it.

“They’ve seen my boat,” she said.
 
“That harpoon went through the hut.
 
How are we going to get out of here?”

“We shield ourselves with the boat.
 
We take it off its moorings and paddle out as far as we can until we can get inside it and get the hell out of here.”

“You’re telling me that we get in the water with those sharks?
 
I need you to slip your goggles down and have a look into the water.
 
Then tell me what we do.”

He stared at her for a moment, then he lowered the goggles and dipped his head into the water.
 
When he emerged, his mouth was set.
 
“There must be a hundred of them down there.”

“I’m assuming the turtle’s gone.”

“The blood isn’t.”

“Actually, that could work in our favor.
 
If they see blood rise to the surface, they might think one of us was hit.
 
Maybe dead.”

Another harpoon shot through the hut, shattering more glass.

“We’ve got to get to the boat,” he said.
 
“It’s our only chance.”

“They’ll run out of harpoons,” she said.
 
“We could wait them out until nightfall.”

“Carmen, it’s morning.
 
They’ll find a way to get out here.
 
We don’t know if they have guns or rifles.
 
They came here to kill us, not frighten us.
 
We can’t stay here.”

“I can’t believe they’re doing this,” she said.
 
“We warned them that if they came near us, we’d treat them exactly as we treated Laurent.”

“What if it’s someone else?
 
Someone you’ve crossed in the past?”

“It could be.
 
I don’t know.
 
None of this makes sense.
 
You know how careful I am.
 
I don’t understand how anyone knows I have a place here.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” he said.
 
“We get to the boat, you slip on the other side of it, I remove it from its moorings and then, once I’m with you, we paddle it out as far as we can.
 
Then, when their harpoons can’t touch us, we get inside, crank the engine and gun it out of here.”

She knew they had no choice.
 
“What’s the shark situation?”

He lowered his head into the water and came up quickly, spitting out a mouthful of water.
 
“It’s worse.
 
Now we’ve got hammerheads.”

“I’m going to be sick.”

“Let’s move.
 
Get on the other side of the boat.”

Above them, a harpoon sounded its warning by sinking into the deck.

Carmen lowered herself into the water and looked down at the sharks below her.
 
She knew exactly where the boat was and swam to the other side of it while never taking her eyes off the roaming, darting swarm.
 

So far, the sharks didn’t seem to be interested in them.
 
But how long would that last?
 
They were hungry.
 
It was obvious.
 
The blood in the water would only call for more.
 
Worse for her and Alex is something she hadn’t told him.
 
She started her period this morning, which is why she wasn’t fully naked.
 
She’d taken precautions, such as wearing a black bikini bottom and wearing a tampon, but even a trace of blood in this environment would only create more interest in them.

She watched him swim over to the moorings.
 
There were two of them.
 
He’d need to lift his hands above the dock and untie each.
 
Because they were shielded by the hut, no one on the shoreline would be able to see him.
 
And they didn’t.
 
Soon, the boat was free and he dived under it to be next to her.

“Now, we paddle,” he said.

“How far?”

“Maybe a quarter of a mile.”

“Pushing this boat?
 
With those sharks?
 
Deeper water is out there.
 
Bigger fish.
 
It’s dangerous.
 
We don’t know what we’ll find.”

“It won’t take as long as you think.
 
We paddle and paddle hard, but with our feet beneath the surface.
 
Never break the surface.
 
Are we clear on that?
 
If they hear us, they’ll shoot at us.”

“Eventually, they’ll see the boat, Alex.”

“That’s right, but at a distance they might not be able to reach.
 
That’s a chance we’re going to have to take.
 
Come on,” he said.
 
“Paddle.”

“I need to tell you something,” she said.
 
“My period started this morning.”
 
She saw the concerned look on his face and didn’t wait for him to speak.
 
“I’m wearing a tampon, but it won’t be enough.
 
The sharks will still smell the blood.”

“Then we hurry.
 
Keep your head lowered.
 
If a shark comes near you, bash it on top of its head with your fist.
 
If the situation becomes too dangerous, we hope for the best, get into the boat and speed away.”

She put her head in the water and this time, she faced her greatest fright.
 
Far away from them and to the right were two men in scuba gear.
 
The water was so clear, she figured they were five hundred yards away, but swimming so hard, they were quickly closing the distance between them.
 
In their hands were harpoon guns.
 
When she saw one of the men turn to the other and point at them, she knew they had been spotted.

She lifted her head.
 
“Two men.
 
To your right.
 
Harpoons.
 
Coming straight at us.
 
Get over here.
 
We paddle from the left-side of the boat.”

He looked down, saw them and swam closer to her, lifting himself so his mouth was just above the surface.
 
“They’re either going to shoot us or the boat.
 
The harpoons will sink the boat.
 
We need to get in it now and get out of here.
 
There’s no choice.”

She knew he was right.
 
Together, they scrambled low into the boat and when they did, another harpoon crashed through the hut and soared over their heads.
 

Carmen rushed to the front.
 
This boat was no ordinary boat.
 
It was sophisticated and cost her a fortune.
 
A turn of a key would start the engine.
 
But the moment she turned it, the dual engines were so powerful, all would hear them.
 
She looked at Alex, who was leaning low against the side of the boat.
 
“Hurry,” he said.

Hunching down as low as she could, she turned the key, the engines roared to life and suddenly the air behind them became alive with harpoons and gunfire.
 

She sped away.

Tried to speed away.

Below them, one of the men shot a harpoon.
 
It smashed through the right side of the boat, but instead of shooting clear through to the other side, the harpoon sank into Alex’s thigh and pinned him to the boat.
 
She looked over at him in horror and saw his face twisted in pain while scores of harpoons rained down on them, some glancing off the boat, most plunging into the water.
 
“Go!” he said through gritted teeth.
 
“Move before they shoot again!”

Without thinking of the consequences or what might happen to Alex given the dire situation of his wound, she forced herself to focus and roared away as the onslaught continued.
 

It was a nightmare.
 
She could hear glass breaking behind her and then an explosion as one of the harpoons connected with the propane tank in the kitchen area.
 

She looked over her shoulder and saw her beloved hut alive and thrashing with flames.
 
She’d spent so many years here and now it was gone.
 
She pressed harder on the throttle and moved faster until they presumably were out of reach.
 
She sped left and rounded into an inlet, while warm water leached around her feet.
 
Her boat was going to sink.
 
She pressed the throttle harder and moved into the inlet, which was miles from her hut and where some of the locals lived.
 
She knew one of the families here.
 
They could help them.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

He didn’t answer.

“Can you see them?”

Silence.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that Alex’s eyes were closed and that he was oddly pale.
 
She looked down at the bottom of the boat and saw that the warm water she thought she was standing in actually was his blood.
 
The harpoon and his leg had created something of a plug, sealing off the water from the boat but not the blood from Alex’s leg.
 
The harpoon had struck an artery.
 
He was bleeding out.

Quickly, she removed her bikini bottom and tied it tight just above the wound.
 
She patted his face and asked him to speak to her.
 
Nothing.
 
She gently shook him and asked him to say something.
 
Nothing.
 
She checked for a pulse.
 
Nothing.
 

Panic rose within her.
 
He had come to mean everything to her.
 
She couldn’t lose him.
 
It wasn’t right.
 
She was in love with him.
 
“Don’t leave me,” she said, shaking him harder.
 
“Please don’t leave me.
 
Please stay.”

She needed to administer CPR, but she couldn’t move him onto his back because of how the harpoon had pinned him to the boat.
 
She’d need to improvise.
 

She pressed her ear to his chest and heard nothing.
 
She checked to see if he was breathing, but he wasn’t.
 
Immediately, she wrapped her arm around his back for support and slammed her fist against his chest in an effort to get his heart beating again.
 
She pressed her mouth against his cool lips and forced air into his lungs, but there was no response.
 
Again, she slammed her fist against his chest and gave him more air.
 
She repeated the procedure four times before she felt for a pulse.
 
But there wasn’t one.

He was dead.