Samantha raced up the stairs, frantic to know that Diego was safe.
One of the officers turned around and faced her. “You’d be best off staying downstairs by the patrol cars.”
She hadn’t told the police everything, only that two men were fighting and that there was a danger they might kill each other.
She pushed past him. “I have to see if he’s okay.”
Upstairs, she found only some blood spattered across the floor behind some plastic hanging from the ceiling.
She placed a trembling hand over her mouth. She saw the possibility of a life without Diego in it, and it made her heartsick. She cared deeply about him. She could at least admit that. “Where...do you suppose they are?”
One of the officers looked down a huge square cut in the floor. “This looks like it’ll be an elevator or staircase—maybe they went down this way?”
“Samantha.” A warm voice caressed her ears.
She whirled around. Diego stood before her, his face bloody. There was a look of weariness in his posture and expression, but he was alive. Her heart leaped. She ran toward him.
He wrapped his arms around her. She pressed close to him, affection bursting through her.
“I thought something had happened to you and I—” Her voice broke.
He gazed down at her, eyes filled with adoration. “No, dulce novia, I always make it through. Diego Cruz is a survivor.”
She shook her head and touched his cheek, wiping the blood away. His expression changed. His mouth tightened. “Agent Brown got away.”
“I’m sure they are looking for him,” she said.
Pam and Agent Klark came up the stairs.
Pam spoke first. “Look, you two. You have been through enough today. Let’s get you to that safe house. We’ll take Samantha’s statement there.”
Agent Klark put his hands on his hips. “We don’t want to risk any more interference as long as Agent Brown is at large.”
“We have a car waiting,” added Pam.
They walked down the stairs and out into the sunlight. The two agents sat in the front. Diego opened the back door for Samantha. She caught him glancing around before he went to his side of the car. He was probably still hoping to see Agent Brown, to get him.
He yanked open the opposite door and sat in the seat beside her.
She saw the tightness of his jaw, that look of intense focus on his face.
“They are going to catch him.” She placed her hand over his, hoping to reassure him.
“I want to be the one who catches him,” he said.
Diego was driven by a strong sense of justice. She liked that about him.
Agent Klark spoke without turning around. “The entire Everett police force is looking for him.”
They drove out of town along a winding two-lane road into the forest. Gradually the Sound came back into view. They parked the car close to the pier.
So the safe house was actually a safe boat.
Pam turned to face them. “Not what you expected, right?”
“No,” Samantha said.
“After we get your statement, we’ve got another agent coming to watch over you until Agent Brown is in custody.”
“He said he had ways to get out of the country quickly. Do you suppose he’ll just leave?” That was her hope. Now that the law was breathing down his neck, wouldn’t he want to save himself and not risk getting caught by coming after them?
“If he is as connected, as Diego suggests, all the way up to the number two man in the Northwest, he probably does have a way to leave the country,” Agent Klark said. “But if he was planning to do that, I think he already would have by now.”
“As tenacious as he’s been,” said Pam, “I wonder if he wasn’t told to take you two out before he could leave.”
The thought chilled Samantha to the bone, but it explained why Agent Brown hadn’t immediately used his contacts to leave the country.
The two agents led them to the boat and below deck.
“Diego, you probably want to get some sleep,” said Pam. “There’s a bed in the forward cabin.”
Diego nodded and disappeared. Agent Klark opened his laptop and proceeded to ask Samantha questions about everything that had happened. Though they were told they were safe and her testimony was now on record if something did happen to her, Samantha could not let go of her anxiety. It seemed like years since she’d felt as if she didn’t have to be looking over her shoulder and in fear for her life.
* * *
Diego awoke to the hum of a motor and the sensation that the boat was moving. Alarmed, he bolted upright in the bed and dashed to the main cabin. Samantha was sitting at the table with a sandwich and an open Bible.
She looked serene. The overhead light bathed her in a golden glow. “Is everything all right?” she asked when he came bursting in. She seemed calm enough.
“Why are we leaving the harbor?”
She brushed her hand over a page of the Bible. “The agent they sent to guard us knows how to drive a boat. He said we’d be a lot safer if we were out on open water. That way, no one can sneak up on us.”
“So they didn’t catch Agent Brown?”
Her features altered as though a shadow had fallen across her face. “No, they weren’t able to find him in Everett.”
He sat down beside her.
“Are you hungry? There’s sandwich stuff,” she said.
He touched his stomach. When had he last eaten? “Yeah, starving.”
She rose, opened the refrigerator and pulled out cold cuts and cheese. He leaned so he could have a view of the open Bible. She was reading the Psalms.
“It came with the boat,” she said. She took some bread out of a bag. “My father always said if you’re trying to find a way back into the Bible, the Psalms is a good place to start.”
“Are you trying to find a way back?”
“My home and community weren’t the only things I lost because of Eric.” She set her jaw, and for the first time since he’d known her, he detected rage in her voice. “Eric used to sit in church grinning. Ingratiating himself with everyone. Talking the Jesus talk.”
Her anger revealed the depth of her pain and confusion. “That wasn’t God. That was Eric.” He spoke gently.
She slathered mustard on the bread and assembled the sandwich. She pulled a glass from a cupboard and poured milk in it. “It’s hard to separate the two sometimes.” She set the sandwich in front of him and then took a seat on the other side of the table. “Every time I walk into a church, I think of Eric.”
He pushed the Bible toward her. “I can see how that would be hard. You associate everything connected to church with him.”
“In my head, I know God didn’t cause the pain.”
He placed his palm on his chest. “But it’s a different story in here, right?” He’d been where she was once. When his mother died, he knew he had a choice to make, to follow God or to be consumed by bitterness and, for him, guilt.
Her whole demeanor softened. “Yes, exactly.” She held him in the magnetic pull of her gaze.
The boat creaked and groaned as waves splashed against it and the engine hummed.
“We can go topside after you eat, if you like. Agent Smith said he’d kill the engine and we could just sail. I said I would help him.”
“You know how to sail, do you?”
“Yes.” She cast her gaze down at the table. “I guess there wasn’t much opportunity for sailing where you grew up.” She seemed embarrassed or apologetic.
“It’s all right, Samantha. You and I are more alike than I could see at first.” And he meant that. It made him kind of heartsick to think that when this was all over they might have to part ways. He pushed the Bible toward her again. “I hope you find your way back.”
He ate his sandwich and gulped his milk while she read. This was the one thing they had not had since they’d been on the island, a quiet moment together without fear encroaching on the experience.
The sound of the motor died out and a voice shouted down at them from the deck. “Smooth sailing, if you’re interested.”
“You want to go topside with me? It’s a beautiful night.”
He nodded. He’d slept for a long time if it was night already. They climbed the ladder. A million stars filled the sky.
“Diego, this is Agent Smith.” Samantha indicated the stocky man leaning against the railing.
Diego held out his hand for Agent Smith to shake. His grip was a little weak. Diego couldn’t see the man’s face in the darkness.
“I’ll get that mainsail eased,” said Samantha.
Diego stood beside Agent Smith. “Nice night, huh?” He could see the lights of other boats in the distance. One looked as if it was coming directly toward them.
“Yes,” said Agent Smith. He scooted a little distance away from Diego.
The agent was giving off a strange vibe that didn’t make much sense to Diego. They didn’t even know each other, yet something about Agent Smith seemed almost hostile.
“So are you from the Everett field office? I don’t remember seeing you there.” The other boat continued to come toward them, showing no sign of veering in one direction or the other.
Agent Smith pushed away from the railing. “I’m from the Tacoma office. Low man on the totem pole gets guard duty.”
Diego felt a tightening in his chest. Agents from the Tacoma office had done joint task with the Seattle field office.
Samantha continued to fuss with the sail. She stopped, straightened up and stared out at the approaching boat.
“I just want you to know I have medical bills for my kid to pay.” Agent Smith took another step away from the railing.
“What?” said Diego. Even though he could not process what Agent Smith had told him, he knew they were in danger.
“Why isn’t that boat turning?” Fear saturated Samantha’s voice.
“The drug cartel has deep pockets and Agent Brown has extensive connections.” Agent Smith took another step back.
He could hear the clacking of the other boat’s engine as it drew alongside them. Agent Smith leaped into the water and swam the short distance to the other boat, which had stopped maybe ten feet from them.
Samantha backed away from the sail.
Diego couldn’t see anyone moving above deck on the other boat. What exactly did they have planned?
“Start the engine,” he told Samantha. She scrambled down below deck.
Agent Smith arrived at the other boat and climbed up the ladder. Still no sign of any other people.
The engine of their boat sputtered and died several times. Agent Smith had probably sabotaged it. They had to get off this boat.
He shouted down at Samantha. “Back up here. We need to get out the life raft.”
He reached down for Samantha’s hand and pulled her up. Now he saw someone on the deck of the other boat. The shadows were hard to discern, but it looked as if a man was kneeling, setting something up.
They scrambled to the far side of the boat. Both of them worked to untie the life raft. It splashed as it hit the water. Samantha started down the ladder toward the water.
Diego detected a pop and a hissing sound right before the boat exploded and splintered into a thousand pieces.
* * *
The impact of the bomb jerked Samantha off the ladder. She plunged into the water, losing all sense of direction. She righted herself and swam up toward the surface. As she broke through the water, debris rained down on her. She was at least forty feet from the boat, which swayed to one side. An entire side of the boat was missing. The ocean consumed it by degrees. She treaded water, turning slightly. She couldn’t see Diego or the life raft. The other boat moved forward in the water and then started to turn.
They were searching to make sure she and Diego hadn’t survived. Even though she was already shivering, she plunged back beneath the surface of the water. A piece of wood floated by. She grabbed hold of it, keeping her head just above the surface so she could see and breathe—while hopefully remaining unseen.
A man on the deck of the boat angled a searchlight across the water. When the light illuminated the area around her, she slipped back beneath the water. The boat got so close to her its wake pushed her back in the water. She waited for the light to disappear before resurfacing.
When she came up, the boat was about ten feet from her. She could see Diego clinging to the back of it, holding on to the ropes and resting his feet on a narrow runner.
He saw her and waved her over. She swam toward him. The motor revved as the boat prepared to take off. She stroked through the water faster. Diego reached out for her and pulled her up.
She shivered. “Is this a good idea?”
As the boat gained speed, she could hear men talking. When she looked up, she had a view of a pair of legs.
Diego leaned close. “Agent Brown is on this boat. I’m not letting him get away again.”
While she agreed that Agent Brown needed to be stopped, she’d seen what he was capable of. If they tried to capture him, they might both end up dead.
Feet pounded across the deck. The voices faded. Diego lifted his head to view the deck. “We’re clear. Hide behind that storage bin.” He gestured that she should go up first.
Her arms stretched as she strained to pull herself on deck. Diego pushed her up from below. She crawled to the rectangular storage bin. Diego was right behind her. She peered into the bow of the boat, where the men had gone. Two men, Agent Brown and another man, stood in the warm glow of the bridge talking. There may have been a third man in the shadows.
Diego eased the storage bin open and felt around. He pulled out a blanket and a towel. He offered her the blanket, which she wrapped around her shoulders.
“I don’t see Agent Smith.”
Diego leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Once the explosion cleared, he got back in the water. The Coast Guard was probably alerted about the explosion by other boats who saw it. I suspect that the plan was that Agent Smith will tell them he was thrown clear by the explosion but that we’re dead. Coast Guard will assume it was drug related.”
She could pick up snippets of the conversation. It sounded as if Agent Brown’s plan was to head to Canada. From there, he would probably escape to somewhere he could never be found.
A sense of righteous indignation rose up in her. It wasn’t right that he get off scot-free. She wanted justice as badly as Diego did.
“What do we do?”
“I see three guys. They probably all have guns. We need to take one of them out without alerting the other two and get a gun.”
“So we wait until one of them comes back up on deck alone.”
Diego nodded. “I’m going to move in a little closer and hide.” He cupped his hand on her shoulder. “Be ready.”
Diego crawled along the deck, hiding in the shadows that the high sides of the boat provided. She felt his absence immediately. Having him close always made her feel safer.
The darkness seemed to intensify as the boat sped through the water. One of the men said something about getting some sleep and disappeared. The hours crept by. Her legs cramped, and she repositioned herself.
Diego moved in and out of the shadows. Maybe he was growing impatient, too. She knew they had to wait for the exact right moment or they would both get killed. The only thing they had on their side was the element of surprise. Agent Brown thought they were dead.
The blanket helped cut out some of the evening’s chill, but not all. She stared up at the night sky, stars twinkling above her. The conversation between the two men died out. She lifted her head and looked over the storage bin. The men were both still on the bridge by the wheel but no longer talking.
Waves slapped the side of the boat. They passed another boat headed the other way. Loud party noises and bright lights emanated from the other craft. When the noise was at its zenith, the man who wasn’t Agent Brown turned and moved out onto the deck.
He stepped out only a few feet, probably to see what the party boat was doing. The joyful noises died away and the bright lights got smaller. She turned her attention back to the boat she was on.
The stranger had stepped out on deck, but not too far from the bridge. If they tackled him now, Agent Brown would be alerted. The stranger took a few more steps in their direction. Just a little farther and they could hope to overtake him without getting caught.
Her breathing sounded incredibly loud. Her heart pounded. She had no way to communicate with Diego. She just had to trust that they would both choose the same moment. They had only one chance.
The stranger wandered over to the opposite side of the boat from where Diego was. He leaned against the railing and stared out at the water.
Now, she thought. It has to be now.