Part 54 (1/2)

She strained her eyes, searching for Dar's figure among all the shadows and willing it to appear. Praying for it. Begging a G.o.d she'd lately wondered about for this one small favor. This one little thing, in the cosmic sense. This one life. ”Please.”

The bow swung closer and Andrew got ready to jump from one s.h.i.+p to the other, his body coiled in waiting, the gun held in ready position as he prepared to attack.

As the two vessels converged, the bigger one suddenly heeled over, listing toward them as a m.u.f.fled explosion sounded deep within. Just as Andrew was about to leap, the windows in the cabin shattered from the inside and bodies came flying out, hitting the water as the boat listed onto its side and came perilously close to capsizing.

Kerry bolted forward, and without thinking, leaped into the water from the bow, her eyes finding the outline she'd been searching for.

”Son of a...” Andrew scrambled to put the gun away and go after her. ”Son of a... Ya d.a.m.n kids!”

”Andy!” Charlie yelled. ”What's goin on! That d.a.m.n boat's sinkin'!”

320*

”d.a.m.ned if I know!” Andy jumped overboard into the water.

Kerry found herself being swamped by the waves. She realized that without any gear, she was at the mercy of the sea, and she struggled, taking half a breath before a wave crashed over her head.

Then she started swimming toward where she'd seen the bodies enter the water, taking gasps of air whenever she could. The water was dark around her, and she could hear men screaming as DeSalliers' boat slowly capsized, low booms still coming from the interior.

She heard a splash behind her, and then the surface of the water lit up as the Dixie's searchlight came on. She coughed up a mouthful of water and kept swimming, searching the surface desperately as no sign of the fallen figures showed itself to her. A shudder ran through the water, and Kerry heard a cracking noise nearby. Part of the boat was breaking off, and furnis.h.i.+ngs were falling out through the broken window. She ducked as a chair plunged into the water next to her.

It was raining hard, and Kerry could feel her arms and legs growing heavy as they churned the water, moving her forward a little at a time as her eyes roved over the surface. The waves swamped over her and her head went under, making her swallow a mouthful of seawater. She broke the surface again, coughing.

Another wave swelled, but she ducked under it before it could knock her down. When her eyes opened, the dark roil of the sea was punctured briefly by the Dixie's light, and she saw a figure beneath her, hanging limp in the water.

Kerry's heart stopped. Then a hand gripped her ankle and she surged upward in shock, her head breaking the surface as her lungs inflated and a scream emerged.

Dar broke the surface next to her and grabbed hold of her arm.

”Ker!” She held her other hand up to block the light from the boat.

”Let's get outta here!”

Kerry reached out and touched Dar's face, ignoring everything else.

Dar gave a faint smile. ”C'mon.” She started for the Dixie, fighting through the waves and rain, keeping hold of Kerry with one hand.

Buoyed by Dar's presence, Kerry felt as if the waves now gently cradled her, ushering her toward safety in a world turned right way up and blessed, and full-for her-of G.o.d's grace. Even the thunder sounded like laughter in her ears.

”CAREFUL.” ANDREW MANAGED to get a hand on the dive ladder as the Dixie wallowed in the waves. He got a foot on the bottom rung just as the stern of the boat lifted up out of the water,*321 taking him with it and nearly sending him flying off into the engine wash. ”Jesus.”

Bud was on the other end of the wall, battered face swollen and still bleeding. He leaned over and extended a hand. ”Grab on!”

Andy did so without hesitation, being pulled from the water and rolling up onto the deck as Bud hauled backwards, only to come back up onto his knees and immediately head back to the ladder. ”Dar!”

”Holy s.h.i.+t.” Bud had tied a rope off to the deck railing and now he tossed it into the water, where two heads could be seen appearing and disappearing in the waves. ”I left the Navy 'cause I didn't want to do this s.h.i.+t no more.”

Andrew m.u.f.fled a snort of laughter. ”Tell me 'bout it.” He held on to the side of the boat and anxiously watched his daughters catch hold of the rescue rope. ”Spent more tahm with mah a.s.s in alligators after Ah signed them discharge papers than before.”

”Bud!” Charlie yelled down from the bridge. ”We got waves coming in; we're gonna swamp!” He gave the diesels a little gas, sliding the stern sideways.

”Get them engines in idle!” Andy roared back. ”Hold it! They ain't got no tow!”

Dar now had both hands on the rope, and Kerry had both arms around Dar, relying on the taller woman's strength to pull them toward the boat.

”Help me pull 'em in.” Bud started hauling in the line.

”C'mere, useless! Get your hands on the rope!” he yelled at Bob, who had, to his credit, been anxiously hovering, unsure of what to do.

”I got it!” Bob took hold of the rope and pulled, almost losing his balance as the waves rolled the boat in a half circle. ”s.h.i.+t!”

The stern of the boat rose and fell, slamming the dive ladder into the water, nearly hitting Dar in the head. Stopping her forward progress just in time to miss being struck, she released the rope at the last second, then grabbed the ladder.

”Oh, she ain't never gonna be able to... Jesus!” Andy scrambled for the ladder, lunging half off the back deck as the stern came up again, pulling both women with it. He grabbed for Dar's s.h.i.+rt.

”Le-”

”I got it!” Dar yelled back, her biceps curled into stark muscularity as she held both of them up against the pressure. ”Get out of the way!” she gasped, scrambling to get a foot on the lower rung as the bow rose and the stern plunged back down into the water.

Kerry just hung on as tightly as she could. She considered releasing her grip to grab the ladder, but the thought of falling backwards into the sea alone just... She couldn't.

322*

Dar got both feet on the ladder and waited, feeling the rear start to rise again. ”Get ready, we're coming in!” she screamed, lunging forward as the ladder lifted under them and pitched them almost right into the back of the boat.

Hands grabbed them and held them as Andy slammed back the hatch and hauled on the line. ”Go! Go! Go!” he hollered. ”Git, Charlie!”

The engines roared to full power in an instant, and the boat went from a wallowing helplessness into an almost painful arc.

”Hang on!” Charlie bellowed. ”Going head in!”

Ahead of the boat, a monster wave rose, higher than the bridge as they plowed into it. Andy and Bud both dove for the deck, covering Dar and Kerry with their bodies and wrapping hands, arms, and legs around anything that might possibly hold.

”Holy Mother,” Bud grunted, as the wave crashed over the boat, drenching them in a freight-train carload of cold seawater. He looked up to see the cabin door slamming behind Bob's retreating form. ”p.i.s.s head.”

The back drains swirled, and then they were out of it, and the Dixie was plunging into the next wave, engines howling.

Kerry could feel the motion, but with Dar wrapped around her and the two ex-sailors covering them, she couldn't see anything.

Maybe that was for the best. She pressed her cheek against Dar's shoulder, breathing air full of salt and tasting it on the back of her tongue. Every inch of her hurt on the outside, but on the inside, all she felt was grat.i.tude and a sense of relief as profound as death would have been. Another wave of seawater drenched her and she held her breath as it swirled around her body and Dar's, before it drained out the back openings.

”Ker?”

Her throat hurt too much to talk, so she gave Dar a kiss on the neck to show she was listening.

”You okay?”

Kerry nodded, knowing Dar could feel the motion.

”Uuuggghhhhh!” Dar exhaled raggedly.