Page 87 of Guarding Bristol

She shuddered and curled up tighter, struggling not to cry as she thought of TJ probably floating lifeless just out of view.Waves smashed into the boat, spraying her and threatening to tear her numb fingers from the railing.Then, over the gusts of wind, she heard a new sound.A rhythmic thumping.

She looked up, shielded her eyes with her hand as she searched the heavy gray clouds.The noise grew louder, then suddenly the silhouette of a helicopter appeared off in the distance.She shot to her feet, stumbled back toward the cabin.Smoke was still thick in the air, but not quite as bad as before.She hurried inside, started rummaging through compartments.

There!A flare gun.

She hurried back to her spot near the bow, sat down to mitigate the chance of toppling overboard, and tried to figure out how to fire it.There was a row of plastic cartridges on top that looked a bit like Nerf gun ammo.She took one of them, shoved it into the open barrel and closed it.

“Now what,” she muttered, frantically studying the thing.When nothing came to her, she raised it toward the sky and just pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

“Dammit,” she whispered, examining it more closely.Did it have a safety switch on it maybe?

There was a button on the side.She pressed it once, raised the barrel to the sky and pulled the trigger.

Still nothing.

“Comeon,” she shouted, beyond frustrated and on the verge of giving into the tears that were right beneath the surface.She could hear the helicopter but didn’t know if it could see her yet.

Raising the gun one last time, she held the button down and pulled the trigger at the same time.There was a whooshing sound.A flare shot out of the barrel, bright red, like a burst of fire against the angry gray clouds.It shot up into the air, ran out of steam and then began to fade as it fell.

She watched the helicopter, praying it had seen her by now.But her heart sank as she realized it was heading to the left and behind her, heading somewhere between her boat and the marina.

Chapter Thirty-Three

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TJ sucked in a gulpof air an instant before another wave crashed over him.It took him under, tumbled him around like he was in a spin cycle.Just when he was sure he was dead, it shot him upward, almost spat him out on the surface.

He heaved in another breath, his heart slamming out of control, blinded by the stinging rain and wind raging across the top of the water.He couldn’t feel his hands or feet.His limbs were numb, heavy as lead as he dragged them through the water.

He spotted something on the crest of a wave nearby.Realized there was a body floating in it.

Nico.

He turned around, forced his exhausted muscles to propel him through the raging water.A wave picked him up, carried him closer and dumped him down the far side.

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