Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 12

Kevin plunged beneath the surface and caught sight of a rope trailing from the stern of the boat, the end of the line attached to the sonar device they used to map the ocean floor around the reef. With an idea in mind, he burst out of the water next to Rachel.

"The rope. We can use it to get away."

Recognition flashed in her eyes.

He unbuckled his vest and let his air tank sink to the bottom. It would only create resistance.

Rachel removed her tank as well and released it.

"Follow me," he shouted.

Kevin dove at a sharp angle away from the boat. So did Rachel. The end of the nylon cord came into view as they neared the sandy bottom.

Arms outstretched, he found the sonar probe, removed the rope and coiled it around his hands. Rachel wrapped her arms around his rib cage and clamped down so hard his breath expelled from his lungs.

He swiveled his head to see a shark barreling toward her fins. She pulled her knees tight to her body, instinctively trying to evade the threat.

Kevin jerked on the line, willing the boat to move.

Finally, the propeller blade churned into action.

The rope tightened as the trawler sped up, pulling them away from the reef. The boat built up speed until they traveled at a decent clip, the jaws of the shark nearing Rachel. She tucked her legs even tighter into her body. The predator bit down on nothing but water, missing her fins by inches as the boat dragged them away.

As the boat moved faster, Kevin felt like his wrists were going to snap. The vice-like pressure constricted around his joints, squeezing the tiny bones and stretching the tendons to their limits. Intense pain flared up and down his arms, but he held fast to the end of the rope, with Rachel clinging to him.

To make the situation worse, his dive mask ripped off his face and disappeared in the torrent of water, their bodies spinning in the trawler's wake.

Momentum pushed them beneath the surface, and with the same force, propelled them up and hurled them into the air. The bones in Kevin's left wrist popped from the binding rope. He yelped in agony, pain pulsing through his arm.

For an instant, a flicker of land whipped by. He snatched a quick breath before diving beneath the waves again.

Rachel's hands slipped to his waist, but snagged his weight belt. She was a fighter, but at this speed, the boat could easily rip the rope from his hands.

Kevin waited for them to break the surface again. He sensed it coming, and then it happened. They shot out of the water like a dolphin with a clipped fin, gyrating and off balance.

He had a split second to assess their location.

The wheelhouse appeared with Ishikawa inside, steering the boat. Beyond that was land, less than a hundred yards away. The captain had altered course and was running parallel with the coast, heading back to the harbor.

Kevin assumed if Captain Ishikawa saw them, he'd stop the trawler and finish them with his gun. He also knew if the sailor didn't know they were alive, he wouldn't make further attempts to kill them while on the island.

Now was the time.

Kevin rolled on his back, creating an even plane on top of the water. He wiggled one hand free and unwound the rope from his injured wrist. The line straightened and left them behind; the beating subsiding until they slowed to a bobbing drift. At last, their bewildered forms grounded to a halt, watery foam swirling around them.

"Well." Kevin grimaced at Rachel. "I broke my wrist."

As much as he dreaded the swim to shore, he was glad to see the trawler growing smaller on the horizon.