Page 14 of Teddy Sinatra: Go Your Own Way
Teddy frowned again. “What?”
“Beneath the boat is as good a plant as above it.”
When he said those words, Teddy’s heart dropped. He understood exactly what he meant.
“Tar-tar,” the man said with a laugh in his voice as he ended the call. But Teddy had already dropped the phone and was running out of that office.
“Teddy, what’s wrong?” Nikki was hurrying behind him. “Teddy what is it?”
But Teddy was running toward the docks yelling as he ran. “Abandon ship!” he was crying out. “Abandon ship!” He was flailing his arms as he ran. He was running as fast as he could. “Abandon ship! Get everybody off! Get everybody off!”
But before he could get that last yell out, an explosion could be heard that knocked Teddy off of his feet and nearly knocked Nikki off of her feet further behind him. And the largest boat in the harbor went up in smoke and fire too.
Teddy fell, but he quickly got back up and looked at the harbor. And not one, not two, but three of his ships had been rocked by the explosion. Two were inflames. The other one had split in two. The bodies that were now floating in the water, those poor souls that were onboard and didn’t stand a chance when the explosion happened, were so numerous it looked like a sea of bodies.
Nikki finally ran up to Teddy. She had so many questions. But the most prevalent questions were the obvious ones: Why were so many men onboard those ships when they were on standby? When they were in a holding pattern? When they had been ordered by her and Teddy to wait?
But when Nikki saw Teddy’s face and that look of guilt and regret in his eyes she knew it was not the time nor place.
Especially when he ran and jumped into the water to see if there was anybody still alive that he could save, even though everybody could see there was no way there could have been survivors. But Teddy was just that devastated.
Nikki was devastated too. And a little pissed with Teddy for making a decision that monumental without consulting her first. But that was the way he rolled lately. He was doing it his way and he didn’t give a damn what she thought. But watching the carnage left her almost numb, and watching Teddy fruitlessly search and search for anybody with a pulse in that water, staggered her too. It was unbelievable.
But as the men that were not on board run away from the consuming fires, and as Nikki jumped into the water to make sure Teddy wasn’t so distraught that he took himself under with all those dead men, she also knew that one order of business could not wait. They had already kept all the craziness from him, hoping shit wouldn’t hit the fan before his return. But the fan had been hit, shit was now flying everywhere, and it could not be put off any longer. He had to know.
And the question would be a straightforward one: Was Teddy going to phone him, or was she?
CHAPTER NINE
“No cheating,” Duke said. “And that goes for you too, Ma.”
“Just blow the whistle boy and stop telling grown folks what to do.” Roz was most anxious of all, given her competitiveness, as she, Mick, and Jackie were at the frontend of the pool waiting to swim to the backend of the pool in a race that was supposed to settle once and for all who was the fastest of them all.
They were at Mick’s vacation home on the French Riviera, a home Roz nor the kids knew he even owned until he flew them there a week ago. Only to find out he’d owned it for decades.
Roz tried to get upset about it, but once she saw the place she couldn’t even front. It was too spectacular to her.
With breathtaking views and with the infinity pool overlooking the French Alps in a view so picturesque that it bordered on incredible, it was spectacular to the twins as well as Duke and Jackie posted over a thousand pics on their widely-followed social media accounts. They had become influencers, an actual lucrative job, although their parents found it ludicrous and made clear, influencers or not, they were going to college. Since their mother had drilled that very fact into them since they were babies, both were looking forward to college, and to the next phase of their lives.
“On your march,” Duke said.
“I don’t know why we’re doing this,” Jackie said with a grin. “Everybody knows Daddy’s going to win.”
“I don’t know that,” Roz said defiantly, “and you don’t either. Just do your best.”
“Get set,” said Duke.
They all had their arms outstretched: ready to swim.
Then Duke blew the whistle and his father, mother, and twin sister were off.
At first it seemed as if Roz was right, as she and Jackie took a decisive early lead. But Duke knew that was just his father’s way. He was lulling them into a false sense of victory, and then he’d shove in the dagger.
And sure enough, midway in the massive, Olympic-size pool, Mick began swimming harder and harder until he easily overtook his wife and daughter and touched the backend of the pool’s wall with seconds to spare. Jackie came in second. Roz brought up the rear.
“He cheated,” Roz proclaimed.
“Cheated my ass,” a jubilant Mick said. “Your old ass just slow!”
