Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

I WAS BEING carried like a carcass out of the hut down toward the dock. I looked back and saw Vail grab the cutlass off the table. Was he about to behead me on the beach? Or slash my throat and let me bleed out like the boys?

No, I thought, too quick. Too merciful. I had a feeling Vail had other plans.

When we got to the beach, the men slammed me down onto the sand, face-first, knocking the air out of my lungs.

I felt a coil of rope land on my legs.

Vail shouted something from the dock. Then I heard his speedboat start up.

I kicked as hard as I could. It took four men to hold my legs together. I felt them wrapping a narrow cord around my ankles. I looked up. The other end ran to the back of the speedboat.

I saw Vail step into the cockpit. He revved the engines.

The men cleared away. I felt a jolt through my body as I was dragged off the beach and into the shallow water. I heard the pitch of the engines rise, and then I was bouncing over the surf on my back. About twenty yards from shore, I got raked over a ridge of sharp coral. It felt like the skin on my back was being torn off. The sting of the saltwater added to the agony. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

Now we were in deep water, moving faster. I tried to hold my head up, but it kept tipping back. Water shot up into my nostrils. I was choking. Drowning. The boat picked up more speed. The ropes cut into my ankles. My knee joints felt like they were about to separate. I waited until my head was underwater to scream. I saw a swirl of white bubbles around my face and then I got pulled to the surface again. The boat made a turn, pulling me in a wide sweep behind it, like bait in the water.

I was dying a slow death by speedboat, and there was nobody to help me.

Then I remembered what Kira always said.

"You have only yourself."

I took a deep gulp of air and gathered my strength—everything I had left. I crunched myself forward against the force of the water. It was like trying to do a sit-up against a hurricane. I bent forward and grabbed the rope with one hand, then the other, and pulled myself around until I was headfirst. My back was on fire from coral burns. As I bounced on my belly, I could see the back of Vail's head about fifteen yards ahead. Inch by inch, I muscled myself forward—closer and closer to the back of the boat.

"Don't look back, you prick!" I muttered to myself. I knew if Vail turned around, he'd find a way to break my hold. Or maybe he'd just shoot me.

When I was ten feet from the stern, I found a small center of calm between the wake plumes. I pulled myself quickly the rest of the way. I could feel the churn from the twin props a few feet down. One wrong move and I'd be chopped into chum.

I grabbed the lip of the stern and let the rope go slack, letting it catch around the propeller shafts. The rope snapped. The engines stalled.

I ducked down again, my cheek pressed against the hull. I heard Vail swearing. The boat rocked as he walked back from the cockpit. I slid to the side. He leaned over and spotted the fouled propellers. My feet were still tied, but I managed to thrust myself up with a dolphin kick, just high enough to wrap my hands around Vail's neck. I pulled his head down hard on the metal stern rail. He dropped into the water, blood oozing from his scalp. He was out. Maybe dead. I didn't care.

I ducked under and cleared the propellers, then untied my ankles. I climbed aboard. The cutlass was lying on the deck. The dried blood had washed off in a pool of saltwater and the blade was gleaming again.

I picked up the weapon. Vail's limp body was floating behind the boat. I was thinking that I could pull him aboard, see if he was still alive. Or I could reach down and administer the coup de grace.

I looked back toward land. We had rounded a point, out of sight of the tin hut and the rest of the settlement. The bulk of the island was covered in thick green foliage. Not another human anywhere in sight.

Vail was floating away, out of reach. I decided to let the sea take him.

I moved to the front of the boat, turned the engine on, and headed toward the horizon. I poured on the power and felt the prow lift. I was free for the moment, but so what?

I had no idea where I was.

I'd lost Kira.

And I was wanted for murder.