Dobby pushed hard as the engine noise dropped to an idle.He exhaled.Hopefully the captain had found something he needed to take back to the shore.
His hands grasped the rope on the side of the boat and he clung on to give himself a second’s rest.
Made it.
Now to get it back to Mila.
Chapter 11
Mila tucked herself low amongst the thick ground cover, hidden behind a palm tree.Damien’s pack was within easy reach.She ignored the insects crawling over her and the itch from a leaf rubbing against her leg.Her eyes were glued to Damien as he made his way down to the shore.
As he hit the ocean, she glanced towards the village but people were too busy to notice one man rush across the shore and into the filthy water.
Her breath caught in her throat as he breast-stroked towards the flooded inflatable.It seemed much further away now that he was in the ocean and she had some reference of sizes.
She couldn’t tear her gaze from him to scan the rest of the bay.Her gut told her if she wasn’t watching him, something bad would happen.
A ridiculous superstition, but one she couldn’t shake.
His strokes were confident and he seemed unencumbered by his clothes and boots as he made his way closer and closer to the boat.Finally he reached it, ducked around the bow and disappeared from view.
A minute later he reappeared and pulled the boat towards the point.
Mila exhaled and she took a second to scan the village.A man stood on the shore scanning the ocean.He was too far away for her to see clearly, but he was looking towards the boat.
She put the scope to her eye and the young man came into sharp focus.Dressed in a navy-blue T-shirt and black pants, he had once picked up a student from her class.He gestured someone else over and pointed.
Agus’s bodyguard, Ali.He must have been on one of the motorbikes.
Which meant the two men with guns were still nearby.Her skin prickled.
Damn.Had they seen the boat?
The fishing boat was hauling a table onboard.The young man on the beach waved and yelled at the captain, pointing towards Damien and the Zodiac.
She glanced back at Damien who was checking the village now and then.Could he see what was happening?
There was no way to warn him.What would he do in this situation?She needed to be calm and wait to see what happened next.Damien was an experienced soldier, and no matter what happened, he would work out what to do.
The fishing boat was slowly making its way back to shore with its hull full and the young man was waiting for it.Damien had some time.
Mila continued scanning, taking in the utter devastation of the village and her heart ached.Where the village had once stood was a rubbish heap of wood, clothes and plastics.They’d lost everything, though women and children were already combing through for items to salvage.Men were clearing building materials, piling up things that were damaged, and those that could be repaired.
Damien wasn’t making much progress.He was far enough out that if he swam in her direction, he would make it around the point, but the water was dragging him the other way.
Her heart raced and she impatiently swatted an insect from her neck and pulled up the collar of Damien’s shirt.Her scan shifted back to the men on shore where the fishing boat had just arrived.People were unloading a table and other bits of furniture and the men were talking to the captain.
The young man pointed to where the inflatable had been, not where Damien now was.Mila scanned the water where they were pointing and spotted a cupboard floating doors up.
She exhaled.Hopefully that was what they were after.
But Damien was getting further and further out to sea.
Her muscles tightened.What if the boat engine didn’t work, and the oars were missing?He might not be able to fight the pull of the ocean and she’d be stuck here, by herself.
She brushed the sweat from her brow and exhaled.
No matter what happened, he would come back for her.
