“Incoming.”
Her announcement threw everyone into activity.
Dak waved his arm toward the cabin. “Everyone in position. We wait until they’re on board to make the arrests.”
He tossed a rope ladder over the side before following Kevyn into the cabin.
Several agents remained outside, toward the back of the boat. If Tio and his crew didn’t find some people on deck, working, they’d probably be suspicious.
Tension rippled through the air.
She hoped, even prayed, that the men on the boat wouldn’t fight back.
Because no matter what she told Dak, she was far from being in top form.
Her hips already ached from limping around with the walking boot. If she moved wrong, pain radiated up her core, too. Whether from the cracked rib or simply general trauma from hitting the ground, she wasn’t certain.
Either way, going into a gunfight in this condition could end badly for more people than just her.
She should stand down. Now, before someone got hurt.
“Dak.” She hissed his name so as not to draw extra attention.
He leaned in, but didn’t speak.
“I…” Man, it hurt to say this. “I think it’s best if I sit this out.”
A slow smile spread as he sagged back against the wall behind him. “Phew. I was dreading ordering you to do that.”
She grinned, even though she didn’t feel at all happy about it. “Problem solved.”
He nodded at the ladder leading downstairs. “Head below deck. That way I won’t have to worry about you getting caught in the middle.”
Turning, she trudged across the cabin to the steep stairs, or ladder, leading below deck.
As much as she hated to feel like dead weight, if she didn’t sit this one out, someone on her team might actually end up dead.
₪ ₪ ₪
Dak breathed a prayer of thanks as Kevyn carefully navigated the steep descent below deck.
Something told him this Tio character would not go quietly. He couldn’t be watching Kevyn – or wondering if she was physically capable of having his back – if this came to blows.
“They’re about to board,” the captain muttered, his voice tight.
“JD, you’re up.”
Tio, Mitch, and the rest of the crew hadn’t seen JD before, so they couldn’t recognize him. From a distance, JD was about the same size and coloring as the captain, so if Tio knew what the captain looked like, JD could reasonably pass for him until they got too close.
The captain crouched down beside the wheel and JD stepped in.
Dak pulled his baseball cap a little lower.
He didn’t know how many, if any, of Tio’s men might have seen him, but he couldn’t take the chance someone would recognize him.
Like Mitch.
A head appeared at the ladder.
Not someone he recognized, but judging by the size of the man, he was part of the group’s muscle. With bulging biceps and a thick neck, the man’s eyes shifted from one end of the deck to the other. Evidently satisfied, he climbed over the railing and landed solidly on deck.
Another man boarded, also someone he didn’t recognize, also built solidly.
Both men held guns.
The third man was about the same height, but had a leaner build. From the way the other two men snapped to attention, he guessed this guy was in charge.
Tio.
He studied the man under lowered eyes. The build looked about right for the picture Kevyn had sent.
Another face appeared.
Mitch Taylor.
Dak turned slightly so he wasn’t facing head on, and pretended to be messing with instruments.
The four men approached the cabin, the man he guessed to be Tio taking the lead.
No one else appeared at the ladder.
Either this was the extent of the men on board the boat or the others were waiting to board.
He didn’t like that idea. Not one bit.
If the takedown didn’t go smoothly, reinforcements could take them by surprise.
He glanced out the back window of the cabin and caught Sid’s eye, giving a slight nod.
The team whipped into action.
“FBI!”
“Drop the weapons!”
“On the ground!”
The shouts echoed around the cabin.
Dak and JD both trained their weapons on the men outside.
The two thugs raised their guns and fired several shots. The glass windows shattered, raining shards down on the ship’s wheel.
Dak ducked down, using the instrument panel to shield most of his body. Out of his peripheral, he sensed JD doing the same.
A chorus of gunshots responded.
One of the thugs went down. The other dropped his gun and clutched his shoulder. Blood oozed between his fingers.
Mitch had already dropped to the deck and lay face down, hands covering his head.
Tio stood still, eyes darting toward the ladder only about ten feet away.
Dak sighted on him. “Don’t do it, Tio!”
The man started at the sound of his name.
“Down. Now. Or I will put you down by force.”
Part of him hoped Tio would resist. After what this jerk had done to Kevyn, it would be fitting.
Tio’s face flushed a dark crimson. He hesitated only a second before slowly lowering himself to the deck.
A flood of agents swept in.
Sid cuffed Mitch, Felicia cuffed Tio, and another agent cuffed the injured man. While one agent gathered the discarded weapons, another checked the downed man for a pulse and slowly shook his head.
Well, one dead. And not one on his side.
All in all, a good day.
“Kev, we got them.” He called down the ladder.
Her face appeared a second later.
Clearly, she’d been waiting. He watched as she slowly made her way up the ladder, one slow step at a time.
Well, she’d make it when she made it.
He strode from the cabin and joined the others on deck.
The three captives had been moved to a sitting position.
Mitch looked up at him before glancing away.
“Is anyone
