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“A few times with Beth and her brothers,” she chuckled, “but it was in July, not October. Keys, please.” She held out her hand.
“I’m assuming you know how to drive a boat?” he asked, dropping the keys in her hand.
She grinned wryly. “I don’t, but when I get inside, I’ll pull the instructions manual out of the console.” And with that, she slipped into the water and disappeared.
Surely, she’s kidding.
Bash briefly glanced at the still brightly lit house. The man who had been on his cell phone was no longer visible. He checked his watch. Time seemed to drag. It had been eight minutes since Morgan entered the water, but it felt like hours. He nervously paced back and forth, praying the water was too cold for water moccasins. The muffled sound of a motor whining drew his attention back to the boathouse. Unless the intruders were standing on the outside deck, he doubted it could be heard from the house. The noise had to be the motorized door opener.
A couple of minutes later, he made out the outline of a boat, much larger than he had expected, silently gliding backwards out of the boathouse. Morgan’s silhouette, crawling across the bow toward the cockpit, was barely visible. Tightening his grip on their bags, Bash made a break for the pier.
The boathouse spotlights provided just enough light for him to see the boat drift to the middle of the cove. Morgan sat at the helm, waving at him.
“Bash,” her voice carried softly across the water.
“Yeah. I’m on the pier,” he called, wincing as their voices magnified.
“This sucker isn’t a boat, Bash. It’s a yacht. They are going to hear it the minute I fire up the engine.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“It’s got a high deck. Be careful.”
“Got it.”
Seconds later, he heard the thunder of the engines roar to life, and the running lights appeared. She was correct. It was huge. He watched her maneuver the boat his way. Hopefully, the pier extended out far enough that she wouldn’t scrap the bottom.
“Stop!” he heard someone scream. When he glanced toward the house, he saw the two men running across the deck toward the stairs.
“Get ready,” Morgan yelled.
He focused his attention back to the boat, the bow just beginning to pass the end of the pier. As Morgan warned, it sat high in the water. The height and the railing on the foredeck made it impossible to leap on, especially with the three bags he was carrying. He waited until the bow had passed, then leaped onto the double rear seat at the stern, grabbing the overhead bikini cover to keep from falling in the water. He padded all his important parts to make sure everything was still in tack, counted three bags still hanging on his shoulder, and made his way to the cockpit.
“You good?” Morgan asked.
“Just peachy, Chip. Get us the fuck out of here!”
“I’m the captain of this vessel, Matie. Sit your patootie down! And don’t call me ‘Chip!’”
He launched in the seat. “Right now, you’re my hero, so I’ll call you whatever the hell you want.”
She maneuvered the boat toward the middle of the inlet and headed out of the cove. There was nothing she could do about speed until they cleared the warning buoys.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Gunfire erupted, echoing through the night.
“Turkey feathers! They’re shooting at us,” she cried. Without warning, she gunned the engine, throwing him back against the seat.
“Who taught you to pilot a boat?” he shouted.
“Pops!”
Figures.
Chapter Nine
“You have got to be freezing!” Bash shouted in Morgan’s ear over the roar of the engines. They had reached open water and could no longer hear gunfire.
She glanced down at her almost naked goosebump-covered body and sighed. In her rush to get out of firing range, she totally forgot she was in her bra and panties, and not attractive ones either. Bash’s comment brought her back to reality. Mere moments before, she was feeling the thrill of escape. A rush of adrenaline she hadn’t felt since her teenage years sneaking boats and beer with Beth. Pops had prepared her for the worst, but Beth pushed her out of her rule-abiding comfort zone. As scary as it was taking the boat from underneath the noses of the goony guys, she had found it exhilarating. But the second Bash reminded her that she was almost naked, her teeth began to chatter, and her body shivered uncontrollably.
