Page 55 of Terminal Voyage

I had a little trepidation about the whole thing. But even in the cavern, I was close enough to the surface to swim out in case of emergency.

It didn’t take long before I settled in and enjoyed myself. We all swam around the cavern, taking in the geology that took eons to produce.

At the end of the dive, Matteo did a head count, then led us out of the cavern, into the cenote. I was the last out of the cavern. We finned across the cenote and surfaced near the platform.

Three men with AK-47s held Silas and Kyle hostage.

So much for security.

I dove underwater as the goons opened fire.

Gunfire echoed off the limestone walls.

Bullets hit the water, losing momentum quickly.

I finned my way to the bottom and swam back into the cavern. My pulse pounded, throbbing my ears.

I wasn't sure what the hell to do. We hadn’t been in the cavern long. I had a decent amount of gas left.

Unable to carry weapons, Silas and Kyle were limited in their response. They'd been easily overtaken.

With my flashlight beam leading the way, I swam into the north passage. It probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world. But I figured it had to lead to another exit, given what Matteo said on the way in.

There was no guideline in this passage.

I only had one tank and two flashlights. Not exactly redundant systems in case of failure. But the alternative wasn't pretty.

Declan and Luciano were billionaires. It didn't take a genius to figure that out by the way they spent money. Maybe these were cartel thugs shaking them down for cash. Maybe when they got what they wanted, they'd let the group go.

I wasn’t holding my breath.

I certainly didn't want to stick around and find out. I needed to get out of the cave and go for help. But it wasn’t like I could call 911 and have the cops show up in a few minutes. We were in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t even know where to tell them we were. Besides, my battery was dead.

I swam through the dark abyss, my flashlight spotting the limestone walls.

It was quite possible I was heading to my doom.

Around the corner, a shaft of sapphire light danced in the water.

I swam toward it, then finned through a narrow passage into another cenote. When I reached the surface, I spit out the regulator and treaded water for a moment as I looked around.

This cenote was empty. Maybe 40 or 50 yards from the thugs.

I swam to shore. This one didn't have a nice deck. No steps led into the water.

I climbed out, slid the tank from my shoulders, and took off my gear.

A steep trail led up to the ridge. Rocks and roots served as steps.

I climbed out and made my ascent toward the top of the ridge.

Out of breath by the time I got there, I couldn't say if it wasfrom the steep slope or the pure terror running through my veins.

I hovered in the underbrush by the main trail, my heart punching my chest.

After scanning the area for threats, I stepped onto the main trail and crept toward the others. I drew closer and hovered at the top of the ridge, taking cover behind a cluster of trees and grass.

The thugs had the group on the deck, all face down except for Declan. On his knees with a rifle to his head, the ringleader held a magazine in front of the billionaire’s face. The one with Declan on the cover.