We could take advice from shipbuilders. They know how to pack a lot of functionality into a small space.
—HAMMER GIRL BLOG
Grayson, his hands bound behind him, sat on a wooden bench in a tiny cabin in the hold of the ship. His knee throbbed, and something wet obscured his vision and trickled down his face. The coppery taste of the moisture on his lips told him that moisture was blood. No matter how much he strained, he was unable to budge the ropes. He figured Nasser would be there any minute.
The door to the cabin opened, and Jason tumbled inside and hit the floor. His hands were bound behind his back, and blood trickled from his nose and mouth. He struggled to his feet and staggered over to the bench.
“How’d you get here?” Grayson asked.
“I spotted Ellie in a car with Isaac. She had her shoulder pressed against the door like she was trying to get away from him. I followed them at a distance and saw him tie her up and row her out here. I had an inflatable raft in my truck so I left a message for the sheriff, then paddled out to the ship. I tried to climb up on the aft side, but someone spotted me. Where’s Ellie?”
Ellie was in danger, and Isaac was behind this. “I haven’t seen her, but if she’s here, we need to find her.”
“What’s going on?” Jason’s brown eyes were bewildered. “Why would Isaac bring her here? I don’t understand.”
“We knew there was a mastermind behind a terrorist plot to set off an EMP bomb. Mac’s involved somehow, but we don’t have all the details of that. Isaac must be Wang, the mastermind.”
Jason slumped against the seat. “Wow, I had no idea all this was going on. So Isaac orchestrated the attacks on Ellie?”
“Apparently, though we still don’t know why.” And why bring Ellie out here?
The door opened, and Nasser stepped in. His dark eyes held a triumphant glint, and his grin revealed the most obnoxious gloating. “Bradshaw, we meet face-to-face at last.”
“What have you done with Ellie?” The muscles in his arms tensed as he wrestled with the rope.
“She’s safe and sound. For now. I can’t tell you how much pleasure it will give me to see you both go down with this ship. I’ll finally be rid of you. It’s been a long time coming.”
“Let her go. She’s done nothing to you.”
“She and her sister nearly derailed my plans.” He tipped his head and studied Grayson. “Romantic attachments can be so messy. I think I’ve learned my lesson this time. You won’t have a chance to learn from your mistakes.”
A shout came from outside somewhere, and Nasser turned to the door. “I’d better see what’s going on. I’ll be back.” He stepped into the hold and pulled the door shut behind him.
Now was the time.
Grayson twisted his wrists together, but the ropes didn’t budge. Most sailors knew how to tie knots good and tight. “We’ve got to get free. Let me see if I can untie you.”
He moved until his back was to Jason’s and tried to loosen the knot with the limited movement he had in his fingers. The rope was too stiff and tight to make any headway.
“I can’t get it. See if you can do anything with mine.”
Jason fumbled with the knot for several minutes. “I’m not getting anywhere. We need a knife or something sharp.” His head came up. “I don’t think they took my box cutter. It’s a flat piece of metal with a slit in it, so they probably missed it. See if you can get it out of my back pocket. It might work.”
Jason turned his back to Grayson, and Grayson fumbled with his numb fingers to try to reach the box cutter. The rough hemp scraped his wrists as he worked to get it. “Got it.”
He maneuvered the slit so the rope could slide into it and reach the blade. The rope was a little wide, but after some twisting, he felt the hemp move.
“I’m free!” Jason tossed the rope to the floor and took the box cutter to Grayson’s bonds.
In moments Grayson’s hands were free too. He twisted them around to get the blood flowing to his fingers again, then moved quietly to the door. He couldn’t see much through the window, so he opened the door a crack. They seemed to be in the bow of the boat, and crates and barrels filled the space outside the cabin. He motioned for Jason to be quiet, and they moved through the obstacles. Voices came their way, and they ducked down behind some barrels.
There were few cabins here, and Ellie was in none of them. The only space to be searched was the hold at the stern. The men moved through the shadows, and when they were gone, Grayson checked several rooms along the hold. Most held bunks, but a movement in one of them made him stop. Mackenzie sat on a bunk. Ellie would be so relieved to discover she was alive.
Jason made a small sound behind him, and his eyes widened when he saw his ex. Grayson held his finger to his lips.
Boots stepped onto the ladder at his side, and he ducked back into the shadows with Jason. Isaac moved nimbly down the steps, then turned and went back to the room they’d vacated. They would only have moments to get out of here.
How long had Ellie been in the head? The sailor would be pounding on the door any minute.
A heavy fist beat on the door, and the sailor shouted in Korean. She had no idea what he was saying, but she knew he was about to come barging in.
“I’m ready!”
He shoved open the door and glared at her before saying something else in Korean and jabbing his thumb toward the room. She nodded as though she understood and shuffled after him. There had to be a chance to make a break for the ladder and freedom.
Another sailor hailed him, and he pointed for her to go back to the room as he stepped over to talk to the other man. This was her chance. The ladder to the deck was only five feet away. Moving as silently as she could, she moved toward it. The two men seemed deep in conversation, and she prayed she’d escape without them noticing.
She’d put one foot on a step when her captor started to turn. He’d see her any moment and give a shout. Before she could decide what to do, Mac kicked at the door and called out in Korean behind her.
Both sailors turned away from Ellie to stare at the door, and Ellie scurried up the ladder as fast as she could. She poked her head out under the stars and looked around. Several sailors stood talking at the bow, and she caught a few words of Korean. And Clint was with them. Her hands curled into fists, and she wished she could pummel him. Had he killed Gray? She couldn’t bear to think of what was happening to the man she loved.
Yes, loved. She could admit it now that she feared she’d lost him.
She didn’t have the luxury of striking Clint. To the port side, farthest from the shore, the railing was unprotected by any sailors. She darted for the side and slung one leg over the railing.
Clint turned and spotted her, shouting after her. He rushed toward her, but she jumped over the side before he could reach her, then dove under the water. The grip of cold water squeezed the breath from her lungs. She had to get help before hypothermia took her down.
She swam for the bow, which would be the opposite direction they would expect since it faced out into the strait. A splash came when she surfaced close to the hull, and she kept her head down. Just as she thought, the sailor was swimming toward the stern.
She dove under the water again, then set off into the strait toward a tall ship moored in the distance. All her fears about sharks swimming under her tightened her chest, but she pushed away her terror and set off again. If she could get aboard one of the ships, the captain could call the Coast Guard. She had to get help for Mac. A large wave swamped her, and she went under, then came up with saltwater burning in her nose and throat.
Her strokes seemed ineffective and helpless. She paused to tread water and catch her breath. The cold water stole her strength, and she wished she could stop the fight, sink under the water, and sleep, but she couldn’t fail. Mac was depending on her. And the entire region was at risk.
She started for the ship again, and a cramp seized her left leg. Biting back a cry, she paused again and massaged it.
“Help me, Lord.” She floated on her back a moment and looked up at the stars. She had to get to the other ship.
Had to.
Panic drove her on, past her own endurance, and she glanced behind once to see no one was in pursuit. Two splashes nearer to the shore were likely from sailors dispatched to find her. She gritted her teeth and moved to the ship’s side by the ladder. Pausing, she treaded water and shouted, “Help!”
She grasped the rope ladder with numb fingers and began to climb as several sailors looked over the side of the boat. “I need help,” she gasped.
It was all she could do to climb up to the deck. When she practically fell over the railing, a deckhand dropped a blanket around her shoulders. “Call the Coast Guard.” Her teeth chattering, she told him what was happening, and he raced to radio the Coast Guard for help.
She prayed they arrived in time. Those madmen were likely to simply set off the bomb early.
In moments Isaac would see he was gone. Grayson darted forward into the hold, then held his hand to his lips and slipped into the room to pull Mac to her feet.
“I’m a friend of your sister’s,” he whispered. “I’m with the Coast Guard. We have to get you out of here.”
He led her out the door and propelled her toward the starboard side of the hold. There was a small space between stacks of crates, and he wedged in there with Mackenzie and Jason. Running footsteps came back their way, and they all froze, ducking down even farther.
Isaac shouted, and his footsteps pounded back up the steps.
The search would be on. “I have to stop the bomb,” he whispered in her ear. “Jason, you get her out of here.”
Her lips flattened, and she started to shake her head. “You might need us.”
“You need to get out of here.” From his training he knew there were small nuclear weapons, but to set one off as an EMP, it would have to be able to be launched into the atmosphere. He walked around the hold looking at the contraption he’d seen when he first came down.
It looked like a small, narrow cannon, but if this was it, the nuclear rocket wasn’t loaded yet. Where could it be? He eyed the crates and found one with the lid partially pried off. He wrenched it off the rest of the way and looked inside. Then gulped at the sight of what was clearly a bomb.
Mackenzie’s shoulder pressed against his. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it has to be.” There was a control panel where the codes would be input. Was it armed even now? He looked closer and saw the clock wasn’t ticking down. “I don’t think it’s armed yet.”
A bullet whizzed by his head, and Jason fell hard against a crate, then landed on the floor. He didn’t move. “Get down!” Grayson jerked Mackenzie down with him, then peered over the top of the crate to see Isaac advancing toward them with a gun. Two armed men were behind him. Grayson curled his hands into fists and wished he had his firearm. He spared a glance at Jason, but the man wasn’t moving. Blood poured from a wound on his arm and another on his head.
Grayson motioned to Mackenzie to crawl through the tunnels created by the stacks of crates. “Make a little noise,” he whispered. When she started to the starboard side, he moved port side and peered past the edge of a crate to see Isaac and his henchmen moving toward the other two.
Lord, help me. Grayson barreled out of the cramped space and leaped on top of Isaac’s back before the man could swing his gun around. He wrestled Isaac around toward the other two men so he was facing them, then grabbed at Isaac’s gun. It wavered close to Grayson’s head, and Isaac’s mouth was stretched in a snarl as he struggled to pull the trigger.
“Shoot him,” Isaac yelled.
The other two men tried to circle around him with their guns, but Grayson kept Isaac in front of him. He managed to squeeze Isaac’s wrist in a tight grip, then shook his arm until the gun went skittering across the floor. Grayson kept Isaac’s arms pinned behind his back and used him as a shield.
He spun him around closer to the other men. “Throw down your weapons or I’ll break his neck.” Isaac struggled to free himself, but Grayson easily kept him under control. “Tell them to throw down their weapons.”
“Shoot him!” Isaac shouted again.
Footsteps thundered above them, and a man called out, “Coast Guard, drop your weapons.”
Isaac fought with renewed strength, but Grayson kept him locked down. The men looked at each other, then tossed their guns to the floor.
Grayson thought it was all over until he heard a war cry behind him and turned to see Nasser barreling down the ladder toward him with a saber in his hand.