Kidnapped Hearts (25 page)

“Pamela, I need you to jump.”

Her eyes widened as she stared up at him.

“I need you to do this.”

She stood and looked at Steve for the
first time.

“Put this on.” He snatched a life jacket
from beside her.

She snapped it on.

“I’m going to slow down near that island,
and I want you to jump. You’ll be safe there until I get to you.”

“Wh-what w-will you do?”

“Help Steve the only way I know how.”

Pamela shifted her eyes from Steve to the
approaching shore.

“Time to go overboard.”

“Where’s yours?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Jake, you need one,” Pamela cried.

“Pamela, I’ve got to go to Steve.”

“I’m scared.”

“I know you are, sweetheart. You have a
jacket, you’ll be okay.”

Her big eyes stared up at him, and his
heart clenched. He never had a woman worry for his safety.

Steve was down. Jake needed to be there.
“You have to do this fast. On three.”

Pamela pulled her lips inward, and her
head bobbed, tears streaming down her face.

Reaching a safe distance from the island,
he geared the boat down. Holding on to the wheel, he helped her up onto the
side of the boat. “One, two—”

“Jake, I love you.” Her quaky voice
hurried out.

His body felt limp, and his strength
drained from his body. He couldn’t be hearing this.
Not now
. Their grave situation was leading her emotions. Once they
reached safety, she’d be back to being mad.

Jake glimpsed Steve standing, but the two
men were beating the crap out of him and their boat was heading toward the
burnt remains on the beach.

Jake brushed his lips against hers.
“Three.”

Chapter
Twenty

Pamela hit the warm bay water hard, the
wake from the boats pulling her under. The life jacket pushed her back to the
surface, and she gasped for air as she broke the water’s surface. Kicking in a
circle, she couldn’t see them, neither boat. Motors sounded behind her. She
swam fifty yards and looked past the island.

“No!”

Jake’s boat aimed straight for the other.

“Don’t, Jake!” she cried. “Don’t!” Tears
flooded her cheeks as she watched in horror. FBI or not, this was the stupidest
move she’d ever seen. She could barely see Jake driving the boat away from her,
and Steve was one of the three men who had fists swinging. One thing was for
sure, Jake was going to crash into the other boat.
How could he?
Her best friend and her lover gone in one second.
“No!” She started swimming toward them.

Boom.
Baroom. Boom
.

She stopped and stared. Her mouth opened,
and her heart sank as fire exploded over the water. The boats had collided,
splintering into pieces.
Did Jake jump?
Did Steve?
They didn’t have life jackets.

Fear shot from her chest to her toes.
“No!” She fought hard to swim toward the wreckage. Debris fell from the sky,
and she pushed her arms harder. She had to get them. They didn’t have life
jackets. Her strokes fell harder, barely moving her. The life jacket was
holding her back, but she wouldn’t dare shed it.

She paused for a breath and rested back
in the life jacket to let her muscles relax. “Jake! Steve!”

Flying objects were everywhere, but no
heads.

Pain pierced the side of her head and
shoulder. She dabbed her hand across her head and brought her fingers to her
line of vision. Blood.
Crud!

A jagged piece of board floated past.
There was the culprit.

The movie
Jaws
popped into her mind, and she glimpsed over each shoulder. She
had to get out of the water. Another rush of helplessness and agony swept
through her. “Jake!”

The water was so rough that she couldn’t
see over the waves. So much junk floated on the surface of the water. She
pushed some away and swam onward. She didn’t feel right. She wiped her face and
swam harder.

Oh,
God, where are they?
“Jake! Steve!”

Her eyes flashed toward the wreckage. She
had to get to them. Another stroke. Her arms felt so tired all of a sudden.
Every muscle ached. She swam another foot. Her head throbbed. “Ow.” She stopped
and touched her head. It burned from the salt water splashing it. Her vision
blurred.
 

The shoreline in front of her appeared to
be a mile away. Over her shoulder, the island seemed closer, but Jake and Steve
needed her, and they were in the other direction. She considered her options.
Pain slammed her eyes shut. Lord, it hurt.
If
I lay down on this soft bed,
I’d be
okay
. She stretched out on her back. The waterbed was soothing.
When did Jake get this?
This was the
first time she had been to his house; maybe he’d had it. Her body moved up and
down with the waves. This felt good. I’ll just turn over and bury my face in
his pillow.
The pillow was so fluffy
that it smothered her.

“Pamela.”

Someone said her name. Whoever it was had
their mouth full.

“Pamela.” A force moved her shoulder, and
her body flipped over. The softness disappeared, and her chest felt tight. She
tried to suck in a breath, but couldn’t. Something was stuck in her throat.

“Pamela.”

I’m
right here.
She couldn’t open her eyes.

“Pamela.”

Why
did they keep calling her name?

A mouth clamped down on hers.
Who the heck? Jake?
But he didn’t kiss
her. He blew into her mouth.
Stop that!
She
attempted to smack his hand away. Aching pressure stopped her hand from moving
it. More air blew into her. She was choking.
Why would he choke me? It can’t be Jake.
Her other hand moved,
smacking firm muscles. Her insides felt as if they would explode. Her body
lifted, and a cough erupted.

Water spilled out of Pamela’s mouth, and
her eyes popped open, darting around. Everything was bleary. “Why did you do
that?”

“Pamela, sweetheart!”

She was smashed against a hard body, and
her head rested on someone’s shoulder. She continued to cough. Liquid dripped
from her lips. Her eyes zoned in on the water.
Water? She wasn’t in a bed. She was in the bay
.

Someone screamed and continued to scream.

“Pamela, I’ve got you. You’re okay now.”

She eased her head back and met Jake’s
tender eyes. She closed her mouth, and the screaming ceased. Her body felt
weak, and it hurt. Her lungs were burning. “Jake?” the word came out on a raspy
breath.

“Sweetie.” He kissed her cheek, her other
cheek, then his lips brushed her lips. “You’re okay, but I’ve got to get us to
shore before someone sees us.” He squeezed her body to his. “Thank God, you had
a life jacket on.”

Yeah,
me too, but I was coming to help you and Steve
.
The words wouldn’t leave her lips.

“Pamela.”

Her head fell backwards.
The weirdest thing, she actually felt her
eyes roll into her head.

“Stay with me, sweetheart.” His voice
grew louder. “Pamela.”

Her shoulders lifted, and her head fell
forward, her chin hitting her chest. The pain subsided. This wasn’t so bad. The
pain’s manageable. Her head fell back again.
That’s better. I’ll just do nothing.

“Pamela! Don’t you dare leave me!”

What?

Her body jostled. “Do you hear me? Don’t
leave me!”

Pain shot through her body again.
Now what?

“I love you, dammit. You can’t leave me!”

That’s
Jake’s voice
.
He’s
okay. Jake!

Something touched her lips, then warm
air, then something gentle again. “Pamela, sweetheart, don’t leave me.”

Someone was crying. Her body crushed
against a wall, and she could feel something splashing against her face.
Was she in the water?

Lips touched her neck. “I love you,
Pamela,” Jake whispered, and she felt her body drift away from the wall.
No! Don’t leave me!
“No!”

She hit the wall again and met Jake’s red
eyes. “I love you, Pamela.”

The corners of her mouth lifted. “I
heard.”

A smile of relief crossed his handsome
face. He kissed her. The kiss was different from previously, gentleness,
caring, and the heart of a man all wrapped into one glorious kiss.

They pulled apart. “I need to get us to
shore. We’ve gotta find Steve and his duffle bag.”

“How are you staying afloat?”

“Treading. I can do it for hours. Climb
on my back.”

“Can you swim that far with me?”

He eyed her. “Dumb question.”

“I can’t move my arms. Everything hurts.”

He ducked under the water, and she
climbed onto his back. When his head surfaced, she asked, “Jake, how did you
not go under?”

“I tore the seat cushion off the
captain’s chair and used it for a life preserver.”

She slumped onto his broad back and held
on to his shoulder. His warmth felt soothing against her. “Have you seen
Steve?”

“He jumped before the boats crashed, but
I haven’t seen him.”

Pamela lifted her head and looked around
as Jake pushed through the water. Her head pounded. Finding nothing, she leaned
her cheek against Jake’s back. The salty water splashed her face. It tasted
nasty, but she didn’t care. It was a lot better than being alone in the open
water with the mammals with teeth.

“I’ll check your wounds when we get to
shore.”

“Okay.” Her eyes fluttered shut.

“Pamela, you’re sliding.”

Her head popped up, and she blinked. She
had fallen asleep quick. Pamela scanned the water again. “There, there he is.”
She pointed on the other side of a boat. A body floated on top of the water.

“That’s not him, Pamela.”

“He’s got to be okay.”

“He is.” Jake’s voice sounded so sure.
Pamela searched the water again. Off to the right on the sand, a man with
Steve’s physique paced the beach, waving his arms. “He’s on the beach. We’ll be
there in a sec.”

A few minutes later, they reached the
sand. Steve met them and scooped Pamela into his arms. He set her in the sand,
then picked up something.

The blurriness remained, but she could
see him opening his duffle bag and pulling out what appeared to be dry
supplies. “Is it waterproof?”

“Yes. Lean back and close your eyes. Let
me see what’s going on.”

Jake straddled her, unbuckled the life
jacket, and gently slid it off before easing her against his body. Steve moved
some strands of hair around on her head and face. The spot on her head stung.

“You have an abrasion. It’s not bleeding
now, and the salt water aided in speeding the blood to coagulate. Let me look
at your shoulder.”

Steve moved her arm.

“Ouch! Don’t!”

“I’m afraid you might have broken your
arm,” Steve said.

“Great. As if I don’t have enough to
contend with. How am I going to a hospital looking like this?” Pamela looked
down at her clothes to emphasize her point. To her shock, her shirt had been
torn, and the top half of her breast was exposed. Another inch and she’d be
showing all. She moved her strong arm, covering herself.

“You’re not going to a hospital.” Steve
patted her leg. “And don’t worry. I’m not trying to sneak a peek. You’re too
much like a sister to me.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “The guy
behind you is a different story.”

Jake slid his hands around her stomach,
snuggling her to him. The air warmed her skin, and the gentle breeze had just
about dried her clothes, but Jake was the one to warm her insides. She looked
at Steve, then Jake.
These two guys will
keep me safe
.
 

Steve made her a sling for her arm, broke
an ice pack and gently settled it on her shoulder, then zipped up his bag. “I’m
not going to do anything to your wounds. I think the salt water has already
started its healing effects, and who knows how many days we’ll be on our own.
We need to preserve our supplies.”

Having the weight off her arm lessened
the pain. Pamela blinked. Her vision started to clear, and she eyed the burned
remains of the beach house. It was ironic that they landed on the beach in
front of the house. No one was around, at least, no one that she could see.
“We’re back where we started?”

“Yes.” Jake’s voice vibrated against her
back. “We need to leave. Police will be here any minute. And not knowing who to
trust, I don’t want to see any of them.”