Page 39 of Anchor
Chloe
“What the hell do you mean there’s a bomb in the engine room?” Gabe demands, his pale face flushed red.
I flick a glance at him and then depress the button on the mic. “Tyler, you have to keep everyone away from here.”
“Motherfucker!” Gabe exclaims behind me.
“What if we come up behind—”
“There’s no time.” I picture the small bundle of black I found in the engine room, it’s red face flashing with menace. “There’s a timer on the bomb. We only have seven minutes. I managed to get the anchor up so we can keep heading out to sea. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“What about you two?” Tyler demands. “We have to get you off of there.”
“Don’t worry about—”
“No,” Gabe interrupts. He leans heavily against the console and snatches the mic from my now ice-cold hands. To Tyler, he says, “Do you have any speedboats out there?”
“We’ve got whatever you need,” Tyler says.
“Send the fastest one you’ve got, but be careful. Chloe’s is going to jump ship and I don’t want you to run her over.” He meets my gaze and then says, “She’s precious cargo.”
“Do you—”
“We don’t have time to debate,” he tells Tyler. “Get them here now.”
Gabe drops the mic and wipes his forehead. “We’ve got to get you out of here. Can you swim?”
“Can I swim?” I repeat.
Gabe cups my head with a hand and presses a quick, hard kiss on my stunned lips. “Baby, we don’t have time. Need an answer now. Can you swim?”
“Yes,” I say, dazedly. “I can swim.” A wave of exhaustion crashes over me and I sway.
His head jerks up. “What?”
Tears burn, but I will them away. “I don’t know how long I’m gonna be able to. Getting kind of worn out here.”
Darkness flashes in his eyes, then a second later it’s gone. He searches about the cabin and finds an orange life vest. With great care, he slips it around my shoulders and buckles it at the waist. “You promise me,” he says, his attention completely focused on securing the buckles and tightening the straps. “Promise me once you’re in the water you’ll swim, fast as you can, away from this damn boat.”
“What will you do?” His wounds aren’t going to do well in the water and I see the reflection of my thoughts in his eyes.
He tucks the strap in and he threads his hands through my hair. When he speaks, his voice is gruff, detached, but I can intuit the lack of emotion is because if he were to betray any at all, neither of us would make it out of this alive.
“I’m gonna make sure no one else gets hurt. I’ve got to make sure this thing isn’t going to drive straight into someone so I’m gonna point it far out to sea to make sure no one gets in its path.”
“What about you? You’re coming with me, right? We don’t have much time now.”
“You don’t need to worry about me,” he responds as he turns away to secure the steering wheel. “Go,” he says gruffly. “Go now.”
“I can’t leave you,” I say and it’s true. My feet are glued to the ground. I couldn’t leave even if I tried.
He slams his palms against the wheel. “Don’t be stupid. Get the fuck off of this boat before the damn thing explodes.”
But I’m shaking my head. “You’ll have to throw me off the damn thing because I’m staying.”
A pained expression flits over his face, breaking his calm facade. He strides over and takes me by the arm, but I surprise us both with a last summoning of strength. He grips my biceps with enough force to leave bruises and shakes me like a rag doll.
“Stop being so fucking stubborn!”