Chapter 67
The yacht picked up speed quickly. As it bounced over the swells, Lainie fought her rising fear.
She’d been through every square inch of the closet, and there was nothing she could use for a weapon.
The only thing she had working in her favor was the element of surprise.
They would not be expecting her to be free.
She picked up the rope she’d dropped. When they came to the door, she’d have her hands behind her back like she was still tied up. She hoped they didn’t have the Taser with them. That was something she could not fight against.
She’d barely gotten the ropes back when she heard footsteps. Hands behind her back, leaning back against the closet wall, Lainie waited.
The door opened and Lainie squinted as light assaulted her eyes.
It was the big guy. She didn’t see the Taser in his hands this time, but he had a pistol on his person in a shoulder holster.
He reached in and grabbed her upper arm. She tensed to keep her arms back and not give away her freedom.
“Come on. We’re going up top.” He pulled her out into a narrow hallway. The boat rocked and he fell off-balance but caught himself quickly.
Lainie stayed alert. This was what she needed, him distracted.
She prayed for another pitch as he pulled her into what looked like a galley, with steps that led up top.
If she was going to make a move, it had to be down here, while they were one on one.
There would be less of a chance of success if it was two against one.
She stayed observant, hoping her chance would come.
Her goal was to apply a control hold, a twist lock, the first basic weaponless defense tactic officers learned. If she could land the hold properly, the size and strength difference would be negated, and she could use his tightly muscled strength against him.
They approached the stairs. She pretended to lose her balance, at the same time the boat pitched again and he did stumble.
Lainie braced one knee against the counter, whipped the loose rope from her wrist around his at the same time she grabbed his hand, twisting it back into a twist lock while bracing his elbow into her midsection.
She knew that she would only have one chance, and she nailed it. She had him.
“Ahh.” He rose on his tiptoes and tried to break the hold, but Lainie increased the pressure on his wrist tendons. Holding his wrist in this position took away his power. He moaned in pain.
“Stay quiet or I’ll break your wrist.”
He didn’t obey and Lainie applied more pressure. It took very little strength to hold his wrist back—it was all about leverage, and Lainie had the advantage.
“Okay, okay.”
As Lainie considered her next move, she caught sight of the Taser. It would be difficult to try and tie his hands. She’d have to let up on the tension, and she needed to have him secure before Vine knew what was happening.
She nudged him forward as if they were going up the stairs.
At the last minute, she shoved him loose and grabbed the Taser.
He turned, she fired, and he went down with a thud.
Knowing she had seconds, minutes at most, she rolled him over and tied his wrists together as tightly as she could.
It took all her strength, but she did it.
When she stepped back, her heart pounded, and he was just starting to come out of the shock.
He had a gun in a shoulder holster and Lainie grabbed it as he started to yell.
“Dallas! Dallas! She’s loose!”