Page 14 of Riptide

The intruder turned toward her. As his gun came into view, she acted on instinct, and fired at him. With a clean shot to his chest, he stumbled backward, a thud sounding as his body crashed into the bookshelf and rolled onto the floor. Face down, his body fell limp, his gun sliding onto the carpet beside him.

A myriad of emotions spilt through her. Relief. Guilt. Anger. It wasn’t the first time she’d killed, and she suspected it wouldn’t be the last, but it never got easier to take a life. She cleared her head, shoving emotions to the back of her mind.

Her focus shifted to Seth, who clutched at his gut. With a grunt, he reached for the gun and shoved to his feet.

“Seth, where is my broth—” Kaimana froze as the cold barrel of a pistol butted the back of her head.

Without warning a deafening blast filled the room. As a bullet grazed by her ear, striking her assailant, a loud thud sounded below her.

“Jesus Christ!” She glanced to her attacker, who lay dead on the floor, a single bullet in his forehead. Kaimana covered her eyes with her hands, her blood pumping fast through her veins. “Oh my God.”

“It’s okay.” Seth rushed toward her.

Adrenaline thrumming through her veins, she wrapped her arms around him still holding tight to her gun. What the hell was happening? How could they know where she was?

“Seth. Are you okay?” she asked, her voice a hushed whisper. The warmth of his embrace tempted her, and she grew uncomfortable with her response to being in his arms. She pulled away to look at him, breaking their touch, still stunned by the gunfire but more so by his touch. “I…I have to find my brother. Where’s Keanu?”

“I haven’t seen him.”

“We’ve got to find Keanu. He’s not in his room. Follow me,” she told him. “I know this ship inside and out.”

Kaimana traversed the hallway in silence and headed toward the helm. As she entered the room, she caught sight of the dead body on the floor. The Captain. Her focus shifted to her brother who held his palm over his right shoulder, blood blooming through his fingers.

“Keanu! Oh my God. I’m so sorry.” She fell to her knees at her brother’s side and pressed her hand over his. “Seth. Get a towel. They’re in the cabinet.”

Seth swung open the built in storage under the controls. He reached for a stack of towels and tossed one to Kaimana. He rushed to the entrance to the helm and peeked around the corner. “How many did you see, Keanu?”

“Just one. He took out the captain and shot at me on his way out.”

“I should never have asked you to come with me.” She covered his wound with the cloth and applied pressure. “Momma’s gonna kill us both when she sees you.”

“It’s just a scratch,” he told her with a grimace.

“Still, I should never have let you come.”

“There was no way I was letting you do this alone. Besides, I’ve been eatin’ large.” Keanu looked to Seth with a grin. “Yacht life.”

Kaimana sighed. “Where’s the rest of the crew?”

“I was relieving the Cap so he could get in a power nap. I told him I’d take a few hours and he could do the rest of the night. When he came up, some guy in black busted in and shot him dead. I got in a punch, and he shot me and ran off.”

“We’ve got to look for the rest of the crew,” she told Seth and turned back to her brother. “How the hell did they get on board?” she asked, her voice laced in exhaustion, frustration.

“I saw a boat tied to the side,” Seth told her.

“Wait? What were you doing up again?” she asked.

“Couldn’t sleep. Was lying there and heard some commotion above so I went up to check things out.”

“Why didn’t you call for me?” she asked.

“It all happened kind of fast.” Seth shrugged.

“It’s ok, Kai,” her brother told her.

“We’ve got to find the crew.” Kaimana rubbed her eyes, her other hand still clutching the pistol. They’ve tracked me down. “Where is the boat?”

“It’s gone now,” Seth said. “I untied it from the cleat. The engine was off so unless anyone else is on it, it’s a ghost boat now.”