Page 81 of Wreck My Mind

His handsome, lifeless face stared back at me. He didn’t look apologetic—he looked surprised. I wasn’t. The kind of trash we were dealing with sacrificed people. Tossed them away when they’d finished using them.

It was why I couldn’t surrender.

I surfaced again on the opposite side of the tender. The current pulled at me toward the open water between the ship and the island. The slick sides of the speedboat’s hull gave me nothing to hold on to, which meant more treading water, more kicking, more everything. But I was so amped to exact my revenge, I suddenly had energy to spare.

Was this what Coop felt on his missions? Like he was hearing in color and seeing smells? Like he was a fucking super God?

I could hear Coop’s husky voice in my ear. “Doubts are just things in your head, Presh. Wrecks in your mind. They’re not real, they’re not like you and me.”

I glimpsed the lone sentinel. He was young, and not a seafarer. He looked pale and uncomfortable with the rocking, which was strong at the swim deck. He also kept pacing over the ropes, which had been tied off improperly.

I maneuvered quietly into position, and as the man bent over to dry heave through his seasickness, I reached up and cut the taut line holding the tender to the yacht. The bow swung wide with the current. A zing rang out as the loose rope the man had been standing in cinched tight. His legs were swept out from under him and he fell. I surged to cut his throat while he was too stunned to fight or even know he’d drawn his last breath.

Panting, I scrambled up the swim ladder and went straight to the lockers, where I outfitted myself with weapons. I didn’t have time to cherry-pick, so I just grabbed what was handy. Padding barefoot, I made my way up the back steps.

My path to the bow was not a straightforward one. In fact, from sitting in on several after-action meetings, I knew I’d be strongest coming from above. Moving in spurts, I found an internal access ladder and scaled it all the way up past the bridge and the sun and sky decks to the comms platform housing the satellite domes and nav equipment. Belly crawling, I swung the speargun I’d grabbed and aimed it for one of the pirates. Above me the Garmin Fantom radars swung as if all was normal.

After drawing the bands into place, I aimed at the larger of the two men as he leaned over the railing trying to locate me in the water. “I’m not down there, asshole, but I’ll give you a hint where you can find me,” I whispered as I pulled the trigger.

He turned just as the spear sailed through the air and pierced his shoulder. The momentum flipped him over the railing, heels over his head, and down with a splash.

A flurry of gunshots rang out and I rolled behind one of the domes. Come and get me, motherfucker.

I was sitting at a dead end, and there was only one way for him to come. He must not have thought much of me, because he charged right up the stairs and the ladder. I waited until he got to the top before popping out from behind the dome and opened up the fire extinguisher on him. He fell to the deck below with a loud thud, but I turned the Ruger on him and put a couple of rounds in him, just to be sure.

So far so good. Now, to see if there were any crew left on board I could trust. I found Magnussen next. He was tied to the bolted-in table post, bleeding from his forehead. I ripped the rag stuffed in his mouth out and cut the plastic zip ties from his wrists. “You okay?”

His voice was hoarse. “I might need stitches, but I’ll survive. There’s three of them, I think.”

“Were three. Head down to the tender. I’ll go see if anyone else is okay.”

Chef Anders had a broken leg, but was otherwise okay. He and Cait were bound together. She helped Anders to get to the tender while I searched for Kai. His family had already endured so much with Kilikina losing her arm from the shark bite and her subsequent depression. I scrambled through the ship, finding him in the engine room, unconscious, bruised, but breathing.

I ran back to get help. Magnussen and I were able to carry Kai to the tender. “We’ll get back to Marakata and get him a doctor.”

“No, Princess,” a masculine voice, hoarse with exhaustion, called out. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re my payday now.”

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