Page 138 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

Cole ran to the beach, dove into the water, and began swimming with fear nipping at his heels. When he reached the ladder, he might have just set an Olympic record, and those guys weren’t carrying a gun they didn’t know how to use. On the swim platform, he hefted the rifle in his hands the way he’d seen Bella do.

Then he yelled, “Why did you take my boat?”

Footsteps sounded inside, running in his direction, and Witt appeared, pistol in hand. When he saw Cole, he skidded to a halt, then nodded and advanced. Cole backed up until his ass hit the capping rail on top of the bulwark.

“How the hell did you get here?” Witt asked.

“I don’t owe you any answers. Put the gun down.”

Cole’s gun was bigger than Witt’s, and he’d seen firsthand the damage it could do. That had to count for something, right?

Witt didn’t seem as worried as Cole had hoped. “You put yours down.”

“Why should I?”

“Because you’re not going to shoot me.”

“You think?”

“I know. You have the safety on.”

What? Cole glanced at the gun, looking for the safety, wherever that might be, and that was all Witt needed to close the gap and press the barrel of Frankie’s pistol to Cole’s left temple. Oh, shit.

Witt looked him in the eye. “You should have stayed on that island where you belonged.”

Somebody cleared their throat, and Witt whipped his head around. But his gun didn’t move.

“My safety isn’t on,” Bella said, and unlike Cole, she looked comfortable holding a weapon.

Witt just sniggered. “You brought your girlfriend with you? Bitch couldn’t hit a target if it was taped to the muzzle.”

“Don’t call her that,” Cole snapped.

Bella’s laugh was a little scary. “Bitch? You think that’s an insult? I take it as a compliment. Does this count as a Mexican standoff? Or do we have to be pointing the guns at each other? I forget.”

“Drop your gun,” Witt ordered. “Drop it, or I’ll shoot him.”

“Easy, easy,” Bella said, but her rifle didn’t move.

“Do I lookuneasy? Drop the damn gun.”

“If I drop it, you’ll shoot us anyway.”

“Not when you can help bring up the treasure. There’s a literal ton of gold down there, did you know that?”

“Huh?”

“Treasure!” The guy sounded crazy. “We’re rich. Well, not you two, but the rest of us. Where’s your dive kit?”

“Scattered on various islands throughout the Caribbean.You thought we’d schlep empty tanks around for three whole days?”

“Doesn’t matter; there’s spare kit in the lockers. Just put the gun on the deck.”

“You promise you won’t shoot us?”

Wait, Bella didn’t believe him, did she? Even if Witt kept them alive long enough to collect the gold, he’d kill them when he had no further use for their services.

“Yeah, I promise.”

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