Page 98 of Diagnosis Attraction

Elizabeth followed his thoughts, and they both ran for the dock.

Behind them, he could hear running feet. When a bullet whizzed past them, he whirled and returned fire, making the attackers duck back into the underbrush.

That gave them a little time, but he knew he and Elizabeth would be sitting ducks when they went out onto the dock.

He slowed, trying to decide.

I’m going first.

That didn’t work out so well last time.

What’s your suggestion?

We go into the water on the other side of the dock and climb into one of the boats.

Risky. But maybe it'sour only option. You go in. I’ll hold them off.

When they reached the dock, they both ducked to the other side. He took up a position at the end near the shore, ready to stop the bad guys from coming closer. Elizabeth went into the water, swimming along the side of the pier where she was sheltered from the men who were coming cautiously through the trees.

From behind the cover of the dock, Matt got off a couple of shots at the pursuers, making them think twice about coming closer. But the standoff couldn’t last forever. There were still two bad guys left, and Matt had only the ammunition in one weapon. Stupid. He should have grabbed the other gun, too.

Not stupid. You were preoccupied,Elizabeth answered in his mind.

As he kept part of his focus on the men, he also followed her progress. She made it to one of the crafts, a speedboat with an inboard motor.

This one?

He answered in the affirmative, wishing he knew more about boats. But they had to get out of a bad situation, and the vessel seemed to be their best alternative.

Can you get in?

I hope so.

It had seemed like a good idea then, but making it from the water into the boat was easier said than done. As she tried to heave herself over the side, he waited with his breath shallow in his lungs, wishing he could swim over and boost her up. But he had to stay where he was, holding off the pursuers.

Elizabeth struggled to pull herself inside, but it was clear that the side of the craft was too high for her to scramble over from herposition in the water. Her only alternative was to set the boat rocking from side to side. When it was almost dipping into the water, she finally flopped over the gunwale onto the bench seats, banging her hip and shoulder as she came down.

Wet and dripping, she lay there momentarily, struggling to pull her thoughts together.

Now what?

You have to start it.

She began searching around, looking for a key. It wasn’t under the dashboard, and it wasn’t in any of the compartments around the craft.

You’ll have to zap it. Like I zapped the door lock in the basement of The Mansion.

This is a little different.

She made a low sound but began studying the controls, and Matt directed her to the starter.

She focused on it, giving it a mental jolt, then another. Nothing happened, and she thought they might have to abandon the craft and go to plan B—which was swimming across the bayou and disappearing into the swamp beyond—if they could make it across without getting shot or running into some dangerous wildlife.

When she was about to give up hope of starting the boat, the engine coughed, then sprang to life.

Good work.

To keep the thugs from rushing the pier, Matt got off a couple more shots. Then the gun clicked, and he knew he was out of bullets. Abandoning his position at the side of the dock, he leaped up on the boards. As soon as he ran up to the boat, thebad guys started shooting. He ducked low, and he heard a gasp behind him. In his mind’s eye, he saw what was happening. Elizabeth had turned and was hurling bolts of power at the men, pushing them back from the pier to get them out of range, giving him time to untie the boat from the mooring and leap inside.

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