Chapter Ten
Casey awoke to a sick feeling in her stomach and a raging headache. She remembered hitting her head on the dashboard and then had a foggy memory of the pinch of a needle in her arm. She looked down and saw a little red mark where it looked like someone had injected her with something, and her head felt groggy. Her mouth was dry and felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, and she realized with some alarm that she was tied to the chair she was sitting on with duct tape around her wrists and ankles.
The sun was coming up, rosy through the small porthole that showed the horizon, so she knew at least one night had passed since they’d been captured by the bad guys. She also realized she was on a boat of some kind. That porthole, the rocking motion and the slight sickness in her stomach were all the proof she needed. She’d never been a good sailor, though she loved the ocean.
Hal was nowhere to be seen, and she instantly worried about what they might be doing to him. She sat there, trying to think of a way out for what seemed like hours. She could hear muffled voices through the thin walls of the boat. She couldn’t figure out what they were saying. Some of it sounded like another language. So far, she’d seen no one on this boat, and she wondered what they’d do to her now that they had their real prize.
They’d wanted Hal, and they’d apparently gotten him. She remembered seeing the airbag deploy. Hal had been covered in blood and unconscious when she slid into darkness after him.
Undoubtedly, they were holding him prisoner too.
She sat, thinking through her options, what few there were for a good couple of hours before she heard a loud commotion on deck. Gunshots rang out. Moments later, Hal pushed his way through the small hatch that had kept her isolated in the small cabin.
“Hal.” She kept her voice to a whisper though she felt like shouting.
“Are you all right?” He moved fast to rip through the layers of duct tape that held her to the chair. He spared a moment to kiss her soundly, and she could feel the relief in him.
“I’m okay. You?”
He shrugged. “Good enough for now. I’ve taken out the crew, but we need to get off this boat. They’ve got others in the area and if we take the boat, they’ll follow it and hunt us down.” She headed for the door close on his heels. “The crew of this tub is supposed to check in with the speedboats every half hour. I made sure they’d just checked in before I took them out. That gives us a half hour at most before the speedboats move in to see what’s wrong. We need to be well away before then.”
He talked briskly as he brought her up on deck, avoiding the areas where he’d hidden the bodies of the crew. He headed for the rail at the far end of the boat where the speedboats would have the least visibility. He’d studied their movements for a few hours before making his move. For one thing, he needed the light of day to make his escape a little easier on Casey. For another, he had to gather his strength.
That knock on the head from the accident had hurt him more than he liked and whatever dope they’d injected into him had made him sick.
“I think I should warn you, I’m not a good swimmer.”
He kissed her quickly. “I’ll be with you, sweetheart. We’ve got to get off this boat. There’s no other way.”
He lowered her into the water then jumped down in beside her. He set off away from the boat and toward the distant shore with a steady, strong pace, but she soon fell behind. He stopped to tread water, reaching for her.
She clutched his shoulders as they rode the swells several miles offshore. The boat was growing distant, but it wasn’t far enough away to make him comfortable yet. Even worse, they were stuck out here in the middle of the ocean. She’d managed to paddle after him this far, but she was no Olympian by any stretch of the imagination.
“I’m sorry, Hal. I’m slowing you down. I told you I’m not a great swimmer.”
“Not to worry, sweetheart. I think I’ve got an ace up my sleeve.”
He held her loosely, helping her tread water and conserve her strength. She was already shivering in the cold water. Luckily the summer sun had warmed it a bit and they could last for a while. At least for the time it would take to get back to the island—he hoped.
“I can’t imagine what you have in mind, but I’ve trusted you this far.”
He smiled at her. “That’s the spirit. One of the reasons my unit has been working together on Plum Island is so that the doctors can keep an eye on us while we train our new abilities under top secret conditions. One of the things we’ve been working on is a form of telepathy. Several of my guys can communicate with each other, and we’re working on getting all of us up to speed, if possible.”
“You can talk mind to mind with them? Holy crap.”
“Well, actually,” he looked sheepish for a short moment, “I can’t do it with any of the guys yet. I’ve had some success with higher level animals.”
Her attention was caught by a group of dorsal fins approaching rapidly from behind him.
“You mean like sharks? I hope you mean you can talk sharks out of eating us.” Her eyes widened in alarm as the fins made straight for them.
He turned his head and chuckled. “No, sweetheart, they’re not sharks. They’re dolphins. That’s what I mean by higher level. Dolphins, Cas. Air-breathing, fast-swimming, intelligent dolphins. They’re coming to help us. I called them.”
Her gaze shot back to him, and she finally acknowledged the fierce blue light shining from his eyes. Her shoulders relaxed a bit. The fins did indeed belong to pretty, playful dolphins who, even as she watched, leapt up for a breath of air.
“I’m going to stay in communication with them and ask them to tow us to shore. They like to swim deep and can hold their breath much longer than we can. I’ll ask them to stay near the surface and pop up when I ask them to, so we can breathe. They like to play games and this is a new one for them.”
The biggest dolphin of the group was closing in on them, peeping out of the water on one side to look at them with one of his eyes before moving closer. He seemed interested in them and cautiously friendly, which was exactly the way she was feeling.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Some of her fear must have shown in her voice because he pulled her close for a quick kiss, squeezing her tight for a moment.
“It’s worth a try, right? Give them a minute to check us out. I’ll tell you when to grab on. These are wild dolphins so this could be a little tricky at first. Wait for my signal, okay?”
“You’re in charge, Hal. I trust you.”
Those three little words meant so much to him in that moment. He wished he could stop and tell her how much her trust meant. This woman had followed him into peril and without any training or preparation, had weathered the storm like a real trouper. She was his match in every way, and if they lived through this, he was going to ask her to make their relationship permanent and let fate decide how long they might have together.
He knew he would never be happy again without her, so he might as well risk everything. He wanted it all with her. Marriage, a home in the suburbs that she could decorate in pale yellow and white, maybe even some kids, and a white picket fence. The whole nine yards—or as much of it as he could manage given the twists and turns fate had taken in his life recently.
“I love you, Cas.”
He hadn’t planned to blurt it like that. It just came out. Oh, he’d said he loved her before, but never directly like this. The look on her face was his reward though, for his impulsive actions. Her luminous eyes filled with tears of joy.
“I love you too.”
His heart expanded and would have burst, except one of the dolphins chose that moment to head-butt Casey hard in the back. She squealed and dug her fingers into Hal’s shoulders.
“Ow! I thought you said these guys were friendly.”
He laughed, kissing her. His heart overflowed. There was work to do and he had to focus, but he needed a kiss first. He always needed Casey’s kisses. He backed off when the dolphins circled, reminding them of their presence.
“That was just a love tap. Don’t forget that guy outweighs you at least three times over and is mostly muscle. He didn’t mean to hurt you. He’s communicating curiosity and fun.”
“That is so cool,” she breathed.
He let her go, letting her tread water on her own while he worked with the dolphin that approached him.
“It’s about to get even cooler.” His focus was on the dolphin and his friend that was coming up alongside Casey at his request. They seemed to want to play with them, and he bathed their intelligent minds with thanks and caution about staying near the surface. They seemed to agree readily and were eager to set out for their new adventure with this odd human who could somehow speak with them.
“What’s he doing?”
Casey’s voice was rising in a bit of surprised fear as the dolphin’s buddy sidled up next to her, peeping one eye out of the water to spy her.
“He’s letting you know he’s there, and he wants to get a look at you. Just move slowly and let him investigate you.” He stroked his hand over the dolphin he was working with. “Get ready now. Stroke his side. Let him feel your hands on his skin. When I tell you, take a deep breath and grab hold of his dorsal fin down near the base and hang on. They’ll take us down a few feet under the surface since we can move a lot faster that way. They’ll come up for air when we need it.”
He watched carefully while she stroked the dolphin at her side.
“If you need to breathe before they surface, just let go and push for the top. You won’t be that far beneath the surface, and I’ll come get you. Don’t worry. I’ll keep track of you. If this doesn’t work, we’ll figure out another way to get to shore.”
She sent him a brave smile, and he had to hand it to her. She was obviously scared. It touched him that she was willing to trust him with her life. That meant more to him than he could say. Even the men in his unit took some time before they formed such a deep bond through combat. This beautiful woman, untrained, untried was willing to trust him with everything that was her. If he thought about it too long it would bring him to tears, he knew.
So he focused on the task at hand. The dolphins were surprisingly easy to communicate with. Each time he used his new talent, it seemed to get a little easier and he was glad. These friendly, intelligent creatures might be the only chance they had at making it to shore in one piece. Sure, he could probably swim it, but he wouldn’t leave Casey behind no matter what. He loved her too much.
“Are you ready, Cas?” He sent her a quick look to assess her readiness. She looked cautiously apprehensive, and the dolphins were raring to go. Now was the moment.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She smiled for him through her chattering teeth. He could see she was very cold, but it couldn’t be helped.
“On three.” He counted them down, simultaneously communicating mentally with the sea creatures. He prompted her to take a deep breath and hold it right before they submerged, and then the dolphins were off and swimming.
It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. The huge dolphins cut through the water faster than he would have believed, staying reassuringly close to the surface. The big male that let him hang on for the ride communicated its enjoyment of this new game and asked how Hal liked it.
He answered honestly with his joy and it seemed to please the dolphin, who moved a little faster after his friend. The rest of the pod swam alongside them, flanking and guarding below, before and behind in a protective move that made him wonder again at the intelligence of these masters of the ocean.
He signaled for a breath, and the dolphins rose to the surface. He took quick stock of their location and was amazed by how much distance they’d covered.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m good. That was incredible.”
Her enthusiasm brought a smile to his face. He shared her excited awe at their once in a lifetime experience.
“Ready for another go?”
She nodded, and they repeated the procedure of taking a deep breath and diving beneath the surface with their new dolphin friends. In less than an hour, they were approaching Plum Island’s rugged coast. The beach here was rockier than the groomed sand of Jones Beach or Fire Island. The dolphins were able to take them pretty close before they had to say goodbye. Hal gave him their thanks and promise to return any favor he could should they need him. He didn’t know how he could keep that promise, but his newly spooky friend Jeff had made him realize that sometimes the most improbable things really did come to pass.
He took Cas in his arms, towing her the rest of the way in to shore. He faced the strong currents near the beach for her. She was beat both physically and mentally. She’d been through the wringer today, and he was amazed by her stamina and fortitude. Still, he enjoyed using his newly acquired strength to bring her the rest of the way onto the beach.
He knew once he set foot on dry land they’d be setting off all kinds of perimeter alarms, and that was a good thing. His friends were on the island. They’d help him get her to a dry, safe place.