22. Dane

22

DANE

I slap the magazine into my H&K nine mil automatic with a metallic click. I glance over at Axel, his back flush against the wall of the miniature fortress that is Moreno’s marina.

“You ready?” I ask softly.

He scoffs. “Axel Sawyer was born ready.”

I scowl at him. “Mother fucker, the woman I care about more than life itself is in danger. I got no time for your cowboy bullshit. And if you refer to yourself in the third person again, you won’t have to worry about the Morenos. I’ll shoot you myself.”

His smile fades, and he nods.

“Sorry, my dude. You want to see serious? I’ll show you serious.”

“Wait, what are you doing–”

Axel spins around the corner of the gate, hauling his arm back for a haymaker. I hear the bone-crushing impact, and a second later the Moreno gatekeeper stumbles out onto the sidewalk, his mouth bleeding.

The guy goes for his gun. I’m a little bit quicker, bashing him in the temple with the barrel of my weapon.

He folds like a cheap motel blanket and hits the sidewalk, but his Tec-9 Uzi is more lively. It hits the ground and explodes into a cacophony of lead death. I dive for cover until the magazine is empty.

Axel peers out of the gate and gives a Tarzan like yell.

“Damn, did you see that? That was fucked up.”

“You’re fucked up! I can’t believe my own sister foisted you on me! Just try not to get either of us killed from here on in, okay?”

“No promises.”

I bite back a retort and kick the Uzi into the bushes.

“No way they don’t know we’re here, now. If we go through that gate, we can expect an ambush.”

“I don’t see any other way in, unless you can climb twenty feet of sheer rock.”

“It’s more like eighteen feet,” I say, sizing up the wall. “And I can use that utility box as a stepladder.”

He looks at me, and then at the wall and sighs.

“You’re going to need a distraction. Why did you have to go and kick the gun?”

He heads into the bushes and comes out with a gun in each hand.

“What are you doing now?” I sputter.

“I’m going to buy you some time to get up that wall. From there, you’ve got visual cover most of the way to the yacht.”

“Wait a minute, Axel. If I get you killed on your first mission, they’ll never let me live it down.”

“Just worry about your girlfriend,” Axel says with a wink.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I say.

“Yes, she is.”

Then the idiot disappears through the gate. Cursing his stupidity, I start climbing the wall. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible, either. My fingers and toes ache like hell about halfway up, which is precisely when a new storm of gunfire erupts from the other side of the wall.

Axel, providing his distraction. I really hope he doesn’t get himself killed.

I make it to the top of the wall. From my position, I can see Axel holed up in a security booth. At least three of Moreno’s men have him pinned down, but he’s got pretty good cover. He can take his time and pick his shots, whereas they have to be wary when they pop up to shoot.

I figure he’ll be alright on his own, at least for now. Besides, this was his plan. I’ll catch up with him as soon as Selene is safe.

I make my way along the wall, keeping my body in a low crouch to avoid attracting attention. More of Moreno's men rush down the dock, their shoes clumping off the sun-soaked timbers. I can’t help Axel without giving myself away. Hope he’s as good as he thinks he is.

I use a downspout to scale down the inside of the wall. Then I make my way to the gangplank, surprised to find it unguarded. I guess Axel really is stirring up the hornet’s nest.

I creep up onto the yacht’s main deck, gun in hand. Movement from my left catches my eye. I spin around, finger curling around the trigger. Something blurs through the air, smacking into my wrist with a sound like a wet towel hitting the floor.

Agony explodes in my arm. The gun falls from my limp fingers as Petty drags a heavy lump of steel on a rope across the deck. It takes me a moment to realize it’s a nautical pulley. He sets it to spinning overhead, the heavy pulley making a whoosh sound with every revolution.

“Hey asshole,” he growls. “We don’t take kindly to stowaways.”

Is there something in the air today? Everybody’s got a one-liner. I flex the fingers on my injured hand. It hurts like hell, but I don’t think anything is broken.

I go for the gun, but Petty lets the pulley fly. It cracks into the deck an inch from my grasping fingers. When did this guy turn into Jackie Chan?

“I have to admit, this is fun,” he says in a tight voice as he sets the pulley to spinning in a circle around his head. “I worked a couple summers at a renaissance fair, and my specialty was the flail. Basically a lump of metal on a chain to cave in your fucking face. I always wondered what it would be like to actually smash someone’s skull with it for real. Guess I’m going to find out.”

I straighten up to my full height and give him a snide smirk .

“You really should have just shot me.”

He shoots the pulley out again, but this time I’m ready. His weapon has one major disadvantage. It’s attached at both ends.

I easily move out of the way of the heavy pulley and grab the rope. One good tug pulls Petty off-balance. He stumbles forward, right into my uppercut. I catch him good under the chin, and he goes bonelessly limp, falling to the floor. Petty is out for the count.

One problem. I hit him with my injured hand. Renewed pain fires up all along my arm, from fingertip to elbow.

“Mother fucker!”

I sink to one knee and clutch my injured arm. That was stupid. A renewed sound of gunfire from the docks spurs me back to my feet, despite the pain. Axel is doing his part, it’s time for me to do mine.

Somewhere on this yacht, Selene is being held against her will. She’s probably scared, maybe even hurt. I have to get to her, no matter the cost.

I don’t know what’s going on between us. Maybe it’s just not in our stars to be together, or maybe we’ve got a damn decent shot at making it work. None of it matters if she gets killed.

I feel the first vestiges of a panic attack coming on.

“Oh no,” I groan. “Not now. Please, not now.”

My chest heaves with heavy pants, and my vision dims at the edges. Both of my arms grow numb, and I struggle to keep hold of the gun I only just retrieved from the deck.

A voice in my head tells me that it will always be this way. I’ll always choke when the chips are down, and someone else will always pay the price with their life…

No.

I hear Selene’s voice in my mind. No, Dane. You’re not a failure. Didn’t you take care of a lot of bad people before Klaus? One mistake doesn’t have to define you.

Moving on was something I could never do for myself. But maybe I can do it for her. For Selene. For the woman…

For the woman I love .

I don’t fight the panic, the fear. I relax my jaw, control my breathing. I’m not suffocating. There is plenty of air. I’m scared, but that doesn’t make me helpless. Slowly, my breathing slows, and my vision returns to normal.

I flex my fingers as the numbness leaves my limbs. The sensation of impending doom and despair dissipates until it’s only a faded memory. I’m lucky. I was able to fight through this one. Doesn’t happen every time. I’ve lost the fight more than I’ve won it.

But this time, when it counted, I overcame it. Now I can help Selene. This yacht is huge, but it’s a finite, confined space. I’ll find her. I’ll damn sure find her.

The sound of footsteps sends me scrambling for a place to hide. I take refuge behind a small bar built right into the deck. My breath fogs a bottle of Hennesy as the footsteps come closer.

Peeking carefully through a crevice in the bar, I see a man come into view. I almost don’t recognize him because he looks so much different from the photo Selene showed me. But then I notice the family resemblance in his face and hair color. It’s Justin, all right.

I stand up from behind the bar, lowering my gun.

“Justin,” I call out softly.

His gaze snaps over to me, and his eyes widen in surprise.

“Where’s your sister? Is she hurt?”

I come out from behind the bar and approach him. I’m about five paces away when he raises a pistol and points it dead center at my chest.

“Hey, idiot,” I growl. “I’m here to rescue you. Your sister hired me–”

“I know who you are, Dane,” he says. His eyes are tortured, but the gun doesn’t waver in his grasp. He doesn’t have any qualms about shooting me. “And there’s something you should know. Those men you killed? The ones who are fighting and dying right now? They’re not just goons, they’re Moreno’s family. His cousins and nephews.”

“So you’re working with the Morenos,” I say, trying to gauge the distance between us. I can raise my gun and fire in about a quarter of a second, but he’ll definitely get to fire at least once before then. And he has me dead to rights. I don’t see how he can miss.

“Shut up, I’m still talking,” he sputters. “I’m so tired of everyone not giving me respect. Well, once I’m a made man, I’ll have the respect I deserve. And being as you just offed a half dozen of Moreno’s own blood, killing you should get my foot in the door.”

He’s going to shoot me. I have no choice but to take the chance he’ll miss, or that it won’t be a lethal shot–

“No!”

Selene is suddenly there, throwing herself between me and her brother.

“Selene, get out of the way,” Justin says.

“I hate to agree, but do as he says,” I chime in.

“No,” she snaps. “If you want to kill him, Justin, you’ll have to go through me. How much is being a made man worth to you, Justin? Well, here’s your chance. It’s all yours. All you have to do is pull that trigger, and kill two people. One of them your own sister.”

“I don’t have any choice, Selene,” he says, tears streaming out of his eyes. “Please move. Please.”

My initial relief at seeing Selene alive and well fades. She’s taking a big gamble here. I could take aim and fire while Justin is distracted, but any movement might make him flinch and pull the trigger.

I have to trust Selene. She knows what she’s doing. I keep my gun pointed at the deck, and wait.

“Well? You gonna pull that trigger or what, Justin?” Selene taunts.

Justin lowers the pistol and his gaze.

“I…I never wanted anyone to get hurt.”

I shake my head and sigh. “Nobody ever does, kid. Nobody ever does.”

I go to Selene and hold her tight. She hugs me back, burying her face in my chest.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

“I'm sorry,” she murmurs into my shirt. “I’m glad you got my message. ”

“I almost didn’t. You’re giving me too much credit.”

A sudden chill shoots down my spine.

“Where’s Moreno?” I blurt.

Justin’s face goes white, and Selene grows worried.

“All right,” I say, flicking my safety off. “You two stay behind me, and keep a wall at your back at all times.”

I lead the way through the yacht, eyes peeled for any sign of trouble. A coughing, sputtering sound reaches my ears. At first I think it’s a heavy trawler engine in the marina. Then I place the sound as an outboard motor.

“Fuck,” I sputter, breaking into a run. I reach the end of the aft deck just in time to see Moreno and two of his goons skipping away across the blue waves of the pacific.

“That bastard,” Selene says. “After all this, he’s going to get away.”

“Not if I can help it,” I say coldly, drawing a bead with my pistol. This weapon is hardly a long distance rifle. The wind, the waves, the bobbing of the boat, and distance are all factors against my hitting the target.

But if being with Selene has taught me anything, it’s that you don’t always have to take the obvious, beaten path. You can take a divergent course and still wind up where you needed to be all along.

Selene led my heart out of darkness. Now it’s my turn to lead her out of fear, by making sure that Moreno is taken care of.

His head is a small, distant target which grows further away all the time. The outboard engine on the back of the boat, however, is going to be much easier to hit.

My finger curls around the trigger. The first shot brings up a gout of water. The second splinters the fiberglass hull of the little speedboat.

But the third shot strikes true. The outboard engine sputters, spewing out a thick plume of cumulus black smoke. Moreno is soon dead in the water, at the mercy of the currents and tide.

“Navy can pick him up,” I growl. “He ain’t going nowhere now.”

“Nice shooting, Tex,” Justin says with a whistle .

“You should see me when I don’t have a pea shooter,” I say.

“Maybe we should call the police?” Selene says. “Just saying.”

Justin points back toward Moreno’s private quarters.

“The boss…” he winces as if in pain. “That is, Moreno has a satellite phone in his office.”

I nod. “Go, use it. I’ll do a sweep of the yacht, make sure that nobody loyal to Moreno is left on board.” I glance over at Selene. I could tell her to go with Justin, but I don’t have the heart to let her out of my sight, now. “Stay close and be careful.”

She nods, and creeps along behind me as I sweep the yacht. Fortunately, it is as deserted as it looks.

About the time Selene and I return to the main, sun-splashed deck, Axel comes strolling up the gangplank, whistling the theme from Staying Alive. A smear of crimson mars his face from hairline to jawline on the left side, but he wears a big smile and doesn’t appear to be in pain.

“Sorry, Dane,” Axel says, blowing out a big sigh. “I’m afraid I took care of Moreno’s boys without you. I tried to leave some for you to have some fun with, but man, they were determined.”

He shrugs with nonchalance that seems so natural, I almost can’t tell it’s forced. Almost.

“Nice work, Axel,” I say. “I don’t think you need to worry about that welcome package at Platinum Security after this.”

I clasp his hand in a firm handshake. Then he looks past me and gasps.

“Is that a bar?”

“Yeah, knock yourself out. Moreno’s not going to need it.”

Axel cocks an eyebrow.

“Is he dead?”

“Not that I know of. He’s floating around out in the Pacific.”

“Hopefully being eaten by sharks,” Selene says.

“The important thing is, Selene and her brother are safe,” I say. “I couldn’t have done it without you, man. Thanks.”

Axel waves me off as he unscrews various bottles and sniffs their contents .

“Don’t mention it. I’d do the same for any homeslice.”

Selene and I exchange glances.

“Homeslice?” we say at the same time. Then I kiss her, because I feel like I can’t do that enough.

All that matters is the amazing woman in my arms. I don’t ever want to let her go.