Chapter 17

Alexis stood and turned away from the lifeless man on the ground on an island many would call paradise. While she hadn't pulled the trigger, she was in part responsible for his death.

Isandro had died helping her stop whatever madness Antoine and his employers were ready to unleash upon the world. Nat had left her the means to destroy the bastards, and she would. First, she had to survive.

Her hands itched as the blood covering them dried.

"I recognized a Manchineel tree by the cave's entrance and a few other trees, but I've never seen most of the vegetation in the hammock," she told Seb as she looked at the lush vegetation surrounding them. "Are there some leaves I could use to wipe the blood off my hands?"

Ironic that she was looking for a way to clean her hands while the ocean stretched out in front of her, only a hundred yards away. Alexis couldn't bring herself to wipe her hands on her wetsuit. There was too much of Isandro's blood already smeared across it.

Seb remained silent as he walked over to a tree and pulled off several of its huge leaves. He handed them to Alexis.

"Thank you," she said, scrubbing at the blood caking on her hands.

"The trees in this area are safe," Seb said as he picked up her automatic rifle. "There's enough coverage to make you difficult to spot, but you can see the cove clearly through the trees facing the beach. Shoot first. Ask questions later."

Alexis nodded, walked several feet away from Seb and tossed the leaves onto the hammock's floor, the bright green now smeared with red.

"I've got two choices," Seb said and handed her the rifle. "I can hide out on the sailboat and shoot the two guys as they pass by on the motorboat."

"If they spot you on the sailboat, they could rip the boat apart with bullets." Alexis shook her head. She considered that suicide, not a choice.

"So, I'm going with door number two." Seb turned up the corner of his mouth in a cocky grin, casually juggling the grenade.

"Be…" Seb's mouth covered hers, smothering her words.

The kiss was brief, but fierce. Then he was gone.

The sensation of his lips on hers lingered as Alexis turned toward the cove, her heart matching the rhythm of Seb's feet pounding against the sandy beach. He ran to the end of the dock, slipped into the water, and swam underneath to wait. It was the only hiding place in the cove's clear turquoise water.

There were so many things that could go wrong and all Alexis could do was watch. She'd never felt so helpless.

Grasping the rifle like Seb had shown her, she moved further into the trees. If the men pinned him down under the dock, she'd keep shooting until she was out of bullets.

They didn't have long to wait for the rumble of engines at full throttle to fill the cove. The boat rounded the end of the island and sped toward the dock.

The man standing beside the driver pointed to the burning remains of the boat Seb destroyed with the rocket launcher. As the boat slowed, the driver stood and picked up a submachine gun. Both men held their weapons, ready to fire, as they scanned the surrounding water and land.

Alexis was certain Seb had counted on them speeding past the dock as they rushed to check for survivors from the burning boat. They wouldn't have noticed him. She clutched the rifle tighter as they moved further away from the shore.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

From that distance, they'd spot Seb at the end of the dock. He needed to shift his position. There was no way to warn Seb, and no way to know if he'd moved into the shallow waters under the dock, so he'd remain unseen. The dock covered him from Alexis's view.

A hard, quick pulse throbbed in her throat as she raised the rifle. At the first sign of trouble, she would start firing. Without knowing the range of the rifle, it could be a pointless endeavor, but it would warn Seb he was in trouble.

Don't freak out, Alexis.

Her psychologist would tell her to take a few gentle breaths in and out and then close her eyes. She'd tell her to visualize herself in her happy place to regain her composure.

Her happy place resembled the beautiful beach and turquoise water in front of her and it'd just been invaded by two assholes in a motorboat with submachine guns.

Alexis swallowed past the hard lump in her throat. Closing her eyes was not an option. She needed to be alert to shoot the bastards out of the water if they spotted Seb.

Maybe the gentle breaths. Alexis drew a ragged breath in and then out. Not working.

Seb was a Navy SEAL. He'd already shown her he could handle anything thrown at him. She had to trust he could handle the men in the motorboat.

Alexis turned at the burst of machine gun fire. Another burst followed. It was close to the house. A shudder ran through her body and her eyes dipped to Isandro's body on the hammock's floor. She hoped Antoine's men hadn't found the man he had posted in the house.

The motorboat crept closer to Seb's hiding spot, but it was too far away from the dock for him to throw the grenade. Alexis shook her head, knowing he'd be pissed, but his cocky superhero attitude couldn't change the math.

The men in the motorboat would spot Seb in an instant if he left his hiding place and swam closer to the boat. They were more vigilant than the three they'd already dealt with. Their guns followed their eyes as they swept the water.

Seb needed a diversion. Other than the rifle, Alexis had nothing. It would have to do. She raised it and looked through the sight, wishing there'd been a manual along with the weapon.

It was a gun, right? How different could it be from what she'd previously read?

She took a deep breath in and slowly released it. An article had said snipers held their breath as they pulled the trigger. A dozen adjectives popped into her head on how to pull the trigger.

Just pick one, she murmured impatiently.

Alexis moved her finger from the side of the rifle's frame to the trigger.

Gunfire ripped across the water near the motorboat.

Alexis lowered the rifle and looked out onto the beach. A man dressed in black was running across the sand, his weapon raised. It was Caleb, one of Leo's guys, providing the diversion Seb needed.

Another burst of gunfire had the two men in the boat ducking for cover, but they came up shooting. Their bullets stirred up the sand in front of Caleb. He returned fire as he retreated out of the men's firing range.

Seb swam out from his hiding place to the boat, and Alexis understood what was happening.

Caleb was shooting wide to avoid hitting Seb, but forcing the men in the motorboat to keep their attention on him. It gave Seb the seconds he needed to get close enough to the boat to throw the grenade.

No. No. No.

Alexis shifted her gaze to the water further out in the cove and the fin moving toward the boat. She'd encountered no resistance when she'd redirected the Tiger Shark during their first encounter, but Seb wouldn't be as lucky.

It'd only been just over an hour since the shark had attacked the diver. There was no way to predict the Tiger Shark's behavior if it saw Seb.

Sunlight reflected off the metal as Seb hurled the grenade in the air.

The men in the boat wouldn't have heard the thunk it would have made as it hit the boat's deck, their focus entirely on the guy on the beach.

Alexis watched as Seb dove under the water, the Tiger Shark only yards away.

A thunderous boom split the air. Splintered wood and metal debris scattered everywhere. Flames engulfed the remains of the boat. One man floated on the water, not moving. He'd been the luckier of the two. The other thrashed weakly, fighting to keep his head above the water.

The Tiger Shark flexed its powerful tail and veered away from Seb, drawn to the splashing noise in the water.

Alexis needed to warn Seb to get out of the water. Her ears were still ringing from the explosion. He'd been closer to the blast, and she feared he wouldn't hear the man's screams. He'd be unaware he was next on the shark's list.

A primitive warning sounded in the back of her mind as she lifted the rifle and turned.

A man crashed through the trees six feet away, the submachine gun in his hands pointed at Caleb standing on the beach, waving his arms above his head. He'd seen the shark and was warning Seb.

Alexis raised her rifle, peered through the sight, and pulled the trigger. The man turned toward her, visibly stunned he'd been shot. Luckily, he'd been unaware of her presence among the trees. She kept firing until he dropped to the ground.

"Shark!" Alexis's screams joined Caleb's. The fin was gliding away from the burning motorboat toward Seb. Another fin was visible further out in the cove. "Shark!"

Seb no longer headed for the sailboat on the other side of the dock. His speed increased as he swam for the end of the dock.

Caleb fired his submachine gun. He was too far away to hit the shark and ran to the water's edge.

Alexis ran after him and grabbed his arm before he reached the shoreline. "The water will change the trajectory of the bullets. You could hit Seb."

She dropped her rifle and ran into the water. Her stomach churned as she kneeled on the cove's sandy bottom. The shark continued to follow Seb. She extended her arms in front of her and moved them up and down, splashing the water. The fin slowly turned in her direction.

The shallow water was just deep enough for the Tiger Shark to strike. Alexis continued to splash and slap the water, bracing herself for the attack.

Seb had almost reached the dock. He was safe.

Alexis focused on the shark approaching her and rose into a crouching position. She didn't give it a chance to bump her to assess her threat level. She raised her clenched fist and struck the shark's snout, then followed up with a blow to its gills as it turned.

Her eyes locked on the shark as she rose and edged backward toward the shore. It swam out into the cove's deep water. She was too much trouble for it to bother with.

Alexis turned her attention to the dock. The shark no longer posed a threat to her in the shallower water lapping against her calves.

Seb was standing on the sailboat's swim platform, filling a bucket with water. He stood and threw the water onto the deck. A piece of burning debris must have fallen on it. She hadn't noticed because she'd been focused on the shark and then Antoine's man.

"Are you crazy?" Caleb bellowed, touching her shoulder. "You could have been killed."

Killed. She'd just killed a man.

Alexis lowered herself onto the sand, suddenly tired, and sat, looking out at the burning boat. Her thoughts crashed against each other. She blew out a breath.

This wasn't her. She was the logical, boring person who found changing shampoo brands overwhelming.

This was insanity. And she was accepting it like another day at the office.

"By my count, there're still four of Antoine's men left," Seb said as he ran toward them, the submachine gun he'd carried with him into the water, now at his side.

"Three," Alexis said, and motioned with her hand to the trees behind her. She laid down on the hot sand. "I'm pretty sure he's dead. I don't know how you guys do this. It's exhausting."

Seb sat down beside her and wrapped his hand around hers. She closed her eyes. They weren't safe, but she just needed a moment to reset.

"The guy couldn't be any deader," Caleb said a minute later, prompting Alexis to sit up. Nap time was over. "How many times did you shoot the guy?"

She shrugged. There'd been no time to count.

Seb scooped her rifle from the beach and popped the clip out. "Twelve."

Caleb ran his hand along the back of his neck. "All twelve were center mass."

"Honey, are you alright?" Seb asked, concern in his voice.

She had to be. They needed to stop whatever Antoine's employers had planned.

Isandro had said they were powerful and rich, but she bet they weren't as smart as her.