CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I’M SORRY YOU got involved in all this,” Jasper murmured from beside her on the forward deck of the big yacht as they watched the Asian men bring the last of the boxes from JASCO aboard. “I never wanted to see anyone get hurt.”
Kimber glanced over her shoulder at Dennis, who casually held a gun on her, before looking at Jasper. “Never wanted to see anyone get hurt? Maybe you should have thought about that before you stole money from your own company. Or before you helped kidnap my daughter. Or had your own head of security shot to death.”
Jasper flinched at the reminder that Henry had been killed not more than fifteen minutes ago. “That wasn’t my fault. Henry wasn’t supposed to be at the office today. Neither were you.”
Kimber glared at the man she used to think so much of. What a piece of crap. How the hell could she have been so wrong about him? And Dennis, too. She’d thought she knew both of them. Then again, she probably shouldn’t feel too stupid. Henry had been fooled, too, and he’d been around Jasper and Dennis much longer than she had. The truth was, she and Henry had been tricked by men they’d trusted. It wasn’t their fault. The blame lay entirely on those two deceitful assholes.
She and Henry had found Jasper and Dennis in the receiving warehouse with two men from some kind of DOD security organization. They’d already loaded up the classified projects into an unmarked white van and were getting ready to leave when Henry explained the concerns he had about the Chinese orchestrating the kidnapping in an attempt to get the entire JASCO technology portfolio out in the open for the taking. Jasper and Dennis had dismissed Henry’s concerns, saying he watched too many James Bond movies and that what he was suggesting was too complex to ever happen.
Kimber kicked herself for not realizing right then that Jasper and Dennis were protesting for all the wrong reasons. Henry had worried there might be someone on the inside involved in this scheme. She should have picked up on the fact that those insiders had been standing right in front of them.
But she and Henry hadn’t even considered the possibility, instead, continuing to argue that they should lock up the classified material at JASCO. They’d continued trying to make their point right up until the Chinese had shown up and started shooting.
Henry had pulled his gun and tried to defend them, but it hadn’t mattered. He and the two DOD agents had been gunned down in seconds. Kimber had been sure she was next, but the big Asian man in charge had decided to take her with them to help them get through any security at the marina. She doubted her presence had helped much. The two rent-a-cops had barely paid any attention to Jasper, Dennis, and the collection of Asian men carrying the equipment cases from the back of the van to the gleaming white ship at the end of the pier. Kimber had tried to catch their eyes, but the men were completely oblivious. And with the Asian’s gun jammed against her ribs, she hadn’t even been able to scream for help.
She was still wondering why they even bothered having security at the marina if that was all they were going to get out of them, when she felt the yacht move away from the dock. She glanced up at the wheelhouse deck above them and saw one of the Asian gunmen standing menacingly beside the captain of the boat, forcing him to take the ship exactly where they wanted. The poor man looked like he was close to losing it.
Kimber turned and looked out over the pier and the people moving along it. Her heart sank. No one had a clue she was in trouble. She considered trying to jump over the side and onto the dock but knew Dennis or one of the Chinese would shoot her before she reached the railing.
“I’m not going to let them hurt you,” Jasper said as the big boat picked up speed and moved past the other boats tied up along the pier. “I’ll convince Li Jun to let you go once we reach Mexico.”
Li Jun must be the big Chinese man who was in charge. Something told her Jasper wouldn’t be able to talk the man into releasing her that easily.
“What makes you think they’re going to let you and Dennis go?” she countered. “They already have the classified projects from JASCO, and now they have your boat and crew to take them anywhere they want to go. Once we get into deeper water, you’re probably going to be in as much trouble as I am.”
From the look of concern that crossed both men’s faces, they’d never even considered that possibility. What idiots.
She turned away, not bothering to listen as Jasper attempted to tell her she was wrong. Instead, she gazed at the other boats as they sailed out of the marina and into the deeper water of the bay, heading toward Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge beyond. Before long they’d be in open ocean, and whatever was going to happen…would happen.
Kimber was surprised she wasn’t freaking out more. She certainly had every right to be frantic. She had no doubt these men intended to kill her, and she sure as hell wasn’t ready to die. Not even close. When the time came, she knew she was going to fight like hell, and if that meant jumping off this yacht and taking her chances in the cold water of the San Francisco Bay, she’d do it.
But right then, she was amazingly calm. Scared, yes. But still calm. Maybe it was all the insanity she’d been through over the past few days. Maybe her body and mind were now numb to fear.
Or maybe it was because of Dalton. As insane and impossible as it seemed, she believed he’d show up and save her.
She knew that was crazy. He didn’t even know she was in trouble. And he certainly didn’t know where she was. Even if he did, it wasn’t like he could get on board a moving yacht. He was a Navy SEAL, not a pirate. Still, Kimber found herself smiling at the thought of him coming to her rescue. With Dalton, she liked to think that anything was possible.
Her smile faltered as she realized that she and Dalton had never gotten a chance to talk about the kind of relationship she wanted him to have with his daughter, how they felt about each other, how Kimber had fallen for him all over again. It hurt that he wouldn’t know how much she loved him. Had always loved him.
But at least Emma would have him in her life now. That was important, especially if Kimber didn’t make it home.
She was blinking back tears when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Li Jun coming onto the deck, a large handgun in one hand. Kimber’s heart pounded at the cold look in his eyes. This was it. The man had come up here to kill her.
She eyed the railing, calculating how many steps it would take to get to it. If she darted now—before they expected it— would she make it?
Dennis must have figured out what Li Jun intended as well because he took a step forward, holding up his hand. “This isn’t necessary. We can hold onto her until we reach Mexico. We’ll be long gone before she can tell anyone.”
Li Jun didn’t comment. Didn’t even blink an eye. He simply lifted the handgun and shot Dennis three times in the chest.
Kimber was so shocked that she didn’t even scream, not even as Dennis slumped to the deck without uttering a sound.
Finally snapping out of it, she ran forward and dropped down beside Dennis, praying he was okay, but knowing he wasn’t. Her fears were confirmed when she rolled him onto his back. Dennis was dead.
She looked around, hoping a nearby boat might have heard the gunshots. But there wasn’t another craft within a quarter mile of them. No one had heard anything.
Kimber turned Jasper’s way to see him running toward the stern of the ship. He disappeared around a corner just as Li Jun fired several shots at him. She had no idea where her former boss thought he was going. It was a big yacht, but not that big. Apparently, Li Jun thought the same thing since he ignored Jasper and turned to her, the gun coming back up.
Kimber jumped to her feet, ready to throw herself overboard, but before she could, there was a crashing sound. A split second later, the yacht shuddered and bucked. She fell, hitting the deck hard.
Gunshots sounded from somewhere on the stern of the yacht just as a long speedboat pulled up beside them. Li Jun threw himself sideways as a spray of bullets ripped apart the railing. He barely hit the ground before more gunfire echoed from the direction of the wheelhouse. It took Kimber a moment to realize what was happening, but then she realized that the Asian and the captain were fighting.
The yacht suddenly sped up, swerving back and forth in the water. If Kimber hadn’t already been lying on the deck, she would have gotten thrown there. She pushed herself up on her hands, trying to see what the hell was going on. She only got a glimpse of the person driving the speedboat as it zipped past, but it was enough for her to recognize Holden.
Kimber’s pulse spiked again, not in fear this time, but relief. If Holden was there, then so was Dalton.
That was when it hit her. Holden had slammed the speedboat into the side of the yacht so Dalton could jump aboard. He’d come to rescue her!
Li Jun was so focused on Holden and the speedboat he didn’t see Kimber scramble to her feet and race towards the stern. She was going to find Dalton and get the hell off this boat!