Page 111 of Stone Coast

It didn’t take long for our clothes to hit the deck. We went at it right there under the moonlight. The waves of the ocean, a co-conspirator in our carnal pleasure.

We ended up below deck in her forward V-berth for round two. After a passionate crescendo, we collapsed beside each other, a head full of wine and pleasure chemicals. Savannah snuggled close, and I drifted back in time.

“So, did the new Savannah live up to the old Savannah?“ she asked, her steamy voice tickling my ear.

“And then some. You clearly haven’t forgotten how to do that.”

Savannah smiled. “I guess it’s a natural instinct.“

There was everything natural about holding Savannah in my arms. It just felt right. “Did that spark any memories?”

“No, but I think we’re making new ones.“

I drifted off to sleep and fell into a heavy dream state. It took me all the way back to the covert op that Savannah and I had run together all those years ago. The op that had put us through hell and back, but had clearly created a bond.

It was a little after 4:00 AM when I woke to the smell of smoke and the sound of a crackling fire. The external stimulus had infiltrated my dream, and it took me a moment to snap back to reality once I opened my eyes.

Was I still dreaming?

“Wake up,” I shouted to Savannah as I grabbed my pistol, launched out of bed, and pulled my shorts on.

As I moved out of the stateroom, the sound of outboards howled, moving away in the distance.

I peered out the window in the salon to see a motorboat spitting a trail of white water as it left the scene of the crime.

Flames roared, engulfing the cockpit in a hellish amber glow. Smoke billowed into the salon. The flames kicked off heat like the surface of the sun, and the air quickly became thick with toxic fumes. Every breath burned my lungs.

I grabbed a small fire extinguisher from the galley and moved aft toward the companionway. I pulled the safety pin,squeezed the trigger, and doused the fire with a breath of CO2.

With stinging eyes and a throat like acid, I fought the wall of flames that swallowed the cockpit. The hungry demon consumed everything at a rapid pace.

Black smoke curled at the ceiling of the salon. The smell of burnt plastic and gasoline swirled.

The assailants had doused the boat while we slept. I can't believe I didn't hear their footsteps, but the wine and the state of bliss dulled my senses.

This little fire extinguisher wasn't going to cut it, and it was damn near empty.

I backed away as the flames encroached upon the companionway, devouring everything in its path. I tossed the useless extinguisher aside and fell back to the forward V-berth.

Savannah's eyes rounded with terror.

There was no getting off the boat through the cockpit.

There was only one way out now.

58

SAVANNAH

Ipushed open the skylight hatch in the forward V berth. The air wasn’t much better as the smoke drifted across the boat, but it wasn't as thick as it was below deck. Every second, it grew thicker and harder to breathe.

I climbed through the hatch and onto the foredeck.

I looked back, but Tyson wasn’t behind me. I peered back through the hatch into the stateroom. "What are you doing?”

Tyson grabbed something, then followed. He had a harder time fitting through the narrow space. He was a big guy, with no shortage of muscles. He managed to squeeze his shoulders through the opening and pull himself onto the deck.

The flames consumed the boat, moving forward at a blistering pace.