Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

steal another person she loved.
    Hooking her arm around his neck, she kicked and heaved for the surface with everything she had, relieved to find they hadn’t been pulled under far. The cold of the water drained her strength, causing her teeth to chatter. She backstroked for the Double Dippin’ , dragging Garrett with her, just as a shot ran out.
    The bastard was shooting at her now?
    Throwing a bomb on her boat wasn’t enough? What the hell had she ever done to piss off Cranky?
    Once she was out of the water she was going to kill the fucking bastard.
    She’d make sure he never hurt her or someone she loved again. Anger heated her muscles, and she made it to the stern, near the ladder. She grabbed the lowest rung with one hand, and rested, still holding Garrett’s head above water. How was she going to get him aboard if he didn’t wake up?
    What if he never woke up? Please God, she silently prayed. Make him wake up.
    Waves lulled against them, no longer threatening, more like cradling the both of them. As though pitying their useless efforts to stay alive. The evening seemed almost tranquil, hushed, as though pausing to watch. Garrett’s head rolled, something warm and sticky brushed her face, and he groaned. Sonya almost sobbed with relief.
    Then she heard the engine of Earl’s sputtering skiff split the eerie stillness. The mocking serenity of the night bore a shocking similarity to that of a horror movie just before the characters were slaughtered.
    Her heart pounded in tune to the theme of Jaws as Earl crept steadily closer.
    “Kyrrra? Where are you, Kyrrra?” Earl’s sing-song voice sent more shivers coursing through Sonya’s body.
    With no choice that she could see, Sonya let go of the ladder and swam them around the corner of the stern before Earl saw them. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep them both afloat while Earl played a sick Marco Polo, taking pot shots at them around the Double Dippin’ .
    Swimming to shore was no longer an option. She didn’t have the strength to get both Garrett and herself there, and as soon as she left the protection of the Double Dippin’, she’d be in open water—easy pickings for Earl, damn-his-cranky-hide, Harte.
    Where the hell was the Calypso?
    Then she heard another outboard engine roaring toward them. She prayed troopers were coming to the rescue loaded for bear and would take this son of a bitch down. Rather that than a member of her family hearing the explosions and coming to investigate. She couldn’t handle it if any one of them were hurt.
    The new skiff’s engine powered down. “Dad!”
    Aidan?
    Was he there for backup? For who? Her or his father?
    Garrett struggled in her grasp, coughing and giving away their location, as he came to full consciousness.
    “Sonya?” he croaked, his tone one of panic as he thrashed in the water.
    “Shhh,” she whispered near his ear, flooded with emotion that he was alive. Tears clogged her throat. She felt his body jerk with suppressed coughs, relieved he settled and didn’t need an explanation regarding their precarious situation. She relaxed her hold on Garrett as he began treading water on his own. She didn’t know how much longer she’d have been able to keep them both from sinking.
    “You okay?” he whispered back. The concern in his tone brought a lump to her throat.
    She nodded, knowing that Garrett wasn’t okay, afraid he bled from a head wound.
    “Dad, what are you doing?” Aidan asked. “Why are you wasting all the fireworks?”
    “What fireworks?” Sonya heard the confusion in Earl’s voice.
    The man was nuts. First he was calling her Kyra and now he didn’t remember throwing homemade fireworks at them?
    “I’m throwing pipe bombs.” He cackled. “They do a fine job blowing up boats. At least they did.” She could imagine Cranky scratching his head. “Must’ve messed up on the mixture. That one didn’t do much more than boom and smoke.”
    “Why don’t we head back to camp and try to get the formula right?” Aidan said.
    “Sure. Just as soon as I’m done here.” Sonya heard the skiff inch closer. The cold was making her fingers numb and her limbs sluggish. Ten minutes was all this water allowed before hypothermia set in. Those minutes were ticking by fast, if not altogether gone.
    A flashlight clicked on, shining in Sonya’s eyes, blinding her. Garrett moved her behind him, using his body as a shield.
    “There you are, Kyrrra,” Earl said, sadistic pleasure coming