Sam’s protective instinct kicked in and he pulled her into his arms. “It’s all right.”
She stiffened, then softened towards him for only a second before she pushed him away. “What the hell is going on? What are you doing here? What do you know about this? Those men were illegally fishing in a sanctuary zone.” Her eyes flashed.
“And they both had weapons pointed at you,” Sam retorted. “I defused the situation.”
“You let them get away.”
“I’ve reported the boat to the police. They won’t get far.”
She took a deep breath, letting it out. She closed her eyes. “Thank you.”
Sam relaxed. “You’re welcome. You want to tell me what happened?”
“I need to call the office back.” She radioed PAWS, reporting the boat and describing the two men on board. He was impressed with her level of detail.
“We’ll report it to the police,” the woman responded.
Penelope clipped the radio back into position and then sank into her seat and placed her head in her hands.
“You all right?” Sam kept his distance, not wanting to set her off again.
“I thought you were clueless,” she said. “I thought you were going to get shot.”
Sam grinned. “Glad to know my acting skills aren’t all bad.”
She choked out a laugh. “How did you know? Where did you come from?”
He pointed to where he’d been diving. “When I surfaced, I noticed your boat. My plan was to check out the island until enough time had passed between dives. Then I saw both men were pointing at you and the sun reflected off the gun metal. My instincts kicked in.”
She frowned.
“Military,” he reminded her. “I called marine rescue with the details before I approached.”
“I appreciate your help, but you could have been shot.”
“So could you, but I’m used to the risk.” No way he could have left her to face the men on her own.
They were drifting towards the island now and Penelope still looked pale. “How about we anchor on the shore for a few minutes? Have a drink, take a breath?”
She nodded and started the engine as if pleased for something to do. Sam ensured the rope to his tender wasn’t in the way and tied it to the back cleat as she motored slowly towards the beach. With her gaze on where they were going, he exhaled and tapped his chest. He hadn’t considered he might come in contact with guns when he got out of the army. He’d managed less than a week, and he’d had no bullet-proof vest. If the gunman had wanted to kill him, he’d be dead right now.
Not a comforting thought.
He shook off the fear and focused on the woman behind the wheel. She was still pale, though her skin was fair anyway. She stared straight ahead, her fingers clenched around the steering wheel as she manoeuvred around the reef to a gap that would get them to the shore.
When they reached the sand, Sam jumped off and grabbed the anchor from the PAWS boat, anchoring them into position, and then waded out to his tender and did the same. While he was there, he grabbed his esky and carried it to where Penelope waited on the shore, her arms crossed, hugging herself.
“You OK?” He walked past her a few metres away from the water’s edge and placed the esky on the ground, getting two bottles of water out. He handed her one.
“I’ve been better. It’s not what I was expecting to face while at work.” Penelope ran a shaky hand through her neatly tied back hair. She glanced at him. “Why did they even have a gun in the first place?”
She had a point. Gun laws were strict in Australia and very few people carried them as a matter of course. “What were they doing?”
“Poaching,” she answered. “They weren’t allowed to be fishing in the area and the diver had an illegal spearfishing gun.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t run when they saw you,” Sam said.
“The diver was still underwater,” Penelope said.
