Chapter 13

CHAPTER13

Griffin instinctively jumped to his feet and turned to shield Marin with his body. When he reached for his service weapon at his waist, it wasn’t there. He swore violently as he spied it eight feet across the room just as two big men jumped through the broken window blocking his path to his weapon. Neither of them was the Ukrainian special forces jerk with the vendetta against Marin. But both seemed bent on doing the same kind of harm.

Adam and Ben—and even the damn dog—were out of the safe house. A fact these morons probably already knew. Two against one wasn’t the best odds, especially without a gun. Griffin would have to improvise.

Grabbing one of the wooden chairs from the table, he smashed it on the floor, startling the two intruders and giving him a jagged post of wood to use as a weapon at the same time. The one with a spare tire for a neck dodged out of the way of the splintered wood while the bald guy with the bulging eyes made a beeline for Griffin.

Making sure to keep Marin behind him, Griffin lunged at the bald guy, jabbing him hard in the face with the fractured tip of the stool. Caught by surprise, bald guy howled as he staggered backward. The other guy wasted no time pulling a Glock out of his jacket and aiming it at Griffin’s chest. In one quick move, perfected during his hockey days, Griffin shoved Marin to the floor just as the bullet flew past his ear and landed in the oven door with a loud ping.

Marin grabbed his hand and shoved a fire extinguisher into it. Griffin could have kissed her right then and there. Instead, he pulled the pin, turned and fired a stream of pressurized nitrogen and CO₂ into the gunman’s face. The second gunshot went wild as the big man screamed in agony.

Griffin jumped to his feet, using the fire extinguisher as a weapon to crack the gunman over the head. The hit knocked the guy out cold. When Griffin turned around, however, he was staring down the barrel of a Glock the bald guy had trained on him. The thug sneered.

In that instant, Griffin’s heart shattered painfully. He had failed Marin. God knew what these brutes had in store for her. He met her wide eyes behind the intruder as the guy began to squeeze the trigger. “I’m sorry,” Griffin mouthed to Marin while he waited for the shot that would end his life.

It never came.

The man holding the Glock began to gurgle and his eyes bugged out even further as he struggled to breathe. The gun discharged its bullet into the wall somewhere behind Griffin just as the thug slumped to the floor, both hands clutching his chest. Griffin jumped over his prone body, being careful not to dislodge the knife jabbed into his heart from behind. He grabbed Marin by the shoulders.

“Is he dead?” she whispered.

“Let’s hope so.” Griffin steered her toward the front of the house, grabbing his holster as they left the kitchen. “Come on, Marin. We need to get out of here.”

But she was transfixed by the man on the floor with the knife in his back. “I killed a man.” Her voice trembled.

They didn’t have time for this. The safe house had been compromised. He needed to get Marin out of there quickly.

Griffin cupped her chin, capturing her watery blue-eyed gaze with his. “It was self-defense. He was going to kill you.”

“And you, too.”

“Yeah.” He allowed himself a quick sigh of relief. “And I’m going to thank you properly for saving my life later. But right now, we need to move. Hopefully, we can intercept Adam and Ben.”

He laced his fingers through hers, tugging her to the front of the house where he could peek out the window. The street looked clear, but years on the job had taught him that didn’t mean anything. Unbolting the front door, he led the way out. Marin followed on his heels. Since Griffin had Ubered over to the safe house they had no choice but to escape on foot. There was no sign of his buddies. Griffin hoped that was because they were blocks away from the house rather than bleeding out in the alley next door.

They headed east toward the water. Just as they made it to the middle of the block, a car engine revved behind them. Griffin looked back to see a tan sedan screaming down the street, headed right for him and Marin. He shoved Marin down an alley, covering her with his body just in case the driver was armed. The car sped past them and screeched to a halt at the corner. Griffin pulled Marin toward the chain link fence that led to the next street and began to hoist her over.

“He’s coming back!” Marin cried.

Griffin turned just as the car blocked the entrance to the alley. He aimed his gun at the driver. Someone else in the car shouted something in what sounded like Greek and the car sped off.

“Come on.” Griffin yanked Marin off the fence and dragged her out of the alley right when the sedan rounded the corner.

“Will you make up your mind already?” she cried in exasperation.

But she easily fell into step beside him. Their long strides allowed them to make it midway to the next block before they heard the loud shouts in Greek come from the street beside them. The idiots had fallen for Griffin’s deception.

“This way.” He led her into the lobby of a small boutique hotel at the corner. From there, Griffin had a bird’s eye view of the Alexandria waterfront and the two side streets leading up to it. He pulled out his phone and quickly tried Adam. No answer. Damn it.

“Griffin,” Marin whispered urgently.

She pulled him behind one of the potted trees just as the sedan cruised past the wall of glass at the front of the lobby.

Around them, it felt like a frat party was going on. “Make sure you have everything you need for the river cruise,” one of the college-aged kids called out. “The boat is leaving in ten minutes.”

A boat.That would work. He had to get Marin out of the area. Their location had become known somehow and Griffin didn’t feel comfortable sticking around Old Town a moment longer than they had to. He led Marin over to the concierge desk.

“Do you sell tickets to the monument cruise?” he asked.

The concierge shot him a wary look. “You don’t want to take the cruise tonight.” He gestured to the coeds in the lobby. “It’s gonna be full of a couple hundred of those jokers trying to turn it into a booze cruise. I can sell you tickets for tomorrow if you want.”

Marin suddenly draped herself over Griffin’s shoulder. “But I want to go tonight, sweet cheeks.”

Sweet cheeks?Griffin did his best not to look surprised. Clearly, she was trying to help out. “Whatever the lady wants,” he said trying to play along.

The concierge bit back a smirk before he shrugged. “Sure thing, mister.”

The spring breakers were already making their way across the street to the pier when the sedan turned the corner again. The car paused to let the kids cross. Griffin jumped behind the valet stand, pulling Marin between his body and the brick wall, to avoid being seen.

“Sweet cheeks?” He asked the question while his lips grazed against her neck. The gesture was meant to calm her down. As usual, touching her had the opposite effect on him.

She shivered against him as she fisted her hands in his T-shirt. “I’m sorry. I don’t seem to know who I am right now.”

Griffin glanced into her eyes, still wide with panic. He brushed a gentle kiss across her trembling lips. “You’re doing fine, Marin. Just hang in there a few more minutes until we’re safely aboard the boat.”

She nodded, slowly at first, but then with more confidence. It was all Griffin could do not to keep kissing her with more passion. He hated how this experience would forever alter her, but he couldn’t help but be proud of the way she was fighting to keep her composure. Ben was right; Marin was tougher than she looked. Griffin just hoped she could hang on to that toughness for a little while longer.

“Where’s our guy?” he whispered against her cheek.

It took her a few seconds longer to focus. “He’s driving past now.”

“Keep watching him. When he turns the corner, we’re going to briskly make our way over to the pier.”

She nodded slightly. “Now,” she said a moment later.

Hand in hand, they headed for the gangplank of the riverboat. He was handing the purser their tickets when the sedan come at the pier from another side street. Marin flinched beside him.

“Shit,” he mumbled.

There was no place for them to hide. Griffin hurried Marin up the gangplank just as the crew was untying the lines mooring the boat to the pier. The passenger of the sedan got out and argued with the purser. Almost immediately, a beat cop on a bicycle rode up and Griffin was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. When the boat began to push away from the pier, his cell phone rang.

“Where the hell are you?” Adam asked.

“Taking a river cruise on the Cherry Blossom,” he answered as he steered Marin to the bow of the boat. “We had a couple unwanted guests at the house.”

“All we have here is a broken window and a shit-load of blood. It looks like they sent in a cleanup immediately.”

Griffin glanced at Marin. She was silently contemplating her hands. Her skin was dotted with dried blood spatters from when she’d stabbed one of the intruders in the back.

“We had a sendoff party at the pier,” Griffin said. “Two men in a tan Ford sedan. New Jersey plates. I couldn’t make out the number. We were too busy trying not to get run down.”

“Were any of their party the Ukrainian sharp shooter?”

“No. A whole new cast of characters today.”

Adam swore. “They’ll be waiting for you to disembark when the cruise ends in two hours. I’ll make sure the marina is secure.”

Griffin glanced around at the passengers crowded against the rails. “Negative. Too risky. This boat is filled with civilians. And I don’t trust our Ukrainian friend not to be hanging out on a rooftop ready to pick people off. I have another plan.”

* * *

Marin stood in the cramped bathroom on the riverboat, feverishly scrubbing her hands beneath a stream of warm water. She pushed the button on the soap dispenser again. Still empty. It was no use; the blood stains weren’t coming off. Tears blurred her eyes, but they couldn’t erase the vision of her hand plunging an eight-inch chef’s knife into a man’s back. She abhorred violence; yet she’d killed another human being without giving it a second thought.

“He was going to kill Griffin,” she reminded herself. The reminder didn’t help to calm her.

There was a soft knock on the door and she jumped.

“Marin, open up,” Griffin commanded.

Hysterical laughter bubbled up uncontrollably from within her. She didn’t want to open the door. People got hurt or died when Griffin was around. Kissing him never ended well, either. And yet, she still jumped his bones every chance she got. She was embarrassed how often that happened.

“Marin.” He knocked with a little more urgency this time.

What if more men with guns or knives were on board? Marin immediately sobered. She opened the door, telling herself he had a gun and could protect her.

Griffin stepped into the small room, locking the door behind him. He pulled a dark green fanny pack out of a plastic bag and placed it on the sink.

“You went shopping in the gift shop?” she asked incredulously.

His eyes narrowed at her. “I needed something to keep my gun in.” He pulled out his revolver and his cell phone and wrapped both tightly in the plastic bag the fanny pack had come in. “Can you swim?”

“Why?” Marin’s hysteria was bubbling up again.

“We’re making an unscheduled exit in five minutes.”

“We’re swimming to shore? It’s nearly dark out there.”

“Exactly. No one will see us.”

Marin was beginning to get a little miffed at his tone. “I don’t understand why we can’t just hide here until the cruise is finished. You told Adam where we are. He can come get us.”

“This boat is filled with innocent bystanders, Marin.” He shoved the plastic bag inside the fanny pack. “We can’t afford any more collateral injuries. Or deaths.”

Her breathing seemed to stop all at once. Light-headed, Marin sat down on the closed toilet, her thoughts drifting to Anika, Arnold, and Seth. All three of them injured or dead. Because of her. She gulped for air.

Griffin swore softly before crouching down in front of her knees. “I’m sorry, Marin. But I can’t sugarcoat this. None of this is your fault, though. You need to keep telling yourself that.”

She nodded and swiped at her eyes. It was easy to say she wasn’t to blame; believing it was a different story, however.

“Is there room in there for my phone?” she asked as she pulled it out of her back pocket.

He went completely still. “You have your cell phone with you?” Griffin asked, his tone menacing. “Adam was supposed to lock that down.”

Marin looked anywhere but at Griffin’s stormy eyes. “I-I took it back when Adam was in the shower.”

Griffin flinched at the word shower. Then, he let out a string of expletives that would have likely stunned the crew of sailors operating the boat they were on.

“It was before I knew Diego was safe.” She shot the words back at him defensively. “I needed to keep trying to reach him.”

He snatched the phone from her hands. “Unlock it,” he demanded.

Doing as she was told, she punched in her passcode.

He jumped to his feet and swore violently again. “You have your damn locator on.”

“Doesn’t everybody?” she asked. “Oh crap,” she added sheepishly, suddenly realizing how much danger she’d put herself—and Griffin—in. “I only powered up for a few minutes in the safe house and then again just now. But that was all it took, wasn’t it? I’m the reason they found us.”

Griffin didn’t bother acknowledging her stupidity. “Can. You. Swim?” he repeated instead.

“Yes.” She wasn’t going to enlighten him that she had a deep-seated fear of water snakes.

And fish. Or just about anything else found in the water. Not when he looked like he could kill her with his bare hands.

He yanked her up to face him. “Listen carefully. In three minutes, we’re slipping out the gangplank door into the water. We’ll be on the opposite side of the river from where we need to be. But the current is pretty mild today so we should be able to cross without issue. Still, you are to stay within two feet of me at all times. Do I make myself clear?”

“Abundantly.” She tugged her arm back.

Griffin jumped up on the toilet and punched out a ceiling tile. He shoved her phone up into the ceiling.

“Hey!” she cried. Marin knew she was being irrational about keeping her phone with her, but her life was unraveling by the minute. She just wanted some aspect of it that she could control.

The look he gave her was so hard and cool she had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from shivering. Griffin jumped down and unrolled the entire roll of toilet paper, shoving it all into the toilet. He then pulled the lever to flush it.

“Let’s go,” he ordered as he pulled the door open a crack.

Once he determined the hallway was empty, he gestured for Marin to lead the way out. He locked the door and pulled it shut. They walked to the stern of the ship. A man in uniform sat in a folding chair beside the gangplank opening. A single chain stood between the boat and the open water.

“Excuse me,” Griffin said. “My wife is looking for a bathroom. There’s a line of wasted coeds at the one upstairs. The one down here is locked, but no one is answering. Did you see someone go in?”

The crewman stood from his chair. “No, but that lock is tricky. Let me try it.”

Water was already spilling out the door by the time they got back to the bathroom.

“Oh, man!” The crewman banged on the locked door. “One of those kids must have already been down here. Would you mind keeping an eye out so that no one goes past this point? I’ve got to run upstairs and get a key. And a mop.”

“Sure.”

They waited until the man had started up the stairs. Griffin gestured for her to head back to the gangplank opening. A second later he was beside her, sitting on the edge.

“Hold my hand. Try not to make a splash,” he said.

Marin’s stomach churned as rapidly as the dark water beneath them. She didn’t want to leave the safety of the boat. Griffin must have sensed her trepidation.

“Marin.” He took her hand in his and squeezed gently. “Trust me. Please.”

She nodded. He softly counted to three. Then they were both sliding off the side of the big boat.

The water was colder than she expected. Her muscles tensed immediately and she became a little frantic. She gulped in a lungful of diesel fuel and started to gag. Griffin threw an arm around her torso and dragged her several yards away from the riverboat’s wake.

“Relax,” he urged. Thankfully, he didn’t relinquish his hold on her. Instead, he treaded water while keeping them afloat. “You didn’t lie about the swimming part, did you?”

“No.” She tried not to swallow a mouthful of water. “My swimming lessons just didn’t include any practice at sneaking off boats.”

Griffin chuckled. “That’s my girl. We’re going to hang out here for a few minutes. It will be easier to cross if we don’t have to swim through a wake.”

Marin wasn’t too keen on “hanging out” in the cold, dirty Potomac River any longer than she had too. Wisely, she kept her thoughts to herself. She kind of liked the words “that’s my girl” coming from Griffin’s mouth. They buoyed her spirit. A hush settled over the water as the big paddle boat continued on its way up the river.

“Where exactly are we swimming to?” she asked quietly.

He shifted their bodies in the water to the left slightly. “See those lights about a mile down the opposite bank?”

She nodded.

“That’s a private marina. We’ll be able to climb out of the water unseen there. First we need to swim the mile to the other side of the river.”

Her teeth began to chatter. “I’ll swim to Timbuktu as long as someone is waiting for us with a towel.”

“How about if I sweeten the deal with a hot shower to go along with that towel?”

Marin couldn’t quite make out Griffin’s eyes in the darkness. She wasn’t sure if he was flirting with her or not.

“In that case, what are we waiting for?” she said.

“Stay close to me,” he instructed as they began to swim into the middle of the river. “This doesn’t have to be an Olympic swim. We can go as slowly as you need to.”

She was so busy trying not to ingest a mouthful of dirty river water, that she didn’t bother responding. Griffin had exaggerated about the current being light. Once they’d reached the center of the river, Marin struggled to maintain the course he’d indicated. Twice, Griffin had to reach around her waist and redirect her. She was beginning to worry she didn’t have the strength to complete a two-mile swim when the sound of an outboard motor roared in her ears. It was dark on the river. The driver likely didn’t see either of them in the water. Marin began to panic and her stroke faltered.

Griffin wrapped his arms around her again and dragged her on her back out of the path of the rapidly advancing boat.

“Hold your breath,” he ordered before pulling them both down beneath the surface of the water.

Marin thrashed her arms and legs wildly. Several long seconds later they popped out into the night air. She gulped in a lungful of air only to swallow half the river with it. They bobbed along in the boat’s rough wake as Marin choked and sputtered. Griffin held her against him trying to smother her noise. Voices from the boat filtered back in the wind. Marin froze. They were the two men who had been chasing them in the car.

“Lean in to me,” Griffin said quickly. Clearly, he had recognized their voices as well. “We’re almost there.”

Once they reached the far side of the river, the current carried them toward the marina. Marin was able to swim on her own; not as quickly as either of them would like, but still they made it to their destination half an hour later. The marina was quiet. It was after eight on a weeknight, which meant they could climb out of the water unnoticed. Still, when Griffin put his finger to his lips, Marin complied, silently praying that Adam or Ben was on the dock waiting with a warm towel.

Griffin steered them along a row of boats, eventually coming up beside a sailboat. The words “Seas the Day” were painted across the back. He signaled for her to grab one of the rope lines holding the boat in the slip.

“Wait,” he mouthed.

The next thing she knew, Griffin was hoisting himself over the swim platform onto the boat. A moment later, he lowered a metal step ladder and attached it to the hull. He reached his hand down to help her climb up. Marin heaved her waterlogged body over the side, nearly crying out when the chilly night air hit her. Her T-shirt and shorts were stuck to her like a second skin and not much protection. She wanted to ask Griffin where his friends were, but her teeth were chattering too much. Besides, he was too busy digging around for something under one of the seat cushions.

“We are n-not br-breaking into this b-boat,” she managed to get out through her trembling lips.

Griffin stood up, shoving his damp hair out of his eyes. “It’s not breaking in if you have the key.” He dangled a key in front of her. “And the towels and hot shower I mentioned before are on the other side of this door.”

“You h-had me at t-towels.”