Page 67 of Pirates in Calusa Cove

“Goddammit.” He groaned as a piece landed right in his thigh. A big piece, too. Big enough he could pull it out, but also big enough he probably shouldn’t.

Blood oozed out around the sides, soaking his jeans. He did what he always did and pushed the pain that tried to register in his brain to a dark corner of his mind. He’d deal with it later.

“Come on, we’ve got to go. The flames are just getting worse.” The smell of gas was worse than the smoke. It was as if whoever had done this took an airplane full and dumped it on top of his house.

“Here.” Monty handed him a wet blanket.

“Run toward the center of the lawn. I’ll be right behind you,” Keaton said.

Bang!

Monty clutched his shoulder. His body jerked backward.

Bang!

“Daddy!” Trinity screamed as her father dropped to his knees. This time, the bullet tore through his chest.

Monty’s eyes went wide. He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a gasp and a gurgle.

Keaton shoved Trinity to the ground, covering bothher and her dad with his body, and glanced over his shoulder.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

“Stay down,” he said as calmly as he could as the bullets flew over his head.

“Find the jewels and get the girl,” a male voice echoed.

“Over my dead body.” Keaton lifted his head. A sharp pain vibrated against his temple. It rattled his teeth. His vision blurred.

And then the world went dark.

CHAPTER 14

Trinity kickedand screamed but it didn’t do anything but piss off her captors. They tied her hands and ankles. They put something over her head, and then they tossed her in a boat like she was a sack of potatoes.

“Did you find the jewels?” one of them asked.

“No,” the other man said. “You’re a goddamn idiot. That fire is out of control. No way can I search that place in those conditions, and I can hear the fire trucks coming down the street. We’ve got to get out of here, now.”

She focused on the voices—focused on the tone and timbre—but she didn’t recognize either one.

“You should have gone in as soon as the alarm was disabled. The fire was overkill.”

“We needed to flush them out. We needed to separate him from her so we could snag her and the jewels.”

“Well, that didn’t pan out, now did it?”

Trinity lay perfectly still. The hum of the engine—an outboard, because she knew boats—filled the night air.The water was calm, and as they continued to move in whatever direction they were headed, it stayed calm. It stayed that way for a little bit before the boat began to rock.

That could only mean they weren’t headed into the Everglades but out into the bay. Perhaps out into the ocean.

Not that either direction was good for her.

Her father had been shot—possibly dead—and Keaton had been left for dead in a burning building. For what? Stolen jewels? Which weren’t even in the house but locked up tight in Dawson’s safe at the police station. But the bigger question was how the hell was she going to get out of this, because this was not how she was going to die.

The boat picked up speed. They had cleared the channel and were moving north toward Marco Island. She continued to focus on the movements of the vessel. She knew these waters better than most. No matter where she ended up, she’d have a decent idea of where that was if she paid attention. Or at least she hoped she would.

“What good is she without the jewels?” one of the men said.

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