Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Crouched in the shadows aboard the superyacht, Xander crept forward. He moved fast and low, ready to take out anyone who crossed his path. Passing a large swimming pool illuminated by underwater lights, he skirted around a covered bar and lounge area.
It was far too quiet. Eerily silent. He expected to run into guards, but maybe the Cardenas brothers were so cocky, they believed they were untouchable. If he couldn’t grab someone to find out Essie’s location, he’d have to rely on luck and start searching room to room.
Moving swiftly down a hallway, he began checking rooms. He’d just moved away from a rec room with a pool table when a scream pierced the air.
Essie!
Heart in his throat, Xander took off in the direction of her cry. If they hurt her, it would be the last thing they ever did.
Hurrying down to the end of the hallway, he stopped at the last door and heard a deep voice say something he couldn’t make out followed by his Estrella shouting, “No! Don’t!”
Fear and fury propelled Xander straight to a door.
Locked. With zero hesitation, he kicked to the right of the doorknob and moved into the room as the door flew inward, slamming into the opposite wall.
Lifting his gun, Xander aimed it at Manuel Cardenas who was in the middle of tugging Essie’s jeans down.
“Back. The. Fuck. Up.” Xander clipped out each word. Unflinching, he zeroed in on the two men who were seconds away from death.
But both brothers stayed close to Essie, far too close for Xander to safely pull the trigger. They kept her between them, using her as a shield. Goddammit.
Breathing out slowly, Xander locked eyes with Essie. She gave him an imperceptible nod before stomping down on Joaquín’s foot and elbowing him hard in the chest.
His good girl, his bright star, just saved the day. And he was so damn proud of her.
Joaquín swore and stepped back, inadvertently giving Xander exactly what he wanted—a clear fucking shot. Without missing a beat, Xander pulled the trigger, firing off one perfectly-aimed shot. The bullet hit Joaquín in the head, and he dropped with a somewhat stunned look on his face.
Manuel dove behind the nearest piece of furniture, while Essie ran straight for Xander. He caught her in his arms, then moved his body in front of her. Keeping her shielded. Protected. But his plan to take out Manuel was momentarily abandoned when the last-standing Cardenas brother began shooting.
Shit. Xander wouldn’t risk Essie getting caught in the crossfire. Amidst the pop of gunfire, he fired twice, grabbed her hand, and they ran out of the room. The bedroom suite wasn’t too far from the lower deck where the motorboat waited. If they could just make it to the boat—
Two guards careened around the corner, armed with machine guns.
Before they could even react, Xander shot them both.
“C’mon!” He tugged Essie forward and, as they jumped over the downed narcos, he grabbed one of the machine guns and slung it over his shoulder.
He had no idea how many guards were on board, but all the gunfire would have them closing in fast.
Turning another corner, they raced past the bar and pool. The pounding of boots warned Xander more tangos were coming, but his only goal was getting Essie to safety. Getting her far away from Manuel Cardenas. Sick fuck. He wanted to put a bullet in his head to match his dead brother’s.
Several guards appeared on the opposite side of the yacht.
“Get down!” Xander shoved Essie behind a sofa and began firing.
Bullets whizzed through the night air, and he dropped beside her, handing her his pistol and lifting the machine gun.
“There’s a motorboat tied to the back of the yacht.
Don’t let anyone stop you from getting on it. ”
The gun trembled in her hands. “You’re coming with me,” she stated.
“That’s the plan.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Be ready to move.”
Straightening up, Xander sprayed a sheet of bullets across the deck. The men he didn’t hit dove for cover, but he had no doubt they’d regroup and send their own volley over the minute he moved.
“Xander!” Essie grabbed his arm, and he looked over his shoulder to see a very furious-looking Manuel pointing a gun straight at him.
“Drop it!” Manuel ordered. “Or I’ll sh—”
Xander didn’t wait for him to finish the threat. He opened fire on Manuel, who yelled a curse and dropped behind the bar. Bottles of liquor on shelves shattered, sending a shower of glass and alcohol everywhere.
Popping up, Xander kept his finger on the trigger as he stalked forward, peppering the bar with ammunition. Chunks of wood tore off, flying through the air. Manuel didn’t dare show his face or Xander would’ve pulverized it with bullets.
Suddenly, the machine gun jammed. “Fuck.” Xander spun around and hurried back over to Essie. “Let’s go!”
They raced across the deck, Xander gripping her arm to keep her going while he provided a barrier between her and Manuel. When a guard popped up and tried to attack, Xander swung the jammed machine gun like a bat, smashing it into face. The narco went down hard.
Just a little further.
Keeping Essie in front of him, they bolted down several steps and ran toward the motorboat bobbing on the waves ahead of them.
So close.
A gunshot rang out and Xander’s body jerked forward. He hit the deck like a sack of potatoes. For a stunned moment, he wasn’t sure what happened. But when he touched his side and lifted his bloody fingers, he knew he’d been shot.
And when Essie should’ve been getting on the boat and leaving his dumb ass, she ran back, dropping to her knees beside him.
“Oh, my God!” Her eyes widened, and she grabbed his hand.
He willed himself to get up, knew he had to stand, had to keep moving, but his body refused to cooperate.
You can do this. Get. Up.
Blackness began to creep in at the edges of his vision, growing closer and closer, until all he saw was Essie’s beautiful, very worried face staring down at him.
“Xander! No!”
Her voice faded away and, for a moment, he saw her lips keep moving. He had to inwardly smile because he was willing to bet she was yelling at Manuel. Giving him quite an earful of her fiery side.
You can’t leave her with him.
With one last supreme effort, he tried to force his limbs to work, but a searing burst of pain flared across his side, and darkness pulled him under.
The horror of the situation hit Essie like a sledgehammer.
Manuel had shot Xander, and now the man she loved was bleeding out all over the yacht’s deck.
Without a second thought, she’d dropped the gun and pressed her hands to his side, trying to stop the flow of blood.
Saving Xander’s life was much more important.
Besides, there was no way she could outshoot Manuel and his soldiers.
Fear and fury filled her as she glared up at Manuel.
“Stay away from him!” she raged, absolutely beside herself. Xander wasn’t moving, his eyes remaining closed. He was so still. So unresponsive. Tears slid down her face. It couldn’t end like this. She couldn’t lose him. A sob tore from her throat.
“Now we’ve both lost someone today.” Manuel watched her with narrowed eyes.
“No.” She shook her head hard, refusing to accept it. She lifted Xander’s slack hand, pressing it to her chest, smearing his blood all over her hands and clothes. Pressing her lips to his knuckles. “You can’t die. You can’t leave me.” A sob racked through her body. “I love you, Xander.”
“Get up,” Manuel snapped. When Essie ignored him, he pushed the barrel of his gun against her temple. “Either get up right now, or you’ll join him.”
Forcing herself to move, she lowered his hand and dragged herself up to her feet. Her knees shook, threatening to give out, but she forced herself to push her shoulders back and meet Manuel’s angry gaze.
Xander is still alive. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.
Taking comfort in the fact he was still holding on, Essie prayed his friends would arrive and save the day.
But there was no sound of an approaching boat.
Just Manuel dishing out orders to a couple of his men and screaming for them to turn the boat around.
Then he kicked Xander and snarled, “Throw him overboard!”
“No!” Essie shouted. “He’s still alive!”
“Not for long. The sharks will take care of him.” Manuel grabbed her arm, his fingers digging so hard into her skin, she yelped. “You and I are going back to have a little talk with your brother. I don’t appreciate being lied to and tricked.”
“No,” she cried, trying to break free and help Xander. But Manuel was far too strong and started pulling her away.
Looking back over her shoulder, Essie watched, absolutely horrified, as two guards dragged Xander to the edge of the platform and heaved him over the side of the deck.
With a cry of despair, Essie’s world crumpled, and she wept for the man she loved and who would never hear her say the words.
The moment he hit the cold water, Xander’s eyes flew open. Coughing out a mouthful of briny ocean, he shifted into survival mode as the superyacht left him bobbing in its wake.
His very first thought: he’d been shot. It wasn’t the first time, but the last time it happened, it had only been a graze. This felt… worse.
The island looked so damn far away. There was no way he could swim all the way back to shore. Especially since he was injured. He wasn’t sure of the extent, but the brutal sting of the saltwater hurt like hell, and every movement sent pain sizzling through his side.
His second thought: Sharks! Sonofagoddamnfucker.
He was floating in the open ocean at night, bleeding out, and Essie’s words echoed through his mind. “You should know the water is teeming with hammerheads and bull sharks. They give birth this time of year.”
He’d been in a lot of dangerous, life-threatening situations during his forty-two years, but this was the absolute worst-case scenario.
His biggest nightmare. The one boogeyman with the power to instill sheer panic.
And the knowledge that he was in very deep water brimming with apex predators made him want to vomit.
When he was ten, home alone with Alyssa because Darla had disappeared again, he’d watched Shark Week on television, and it had scared the crap out of him.
Scarred him for life. Certain facts had lodged themselves into his young brain—like how the creatures could detect vibrations in the water from over a mile away.
That ability helped them locate prey even if they couldn’t see or smell it.
An even more fun fact—they could smell blood up to a quarter mile away.
Don’t panic. Keep your shit together.
It wasn’t over yet.
Whatever pain he felt, he locked it away in a mental box. He could deal with it later. First, he had to figure a way out of this current shitstorm.
Calm your ass down. Think. Be logical.
And use the comms unit in your ear.
It was wet, but considering who provided it, he hoped it was water resistant. “Brand,” he called, pressing against the device as he treaded water. “Ward!”
His heart sank when no response came. With a curse, he tried again.
Fucking nothing but the sound of the water sloshing around him and his heart hammering like a drum.
With a frustrated sound, he lay back, allowing his body to float up and down with the waves. Trying to move as little as possible. With his eyes on the sky, he took in the millions of stars twinkling above.
Maybe this was it. The place he was destined to die. Alone in the ocean, left to face his biggest fear. Unable to help the people he cared most about. Again. It was becoming a sick joke.
He’d let Alyssa down. Back in Sinaloa, he’d let Corey and the rest of his team down.
Now, he was letting Essie down. In that moment, the vengeance he’d spent years chasing didn’t seem quite as important as pulling Essie into his arms and telling her he loved her.
He needed to tell her how much he loved her spirit, her bright light and the way she believed in him when no one else did. Including himself.
Despite all he’d done, all he’d been through, he felt like that scared ten-year-old boy again.
“Starlight, starbright…”
His voice came out raspy as he whispered the rhyme, focused on the brightest star he could find. The idea that it might be Alyssa gave him comfort.
“First star I see tonight…”
He knew if she had the power to help him, she would. Even though she was probably so disappointed in the man he’d become. Hell, he couldn’t blame her. No one was more disappointed in him than he was.
“I wish I may, I wish I might… I pray my wish comes true tonight,” he finished.
A shooting star flashed across the sky. Xander smiled softly, and a quiet tranquility settled over him. Maybe he would just sink into the ocean’s depths… go to sleep forever… finally find the peace he so desperately sought.
But that wasn’t his wish. More than anything, his wish was simply for Essie. He wanted her every day. In every way. Needed her warm radiance to continue thawing his iced-over heart. To show him how love was all he truly needed.
Loving her had healed his wounds. Helped him ascend past all the bullshit that had been holding him back. If only he could tell her just how much she meant to him. If only—
A sharp crackle in his ear jolted him upright.
“Hawke, where the hell are you?”
Holy shit, it was Brand!
He hit the comms, his hope reigniting. “Treading water in the middle of the goddamn ocean. Wanna come get me?”
“Say again?”
“I got shot, I’m somewhere in the ocean and—”
His voice abruptly cut off. Something moved through the water nearby. More accurately, sliced through it. Unless his overactive imagination was playing tricks on him, it had looked an awful lot like a shark fin.
“Fuck! I think I just saw a shark.” He squinted at the spot where he swore he’d seen a fin. Moonlight barely illuminated the dark waves around him, and he turned in a full circle, scanning the black surface.
“We’re coming to get you,” Brand assured him. “Give us some direction on your position and hold up your flashlight.”
Xander unclipped the small waterproof flashlight from a loop on his cargo pants, flipped it on and swept it over the area. No sign of the fin.
“I’m about a thousand yards offshore, facing the southern part of the island.”
“Roger,” Brand responded. “Hang tight. We’re about to hijack a boat.”
“Don’t splash around,” Wes advised. “Stay calm.”
Easier said than done.
“Remember, go for the gills and eyes,” Corey added.
“Yeah, sure.” Their advice wasn’t reassuring him whatsoever. “Just hurry up and get the fuck out here. Please.”
Running on adrenaline, he scanned the water again, sending up a second wish.
Please, don’t let me be a shark snack.