CAT NARROWED HER EYES, straining to hear the pirates. Their voices sounded angry, but she couldn’t hear the actual words they spoke—maybe because of how fast her heart thumped inside her chest.
Javi grabbed her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
They ran up the trail until they reached the clearing where they’d built their fire.
Was it only last night that they’d cooked the fresh conch over roaring flames right here in this fire pit?
Javi turned to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Any chance I could talk you into taking the trail back to the lighthouse to wait for me?”
“None,” she said, meeting his gaze. That tiny muscle in his jaw worked.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s move.”
Relieved he didn’t argue, she followed Javi into the mangrove jungle. He didn’t use the trail this time, forcing them to shove branches aside and step carefully over aerial roots.
At least with the tide out, her foot didn’t sink into ankle-deep water. Just gooey muck.
Finally he stopped and motioned for her to sit on a root.
She looked back the way they came. They’d come so far the trail was no longer visible. Hopefully that meant the pirates couldn’t see them.
They were truly in the middle of a tangled wilderness. Would she be able to find her way out of this maze? She shrugged. She could always follow the sound of breaking waves, which were audible far in the distance.
If she survived.
“What now?” she whispered. Surely Javi had a plan. He always had a plan.
But now that the time had come to actually confront men with guns, maybe they should stay out of sight. She’d somehow become a big talker, but she and Javi were unarmed. Why not allow the pirates to take the damn dinghy and leave? It wasn’t her responsibility to stop them.
Although no doubt Javi considered it his duty.
But how did he plan on overpowering two men with guns? It wasn’t possible. Still, nothing about his ideas had seemed remotely feasible to her, yet here they were. Still alive. Still plotting against their enemies.
He removed the knife from the sheath at his waist and held it out to her, hilt-first.
“Take this,” he said.
“Why?” she asked, refusing to touch it.
“To defend yourself,” he hissed.
“What about you?”
“I don’t need it.”
“Don’t give me that ‘my hands are a lethal weapon’ nonsense.”
“Cat—”
“No way, Javi.” She shook her head. “They’d take the knife away and use it on me. I’d rather be shot than stabbed.”
“You’re impossible,” he muttered, handing her the wrench. “At least take this.”
She accepted the tool, noting its heavy weight. If she had to, she could swing it like a bat and do serious damage as she whacked a pirate.
Unless he shot her first.
“I’m impossible?” She snorted. “I’m not the person planning to take out two armed bad guys. You need to explain how we’re going to do that.”
“We are not going to do anything,” Javi said. “Just me.”
She lifted her chin. Let him think what he wants.
“So how are you going to take them down?” she asked.
Eyes narrowed, obviously not trusting her to stay out of the fight, he said, “I’ll work my way back to the dinghy and wait for them to find it.”
“Then why did we hide it?”
“It couldn’t look too easy. While they’re digging out the dinghy, I’ll surprise the thin one from behind, take his weapon and eliminate the second.”
She blinked at his blasé tone. Such confidence. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” he said.
“So the dinghy is more of a distraction to allow you to sneak up on them?”
“That was the idea.”
“You can be that quiet?”
“If I have to.”
“Will you kill him?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
Their gazes collided. Javi didn’t smile.
Was she really having this conversation?
“If I have to,” he said.
She nodded. Trust him, Cat. So far he’s done what he said he could.
“So you do need the knife,” she said.
“It will be easier with a blade, but I didn’t want to leave you without a weapon.”
She raised the wrench. “I have this and no one can cut me with it.”
“I need to get into position,” he said. “They’ll be on the trail soon.”
But he didn’t step away. Staring into her face as if trying to memorize her features, he raised his hand and smoothed one finger down her cheek.
“You know your plan is crazy dangerous,” she said, grabbing his arm. She didn’t want him to go. If he left, would she ever see him again? She shuddered at the idea of letting him take all the risk while she cowered in the mangroves. Would she emerge from her hiding place and stumble upon his dead body? Like the clerk in the convenience store.
After the pirates killed Javi, would they come in search of her? She wanted to tell him to forget the whole idea, to let the bad guys take the dinghy and disappear.
But she couldn’t. Maybe it was the old Cat, maybe the new stranger, but they had to try to stop the men who had taken Spree and her friends.
She swallowed, unable to moisten her too-dry throat. “Promise you’ll be careful,” she croaked.
Javi placed his hands on her shoulders again. “Always.”
She raised on her toes and pressed her lips against his. With a groan, he deepened the kiss, wrapping both arms around her, lifting her off her feet. When he broke away, she sagged against him. Was this goodbye? Forever? She wanted to tell him she loved him, but couldn’t find the words. This was so the wrong time.
He grasped her upper arms and set her away, his dark gaze blazing into hers. And then he was gone.
She watched him slip silently through the mangroves, easing through swinging branches, stepping over elevated roots, certain he was hurrying toward his doom.
Did her brave buccaneer truly expect her to remain safely hidden and wait?
Cat carefully memorized the direction he traveled. The surrounding vegetation all looked similar to her, difficult to locate a landmark. That triple-forked branch would be easy to find again.
She couldn’t get lost.
Because as soon as he was out of sight, she intended to follow the same path. Oh, she understood why he wanted her to remain behind. He was trying to protect her, but he might need her help.
She’d be quiet. As quiet as him. No one would know she was around unless she was needed.
She took a deep breath, which was never a good idea in the middle of a stinky bird rookery. She listened hard for any noise from the pirates. Was that a voice?
Swiveling her neck, she tried to focus on the sound. Yes, an angry human voice, but far away. Still on the beach. And frustrated.
They’d probably just realized their escape boat wasn’t where they thought. They’d search, probably first along the shoreline, but eventually they’d find and take the trail to the fire pit.
The pirates had to pass the dinghy on that route. Would they see it where Javi had hidden it?
Was he in place yet? She needed to circle around and get into position before the pirates found their getaway boat.
Cat rose and stepped over a root, moving the same direction as Javi. Using the wrench to move branches that impeded her progress, she placed each step with utmost care. The muck beneath her feet dampened any sound. She didn’t dare stumble. She couldn’t make any noise.
If she alerted the pirates to her location, she would ruin Javi’s plan. Create a total disaster. Kill them both.
But she couldn’t let him face their enemies alone. She was his backup. He might need her help. She intended to be there for him.
It would help if she knew where “there” was exactly.
She spotted the clearing with the fire pit through the vegetation and kept moving. Good. She was on the right track, even if the journey was painfully slow and tedious. She resisted the urge to hurry. This isn’t the time for impatience. Our lives depend on stealth.
She pushed damp stringy hair out of her face. The pirates weren’t in sight and she couldn’t hear them now. Hopefully, they remained on the beach.
But it wouldn’t be much longer before they started down the trail.
* * *
JAVI TENSED AT the sound of approaching voices.
“Shut up, man. I’m sick of your shit.”
“My shit? I’m not the one who picked this anchorage.”
If he could make out their words, the vultures must be getting close.
Secreted behind a thick mangrove clump, he listened to the men argue as they moved toward him. As he’d guessed, their partnership had hit a few rough spots. Isn’t that just too bad.
Their distrust of each other could work to his advantage.
He’d picked this location because of its cover, an excellent hiding place. He had eyes on the dink, which sat to his left deeper into the mangroves. The pirates would reach its position before his. Mangroves didn’t have thick trunks, but the pirates couldn’t see him from either direction on the trail.
“Nothing has gone the way you promised,” one of the men barked, closer now. “Why did I ever listen to you?”
“Because I’m going to make you rich.”
“Yeah, like I’m going to hold my breath for that.”
“That dinghy was on the beach when we entered the water.”
“Why the hell would they move it inland?”
“They’re hiding it from us.”
Javi smiled. Just keep arguing, guys. The less focus they had on their surroundings, the easier it would be for him to overpower one of them. Surprise was his best weapon. Even so, stabbing a man from behind was a tricky thing. Human ribs protected the internal organs and could deflect a blade. Plus, he needed to use the right amount of force so as not to kill the man, only disable him.
He wished he could see his enemies. They’d remained faceless for too long. But he couldn’t move to take a quick look. He didn’t dare so much as twitch.
As their voices trailed off, his thoughts strayed to Cat. Would she stay safely hidden? Probably not. She’d want to help. Hell, she could be somewhere close by watching him.
He’d never met a woman quite like her.
He cursed inwardly when he realized where his mind had wandered. Big mistake. Lack of focus could defeat him as easily as it would the approaching men.
And because he was mooning over her pretty face, she could wind up dead. That thought sickened him. Focused him.
He wouldn’t let that happen.
“There!”
Javi felt as much as heard the triumphant shout.
“What the hell is it doing there?”
The pirates had found the dinghy.
“I told you the son of a bitch would try to hide it.”
The men slogged their way into the thick mangroves, pushing their way between the trunks. They weren’t happy.
Javi adjusted his grip on the knife.
Focused on the dinghy, he flattened himself and waited for one of the pirates to come into his line of sight. He hoped it was the smaller one.
* * *
WHEN THE LARGER pirate pointed to the camouflaged dinghy and shouted, Cat pressed herself against the tree she hid behind. She held her breath, clutched the wrench with both hands and prayed they wouldn’t see her when they moved off the trail.
What would happen now?
When would Javi attack? It had to be soon.
She’d searched, but hadn’t been able to spot him anywhere. No doubt he was close by, though.
Waiting. Just like her.
She was sick of waiting, nauseated, her pulse pounding in her throat.
Yet at the same time she wanted this moment to last forever.
Then Javi wouldn’t be killed.
Was he that good at hand-to-hand combat that he could use a knife to take down a man with a gun? Yeah, probably. She believed Javi could manage that if he took the first pirate by surprise.
But what about the second man? Presumably, they both had functional guns.
Unless the swim to shore had silenced them. No, the pirates had swum from the boat they’d sunk and their weapons had worked fine afterward.
Her injury was proof of that.
Great. Now all she could think about was how much her arm hurt. And how much worse it would feel if a bullet actually pierced her flesh. Or Javi’s. And he was still recovering from his last gunshot. She pictured the angry scar on his upper thigh and shivered.
Stop it, Cat. Focus on the here and now. That’s the only thing you can control.
She inhaled deeply to calm her racing thoughts, which had likely taken less than a second. It seemed she’d been waiting forever since that shout, as if time had actually frozen.
But no. She heard harsh curses as at least one of the men crashed into the mangroves.
The dark-skinned pirate came into her field of vision, cursed again and tucked his gun in the back of his waistband. She quickly slipped to the other side of her tree. Although she doubted he’d turn and see her. He was too busy complaining—using rough language about her and Javi—as he threw debris away from the dinghy.
“Are you going to help, asshole, or just watch?” the pirate barked.
Cat bit her bottom lip. Where was the other man, the thin one?
Had Javi already attacked and she’d missed the whole thing?
She swallowed. Time no longer moved in slow motion. Seconds raced by. Should she do something? What?
No. She should stay hidden unless Javi needed her.
Then she heard a guttural noise—like a pained moan—and gurgling.
As if someone’s throat had just been slit.
The pirate at the dinghy heard it, too, because he reached for his gun and whirled around.
* * *
JAVI WITHDREW HIS knife from the thin pirate’s back and grabbed the gun in his belt with one swift move. The vulture had made too much noise.
As the wounded man collapsed, Javi raised the weapon, bracing it with both hands.
“Freeze,” he yelled. “FBI.”
“I don’t think so, man.” Also using both arms, the larger pirate aimed his gun at Javi.
Javi cursed. Standoff. A standoff was what almost got him killed in that bank.
“It’s over,” Javi barked, holding his aim steady. “Just give it up.”
The pirate jerked his chin at his partner on the ground. “Is he dead?”
Javi didn’t blink. Didn’t shift his focus away from the swine aiming at him. To do so meant death. For him and for Cat.
“He’ll live,” Javi said.
“Too bad.” The pirate laughed. “I’m in no hurry, man. Are you?”
Before Javi could answer, a projectile whizzed in front of the pirate’s face. His startled gaze jerked away from Javi’s.
Javi fired. He aimed for the upper thigh.
With a scream, grabbing at his leg, the man went to the ground.
Javi watched him fall with grim satisfaction. He knew precisely how much that hurt.
Moving cautiously, gun aimed down, finger off the trigger but close, he approached the groaning man and kicked his weapon away.
“You shot me, man. You shot me.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Javi flicked his gaze to the pirate he’d stabbed. There’d be no trouble out of that one.
Both men needed medical help, but they were still alive. They had a chance. Unlike the dead cop. Or my brother.
He returned his focus to the big man. Still down for the count and mumbling to himself. This one could be a problem.
“Cat,” he shouted. “Where are you? Come on out.”