Page 32 of Guarding The Phoenix: Vol. 2

Although only minutes had passed, yet those minutes felt as if they had been stretched into hours. But being in the center of a dogfight was as familiar as breathing. I’d spent ten years in the Marines before Gideon recruited me into the CIA.

The safe room was off to the right of the engine room. It was an eight-by-eight foot space with a military style cot that had been bolted to the floor and a toilet behind a wall that reminded me of a divided wall between office cubicles.

Gideon had added bullet proof shielding to the walls. It wouldn’t protect her from an explosion. But it might keep any shrapnel and debris from the explosions from hitting her.

Against one wall, there were boxes of food items: protein bars, nuts, freeze-dried fruit, and bottled water. Then, against another wall, Gideon had added life jackets, a medical kit, a waterproof case with firearms and ammunition, an emergency raft that would inflate when needed, and a case that held a flare gun and beacon. But the most important item in my mind was the beacon. The beacon would send a radio signal to headquarters they could use to track our location and send a rescue team to pick us up—as long as Santos didn’t reach us first.

“Here, let’s put this on you.” I grabbed one of the life jackets, then helped her into it. Tough to accomplish with the yacht swaying, but together we got her secure in it.

But once she was as safe as I could make her, I cupped her face and kissed her briefly but deeply, and then I had to move. “Stay here until one of us comes to get you. If something happens and the yacht starts to sink, grab the raft and the case beside it. It has a flare gun and beacon inside it. And it’s only under those circumstances you are to leave this room without us. The raft will inflate on its own. Head out onto the back deck and just pull this cord. Don’t wait for us, understand. In the event we need to use this, we will come to you. Get yourself in the raft and we’ll join as soon as we’re able.”

Kylie searched my face with tears in her eyes. “Be safe. All of you.”

And I wanted to think those tears were all for me. I gave her a rakish grin. “Don’t worry, gorgeous. We know what we’re doing.”

After a second brief kiss, I left her in the safe room praying it was the right call. Then took the stairs as fast as my feet could carry me. Deep down, I knew we were in a race against time. We had ammunition for days. But whatever artillery Santos had outshone ours.

I reached the command deck at a sprint. The other ship sailed toward us off the bow. It wasn’t close enough for the munitions they used to strike the ship. But they approached at a decent clip. And they had caught us with our pissers out.

Gideon sat at the helm, steering the finicky beast, keeping us away from the blasts. Mateo sat at the radar station monitoring their movements on the screen, shouting instructions to Gideon.

And Axel was on the top deck. The loud booming firepower of the fifty cal reached my ears.

“Fucking finally,” Gideon snarled over his shoulder.

“She’s secure with instructions to use the life raft if needed.” I headed to the helm. “Move. Let me take over if you want us to survive.”

Gideon didn’t hesitate and vacated the seat. I slid into the captain’s chair. “What’s the situation? And how the fuck did they come upon us so fast?”

“It’s not the original ship that was trailing us. Coast guard intercepted that one, and it was a freighter bound for Hawaii.”

“Then how?” We needed distance from them and their firepower. But to do that, I had to turn the yacht around so we weren’t nose to nose.

“They came at us head on. One minute they weren’t there and the next they were there. They must have radar absorbing panels on their hull is the only thing we can surmise. Because even this close, they bleep in and out of radar.”

“Fuck!” I wouldn’t put it past Santos to have that kind of tech installed on his boat. He was a slippery son of a bitch, always a step or two ahead.

“Exactly. How they found us, I don’t have a fucking clue. Our only chance is to outrun them. But they built this thing with extra speed in mind. We’re close to San Diego, only about fifty nautical miles from the bay. We’ll call the attack into headquarters along the way. Let them know we’re under fire and see what kind of backup they can send. There’s enough of a Navy presence around San Diego to keep them at bay. We just have to reach the harbor first. And that’s where you come in. You can pilot anything with a skill none of us have.”

He was right. “Buckle your seatbelts. Because we’re about to test how fast this baby can sail.” I pressed the max power button and swung us around. It would put the starboard side in the line of fire for as long as it took to turn this thing around. “Tell Axel to get ready. We need him firing off the starboard side.”

“On it.” Gideon took the stairs two at a time to the top deck. With no time to lose, I began the turn, accelerating speed as fast as I dared with the choppy waters.

Axel laid down heavy cover fire. The fifty cal’s loud booms were joined by another gun. And I grinned because of what Gideon had on the top deck. Fucker had a grenade launcher. Take that you mafia assholes.

The moment the yacht had come about, I laid on the speed, pressing the throttle to maximum speed. And I prayed the engine wouldn’t quit on us. They equipped this thing to travel up to fifty knots and could outrun most ships.

“Mateo, get on the horn to headquarters. Let them know our trajectory and position.”

“On it.”

The sounds of gunfire and explosions subsided as we cruised full speed ahead. I kept a firm hand on the steering wheel, pointing us toward the California coast. On the horizon the first streaks of dawn painted the night sky. If we reached the San Diego harbor without them catching up to us, we would live to see another day.

Gideon rejoined us in the command center. “We’re leaving them in our wake. Keep this speed and heading until we reach the harbor.”

“Good. But I need you fuckers to keep an eye out. With as fast as we’re sailing, it’s going to be hard to slow down or avoid anything that might be in our path. And keep an eye out for that ship. They already caught us with our pants down once. They could still catch us if they laid on the speed. And you better pray they don’t send in another copter.”

“Got it. Axel and I will stay topside.”

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