Passion Key (A Romance & Suspense Series) Page 6

  Justine saw the blind rage leap into Daniel’s eyes and he raised the gun to her head, and then pushed her toward the side of the boat. She knew what his plan was. To shoot her in the head and dump her overboard so the sharks could dispose of her.

  Panic exploded inside her and she lunged at Daniel, screaming and trying to rake his eyes with her fingernails. She refused to go down without a fight.

  But Daniel was too strong. He pushed her in the chest, flinging her backward against the side of the boat. He raised the gun and an enormous crash sounded filled the air. At first, she thought it was thunder from the lightning storm, but she saw the prow of another boat as it careened away. Justine’s feet lost traction as the boat shuddered deep into a trough and then shot up from the crest of another wave and then she was airborne, over the side of the boat and into the water.

  20.

  The water swallowed her and she could hear the sound of the boats’ props roaring under the water. The idea of being run over by one of the boats terrified her. She had seen pictures of manatees that had been run over, causing great ragged chunks of their flesh to be ripped out. Justine blindly kicked toward the surface and as best she could tell, away from the boats.

  She popped to the surface and the sounds erupted all around her. She heard shots, and looked back; saw Daniel leaning over the side of the boat, a gun in his hand, firing at her. Justine felt something strike her in the shoulder and then she was under water again. Always a strong swimmer, she kicked hard, staying underwater even as a creeping numbness set in along her shoulder. Her lungs were burning and she seemed to be losing control of her left arm. She broke through the surface of the water again and now she couldn’t see anything. The air had a strange red tint to it, until she realized that she was bleeding, and treading water in her own bloody water.

  A wave caught her directly in the face and her mouth filled with water. Justine’s left arm now trailed in the water next to her, useless. And she was having trouble staying afloat as the waves seemed to be coming at her from all different directions. She sank again in the water. Her legs kicked and kicked but she couldn’t find the surface of the water. Her eyes were open and she saw the light from above, but it was going horizontally. Her lungs were about to burst when suddenly she shot to the surface and came face to face with Archer.

  He was holding her by her arm she saw now, even though she couldn’t feel his grip.

  He said something but she couldn’t understand him and then he slid behind her, his arm going over her chest and locking under her and then she was being raised on his side as he pulled her toward a boat she had never seen before.

  Suddenly, they crashed into something in the water.

  Justine screamed.

  It was Daniel. His eyes were wide and lifeless; a bullet hole was centered in his forehead.

  Archer maneuvered them around the body and soon they were within reach of the other boat. Standing at the front of the vessel with a rope and life ring was Agent Runyan.

  Justine had never been so happy to see the FBI.

  21.

  The collapsible beach table held a pitcher of ice-cold margaritas with very little margarita left.

  Surrounding the table and the scant remains of its liquid goodness sat three beach chairs. Justine was in the middle chair and to her left Archer Thorpe, to her right, Special Agent Runyan.

  Justine had her left arm in a sling, and a fresh margarita in her right.

  “To Passion Key,” she said. They all clinked glasses, even the FBI agent who claimed to be officially off duty.

  Justine turned to her. “So tell me again who my ex-husband bribed at headquarters?”

  Runyan turned up the corner of her mouth. “One of the Bureau’s lawyers, can you believe that? Even though I’m not supposed to say anything. This person had gotten into some gambling trouble and giving up your address was going to clear his debts. Of course, it actually cleared his schedule because he’ll have absolutely nothing to do for about twenty years.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Archer said, and sipped from his glass.

  Justine couldn’t help but stare at him as he did so. He looked incredibly handsome, framed against the backdrop of the ocean, and surrounded by the halo Justine had awarded him for saving her life.

  He caught her looking at him and smiled.

  They had been doing a lot of that lately. Among other things.

  Just then, Runyan’s cell phone rang and she stepped away to take the call. Archer and Justine listened to the sound of the waves. A gull cried as it swooped across the waterline, looking for a quick and easy snack.

  Moments later, Runyan was back.

  “Gotta go folks, sounds like we’ve got a situation not far from here,” she said. She shook hands with Archer and hugged Justine. “I think you’re going to be okay now,” Runyan said, adding an imperceptible nod toward Archer, and a wink at Justine.

  She hustled away and Justine and Archer heard her gun her car out of the resort’s parking lot complete with tires squealing as she powered onto the main road.

  “Did she wink at you?” Archer said, smiling.

  Justine laughed. “How did you know?”

  “A man can sense these things,” Archer said, a big grin on his face. It was a face Justine had decided she could get used to.

  “You wish,” Justine answered.

  “At least she didn’t say something about you being in good hands, and then doing the old wink-wink, nudge-nudge,” he said.

  He came over to her, leaned down and kissed her. Even though the bullet had grazed her shoulder, narrowly missing most of her muscle and bone, the shoulder still hurt from the stitches. But kissing Archer made the pain a little less noticeable.

  “First the jellyfish sting, now a gunshot wound,” Justine said. “I might as well list you as my primary care doctor.”

  Archer tossed down the rest of his margarita and scooped Justine into his arms.

  “Well, I think it’s time for a very thorough checkup.”

  Justine laughed and a tiny shudder of anticipation ran through her body. Whoever named this little strip of paradise had chosen the perfect word.

  Passion.

  THE END

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  Dani Amore is an international bestselling crime novelist living in Los Angeles, California and winner of the Independent Book Award for Crime Fiction.

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