Page 138 of Kai
“Oh, God.” Cece braced herself on the console and slapped her hand over her mouth. “I think I’m about to throw up.”
“No shame in that.” I got a glimpse of the gray hue on her face right before I returned my attention to the waves, preparing to tack.
“I can hold it,” she said bravely, speaking above the noise of the catamaran as it rattled all around us.
A loud belch preceded Levine’s bout of torrential puking.
“Not a sailor, I see.” The stench of bile had me scrunching my nose. “Did you have to throw up all over my deck?”
Levine barfed again.
I pattedSerenity’s wheel. “You’re gonna need a spa day after this.”
Cece gagged. “I’m back at that place.”
“What place?”
“Where I hate the ocean with a passion.”
“I don’t blame you.” I reached out and squeezed her hand.
“Oh, shit!” She turned to the merc. “He’s choking on his own vomit!”
“It could be a trick,” I warned, dividing my attention. “Are you sure?”
“His lips are turning blue.” She bounced from port to starboard as she made her way to the heaving brute.
The thought of Cece near the beast gave me the willies. “Don’t go close to him,” I called out over the roar of the ocean.
“He’s going to die.” She went around sloshing rivulets of puke. “All our work will go to waste. We need his intel. Remember?”
She was right, but, “I’d rather lose the intel and keep you safe.”
“And I’d rather get the intel and save my sisters.” She tucked her gun in the back of her pocket and knelt by the merc’s side. “I’m going to have to lay him on his side.”
“Here.” I unstrapped my holster and offered her my Ka-Bar, knowing I wasn’t gonna change her mind. “Be careful.”
Staggering like a drunken sailor, Cece rushed to me. She strapped the holster around her hips before she returned to the merc, slid out the knife, and cut the restraints that tied him to the post, leaving his hand and foot zip ties intact. When she was done, she slid the knife into the holster and rolled him onto his side.
“Come on, asshole.” She pounded him on the back. “Come on.”
The merc coughed, choked, and barfed again before he went still, his chest heaving in ragged breaths.
Cece’s features contorted into a grimace. “Revolting, but at least he’s breathing.”
I was about to tell her to secure the merc when my controls alarmed.
“Shit,” I swore even as I fiddled with the switches. “Theshield is down!” I’d known this was a risk, but the timing sucked. Before I could brainstorm a solution, a signal bleeped on my radar. A glance showed a watercraft moving at high speed on our same course as us.
“Dammit.” With the shield down, the fuckers had gotten a bearing on us. “We’ve got a boat in pursuit. Cece, I’m gonna need you to take the helm.”
“I’ve never sailed a boat before,” Cece said, staggering to my side.
“This will be quick.” I transferred the helm. “Just keep the wheel steady and maintain the same heading. Holler if anything changes. I’ll be right back.”
Jumping over Levine’s prone body, I rushed to the back deck. Along the way, I grabbed my Tak and strapped it on. I pulled out a drone out of my weapons locker. I clicked the parts in place, loaded the ammo bay, and transferred the target data from my Tak.
A burst of spray soaked me when I stood up. I lifted the drone into the air, waiting for it to acquire its target. When the light went green, I threw it up in the air. The drone’s engines engaged, and then it was gone, lost in the darkness. It may not change the course of the battle, but perhaps it could buy us some time.
