Page 56 of Two Favors Repaid

Rob heard the panic in Emma’s voice but compartmentalized it.

“Is it gone?” she wheezed.

“I don’t think so,” he replied. If these were their last moments on earth, he didn’t want to lie to her.

As he watched, the large fin turned again. Rob readied himself for another attack and gripped the knife tighter. Maybe if he went for the gills—

“Jessy!” Emma sputtered. Rob looked away from the fin for a moment and saw Jessy on her jet ski.

“Jessy!” Emma shouted, louder this time. She waved her arms over the water.

As luck would have it, Jessy turned in their direction. Rob focused back on the shark. It was still there but had gone back to circling, not liking this new disturbance in the water.

“Get on!” Jessy said, placing the jet ski between them and the shark.

Rob pushed Emma from underneath in an ungainly lift. Jessy pulled at Emma’s arms until her whole body was out of the water.

“Take Emma away from here, Jessy,” Rob ordered.

Emma shivered, pressing on to Jessy’s back. “Please don’t listen to him,” she begged. “There’s a shark.” The fin was nowhere to be seen, but maybe that meant it was below them.

Jessy nodded.

“Stop being an ass and get on, Rob,” the scientist said impatiently. “This baby can take all three of us.”

Rob shook his head, looking worried. “I’d rather you get Emma out and come back for me.”

“Don’t be foolish. That great white will be using your bones as a toothpick by then. Get on! I don’t want one of my sharks killed because he was unlucky enough to eat our chief deputy sheriff,” Jessy said, laughing at her own joke.

“Please, Rob,” Emma begged. “I don’t want you to die.”

Finally, Rob grabbed on to the back of the jet ski and pulled himself up with his arms, pressing his front tightly against Emma’s back so she was sandwiched between him and Jessy.

“Relax, Emma,” Jessy said, revving the engine. “Sharks don’t like to attack anything bigger than themselves.”

Emma nodded, not knowing whether the scientist was telling her the truth and not particularly caring either. Suddenly, she was so tired, all she wanted to do was close her eyes and go to sleep.

The last thing she heard were Rob’s words to Jessy. “It wasn’t one of yours, Jessy. He wasn’t tagged.”

Chapter 17

Rob

Rob looked behind him, half expecting the great white to leap out of the water and attack him, but the ocean was calm behind them.

The jet ski engine roared. Despite Jessy’s words, Rob knew the vehicle wasn’t designed for three adult passengers. Now that they were further away from the shark, Jessy slowed down a bit.

He felt Emma slump against him. He tensed for a moment and placed his fingers at her neck, sighing in relief when he felt it beat strongly.

“Is she okay?” Jessy asked, sneaking a quick look back.

“I think she fell asleep. We need to get her to a hospital, though.” He leaned forward, absorbing Emma’s weight, looking to make her more comfortable. “What happened after you left the boat, Jessy? Why did you come back?”

Jessy raised her voice to be heard over the roaring engine. “It seemed strange to see Emma out here when the whole town knows she’s afraid of water … I rationalized it to myself thinking that maybe after her scare a few days ago the two of you had gotten your act together and were enjoying some alone time. But when I asked Emma about her arm, she touched her left arm. And I was there. She was shot in her right arm. I didn’t have my phone with me, so I went back to the harbor and flagged down the first fishing boat I saw, used the captain’s phone to call the station. I might have woken Alma up, actually.”

Rob smiled. “Clever,” he praised. “Both of you. If it hadn’t been for you, we would have died out there.”

“I didn’t know if I was making a big deal out of nothing, but Susan and Darryl came to the harbor almost immediately. They’re out looking for your boat right now. I felt … I wanted to take another look around just in case. It was a chance to test out my new infrared equipment. That’s how I found you.”