Page 82 of The Sailor

“Well? Get me the hell out of here!” Pearson demanded belligerently.

Ignoring him, Linc walked over to his brother and squatted down, putting his hand on Marit’s back. “Are you okay, Marit?”

She nodded against Zach but didn’t lift her head.

“Hurt anywhere?”

She nodded. Then shook her head. Then shrugged.

“Okay. Take your time. Get your bearings. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Zach closed his eyes and held Marit even tighter, if that was possible. She was still shaking against him, and he felt a little shaky himself. He’d found her. She was okay. She was alive. That was all that mattered in this moment. Explanations about what had happened could wait. All he needed was to hold her, to feel for himself that she was in one piece.

How long they stayed there on the ground, he had no idea. But eventually, Marit lifted her head. Zach didn’t let go of her, just loosened his grip enough for her to be able to meet his gaze.

“Hi.”

He couldn’t help it. Zach chuckled. “Hi,” he echoed.

He watched as she took a deep breath. Then another. As she gathered her control and centered herself.

“I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me. Well, that’s not exactly true, but he didn’t hurt me enough to keep me from turning the tables on him and giving him a dose of what he’d planned for me.”

“The hole?” Linc asked.

Zach was glad his brother was there, for many reasons, but at the moment, mostly because all he wanted was to jump into that damn hole and kill Lucas fucking Pearson. Now that he was holding Marit, and knew she was alive and well, his anger toward the man who’d dared to touch her, who’d fucking kidnapped her, was overwhelming.

The only thing keeping him from doing exactly what he wanted to do was the woman in his arms. He didn’t want to let go of her long enough to deal with Pearson.

Marit nodded. “He chased me right into the hole when we got here. Then he went back to the shore to get these boards—apparently his plan was to cover the hole so I couldn’t get out and let me die here. But I climbed out while he was gone.” She chuckled slightly. “My slight stature actually worked in my favor for once, and I got away.

“He wasn’t going to just leave though. I knew that. So I led him around the island for a while as he tracked me, then came back up here. Antagonized him until he screwed up, ending up in the very hole he’d dug as my grave.” She glanced toward the hole. “Since he’s so much heavier than me, the dirt didn’t hold up. He couldn’t climb out. But I was too afraid to leave in case he figured a way out at some point . . . and then you guys arrived. What time is it, anyway?”

“Afternoon,” Linc said distractedly.

“Wow, really? It’s been that long since he took me?” Marit asked.

“It’s been a lifetime,” Zach told her quietly.

She turned her attention back to him as Linc wandered over to the edge of the hole.

“You came,” she whispered.

“Of course I did,” Zach said simply. “I knew the second Eliot called to see if you were coming to work today that something was wrong, and I immediately thought about Pearson. When his boat was missing from the dock, something all the lobstermen agreed was strange, since he was usually one of the last to head out each day, we called every resource we could to look for his boat . . . and you.”

“How in the world did you find me? Wait—where are we?”

“We’re miles from Rockville, and it’s a pretty strange story as to how we found you. You know our neighbor? Victor Rogers?”

Marit frowned. “Of course. He can’t stand you guys, and the feeling’s mutual.”

“Well, he has a boat and a ton of knowledge from years of being on the water in this area, and he didn’t hesitate to come looking for you. This was actually one of the last couple of islands he thought to check before we were going to head back to Rockville and regroup.”

“You fucking asshole! Don’t just stand there! Get me out of here! I’ve got rope on my boat. Go get it and throw it down to me.”

“Not happening, Pearson,” Linc said. “I think I’ll wait for the cops and the Coast Guard to get here first.”

“What? No! Fuck you!”