Chapter 10
It was the middle of the night and Ren was still awake.
Halle was nestled against him, sleeping soundly. She’d been shaken by the note, and it had taken her a while to fall asleep. But he’d held her until she settled.
Someone aboard the Atalanta was after the fuel cell. That thought kept reverberating in his head.
He’d vetted every crew member himself when they were first hired, but it was impossible to know if someone had money issues, or some other personal issue that a foreign country or terror group could put pressure on.
If it wasn’t one of the crew, it had to be one of the research team. He frowned. But Vander hadn’t found anything yet. And why would one of the team sabotage their own project. Money? Blackmail?
It did make sense for them to target Halle, so they could use her code to open the fuel cell, and throw suspicion off themselves.
Damn, he hated not knowing.
Tomorrow, they’d dock in Hawaii. Then the UUV would be safely off the ship.
Halle made a noise in her sleep, turning restlessly. He stroked her back and she relaxed again.
Looking after her, being with her, felt so easy. She made him feel so damn much.
He stared up at the darkened ceiling. He hadn’t wanted to feel. He blew out a breath. After he’d left the military, he hadn’t wanted to feel anything.
Being out on the ocean… Hell, it was his way of avoiding people. A way to avoid deeper connections.
God, he’d given Shep a hard time for living up on his Colorado Mountain alone, avoiding people and relationships. Ren tightened his hold on Halle. Meanwhile, Ren had been doing his own version of the same thing.
And when he’d kissed a sweet, beautiful woman on her twentieth birthday, it had ignited so much emotion that he’d run even farther and faster.
Maybe it was time to stop running.
Suddenly, he heard a vibration.
Frowning, he saw his phone glow on the built-in nightstand. Careful not to jostle Halle, he grabbed it.
And saw an alert for the hidden camera.
Fuck. Something had activated it. His heart kicked in his chest, and he swiped the screen.
A shadowed image appeared on the screen. He saw the UUV storage case in the center of the image.
And three silhouettes of big men in wetsuits moving across the deck.
Ren sat up. They’d been boarded.
Halle stirred. “Ren? What’s wrong?” she asked sleepily.
Shouts reverberated on deck. He tensed.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
His blood turned ice cold.
Gunfire.
Halle jerked upright. “Oh, my God, what was that?”
He cupped her face. “That was gunfire. Get dressed. Fast.”
“God.” Her voice was a harsh whisper.
Ren quickly dressed and pulled out his two handguns from the lock box in his closet. He slid them into his waistband.
He had no idea what was happening on deck. He grabbed his waterproof backpack, and shoved some essentials into it. There was a chance he might need to get Halle off the ship.
He turned and saw she was dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt, shorts, and running shoes.
“Stay close. We need to get on deck and see what’s going on.”
She looked scared, but she swallowed and nodded.
He pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
They slipped out of his stateroom and down the corridor, moving quickly to the stairs.
More shouts sounded below, and then someone screamed. He led her down, staying close to the wall.
He almost tripped over a body at the base of the stairs. Damn.
Ren saw the Atalanta shirt and shifted to see the man’s face.
Fuck. It was his man, Jack. He had a bullet hole in his forehead.
“Oh, no,” Halle breathed. Her hand clenched on his arm.
Ren’s jaw throbbed. He forced his churning emotions down. He had to get Halle safe, then he could find justice for Jack.
He tugged her down the deck, keeping her behind him.
And came face-to-face with a man in a black wetsuit and mask.
Ren let instinct take over. He attacked—hard and fast. He landed a hard kick to the man’s midsection, and followed through with several punches. The man grunted.
Ren had to protect Halle. He launched into another flurry of blows.
Wetsuit guy pulled a knife. He swung at Ren, but Ren ducked, and rammed the man into the wall. He gripped the man’s arm, turning the blade back to face the attacker. They strained, their muscles burning as the battle turned into one of pure strength.
And determination.
Ren had too much to fight for.
The man grunted, but Ren shoved, and the knife bit into the man’s chest.
“You picked the wrong ship to attack,” Ren muttered.
The knife slid between the man’s ribs. He made a gurgling sound, then sagged.
Ren stepped back, chest heaving. The man slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood. Halle stood nearby, wide-eyed.
Shit, she’d just watched him kill a man.
Again, he locked his emotions down. “Come on.” He held out his hand.
She didn’t hesitate to take it. That was something, at least. They hurried toward the stern of the ship, staying close to the hulks of the submersibles. He knew there were other intruders in wetsuits aboard the ship.
He heard shouts and pulled Halle to a stop. Hunched under the Atalanta’s largest submersible, he peered around. His teeth clicked together.
Some of the crew had been rounded up. They were on their knees, hands behind their heads, with several armed, black-clad intruders guarding them.
“They’re after the fuel cell,” Halle whispered.
“Yeah.”
“Ren, we can’t let them take it.”
The soldier in Ren warred with the man in him. The man wanted to protect Halle and get her far away from danger. The soldier wanted to protect the fuel cell.
He released a heavy breath. “Come on.” He pulled her around the back of the submersible. He was careful to stick to the shadows. When they reached the very back of the ship, he spotted another man in a wetsuit, searching all the boxes.
They didn’t know where the UUV was. Hell, they’d walked right past it when they’d boarded.
“Stay here.”
She nodded.
Ren crept up silently. In Ghost Ops, it was what they’d been best at. Sneaking deep into enemy territory, moving through the shadows, with no one knowing they were just inches away.
They’d been ghosts.
The man in the wetsuit didn’t hear him coming.
He attacked the man from behind, sliding an arm over his neck. Ren yanked him back hard, cutting off his air.
The man was tough, he jerked his body, feet hammering the deck. Fuck, Ren hoped no one heard him. He tugged harder. The asshole managed to ram an elbow back into Ren’s ribs. He grunted and ignored the pain.
The man tried to pull out his handgun, but it fell to the deck with a clatter.
Suddenly, the guy whirled violently and broke Ren’s hold. He shoved Ren hard, knocking him down. He leaped on top of Ren, his weight hitting Ren’s chest. The man’s gloved hands closed over his throat.
“Stop.”
They both looked up. Halle stood there, with the man’s dropped gun in her hands. She had it aimed right at his chest. And from the way she held it, it was clear she knew how to use it.
The attacker froze. Ren lunged up, jabbing a fist to the man’s chest.
The guy stumbled. Ren hit him again, knocking him off balance. Then Ren lowered his shoulder and ran forward. He hit the guy hard, forcing him into the metal railing. The man cursed, but Ren kept up the pressure.
The intruder tipped over the railing and into the ocean.
“God,” Halle said shakily.
Ren spun to the UUV. It was still resting in its storage container. He quickly clipped the crane hook to it. Then he activated the crane, lifting the drone into the water.
He heard shouts. He knew they’d hear the crane.
He glanced out at the horizon, noting the first glimmer of sunrise. They needed to get out of there. The drone hit the water with a splash.
“Ren?” Halle said. “What are you doing?”
“We need to leave.” He pulled her down to the lowest part of the back deck. He flicked open a box and pulled out two wetsuits. He shoved one at her.
“But what about everyone else on the ship? We can’t leave them.”
“We can’t help them against a team of armed intruders.” With expert moves, he kicked off his shoes and pulled the wetsuit over his shorts and T-shirt. Halle did the same.
He shoved their shoes in his backpack and pulled her to the ship’s edge. Waves slapped against the side of the vessel.
“Where are we going to go?” she asked.
“For a swim.”
“Oh, God. We aren’t near Hawaii yet. I can’t swim that far.”
“I can. And we’ll have some help. We’re going to take the UUV.”
Voices were getting closer.
“Halle, I need you to get into the water and override the drone controls so we can control it manually. And you need to do it fast, before they see us.”
She pressed a hand to her head, swallowed, then lifted her chin. “Okay.”
He took her hand. “We jump together. Ready?”
“Not really.”
“Go.”
They dropped into the water. It was dark and the cold slapped him in the face. He heard Halle gasp.
He urged her toward the drone, and she gripped the fin. Ren circled his legs to tread water. She leaned over the UUV, tapping in the security code on the control panel. Water splashed into her face, but she stayed focused.
“There. I’ve switched it to manual controls.”
“Hold on to the drone fin,” he said. “As tightly as you can.”
She gripped it and nodded.
Ren did too, pressing his body up against hers.
Then he reached over and activated the controls.
The drone zoomed forward, and he tightened his grip. As they sped away from the ship, he heard shouts and more gunfire.
He thought of his men on the ship, Captain Shroff, the research team. He closed his eyes.
A part of him hated abandoning them.
He opened his eyes. The best way to help them was to get to land, and get help.
Oh, God.
Halle was terrified.
They were in the middle of the ocean at night.
She clung to the UUV as it pulled them through the water. Ren’s body was pressed against hers.
Ren was with her.
That helped calm some of her fear.
She glanced back. She could see the lights of the Atalanta, and the shadows of people moving around on the deck.
The crew and her colleagues were being held hostage.
God. This couldn’t be happening. “Ren…”
“It’s okay, baby. I know we’ve got a long way to go, but we’ll get to shore.”
“Oahu?”
“No. The best I can tell, the closest island will be Molokai.”
“Right.” She felt a little shaky, and the water was cold.
“Just take a few deep breaths and stay calm.”
Easier said than done, but she trusted Ren.
All of a sudden, she heard shouts coming from the ship behind them.
“Shit,” Ren muttered.
“What?” Her pulse skittered.
“I think they’re looking for us.”
The sound of a motor revving caught her attention. She glanced back over her shoulder, and spotted a shadow detaching itself from the back of the ship. Oh, no. It was one of the zodiacs she’d seen stowed on the Atalanta.
From what she could see, there were several men inside it.
It was zooming away from the Atalanta.
“Fuck.” Ren touched the drone controls and the UUV stopped.
“What are you doing?”
“They’re searching for us. I don’t want them to detect us.”
A flashlight beam appeared on the zodiac, sweeping across the water.
“Stay still and be quiet,” Ren said. “Duck down as low as you can.”
She dropped down in the water until only her eyes were visible over the top. There was a gentle swell, and they bobbed up and down with it.
Her fingers were so cold. Ren tightened his hold on her.
The zodiac was moving in a search pattern. A few minutes later, it came in their direction. She gripped Ren’s arm. She could hear people talking.
“Is that Mandarin, or Cantonese?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said grimly.
The searchlight passed by, just a few feet away from them. She bit her lip. Her heart was beating so hard she was certain it would give them away.
The boat made some more zigzag movements, then finally turned away from them.
Halle blew out a ragged breath.
“Good job.” Ren pressed a kiss to her head.
He sounded so calm. She realized this had to be the kind of dangerous situation he’d been in before.
He started the UUV again, and all she could hear was the near-silent hum of its engine.
“We’re going to get to shore. I’ll get you safe.” He ruffled a hand through her hair, and his voice was as solid as a rock. “I promise you, Halle.”
She dragged in a deep breath. “And we have to keep the fuel cell safe.”
“We will.”
She looked back at the ship. “I hope the others are all right.”
“The best way to help them is to get to land and alert the authorities.”
She nodded.
“Good girl.” He hugged her. “So damn brave.”
“I don’t feel brave.”
“You’re holding up just fine. Now, hang on tight.”
He touched the controls, and the UUV set off again.
All Halle could do was hold on, the occasional small wave splashing in her face. Grimly, she bit her lip, determined not to complain.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but as she stared ahead, pinpricks of light appeared in the distance. She blinked.
Wait, was that an island?
God, it still looked so far away. But you’re not alone, Halle. She took another deep breath.
She and Ren could make it. And she wasn’t going to do anything that would slow him down, or add to what he had to deal with. She was going to help him, not hinder him.
She wanted to keep him safe, too.