Love and Let Die (Masters and Mercenaries #5)(122)

Ian sent a slow, infinitely sexy smile her way. “Hey, baby, it’s true. I like to acknowledge great work, and you have the sweetest * in the whole world. It’s totally worth a man’s downfall.”

Why was he so damn calm?

He obviously had a plan and it didn’t involve giving Eli Nelson everything he wanted.

One of the pirates, a large man with scars covering his face, leaned in, speaking in broken English about some boat being sighted.

Nelson frowned. “We’ll be faster than the f*cking Coast Guard. What the hell did I hire you for if you can’t handle a couple of Coast Guard boats? Get my boat ready. We leave in a few minutes.”

The pirate jogged off, ducking down the stairs.

Only five guns now. What was Ian planning? And how was she going to get that remote device off Nelson?

She glanced down at the water. It was fairly calm. She knew roughly where they had placed the bomb.

If she couldn’t get the remote, maybe she could get the damn bomb. Maybe she could turn it all around. How far was it to the water? She just had to get out the side door and over the railing, but she would have to jump out or she would hit the larger main deck instead of the water. She didn’t need a couple of broken legs.

Nelson pointed his own gun Ian’s way. “Give me the laptop.”

Ian didn’t move. “Give me my girl.”

Nelson grabbed her arm, hauling her to his side. “I’m going to give you your girl the same way I did before if you don’t hand me that laptop.”

“It’s useless without the password. The system has been encrypted to erase the hard drive if you put the wrong password in more than three times. I hope you’re good at guessing, Nelson.” He handed the laptop over to one of the pirates.

“All right. I’ll need the password then. If I have to, I’ll take you with me and I’ll have fun torturing it out of you. Or you could just watch me rape your little whore here. I’ve always had a thing for her.” His hand moved up her torso, nearly to her breast, but she remained still because that gun was oh so close to her brain. “Yes, I think torturing her will be a more effective way to get you to talk. Or maybe I could get two for the price of one. Tell me something, Tag. Where’s that snot-nosed baby brother of yours? I know he’s on the boat. Did you hide him away?”

A smirk lit Ian’s face. “No, I’m distracting you so he can get away.”

There was the sound of an engine gunning and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw something jet out of the yacht’s garage moving at a high speed. She turned and a jet ski was skimming along the surface of the water in a straight line.

“Fuck.” Nelson turned, his attention going to the bow of the boat. “Open fire. Stop that jackass. I want him dead.”

Ian’s hands moved faster than she could track. He bent over and when he came back up, a knife was flying across the room, finding a place in one of the pirates’ neck. The man’s hand was on his gun, and as he fell his finger spasmed, sending a line of bullets into the man beside him.

Both fell, dead, on the floor.

Three left. And very little time. Ian didn’t know about the bomb. He didn’t know that Nelson could still take them all down.

He kicked out as the bullets started to fly.

Charlie brought her elbow forward and then back, catching Nelson in the chest. He groaned and stumbled, giving her just enough time to make it out the side door. Complete chaos rained down on them. From the bridge, the sound of gunfire racked the room.

She glanced back and saw blood staining Ian’s left leg, but he’d gotten a gun and he was moving down the stairs.

Jumping over the railing, she took only a second to judge the distance between her and the water.

Then fire lit her and sent her careening over the edge. At the last minute before she fell, she managed to kick off the railing and gain the momentum she needed. She tried to control the dive, but the pain in her arm was burning.

A bullet. She’d taken a bullet.

She hit the water with a whoosh and the world above went quiet. Light filtered down into the water, a lamp by which to see. Something started to cloud the liquid around her.

Blood. Her blood. How bad was it? It didn’t matter. She gritted her teeth because she had to find that bomb.

Above, the sounds of battle were muffled as though they were so far away, but she knew every moment counted. Nelson and Ian were trying to kill each other. She had to get back on the yacht and help her husband.

She forced herself to move, though her lungs were already burning. She moved from the light into the shadows where the pirate ship touched the yacht. Instinct told her to move away. The boats were so close together they formed a tight little space. Too tight. But she had to force herself to stay calm.

Surfacing, the sounds of battle rushed back to her, but she had to take the chance that Ian was keeping Nelson occupied. In between the two boats, they might not even see her. She was tiny compared to the two boats that bobbed around her.

Her arm ached and bled, but it looked like a through and through. The white surface of the yacht’s hull was in front of her, the only thing marring it a large cake of C-4 that had been attached by one of Nelson’s hired goons.

She forced herself to swim between the boats. So tight. The space seemed too small, but she turned her face upward and breathed in. She could do this.