Pulling the trigger and killing Hawk is the most satisfying thing I have ever done, and the bang rings in my ears for a few seconds as I stare down at his motionless body with blood leaking from the bullet hole between his eyes.
But there’s no time to savor the moment, no time to enjoy that the monster is dead because the sinking yacht begins to tip precariously and I’m about to slide down the deck until Faina grabs my hand.
“Come on,” she yells, and yet I’m so relieved to hear her voice that it sounds like she’s whispering softly in my ear. “We have to go!”
Gomeans abandon ship.
We run across the deck away from Hawk’s corpse as it slowly slides toward the raging inferno in the middle of the yacht and down a set of stairs. Faina’s grip on my wrist is unwavering just like my trust in her to lead me wherever she thinks is safe.
Luckily, she seems to have a plan in mind and we don’t stop running until we reach the lower deck where a small outcrop leads to a set of smaller speedboats.
“Holy shit,” I grunt as she leaps over the gap and lands in the speedboat. “Do you know how to drive one of these things?”
“I’m about to learn,” she calls. “Get in!”
I’m less graceful entering the speedboat, and just in time too because the second we dismount from the yacht and land in the water, another explosion rips through the yacht. Distant screams reach my ears over the loud creaking of metal and crackle of flames, but none of it is enough to make me care. Faina jerks the speedboat into gear and we lurch forward,causing me to collapse down into the seat as she starts again and we race away from the inferno.
I stay seated, staring out at the departing yacht which is now completely ablaze. It cuts across the horizon like an orange scar and every so often, small explosions light up like popping popcorn across the waterline.
Coldness envelops me and a sudden deep boned exhaustion rises, making my eyelids heavy.
Hawk is dead.
The snake that started it all.
The arrogant fucker who destroyed my family because his ego couldn’t handle that we were better than him in every way that counted and mattered.
He’s dead.
I hope Cormac’s proud of me.
Faina suddenly appears in front of me, standing between my spread knees with her hand on her hip.
“Who’s driving?” I ask.
“Autopilot,” she says. “It’ll take us back to shore.”
“Shit… I’m so sorry.”
“What for?” She sinks into my lap and is the most welcome warmth I’ve ever felt in my life.
“Planning all of that on a whim and praying you’d trust me. The things I said were horrible. I just knew out of the two of us, you’dbe able to do something while I kept him busy. Brains and brawn y’know?”
“I know.” She sits across my lap and loops one arm around my neck, cradling my face with her other hand. “You’re lucky I can swim.”
“Shit, I didn’t even think?—”
“Shush.” She lightly kisses my lips. “Don’t worry about it. I trusted you. You said what you had to say.”
“I didn’t mean any of it.”
“Promise?”
My arms tighten around her waist. “Promise. Although…” Peering past her, my attention returns to the burning, sinking yacht. “How did you manage that?”
“Rocky. I found a satellite phone and called him. Turns out he’s pretty adept at explosions. I don’t fully understand it, but he explained it was the equivalent of blocking all the important parts of a car and running it at high speed until it explodes.”
“Shit.”
