Everglades Escape

by Kathleen Tailer

  She would just have to be a quick study because she would do whatever it took to get back to civilization.

  * * *

  Search the perimeter. Theo shook his head as her words replayed in his mind. He sure hadn’t guessed her occupation correctly. She had to be military—or law enforcement. No one else would use a phrase like that. Even so, he still felt protectiveness surge within him. It even overwhelmed the frustration he was feeling ever since she had invaded his sanctuary.

  And now it wasn’t just Whitney that had violated his privacy. At least one drug dealer was also on his island. That probably meant more would soon be on the way. He had the sinking feeling that his life had just drastically changed in more ways than he could even imagine. The thought made him break out in a cold sweat. He was a man of consistency and schedule. Living an orderly life was of the upmost importance to him. He didn’t like spontaneity. Or change. But he couldn’t leave Whitney to face this threat on her own, even if he barely knew her and even if she was the most capable female he had ever met. Good grief—she had already disarmed one drug dealer. He’d seen her pull a gun from her waistband right before she’d left the room and, since he didn’t own one and she hadn’t arrived with one, there was only one other explanation. Absently rubbing the bump on his head, he followed her into the living room, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed out of place or would hint that there were more criminals lurking around the corner.

  They found nobody else in the house, or on the property surrounding the small structures. After doing a thorough search, they ended up back by the shower. Theo was shocked to see the size of the man Whitney had bested, and made a mental note never to make her angry. The guy was at least twice her size. Whitney Johnson was one tough cookie.

  “So when are your friends coming?” she asked the modern-day pirate who was still trussed on the ground like a Thanksgiving turkey.

  He ignored her and purposefully looked away.

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll be ready.” Theo found her air of confidence a bit unnerving. How could they possibly be ready when they had only one gun between them, no additional ammunition and no way to call for help?

  “Theo, do you have those other surprises ready for when his friends arrive?” She winked at him out of the drug dealer’s line of vision, so he followed her lead, not sure what to expect but trusting her to know what she was doing.

  “Yes. Everything is good to go.” He instilled as much enthusiasm in his voice as he could, realizing she was speaking for the drug dealer’s ears rather than his own. As far as he knew, the only surprises waiting for anyone were the pineapple and mangos he had decided to cut up for the rest of their breakfast that were still in a glass bowl on the dining room table. His stomach rumbled at the thought. He hadn’t had much to eat with his coffee, and he imagined Whitney was still famished after her day in the ocean—one muffin and some fruit wouldn’t be enough to sustain her. Still, with all of the adrenaline they were both feeling, it was hard to think too seriously about food right now.

  Theo wasn’t a military or law-enforcement officer, but he knew enough to figure that their next move had to be going to the dock where he usually met the man who brought his supplies. That was really the only place a boat could land on the island, and they had to learn more about this criminal who had assaulted them and be as prepared as possible for when others arrived, if they weren’t there already. He didn’t own anything but a kayak himself, but this attacker must have left some sort of vessel at the dock. Perhaps he had also left something useful in the boat that would help them neutralize this threat.

  Theo didn’t want to leave the island. His lab was here. His life was here. Sure, he lived a simple existence, but he was happy. Or if not happy, he was at least satisfied. And in the space of only twenty-four hours, he had suddenly lost everything familiar. Yet he couldn’t ignore the fact that more criminals were bound to show up sooner or later looking for his new guest, and they would probably think nothing of killing Whitney and him if they got in their way.

  He caught Whitney’s eye. “If you can watch him for a minute or two, I’ll go grab us a few things from inside the house.” If nothing else, Theo was a planner. He tried to prepare for every contingency. Even though he didn’t want to leave, he knew being forced to leave was a distinct possibility. He also didn’t want to have the lady going up and down the stairs any more than necessary with her injured knee. But he realized they might need some supplies if they found themselves in a precarious situation at the waterfront or if they couldn’t return.

  Whitney nodded at him. “Sure thing. My friend here and I will get to know each other a little better while you’re gone.”

  Theo took the stairs two at a time and grabbed a backpack as he passed into the small living area. He didn’t want to take much with him. After all, they might be coming back to the house after they checked the dock. Still, he had the sinking feeling that he wouldn’t be returning to this house anytime soon.

  He started in the bathroom. Taking up a small bottle of pain reliever, two Ace bandages, some tape, a bottle of aloe and some toilet paper, he threw them into the bag. Then he returned to the kitchen, filled two water bottles and added those along with several power bars, some beef jerky and the rest of the bran muffins he had made that morning that were now in a plastic bag. He took one more look around, grabbed another bag and poured the cut fruit into it before sealing it and throwing it into the backpack, as well.

  He found Whitney pretty much the same as when he had left her. “Did you get anywhere?”

  “No.” She shrugged. “Suddenly he has forgotten how to speak English.”

  Theo smiled. “Isn’t that a shame?” He motioned at a worn wooden chair leaning against a tree a short distance away and out of earshot of their captive. “Care to have a seat?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

  He pulled out one of the Ace bandages and the tape. “I’m going to fix up your knee a bit.”

  “Are you a doctor?”

  He paused as a twinge of pain hit his chest, but finally, he answered her question. “Yes, I am. Well, actually, I used to be.” He could see the surprise in her eyes, but she did as he’d asked. He checked her knee and wrapped it, then adjusted the tightness of the bandage to make sure it wouldn’t affect her circulation. Then he helped her back to her feet.

  “How does that feel?”

  She smiled gratefully. “Better. Thanks so much.” There was a strange look in her eyes, but he ignored it, not sure how to decipher it anyway. He had been much better at reading people before his last two years of self-imposed isolation. He reached over to a plant that was growing under the tree and broke off two of the leaves. “Here. This is aloe vera. It will help with your sunburn. I’ve got some more in the backpack, but this will be a good start.” He broke one stalk in two, squeezed out the sticky juice and then gently applied it to her cheeks, nose and forehead. His fingers marveled at the softness of her skin, and lingered a moment before he pulled away.

  “Does that feel better?” Suddenly his mouth was dry and he was having trouble talking. Did he sound as much like an idiot as he felt?

  He was relieved when she broke eye contact and popped the other piece of aloe open and started applying it to her shoulders and neck. “Yes, thank you. It’s making a huge difference the second it touches my skin. I recognized the ginger plants and bird-of-paradise you have growing around here, but I had no idea what aloe looked like before it gets bottled and sold at the grocery store.”

  “It’s an amazing plant,” he murmured, glad the awkward moment had passed. He motioned with his hand toward a well-worn path off to the left that led into the vegetation. “Follow me?”

  “Sure thing,” she agreed.

  Theo slung the backpack over his shoulder and started down the path, trying not to move too hurriedly for fear of making her knee injury even worse
. When they were almost to the dock, he suddenly heard voices coming right toward them. He quickly pulled her off the path and angled them low behind a stand of palmetto, hoping they were concealed.

  “We have company,” he whispered. “They’re almost right on top of us.”

  FIVE

  “She’ll run to Baker. They always do. And once she does, we’ll have her.” The drug dealer’s tone was emphatic as the two passed only a few feet from Whitney and Theo’s hiding place. His voice was rough and deep, as well as heavily accented.

  “Lopez doesn’t want it to take that long,” the other dealer replied. “He wants this problem to go away now. Today, if possible.” This man’s voice was more nasally and higher-pitched. “She couldn’t have swum this far anyway. She was just a tourist. She’s probably already fish food at the bottom of the ocean.”

  The first man laughed. “You tell Lopez that. He wants proof. If you think a fish got her, he’ll want you to go catch the fish that ate her and bring it to him on a platter.”

  “I wouldn’t mind spending a day like that, reeling in a marlin or two—”

  “Stay focused!” the deep voice ordered. “Jose was supposed to call in and we still haven’t heard from him. We don’t know what we’re gonna find here.”

  “Jose is a fool,” the nasally voiced dude replied. “There’s probably not even service out here, but even if there is, the guy is an idiot. Three times, he’s let the battery die on his phone. He’s all brawn and no brains. This island isn’t that big, so I’m sure we’ll find him sleeping under a tree or something. Apparently, there’s only one building on the entire island. He should have reported in already...”

  Their voices faded as they continued on the path toward the house. Whitney let a few moments pass then quickly stood. “We don’t have much time. We need to get to that dock and find Jose’s boat before they find him tied up on the ground.” She followed Theo back to the path that led to the dock. “Who’s Baker?” she asked quietly as they hurried along.

  “I was hoping you knew,” Theo answered, also in a low tone. “I don’t know anyone named Baker.”

  It didn’t take the two very long to reach the dock. The wooden planking extended about thirty feet into the water and ended with a floating rectangle of wood about eight feet wide that was designed to rise and drop with the prevailing tides. Large metal loops secured around heavy wooden posts the diameter of telephone poles kept the dock itself in place.

  They saw two boats tied to the horn cleats. There was a 21-foot center-console boat on one side of the floating dock and a smaller 18-foot walk-through vessel on the other. They waited cautiously, still partly concealed by the foliage, until they could ascertain that no one was guarding either boat.

  Finally, Whitney motioned that it was safe to leave their hiding places. “Looks like we’re alone. Why don’t you search the larger boat and I’ll check out the smaller one.”

  “Deal,” Theo answered. “Anything special we’re looking for?”

  “Keys to ride away in one of these boats would be nice,” she said with a smile. “But some sort of phone or other way to call for help would be a great find, too, if there is one available. I’m not picky at this point.” She raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

  Theo shrugged. “I’ve done some target shooting, but that’s about it, and it was a long time ago.” He motioned with his hand. “I noticed you took Jose’s gun.”

  “I did. He wasn’t too pleased, but it was either take it or let him shoot me. It only has one full clip, though. If you happen to find a weapon or any extra ammunition, that would be awesome, too. Both of those men that passed us were carrying. If you can carry, too, it would even things up a bit.”

  He didn’t look too pleased about the idea of shooting a gun at someone, but Whitney was trying to plan for any contingency. She wondered fleetingly what he was thinking. It was obvious that he wasn’t happy about any of this, but he hadn’t abandoned her, even though her presence had put him in a dangerous position. She was sorry about that, but she didn’t see any options. Somehow, she would try to make it up to him, but right now wasn’t the time or place to discuss it. She would dwell on that later—when she didn’t have drug dealers trying to hunt her down and kill her.

  They quickly boarded the separate boats and started searching. Whitney began by going through the compartments in the stern, then, finding nothing of value, headed for the hatches near the helm. She was pleasantly surprised to see the keys still in the ignition, and smiled to herself when she saw the cell phone tucked up into one of the small boxes. Both were an answer to prayer! Quickly pulling it out, she pushed the button to power on the device. The only thing that happened was the quick flash of the dead battery symbol on the screen before it disappeared. Whitney groaned. “Unbelievable.”

  “What’s that?” Theo asked, glancing across at her from his position near the wheel of the larger boat.

  “I found a cell phone, but the battery is dead. I guess that makes four times that Jose forgot to charge it, and I don’t see a power cord anywhere, or a portable battery pack.” She stowed the phone where it had come from. “How about over there?”

  “Nothing so far,” he responded.

  “Jose left the keys. Wanna take this boat out for a spin?” She grinned just as the first shot slammed into the fiberglass only inches from her arm.

  “Move again and the next one will be in your head.”

  Whitney’s eyes flew to the end of the dock—and saw three men come out of the bushes, including Jose. They had moved much faster than she had expected, and now the two new arrivals were holding guns pointed directly at them. “Hands up,” Shorty said roughly. “Slowly.”

  Whitney glanced over at Theo, who carefully raised his hands. Their eyes met for a moment, which was long enough for her to tell that he had some sort of plan up his sleeve. He glanced at the gun still secured in her waistband then back up into her eyes. Was he going to distract them so she could return fire? She locked eyes with him again and could see that he had confidence in her and her abilities, even though he had just met her. His support bolstered her resolve and she looked back at the dealers on the beach.

  “Gentlemen, I’m so glad you decided to join us,” she said brightly. “Turns out that I’m lost and I need a ride over to the mainland. Would you mind giving me a lift?”

  Jose laughed. “Oh, we’ll give you a ride, all right.” He stepped on the wooden stairs leading to the dock just as Theo threw his backpack into the smaller boat and dove onto the floating dock and rolled, keeping low to the wood. The noise and movement were just what Whitney anticipated and made the perfect distraction. The larger man fired, but his shot went wild, while the other man’s bullet hit the wooden post.

  Whitney, on the other hand, was an excellent marksman, just as she’d previously claimed. Her first shot caught the larger man in the chest and he sank to the ground at the same time the smaller man’s body fell beside him, also bleeding profusely from a bullet to the heart.

  Jose turned and ducked, but Whitney was still able to catch him in the arm as he tried to scoop up the smaller man’s gun. He shrieked in pain, but managed to keep a hold on the gun as he disappeared into the woods. Whitney fired once more, then decided to save her ammunition and focus on escape. Following after the man would be a mistake. She would be out in the open and, if he had any shooting ability at all, she would make an easy target.

  She turned as she heard Theo untie the rope from the cleat on the dock, but kept the gun pointed at the woods, ready to fire if Jose engaged. Theo threw it into the boat and jumped in beside her. “Do you know how to drive one of these things?” she muttered, her eyes still narrowed on the shoreline.

  “I sure do,” he responded grimly.

  “Then I think it’s time we got out of here.”

  “Agreed,” Theo said as he fired up the motor.
r />   A few short minutes later, he was backing the boat away from the dock.

  * * *

  A bullet whizzed by Theo’s head and he ducked instinctively, even as he heard Whitney return fire. He cleared the dock then pushed the throttle forward and relief swamped him as the boat quickly moved away from the dock and into the open water. Two more shots followed them, and although one hit the hull, the other missed completely. A few moments more and he thought they were probably out of range of the drug dealer’s pistol.

  Theo’s heart was pounding in his chest and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He’d never been shot at before. Ever. God willing, he would never get shot at again, either. He was a scientist. He studied coral reefs. He glanced over at Whitney who looked perfectly at ease. She was probably used to being in the line of fire, but having people shoot at him took him way out of his comfort zone.

  After a few minutes, Theo eased up a bit on the speed yet kept the boat pointed toward the mainland.

  “Do you have a Coast Guard station anywhere around here?” Whitney asked as she flicked the safety on the gun and stored it in her waistband.

  “There’s one on Islamorada and one on Key West. There might be more, but those are the only ones I know about.” He took a deep breath. “Key West is too far away, but we can get to Islamorada in a couple of hours. That’s where they’d expect us to go, though.” He grimaced. “When I was searching the bigger boat, I also found some rental papers in the hatch. It looks like they got that boat from a company out of Islamorada. If we go there, I’d imagine that they have the area covered.” He shrugged, speaking the thoughts as they entered his mind. “Still, that’s where the help is.”