Page 91 of Wild Fever

At that moment, I had a clear shot.

"Fuck you!” Trent shouted. “All of you. Back off!"

"Dude, what happened to you?" Travis said, dismayed at the downfall of his friend.

Trent squeezed the trigger. The barrel flashed, and the bullet rocketed a few feet across the deck.

Somehow, it missed Travis.

I took the opportunity. My finger squeezed the trigger, and the rifle hammered against my shoulder. I sent one shot across the deck. It drilled into Trent's face and exploded out the back of his skull. His lifeless hand dropped the pistol, clanking against the deck as he fell back.

Screeches and squeals of terror filled the air as guests scattered.

Lauren scampered away, trembling.

I rushed to her. "Are you okay?”

She nodded.

I moved around the settee, kicked Trent's stainless pistol well out of reach, then knelt down and checked vitals. The punk was gone, but I had learned my lesson not to trust the dead.

Erickson and Faulkner advanced and joined me.

"Where is Rowan?” I asked the crowd.

Nobody answered.

I shouted the question again.

I still didn’t get any answers.

We rounded up the revelers and marched them into the salon. Daniels had called for backup, and more harbor patrol units arrived.

I shouted again, “Where is Rowan?”

The crowd was silent a moment, then a meek girl said, “I think he’s in his stateroom with Tabitha.”

She pointed to a forward passage that led to a VIP stateroom.

I advanced down the corridor with JD, Erickson, and Faulkner. We held up at the hatch to the VIP stateroom. I tried the handle. The hatch was locked. I banged on it and shouted, “Rowan. Sheriff’s Department. Open up!”

Commotion inside shuffled around.

“What are you going to do?” Tabitha hissed at Rowan.

“Shut up!”

“Rowan, open the door,” I barked.

We all flattened ourselves against the bulkheads in case he was armed and decided to blast through the hatch.

“Rowan, we’re coming in no matter what,” I said. “Trent is dead. Do yourself a favor and open the door.”

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Another deputy arrived with a battering ram and hammered the hatch until it broke open. It swung wide, and we flooded into the compartment.

Tabitha huddled in the corner, her hands in the air, her eyes wide with panic.