still commanding America’s one remaining carrier force in the Pacific, didn’t know either. Maybe he’d make it up as he went along. With a touch of whimsy, Nimitz had told the staffers and newspaper reporters that the
Later that day, as Dane and a number of others looked on the empty anchorage, he realized that Amanda must have felt much the same sense of loss when the three submarines left Pearl Harbor. At least he hoped she had, he thought, and wondered if he was being greedy. Sometimes the depth of his feelings for a woman he’d known for such a short time surprised him, but she had moved him and he thought he’d at least gotten a little bit to her too.
He laughed harshly. Maybe someday the gods of chance would smile on them and they’d be reunited only to find out that they didn’t care for each other at all. He realized that he desperately wanted to know one way or another.
Damn it to hell, he felt like a lost kid.
Tonight they would leave. To Amanda and the other two women it was both exhilarating and frightening. It was a long way from Hawaii to California, and so much could go wrong on a journey that was dangerous to begin with and could easily prove fatal. Granted, they had all learned a lot about sailing and each other in the last few weeks, but did they know enough to make it across the Pacific? There was only one way to find out.
Every spare inch of the catamaran was packed with food and water. Each person was allowed one small suitcase, which meant that a lot of personal treasures would be left behind. Amanda was fortunate in that all her really important possessions were still at her parents’ house back in Maryland.
Mack had decided to leave this night because of still more rumors of Japanese ships in the area, coupled with the fact that their preparations were beginning to attract attention. He said he was afraid that a panicky mob might storm the boat and either steal it or destroy it while trying to get away. They had guns, but shooting other islanders was not part of the plan, at least not yet. Mack said he’d chased away a couple of scrawny local would-be tough guys who seemed far too interested in the
Amanda was back at the car, which was parked a good hundred yards from the boat. She’d gone there for one last check to see if she’d left anything important behind. She hadn’t. On a whim, she decided to leave the keys on the front seat. She sure as hell wasn’t going to be driving it any longer. Let some islander enjoy it and the half tank of precious gas, along with tires that still had some tread life on them.
Screams and shouts pierced the air, paralyzing her for an instant. She got control of herself and moved slowly and stealthily toward where the catamaran was anchored in shallow water. It was just off the beach and in water that was barely knee deep. As she got closer, she saw two men whom she quickly identified as Ace and Mickey. They were struggling with Sandy and Grace, while Mack was down on his hands and knees and apparently unable to get up.
Ace and Mickey were obviously hellbent on hurting her friends and stealing the
The attackers had their backs to the water and the sailboat, which presented Amanda with an opportunity, however slim. The two men had knives, but apparently no guns. Mack looked badly hurt, but there was nothing she could do for him right now. The men were wrestling with Sandy and Grace and pulling at their clothes. They would be raped before the men departed, and possibly killed. They knew it and were fighting back desperately, clawing and screaming, despite the unlikelihood of anyone hearing them.
Keep up the noise, Amanda prayed as she slipped into the shallow, warm water. She crawled silently to the cat and hauled herself on deck. She slid on her belly to the cabin where Mack had stored the weapons. Of the three, she liked the Winchester the best and quietly took it from the container. She checked and found it loaded.
She couldn’t see Mack, but Ace and Mickey were still ripping the clothes off Sandy and Grace, who were screaming and wrestling while their attackers yelled and laughed. She couldn’t shoot at them because they were all twisted up together. Amanda took a deep breath and fired one shot in the air. The noise stunned everyone.
“Drop them!” she yelled, wondering if that was quite the thing to say.
“Bullshit,” yelled Ace, the one holding Sandy. She was already naked from the waist down and one of his hands was between her legs. Grace was totally nude and being held by Mickey. He threw her aside and pulled out a knife.
Amanda fired and hit him in the leg. He fell screaming as blood began to gush from his wound. Ace twisted Sandy to use her as a human shield.
“Drop the gun or I’ll kill her.”
Amanda wavered. Once again, she didn’t have a clear shot. The man she’d shot had stopped moving and was glaring at her. His blood-covered hands clutched his wound and it didn’t look like she’d hit an artery.
“Don’t believe me?” Ace snarled. “Watch.”
Before Sandy’s attacker could move his knife into position, he flinched and a look of disbelief crossed his face. He staggered and reached behind him only to find Mack was pulling his own knife out of the man’s back. Mack quickly sliced it across Ace’s throat. Ace fell forward as blood pumped out. His arms and legs flopped for a moment and then he stopped moving.
Mack walked across to Mickey, the man Amanda had shot. He was whimpering and trying to crawl away. Mack reversed the knife and hit him hard on the back of the head. Mickey quivered and lay still. His leg wound continued to bleed.
Mack looked around coldly. “Good job, Amanda. Always knew you were the strong one. Now, the two of you get dressed and get all your shit onto the
Grace had put on her torn blouse and panties and pointed to the unconscious attacker. “You’re not going to kill him?”
“You want me to?”
“He wanted to rape me, so yeah, I do.”
Mack nodded. “What about you?” he asked Sandy, who had managed to put on her shorts.
“I don’t want you to kill anybody on my behalf.”
Grace sagged. “I don’t either, I guess. Why don’t we just get the hell out of here?”
“I’ve got the gun and I don’t want any more killing, either,” said Amanda.
Mack laughed. “You got all the votes, then.” He walked over and checked the wounded man’s pulse. “Not that it matters, Amanda, but you didn’t kill him.”
In the distance they heard sirens. Someone had heard the shooting and the screams and called the cops. “Now it’s really time to go,” Mack said, “unless you want to spend the next several days or longer explaining what we’re up to, and maybe having all our stuff confiscated because we might be hoarding.”
“But we’ve done nothing wrong,” Amanda said.
Mack laughed harshly. “Maybe you haven’t, but let’s just say that maybe I’m not a virgin and my past might not stand up to a serious investigation. They do a little digging and find out what I used to do and we’ll all be in jail while they sort things out.”
Shit, thought Amanda. Why hadn’t they realized that Mack really was a crook? Too late now. “Then let’s get going,” she said.
Headlights were visible on the road leading to the shore. They climbed aboard, hauled up the anchor, pushed off, and set the sail. The catamaran moved slowly at first and they tried to help out by paddling. She soon picked up speed as her large square sail filled with the wind. The surf was wondrously calm and they made deep water quickly. Amanda looked back and saw several people walking around where they’d just left. She wondered if the police could even see the cat as they sailed away.
“Don’t worry about the cops,” Mack said. “They’ll probably think those two jerks hurt each other fighting, and the living one won’t disagree. He’ll claim it was self-defense and maybe even get away with it. Can you even imagine him telling the cops they were trying to steal the cat and were going to rape you ladies as an explanation
