Page 54

“They come with a bonus,” said Kane. “We captured two Navy SEALs sniffing around our operation. I’m happy to throw them in with the deal.”

“What would we do with them?”

“What do I care. Keep them, shoot them, and toss them over the side. They’re part of the deal.”

He turned to his superior and spoke in Korean. The other man nodded and shrugged.

“Fine, load dogs and men.”

Kane moved aft and gave his prisoners the good news. “You’re going on the other boat.”

“Stealing puppies is one thing,” said Mike, his voice laced with venom. “Handing your fellow frogmen over to the enemy is treason. You don’t have to do this.”

Kane smirked. “Bud, the teams hung me out to dry years ago. I’m just here for the cash.” His face went passive. “Now get on the fucking boat.”

The bikies hauled Mike and Rick to their feet and guided them over the side of the workboat into the Korean vessel.

“These fuckers are North Korean,” snapped Rick, earning himself a punch in the stomach. He doubled over, and one of the guards shoved him to the deck. Mike was thrown alongside him, his taped hands unable to break his fall.

He lay there as the dog cages were transferred. Saber and Axe seemed unconscious, but the puppies barked, snarled, and tried to bite the Koreans as they were moved to the deck. From where he was lying, Mike was looking directly at Axe. The dog’s eyelids were flickering, and his lip quivered.

A backpack was handed across to Kane. Mike could tell by the look on his face as he checked the contents that it was full of cash.

“You’re going to regret this,” Mike yelled as the Koreans released the two vessels.

“Bon voyage, fair sailing,” Kane exclaimed cheerfully as he angled the workboat away and gunned the engines. He gave Mike and Rick no further thought as he piloted the boat back toward the logging complex.

“Show me the cash,” said the leader of the bikies. Kane had the bag tucked in behind the console.

He eased the throttles back and activated the deck lights before passing the backpack to his partner in crime. “We hit the jackpot, boys.”

The bikie looked into the bag and grinned. “Fuck yeah, I’ve got to hand it to you, Kane. You know how to cut a deal.” He was grinning, but the look quickly left his face when he found himself staring into the barrel of a pistol and a dart gun.

“Gats on the deck,” he snarled.

The men complied, taking their pistols from where they’d tucked them into their belts.

“Step back and get on your knees.” When they’d followed his directions, he darted each of them in the chest.

“You’re not going to get away with this,” one of them snarled. “They’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth.”

“I’m not afraid of your buddies. I’ve got friends in lower places.”

He kept the men covered with his pistol until they’d slumped forward, knocked out by the powerful sedative. Then, as they lay unconscious, he took a black collapsible kayak from the forward storage bins and assembled it on the deck. He stowed the cash-filled backpack and a paddle, then lowered it over the side of the boat. Securing it with a strap, he returned to the boat’s console and thumbed the radio handset.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Charlie Three Four Five. We have a fire on board and are abandoning ship. I say again, we are abandoning ship.” Then he took a bottle from under the console and moved to the rear of the boat. He poured liquid over one of the engine’s fuel lines and let it pool on the deck. Then he lit it with a Zippo lighter embossed with the SEAL trident.

“Sweet dreams,” he murmured as he passed the unconscious bikies. Dropping into the kayak, he released the tether and paddled away.

Sixty seconds later, he stopped paddling and checked over his shoulder. The workboat was burning fiercely. Flames had engulfed it from bow to stern. He smirked before digging his paddle and disappearing into the darkness.

Chapter Twenty

Maria spotted the Canadian Coast Guard cutter while collecting an armful of wood. It was cruising along the coastline with a spotlight scanning the beach. “Guys, help has arrived,” she said, dumping logs alongside the fire.

The others were sitting, warming themselves at the fire. All of them were dry now, and the Skipper looked much healthier.

As the cutter drew closer, the crew spotted the fire and killed the spotlight. Ali had updated them on their location. Jenny waved her arms as a small engine started. A moment later, an inflatable tender buzzed in out of the darkness and ran up the beach.