Convincing Lina: A Bachelor of Shell Cove Novel (The Bachelors of Shell Cove Romance Book 2) (37 page)

He stared at her in confusion.

She pointed to his bloody shirt and tried again, “Give me your first aid kit and I’ll patch your wound. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“This is a scratch, but I like the thought of your hands on me.” She ground her teeth together, forcing a smile to her lips.
 

“I’m a big woman. You are going to need every ounce of blood you’ve got to handle me.” Lust filled his eyes. Biting her lip, she maintained eye contact knowing he would view it as a challenge.

“A willing partner,” he crooned. “I like the thought of our first time without drugs.” He left the room and entered a capsule shaped door at the rear of the cabin.
 

Alone for a minute, she shored up her courage. It was now or never for her escape.
 

“Here you are, Princess.” Instead of giving Lina the full kit, Sky had retrieved antiseptic spray, topical antibiotic cream, gauze and tape. The man was no fool, because given the opportunity she’d have knocked his brains out his ear canal with the first aid box. Improvising, she extended her bound hands up to him.
 

“Untie my hands, please.”

“Not a good idea, for either of us. No need to tempt you with thoughts of escape.”

“Escape? I thought you said you were a professional. If a psychiatric nurse can penetrate your defenses you might be batting for the minor leagues.” A muscle ticked in his jaw and she wondered if she might have pushed him too far.
 

 
She had never been so happy to be a plus sized woman in her life. Neither Moon nor Sky had noticed the lumpy appearance to her waist.
 

Sky studied her with narrowed eyes. Lina smiled, extending her bound hands up to him from her seated position as if he were a deity. The arrogant smile that covered his sadistic face brought bile to the back of her throat.
 

“Try anything Princess and I will enjoy crushing each one of your fingers.”
 

“I won’t try anything.” The time for trying had passed. She would do everything to escape.
 

Sky reached behind his back and returned with a switchblade. Lina jumped at the release of the blade. She never took her eyes off Sky as the rope fell away from her skin. Her wrists ached. Visible bruises and rope burns covered her abused wrists.
 

“Clean me up, then remove your shirt.” Her heart slammed into her ribs.
 

“Lie down on the bed, please.” He made quick work of removing his shirt. Lina sucked in a breath. An angry red circular entry wound oozed blood from his right flank. The wound edges were jagged and swollen. Dried blood covered him from below his ribs to saturate the waistband of his trousers. She dropped to her knees, gathering the supplies in front of her on the bed.
 

“You’re a bullet wound virgin,” he teased. “You’ll get used to them. Who knows, maybe you’ll get one of your own.” She refused to look at him, knowing the fear racing through her insides showed on her face. With trembling hands she cleansed and bandaged his wound.
 

“You have a gentle touch, Princess. No wonder Troy, couldn’t let you go.” Lina squeezed her eyes shut. Gratitude wasn’t a reason to pretend what they shared all those years ago still existed. Storm gray eyes flashed in her mind.
I love you, Gideon
.
 

“Thank you.” She stood only to have Sky come to a seated position.
 

“Where do you think you’re going?” She pointed to the waste bin under the built-in desk unit.
 

“To throw the bloody gauze in the trash.”
 

She took her time crossing the room, praying for added strength. This would be her last opportunity. The vibrations from the yacht’s engines had roared to life during the wound cleanup. Gideon would be lost to her if she didn’t get off this thing. Was Janna fighting for her life, while she cleansed the blood from a killer’s skin?

“Remove your clothes, Princess.”
 

She froze.

“You said my top.” Her voice came out shaky.

“I changed my mind. Come and reward your patient.” She hated what she was about to do.
 

He sat on the edge of the bed, with his legs spread wide. Lina stood in front of him, just out of reach. She turned her back to him.
 

“Turn around. I want to see you.”

“I’m a southerner. We like to leave something to the imagination.” Grabbing the hem of her shirt, Lina pulled the material over her head. Letting instinct reign, Lina curled her right hand around BEYAS, then pulled it free from its hiding place. She twisted her body in Sky’s direction with a raised arm. He was still smiling when the first crack sounded against his skull. She delivered blow after blow until his body fell limp at her feet.
 

Quickly, she shoved her hand through BEYAS’s blood soaked lariat, securing it around her wrist. Grabbing the syringe and the key card, she stepped over an unconscious Sky.
 

Lina opened the two doors in the lower cabin, calling out to Janna. God please, let me find her.
 

Hitting the deck at a dead run, Lina was frantic to find the other woman.
 

“Janna!” Please answer me. A Crosshill bird call sounded from the corridor in front of her. Gideon had come for her. Hope filled her lungs, then an ear piercing scream filled the night with the intensity of a summer lightning storm. Oh God, that was Janna.

Gideon bolted across the deck in the direction of Lina’s voice. The need to protect her burned a hole in his gut.

“Lina!” he called.
 

“Gideon I’m here.” Hearing Lina’s sultry tone, he could breathe again for the first time since this ordeal started.
 

“Somebody help me.” Desperation filled each syllable in the lithe voice Gideon recognized Janna’s. He picked up speed in the direction of Janna’s cry. Close to the railing, Gideon spotted Janna kicking and punching a man twice her size. Gideon charged toward the pair.
 

Once he was in striking distance, Gideon delivered a staggering kick to the back of the man’s knee.
 

He buckled, before collapsing to the deck, bellowing in agony.
 

“Janna, get away from the railing.” Janna looked up at him, and began to run toward the yacht’s center.
 

Janna yelled something, but he was having a hard time hearing her. The wind intensity increased. He strained to catch a fraction of what she said.
 

“Chum lake around the boat,” she screamed. “Sharks circling.” These guys were twisted.
 

In one swift move, Gideon’s legs were kicked out from under him. The impact of hitting the deck rattled his teeth in their socket. Blood coated his mouth where he bit his tongue. An unexpected blow to the side of the head had him rolling right, away from the next punch.
 

“That was for touching my Lina.” What the hell? Gideon shook off the after affects of the head blow.
 

“You’ll never have her,” Gideon stated bluntly. Rage covered Moon’s face before his roar filled the air.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you. Lina will forget all about you after one night with me.”

“No one touches my wife.” Lina was his. And he’d fight to keep her until his last breath. Gideon rolled to his side, coming to his feet. Moon was bulky, but Gideon had reach. Standing in a wide based stance, Gideon threw a punch at Moon’s face. He drove his fist down, angling for the thin flat bone between the eye and the nose. Gideon felt the bone shatter under the skin. Howling in pain, Moon staggered backward. Gideon saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He braced himself for impact. Lina materialized and jumped into his arms. She showered kisses on his face.
 

“You came for me.” Lina threw herself at Gideon.

“You’re mine. I’ll always come for you.”

“I love you, Gideon.”
 

“Love you more, sweetness.” He panted.

“Hey. Seabiscuit and female jockey, let’s get off this boat,” Janna yelled.

“Princess,” came a male voice in a singsong tone. “I’m going to kill you.” Lina stiffened in his arms.

“Oh, God, it’s Sky. We have to move now.” Lina tugged on him.

Gideon stared in horror at a bloody Bluton Faraday, he held a Sig Sauer trained on Lina’s back. Bluton was the head of an organized crime ring?
 

Gideon pulled Lina close, turning them, so his back was to Sky. He heard the round, spring load into the chamber, before the trigger pull.

The heated metal tore through the flesh of his left upper arm, the force of impact knocked the wind out of his lungs.
 

“Gideon.” A hailstorm of bullets started to rain down in their direction. The shots were coming closer. Janna low crawled toward them. Janna screamed, pleading with Lina to run. Gideon yelled for Janna to stay back. He shielded Lina’s body with his own. Images of Sergeant Julianna Torres, her chest covered in blood as she died in his arms, bombarded his mind. He squeezed his eyes tight as the memories assaulted him one after the other. They were behind the fence in Afghanistan, on Marine Corps soil, she shouldn’t have needed her Kevlar vest. He’d been close, but not close enough to save her. He would save Lina. Her broken body wouldn’t go lifeless in his arms. Tremors racked Lina’s body. A river of tears covered his chest. He pressed her tighter to his chest. She was in shock.
 

“No, Sky!” Moon bellowed. Gideon angled his head in time to see Moon running at break neck speed across the deck, straight for Sky’s position. So focused was he on Lina, that Sky didn’t notice the other man closing in on his position. Maybe, Moon was the distraction he needed to save Lina. He was losing blood fast. Lina was too terrified to move, but they were seconds away from certain death. Gauging the distance to the life preserver storage box, Gideon pivoted them. The searing pain of hot metal sizzled at the back of his right thigh. He grunted as his leg gave way. A small whimper escaped Lina. Agony registered through his entire body. He would die, but Lina would live.
 

“I love you more than life,” he gasped out. “Trust me.” Lina’s spine went rigid. He felt her arms squeeze tight around his waist before he threw them overboard. The whoosh of helicopter blades and Lina’s screams were the last sounds he heard before the water swallowed them.
 

Oily, foul tasting water spilled over Gideon like a faucet on full blast. The impact of hitting the water felt like a steel pole driving the hot metal deeper into his flesh. He felt the push of water displacement like a building had been tossed in the water. Murkiness surrounded them, but Lina’s arms were sure at his waist. Gideon was disoriented and struggled to maintain consciousness. A spotlight above the water shone bright as a beacon. Gideon kicked with as much force as he could muster for the surface. Suddenly, Gideon felt Lina’s hold on his waist slip away.
 

The water roiled around him as the helicopter blades disturbed the surface water. Gideon felt his strength waning. He breached the surface. Spinning he searched for Lina. Where was she? Taking in a large gulp of air he dove under the water. At the sight of Lina struggling to free her ankle from Moon’s grip, he damn near inhaled.