Page 123 of Knockin' Boats
“I’m Darla, by the way.”
I shook her hand. “Sawyer.”
“Go faster!” someone called.
I flipped them the bird over my shoulder, figuring they weren’t the kind of group to get offended, and they all laughed.
Once we’d gained some distance from the resort I pushed the throttle, speeding up. Behind me, the group cheered.
“Darla, will you warn me if they get up to any hijinks back there?” I asked. “I’ll try to check from time to time, but I need to keep an eye out because the lake gets crazy this time of night.”
She glanced toward the group. “Ronnie, sit your ass down, dude!”
“Buzzkill!” he called.
I cut a quick glance back to see he was retaking his seat.
“Thanks. You’re gonna make this a lot easier for me.”
She smiled. “Well, it’s not selfless. I’d rather get to know you than?—”
“Shit,” I cursed as a DreamBoat cut across our path out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere. They’d just shot out of a finger-shaped inlet. There were several on the lake, and one of the reasons there were a lot of accidents. Aside from drunken recklessness, anyway.
Those fingers created blind spots for boaters. Just like intersections without proper signage, we sometimes didn’t see we were on a collision course until it was too late.
I throttled down so quickly my boat jerked, and there were started exclamations behind me.
The DreamBoat was packed with people—far too many people. Music blared from their speakers, cutting over the horn of another boat. One that hadn’t seen them in time.
I looked to see who was driving, wishing I could warn him somehow. That was when shit went from bad to worse.
Because thedriverwas some frat bro guzzling a beer while he drove. And the DreamBoat operator? He was too busy feeling up a busty woman to realize what was happening.
Darla shrieked beside me as the DreamBoat and a small speedboat collided. The smaller craft went spinning, and someone flew overboard.
There were cries that echoed even over the sound of that blasting music.
“Everyone stay calm,” I called as my group all rushed from their seats to peer into the dark.
“Are they okay? Oh my god.”
“I think I see someone in the water.”
“That boat issinking!”
The DreamBoat was going on its merry way as if it hadn’t just caused a serious accident.
Bile rose up my throat. I made no secret of the fact that I didn’t like the way they operated, butthis?
They weren’t getting away with this shit.
I grabbed the radio and called for water rescue, then handed it to Darla. “Tell them we’re on the Swallow party strip near the Blue Fin inlet, okay?”
I jumped from my seat while Darla conveyed the directions in a shaky voice. I ripped open the seats and pulled out the life ring buoy, then tossed it in the direction of the sinking boat.
Sirens blared in the distance, telling me that our rescue boat was on the way and would probably arrive before the boat submerged.
The man who’d gone overboard grabbed the life ring, clinging to it, but appeared too weak to swim.
