Finally out of sight of the gunmen, he clung to the rocks for several deep breaths and then worked hisway around the pile of boulders toward the other cove below where Rose had been standing just minutes earlier.
A motor sounded nearby.Shit.If Lambert’s men were on the water—
An ocean swell lifted him enough to see a small boat approaching from the open water, carrying a lone figure with no obvious weapon. The salt water and the sun’s reflection off the water blurred his vision. He blinkedbut couldn’t make out who was in the dinghy.
He waved it back. The guards weren’t very accurate with their AK-47s, but the boat was well within the rifle’s effective range. Too close.
But then he realized the shooting had stopped.
The outboard motor roared as the little boat crested a wave and dropped into the trough.
“Hey!” A trim man with short gray hair and a deep tan kneeled in the boat,wearing only board shorts and sunglasses. He threw out a lifesaver.
Kurt stuck one arm through the ring and awkwardly paddled toward the dinghy. The man helped him up and into the boat.
“There are others,” Kurt said, pointing north, his arm heavy as lead. Had they made it? Fear and despair were a rip current threatening to drag him under, but he refused to accept that Caitlyn and Rose hadn’tsurvived.
Already turning, the man said, “My daughter and I saw everything from our boat.” His accent marked him as American. “What the hell’s going on?”
“We got in the way of a human trafficking operation.”
“Shit.”
“Pretty much.” Kurt surveyed the cliffs. Why had the gunfire stopped? “Thank you for picking me up.”
“I tried the police but got no response.”
Kurt’s heart skipped. “Thank Godfor that. Most of them are part of it.”
“Wish I could say I’m surprised.”
As they rounded the last pile of rocks into the next cove, the reason for the sudden silence became clear. On the promontory, Glenn’s men were on their knees, hands in the air. Shaylee’s friend in the police force must have come through. The other victims would be rescued. Score one for the honest cops.
But right nowKurt had another priority.
As the entire inlet came into view, his blood turned cold. Red water shimmered at the base of the cliff.
And then Caitlyn breached the ocean’s surface, swimming toward him on her side, gripping an unconscious Rose across the chest.
“Caitlyn!” He sat up in the boat, energy surging through him.She’s alive. His throat closed up and he blinked a few times.
The old mantossed Caitlyn the life ring and pulled Rose into the boat, raising an eyebrow at Rose’s bound hands before using a knife sheathed at his waist to cut through the ropes. His fatigue forgotten, Kurt ignored the unbearable urge to reach for Caitlyn and moved to deal with Rose as the other man helped her sister climb aboard.
Kurt put his ear next to Rose’s nose and mouth. No air. No rise and fallof her chest.
He checked for a pulse. Nothing.
The engine whined and the dinghy made a sharp turn away from shore.
Caitlyn sat at Rose’s feet, gripping the handle on the side of the boat. “Is she breathing?”
He shook his head and laid Rose as flat as possible. Angling as close to her chest as he could get in the confined space, he tilted her head back to open her airway and check for obstructions.Finding none, he pinched her nose shut and gave her two rescue breaths. Then he started chest compressions, trying to find a balance between using the right amount of force and staying low enough that he wouldn’t topple into the sea, ignoring the fire in his right arm.
Within seconds, the engine shut down and the little watercraft bumped up against something. Kurt finished his first round ofcompressions and checked for breath. Still nothing.Come on.
“Rose.” Caitlyn cried.
“Come here.” An unfamiliar woman’s voice came from his left, but he didn’t stop to look.
