Against the Tide (29 page)

“So what are we going to do? We have to do something.”

“What we do is hope like hell Hunter and Devlin find that Jeep.” They started walking down the long, wooden dock toward the boat.

“You know, the guy who attacked me said he'd been up here for weeks. Maybe he works at the terminal. That would make sense.”

“It would. Trouble is, more than three hundred people work there. More like eight hundred if you count employees who live outside Valdez. How do we find him?”

Frustrated, she lifted her ball cap a little, then tugged it back down on her forehead. Today the cap read
I'D RATHER BE IN PARIS
.

Rafe stopped when they reached the boat. “We aren't done with this yet, baby, not by a long shot. We've only got a half-day trip so we'll be back early. I talked to Mo this morning and rearranged the schedule so we won't have a trip tomorrow. In the meantime, we take the boat out and show our passengers a really great time.”

Olivia managed a halfhearted smile. “Okay, then.”

Rafe climbed aboard, reached back and took Liv's hand to steady her as she climbed up on deck. Zach and Jaimie were already aboard and had everything in order. Both of them were laughing at something one of them said. They looked good together, Zach with his olive complexion and dark good looks, Jaimie with her pretty face and Scots' red hair. Rafe couldn't remember seeing either of them smiling so often.

“Passengers ought to be here any minute,” Zach said, walking toward him.

“Got a call this morning. It'll only be two instead of the four who paid for the trip. I guess the others had a problem of some kind and couldn't make it.”

“Should be an easy day then,” Zach said.

Rafe just nodded.
An easy day.
Except for his worry about what might be going to happen that they were still unprepared to stop.

Chapter Thirty-One

The boat was getting ready to head back to the harbor when things went sideways. In the far distance, beneath a mantle of white, the lower slopes of the mountains rising up from the Sound had begun to turn a rich bright green.

The day had been spectacular. Everywhere Olivia looked was blue. Blue sky, blue water, blue shadows cast by the sun onto the melting snow. Even with the swirl of intrigue around her, the open sea and obvious pleasure of the people aboard was contagious. Liv could feel the pulse of attraction between Zach and Jaimie, feel that same hot pull between her and Rafe.

And the passengers, an older couple from Los Angeles in their early fifties, were so clearly in love with Alaska and having the time of their lives on the water, there was no way to have anything but fun.

They stopped at one of Rafe's favorite fishing spots, where the black cod, lingcod, and snapper were practically leaping out of the sea. While the boat bobbed gently in the ocean, Connie Neiderman, a buxom blonde whose hair was silvering with the years, boomed out a throaty laugh as she worked to reel in one big fish after another.

Her husband, completely gray but still handsome, was having an easier time and just as much fun. While Zach and Jaimie worked with the pair, Rafe came out from behind the wheel to join Liv on deck. He must have seen her watching them with a trace of envy.

“You've got a license, right?” As if it were impossible for anyone who lived in Valdez not to have a fishing license.

Liv grinned. “I do. I bought one over at the sporting goods store on one of my afternoon runs. I figured if I was involved with a fisherman, sooner or later he'd want to go fishing.”

Rafe glanced over to make sure his passengers weren't watching, slid a hand down inside her jeans to cup her behind, and pulled her flush against him.

“Oh, you're involved, all right.” He nibbled the side of her neck. “The next time we're alone, I'll show you just how involved you are.” A gentle squeeze sent a pulse of heat into all her womanly places.

Olivia laughed and pulled his hand away, though she didn't really want to.

Rafe just smiled. “Let's get you rigged up. We can use a nice catch in the freezer.” At Rafe's nod, Jaimie rigged a pole, and for the next half hour, Olivia reeled in fish, so many her arms began to ache from hauling them up on deck.

The sun was climbing. “It's getting toward noon,” Rafe said. “Time to go home.” And though she'd loved every minute out on the sea, she was ready.

He turned to his first mate. “Go ahead and take her in, Zach.”

Zach grinned ear to ear, went inside and stood behind the wheel. The engines rumbled to life.

In another few seconds they would have been underway, skimming at twenty knots over the surface of the water. The explosion in the bottom of the bow would have blown backward, into the center of the boat, killing everyone on board.

Instead, as the boat idled in the ocean, the bomb blew off the lower front portion of the
Scorpion
, shooting a geyser of water and debris into the air, pitching the boat so violently, Jaimie and Connie Neiderman flew overboard into the sea.

Olivia's ears rang as she struggled up from the deck, head pounding, fighting to gather her senses. A wet trickle of blood ran down the side of her face from a flying chunk of debris. The deck tilted wildly. Icy water rushed in. It was already up to her knees as she struggled to her feet and sloshed toward where Jim Neiderman lay groaning, his arm tilted at an odd angle, obviously broken.

Zach was on the radio, frantically calling the Coast Guard, shouting a mayday and relaying their position. She heard a splash and turned to see Rafe dive into the sea. Connie Neiderman had gone under. Ten yards away, Jaimie was treading water, her head above the surface, but just barely. Something was wrong. Jaimie was in trouble.

Liv didn't take time to think, just dragged off her sneakers, turned and dove into the ocean. She wasn't prepared for the shock of forty-degree water that hit her like a brick. While Rafe dove under, searching for Connie, Liv swam toward Jaimie.

She caught a glimpse of Zach, hauling out the bright yellow inflatable life raft, grabbing life rings and tossing them out in the water, doing exactly the right things. Liv was a good athlete, always had been. She was a good swimmer, not nearly as capable as Rafe, but as she powered through the water, in seconds the icy cold began to sap her strength.

She reached Jaimie and locked an arm around her neck. “It's okay, I've got you. Just relax, sweetie. Let me get you over to the boat.”

Sea savvy, Jaimie weakly nodded and let Liv do the work. As the boat began to sink, she saw that Zach had put a vest on Jim Neiderman, but hadn't had time to grab one for himself. As soon as they went into the water, he started swimming, pulling Jim toward the life raft with long, confident strokes. He left Jim holding on to the raft and turned to look for Jaimie.

There was panic in his voice as he called her name, didn't see her at first. “Jaimie!” He spun around in search of her. “Jaimie!”

“She's here!” Liv called back. She knew he'd wanted to go after the girl himself, but he'd stayed, done what had to be done. Zach spotted them, started swimming toward them. He took over with Jaimie, soothing her as he swam toward the life raft, then began helping her and Jim into it.

Treading water, Liv turned in a circle, searching for Rafe, the chill turning her body sluggishly numb. When she didn't see him, fear gripped her.

She hadn't seen him surface. Not once. There was no sign of him or Connie. How long had he been down there? Dear God, maybe he'd been injured in the blast. Maybe he'd gone too deep and his oxygen had run out.

A fresh rush of adrenaline hit her and she started swimming toward the last place she had seen him. She dove under when she got there, frantically began to search for him beneath the surface of the sea.

She stayed down as long as she could, shot up for air, took in a big gulp, and dove under again. Searching madly, she caught no sight of him. Frantic now, she took a deep breath and turned to dive under again when his dark head broke the surface of the water. So did Connie Neiderman's.

He shook his head like a big wet dog, and a sob burst from Olivia's throat. “Rafe!” He was alive. He was okay.

“Liv! Dammit, why aren't you in the boat?”

“I had to find you. I had to.”

Something shifted in his eyes, something wild and fierce. He had Connie Neiderman in a carry position, but the woman wasn't breathing. “Keep moving. We've got to get out of the water.”

She didn't realize how exhausted she was until she saw how far the life raft had drifted from where they were now. Zach was manning an oar, paddling like crazy to reach them. Rafe was a stronger swimmer and he soon outdistanced her. As soon as he reached the boat, he and Zach loaded Connie aboard.

“Start CPR,” Rafe said. “I've got to get Liv.”

She could make it, she told herself. She wasn't that far away. But she was completely exhausted, her muscles weak and unresponsive. When Rafe swam up, hooked a powerful arm around her middle and started towing her the short distance left to the boat, she could have cried with relief.

Zach helped Rafe load her aboard, then Rafe used those strong arms to hoist himself into the rubber raft, where he quickly took over drowning CPR from Zach, blowing life into Connie Neiderman's lungs.

Time seemed to slow. Rafe just kept working over Connie. Two breaths, then thirty chest compressions. Two breaths, then thirty compressions. Liv wondered how long he'd continue before he gave up. Next to him Jim Neiderman was praying, his lips moving as he silently repeated the words again and again.

When the woman took a deep breath and coughed up a mouthful of water, Jim started crying. Liv blinked against the tears blurring her vision, swallowed past the lump in her throat, reached over and gripped Jim's hand.

“She's going to be okay, Jim. We're all going to be okay.”

He just nodded, a little embarrassed. Liv squeezed his hand. After being so terrified for Rafe, she understood exactly how he felt.

While Zach checked Jaimie and pronounced she had a concussion but otherwise seemed okay, Rafe moved Jim Neiderman so his broken arm would be in a more comfortable position. The entire time, Jim held his wife's hand and never let go.

“I saw what you did,” Jim said as Rafe dug blankets out of a waterproof bag. “You saved her. She wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you.”

“I'm the captain. I did what I'm supposed to do.”

“You did more. A lot more.”

Rafe's mouth edged up. “I've had some practice.” His beautiful brown eyes came to Liv. He reached out and cupped her face, leaned over and softly kissed her.

“You're amazing,” he said. “I already knew it, but today proved just how incredible you are.” His gaze held hers and her heart swelled.

Turning away, he spoke to Zach. “I assume you got the Coast Guard off their duffs and on their way to pick us up.”

“I made contact. They know the boat was yours. Cordova's not that far. It shouldn't take them long to get here.”

“What happened?” Jim wanted to know.

For an instant before he answered, Rafe's gaze locked with Liv's. “I'm not sure. It could have been a problem with the propane in the galley. Until the Coast Guard checks out the wreckage, we won't know for certain.”

But Olivia was certain. And so was Rafe. Someone had tried to kill them. It could have been Heng and a group of terrorists. Or it could have been someone from her past, someone who wanted to keep her quiet.

As Rafe dug into the emergency kit for something to use to splint Jim's arm, Olivia closed her eyes and leaned back against the rim of the inflatable raft. As they floated gently in the water, exhaustion settled over her. She felt Rafe's hand brush her cheek, opened her eyes and looked up to see his steady gaze on her face.

“Everything's going to be okay,” he said.

Her throat tightened.

Olivia couldn't force out a single word.

 

 

After what seemed like hours but was more like thirty minutes, a chopper appeared overhead. The door in the side of the helicopter slid open, and a man in an orange
COAST GUARD RESCUE
uniform stood in the doorway with a bullhorn in his hand. “Hey, Brodie. How's it feel to be on the other end of the rescue?”

Rafe's dark eyes crinkled at the corners. “I'd rather be up there with you!” he shouted over the
whop
of the rotors.

A two-way radio was lowered into the raft along with some blankets. A Coast Guard boat was on its way. Rafe told them there were two people in the raft with injuries severe enough to require air transportation.

The two-way crackled. “You're a legend around here, Brodie. You still remember how to do this, right?”

“I remember.”

The basket came down and Rafe went to work, loading and securing Connie Neiderman inside. Once she was hoisted up and brought aboard the chopper, the basket returned and Jim was hauled up.

“Nice work,” the guy on the radio said to Rafe. “Boat's almost here. I can see it on the horizon. Just hang tough.”

“Will do. Great job. Thanks for coming to the party.”

The guy on the radio chuckled. The chopper swung away and the small group settled in to wait. They needed to get warm and dry, but the Coast Guard boat would be equipped for that.

Olivia thought of Rafe's prized
Sea Scorpion
scattered in bits and pieces across the ocean and felt a sharp pang for the loss he must be feeling.

She couldn't help hoping some kind of equipment failure had caused the explosion. She prayed it wasn't her fault.

But she couldn't make herself believe it.