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Savannah would have risked her own life, but she couldn’t risk Simon’s. Still clutching Hez’s arm, she rose along with him. Simon glanced uncertainly at Hez before he stood and slipped his hand into Hez’s. “Let the boy go, Beckett. We’ll come with you.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. Remember, you brought this on yourself. If you’d just left it alone like I told you, this wouldn’t have had to happen.”
* * *
Hez needed to buy time. If he didn’t, they were all dead. And he needed to get that gun pointed away from Simon. “Hey, Beckett!”
Beckett glanced toward him and the gun muzzle moved just enough. Hez stepped to the side and hurled his laptop at Beckett’s head like a Frisbee.
Beckett ducked and the laptop sailed over his head and dug itself into the sand ten yards behind him. He smiled, but it wasn’t the nice kind. “Nice try.” He turned to his masked henchman. “Go get that. It’s got evidence against us.”
Beckett aimed his gun toward Hez as the henchman dutifully loped after the laptop. Savannah launched herself at Beckett, slamming into him before he could point the gun at her. A split second later, Simon and Hez were both on Beckett too. He gave a hoarse shout and fell backward under their combined assault. The gun went off.
Hez put all his weight on Beckett’s right arm, forcing it to the ground. He put a knee on Beckett’s right wrist and punched him hard in the jaw. Beckett went limp and the gun clattered onto the path.
Hez reached for the weapon. Just as his hand touched it, Beckett’s henchman crashed into him. They both went sprawling. The henchman got to his feet before Hez—but Hez had the gun. Still on his knees, he pointed it at the henchman and gasped, “Freeze!”
The man froze, every muscle tensed.
Hez struggled to his feet. “Down! Lie on your stomach, hands behind your head.” The man reluctantly complied, cursing under his breath. Hez turned to Savannah and Simon. They were both on their feet and seemed uninjured. “Are you okay?”
Savannah examined her limbs and took a tentative step. “I—I think so.”
“Me too,” Simon added.
Hez breathed a sigh of relief. Beckett’s wild shot had missed all of them. Thank God. “Good. Call 911 and get someplace safe. I’ll keep an eye on these two until the police arrive.”
Savannah pulled out her phone. “I always have terrible reception here. I’ll be right back. Come on, Simon.”
The two of them headed toward the parking lot while Hez kept his gaze locked on the men on the ground. Beckett groaned and sat up. His eyes came into focus and went wide.
Hez trained the gun on Beckett’s midsection. “Stay where you are.”
Beckett spat blood and glared up at Hez. “You think this is over, don’t you? It’s not. This is much bigger than you could possibly realize.”
“Oh, really? Well, maybe you can get some cooperation credit by explaining it all to the DA’s office. If you’re lucky, they might even agree not to ask for the death penalty.”
Beckett looked past Hez, and his swollen mouth stretched into a lopsided sneer. “Oh, I’m lucky all right. And you’re not.”
Footsteps sounded on the path behind Hez. He started to turn—and caught a glimpse of a large, masked man carrying Savannah’s and Simon’s limp bodies over his shoulders. Before Hez could react, someone clamped a wet rag over his face. A sweet chemical scent filled his nose and lungs, and blackness took him.
* * *
Savannah’s head pounded, and she licked dry lips as she blinked and tried to clear her vision. Why couldn’t she move? The drone of an engine penetrated her fuzzy brain, and she smelled seawater as she rolled over. The vibration of an inboard motor alarmed her, and she struggled up with her hands bound behind her.
The sun was low in the sky, but there was enough light to spot Hez and Simon prone on the boat’s deck beside her. “Hez! Simon!” She pitched her voice in a hoarse whisper. She spotted the rise and fall of Simon’s chest and his color was good so she knew he was alive, but Hez’s pale face frightened her. Was he dead? She couldn’t lose him too. He was positioned where she couldn’t detect if he was breathing. She scooted toward him with her ankles zip-tied. Hez and Simon were also bound.
She leaned down to Hez’s face and felt a puff of air from his lips. “Thank God, thank God.” Her voice trembled, and she blinked back the moisture in her burning eyes. “Hez, wake up.”
He muttered something, and his eyes opened. She stared down into the beautiful blue color that had anchored her for so many years. She brushed her lips across his. “I thought you were dead.”
A crooked smile chased away the pain in his face. “You can’t get rid of me that easy.”
“I don’t want to get rid of you. I love you. I tried to tell myself I didn’t, but it was a lie.”
His gaze widened, and he struggled to sit up. “I wish you’d told me that when I could move my hands.”
Her chuckle ended on a sob. Being tied up aboard a boat meant only one thing. “Me too. I’d rather go overboard with your arms around me.”
