Page 94 of Rugged and Filthy

“Like hell we won’t.” I wasn’t certain my buddies would follow me or if what I was doing was the right thing, but I was finished with playing games with the asshole manipulating all of us.

I raced toward the railing, not hesitating for a second before jumping into the water. The brutal cold and pressure of landing at such a significant distance didn’t break my stride or that of my two risk-eating buddies.

The three of us had no sooner hit the water than we started to swim toward the boat. Maybe something was working in our favor, the asshole’s engine clogged with water. You don’t fuck with Mother Nature. That’s something I’d learned a long time ago.

While the waves continued to toss us backwards, we still made headway, fighting as hard as we could to get to the boat.

Both men kept the light on the fuckers, which allowed me to notice one of them had realized we were headed for them, trying to stand to get a better shot with his weapon.

“Gun!” I shouted, the three of us diving under the water as the man was stupid enough to fire round after round. I sprang up seconds later, frantically searching for Jack and Hudson.

Jack had managed to make it to the side of the boat the fuckers weren’t paying any attention to. As both Hudson and I swam closer, Jack managed to hoist himself onto the boat.

The gunman noticed, spinning around and firing off a shot.

Jack kicked him in the gut. By that point, it was all I could see. I shot up on the other side of the craft, the person trying to start the engine lunging toward me. I managed to throw myself on the boat, but he was fast, issuing several brutal punches to my gut.

I was tossed against the side of the small craft, almost tumbling back into the water. That’s the moment I noticed Rylee was lying on the deck of the boat. And she wasn’t moving.

Anger swept through me unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I took swing after swing, knocking the son of a bitch to the deck.

A third man popped from the shadows, throwing himself in my direction. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jack fighting to get the weapon out of the first guy’s hands. Another shot was fired, the pinging sound hitting far too close.

I used another powerful round of fists under the second guy’s chin just as the third assassin struggled closer, the violent tossing of the boat from side to side getting worse. Instead of joining in the fight, he grabbed Rylee.

While I flung myself at the two of them, it was too late.

Rylee was tossed into the black ocean waters.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Another series of gunfire. A sharp cry.

And Jack pitching a dead man off the side of the boat.

Another hard punch landed on my face, but I pushed back immediately, pitching down on top of the man and smashing his head against one of the consoles three times.

His cold, dead eyes were easy to see in the sweep of light from the men on the rig.

“Rylee!” I bellowed, racing toward the edge, ready to jump in. “Hudson. You have to save her.”

Whether or not he heard me, I couldn’t be certain but seconds later, I was yanked back brutally by the remaining assassin. The wind was knocked out of me as I was pitched against the front of the boat. When the asshole’s weapon flew from his hand, I gasped for air and rushed for it, the two of us landing on it at the same time.

We wrestled, rolling back and forth across the deck, all four of our hands on the weapon. Water lapped over the edge of the boat, making seeing anything impossible. I pitched and rolled, my breathing labored.

And I heard Jack screaming from behind me. “No. No. No!”

Using every ounce of strength I had left, I twisted the weapon around to face the assassin, fighting to get to the trigger. But he was doing the same, laughing as if this was all one big joke.

The fucker didn’t know what I was made of, what I could do.

I laughed in return, managing to slide my finger in the correct position.

Now there nothing to hold me back.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

The blasts were powerful, the bouncing echo in my ears painful, and I felt some form of justice. As the man’s arms fell away, I fought to get to my feet, flinging toward the edge of the boat where she’d been tossed in. As soon as I hit the water, I did everything to breach the surface.

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