I could do nothing to help, but my gaze searched the room for something. Did Rex drop his gun? I grabbed the white plaster bust on a side table near me and swung it.
It connected with Rex’s shoulder. He yelled, but didn’t fall.
“Emerson, go!” Knox shouted.
But I couldn’t leave him there. Rex scrambled backward, smashing into the side of the desk. A warning alarm shrieked to life, red lights flashing in our room. Sparks erupted from where Rex had just pulled the alarm.
“Oh, shit,” I breathed. That wasn’t good.
Knox’s eyes flickered as Rex raised his hand with the alarm control panel still in his grip. He’d pulled it right from the spot.
“You think you can take me down?” Rex laughed, the sound bashing into the surrounding walls, unhinged.
Knox grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”
I turned with him, and together we ran.
The boat groaned as we sprinted back toward the deck and our getaway boat. Another shot rang out in the night. Rex found his gun. A second has wood splintering from the wall next to Knox’s head.
For just a moment, I turned back and saw red flames were already climbing up the wall behind Rex.
Knox tugged on my hand. “We’re gonna jump.”
“What? No.” But he already had his arms wrapped around my middle, tucking me and the laptop against his chest as he stepped off the yacht.
Our little boat rocked violently as we crashed into it. Knox took the brunt of the fall, but rolled me off him quickly. In another second he unhooked us from the ladder and threw the throttle forward. The engine roared to life just as a loud blast shook the yacht.
The explosion echoed on the ocean water.
Light ripped across the waves, orange and white, before the blast slammed into us. It knocked me down, so I sat with the laptop held tightly. Knox didn’t move, even as small chunks of the yacht rained into the sea and our boat.
“What the hell was that?” I asked as the remaining parts of the yacht caught fire, lighting up the night sky. Fires clawed skyward, thick black smoke rolling out over the water. It was a hundred times worse that the fire on my research boat. A chunk of the yacht’s front broke off and sank into the water quietly.
The crackle of flames and the drone of our boat were the only noises breaking up the quiet of the night. Rex’s boat was gone.
Rex was gone.
I highly doubted he survived his boat exploding or the impending sinking.
I watched his vessel burn as ours tore across the water, the engine screaming, and the wind in my eyes and hair as we raced back to shore.
As the first light from the dock came into view, the emotions hit me full force.
We were alive.
I survived.
“The manatees,” I hollered as we drew closer.
Knox eased off the throttle. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice rough.
I nod. “Yeah. I think.”
He laughed once with a shake of his head. “You think.”
The boat came to an almost stop as we entered the opening to the marina. He came to my spot on the boat, helped me up, and then cupped my face. His hands were warm against my chilled skin.
“Let’s never do that again. I don’t like you being in danger.”
