Page 95 of Building Courage

Denotti raised the binoculars and talked over his shoulder. “If body language tells the story, Brynn is standing her ground. The blonde is terrified and could lose it and cause an issue.”

Tucker grabbed his SIG P226, removed it from its holster, checked the magazine, and then shoved it home again. He tucked it down the back of his shorts, then jerked on a faded gray T-shirt that had seen better days to hide the weapon.

A car alarm went off, and he and Denotti looked down the lot. The lights flashed, and the horn blared.

Tucker grinned without humor. “She’s smart. Security will be out here any minute to check the car and will call it in. They’ll search for her in the marina.” He opened the back door, removed two scuba tanks, and handed one to Denotti. “For cover and other purposes if we need them.”

Denotti grinned. “Sounds good.” He handed Tucker a pair of sunglasses. “They might recognize you before we reach them.”

Tucker nodded and shoved the glasses on. “There may be another guy on board the boat. There were two on board in some of the photos. What berth are they in?” he asked as they started walking toward the marina. Two security people passed them going to the car.

“They’re on the outside row, so all they have to do is back out of the slip and head out to open water.”

“They’re not getting out of the marina with them. Let’s go.”

Chapter 28

‡

She couldn’t get enough breath. Her lungs felt like they were starved for oxygen, and her chest hurt. She didn’t have time for a panic attack. She had to relax and think things through, but she felt foggy with fear. Every step they took down the dock meant they’d be that much closer to being sold like cattle or taken out to sea to die. She should have had the guts to go in and talk to the police. She’d let her fears interfere with her life again.

The distant sound of the car alarm kept going and going. Her purse and ID were in the car. The guy at the gate would recognize her picture, and someone would come.

*

Frustration and fear whipped through Tucker, threatening to choke him. How long did it take to scan a key card at the gate?

A family of four was at the gate. The two-year-old was crying, and mom set aside the heavy bag she was carrying to pick up the baby. Denotti handed Tucker the scuba tank and reached for the bag. “I’ll get that for you,” he said with a smile.

Tucker had seen Denotti’s moves before.

The woman’s cheeks flushed, and she smiled back at him. “Thank you so much.”

They passed through with the family without issue.

“I’ll meet you down the dock ASAP,” Denotti said, trapped in carrying through with the ruse.

“I can take it,” the husband said. “You two obviously have a scuba trip planned.”

“Yeah,” Denotti said.

The guy took the bag. “We don’t want to hold you up. It’s getting late.”

“Yeah, it is.”

When the family turned away, Tucker passed the tank back to Denotti, and they jogged down the dock. They practically sprinted past a family dressed for dinner coming around the corner and looked down the length of the dock. The group was almost to the cabin cruiser. They set the tanks down and slowed their pace to a fast walk, closing the distance between them as quickly as they could without drawing attention. “I’ll take pretty boy,” Denotti said, already reaching for his weapon.

“Got the big guy,” Tucker said, doing the same. “Remember they may have a guy on board.”

They were within twenty feet of the group when Tim turned to look behind him. He reached for his gun.

As one, Tucker and Denotti broke into a run.

Denotti held a bead on Tim. “Draw it and give me an excuse.”

Tucker advanced toward the big man holding Brynn’s arm. “Let her go. It’s over.”

“I could break her arm.”

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