Page 14 of Raven's Nest
Kash glanced at Zain, grunting when Zain nodded, then hopped over the side. He started down, guiding Atticus when Chase helped the older man onto the top rung. They moved relatively quickly under the circumstances, boarding Foster’s boat in a minute flat.
Saylor placed her hands and feet on the outside of the ladder and slid down the metal rungs then onto her boat in all of two seconds. Had the engines engaged and a life vest strapped around her torso by the time Zain climbed down. She held firm as Foster took off before tossing Zain a vest then surging ahead, giving Foster enough time to gain some distance.
The engines hummed as she hit the throttle and took off, water spraying out the sides, the bow tipping up before quickly planing out. She banked over, paralleling the listing salvage ship until she shot out from behind the bow — cutting in front of the pirate boat then cranking the wheel over and heading northeast.
Their time below deck had eaten away the last of the good weather, that storm front he’d been concerned about kicking up the wind and the waves. Rolling swells now covered the surface, an advancing layer of fog and rain only minutes away from catching them.
Saylor wove across the water, curling in behind a few larger swells, then popping back out. Practically dancing the Zodiac along the surface. The pirates ignored them, gaining on Foster as they followed after him.
Zain readied his rifle, sticking close enough he could tackle her to the deck or shove her out of the way if things turned ugly. Based on the number of weapons — the body armor and bandanas hiding all but their eyes — things would definitely turn ugly.
He shook his head. “I’m betting this isn’t their first raid. They know we’re running shotgun, and they just don’t care.”
Saylor grinned. “Then, it’s time we got their attention.” She arched a brow. “Assuming you trust me.”
Zain waited for the usual tightening of his gut. The itching sensation between his shoulder blades that nagged at him whenever he partnered with someone other than his teammates — men he considered his brothers. A byproduct of that mission. His failure.
Instead, everything clicked into place.
He closed the distance and looked into her killer blue eyes. “What have you got in mind?”
“I thought we’d go old school with a game of chicken.”
“They’ve got machine guns.”
“And I’ve got you.” She leaned in. “Well, soldier?”
“Game on.”
CHAPTER FOUR
If Mackenzie had told Saylor she’d one day be relieved to have pirates interrupt a vessel search, she’d have told Mac she was crazy. Yet, Saylor couldn’t deny the sense of relief she’d felt when that shot had echoed through the ship, and Zain had ushered them all topside.
Even now, flying over the water, waiting for the first shots to cross her bow, the sense of dread she’d experienced seeing that dead body had lifted. Faded away along with a chunk of her sanity.
It couldn’t be what she’d thought —whoshe’d thought. A ghost from a past that still haunted her, even if she barely remembered any details. She’d survived. They’d died, and nothing would ever change that.
Zain checked his rifle, then settled in beside her, the stock snugged against his shoulder as he focused on the boat off their starboard side. She’d assumed he’d take a position at the stern, though, sitting beside her made sense. She knew the added few feet wouldn’t affect hisaccuracy, and this way, he could shove her out of the way if he thought a stray bullet had her name on it.
While they hadn’t taken their relationship as far as she’d hoped over the past few months, that didn’t alter the fact she knew him. Had seen him in action. If there was one unshakeable truth about Zain Everett, it was that he needed to protect everyone around him. A trait she found both endearing and annoying, which was why she’d allowed him to take point below deck. The way it had eased all those voices in her head hadn’t factored in.
Saylor shook away the thoughts, aiming the bow directly at the other vessel. What would split the damn thing in two if she held her course. One of them would yield, she just vowed it wouldn’t be her.
The guy piloting the boat finally noticed their approach, glancing over at them as if he hadn’t expected her to challenge him head-on. He waved his arms, then a couple of the men focused on her Zodiac, readying the gun on the port side.
Zain held firm, barrel aimed their way, but he didn’t fire. Which made sense. If the pirates fired first, Zain’s retaliation became a matter of self-defense instead of an attack giving him the legal high ground.
Saylor increased the throttle, leaping ahead as they neared the other boat. A few shots whizzed past the Zodiac’s bow, one punching a hole in the windshield. Zain didn’t wait for further motivation, simply exhaled, then fired. He hit the guy manning the machine gun square in the shoulder, knocking him back onto his buddies.
The captain peeled off, banking the vessel hard tostarboard — gaining some distance. More rounds pelted her vessel as the pirates regrouped before circling behind them.
Saylor smiled, glancing over at Zain. “Looks like we’ve got their attention, now.”
He scoffed, giving her a quick side-eye before staring down his sight, again. “Maybe a bit too much. Your windshield’s already got a hole in it, and that last round got closer to your shoulder than I’d like.”
He’d noticed how close the bullet had gotten to her shoulder? Because she hadn’t.
“I can fix a windshield. Them catching Foster’s boat…” She couldn’t stomach more loss. Not with the amount of blood on her hands from that doomed Coast Guard mission. The fragmented memories that still lingered in her mind from seeing that face on the ship.
