Hailey's Truth

by Cate Beauman

  Austin and Hunter bit down on their regulators and leaned back into the water.

  Austin was engulfed by black warmth. He and Hunter both pressed on their underwater navigators. Dim neon lit the space around them. Hunter gave Austin a nudge on the arm, the signal that the cord attaching them for their blind dive west was still intact.

  It didn’t take long to reach the glow of lights radiating from the yacht. Austin glanced to his left, met Hunter’s eyes through their masks, and gave a thumbs up. Hunter detached the cord at their weight belts and dove deeper as Austin did the same. They separated, Hunter heading to the stern, Austin moving toward the bow.

  When Austin estimated he was at center, he unzipped his bag, carefully freed an explosive, and mounted it against the yacht’s bottom. He moved several feet to the left, planting another charge opposite the plastic he’d already secured. Swimming to the bow, he repeated the process, wired the device, and set it. He glanced at his watch. They had exactly thirty minutes.

  Austin swam quickly to the stern, knowing Hunter would be waiting. Within seconds, he spotted Hunter’s thumbs up as they rose to the surface, ready to begin the next phase of their plan.

  Austin spit the regulator from his mouth before he pulled himself into the small powerboat anchored off the yacht, took the key from the engine, and zipped it into his bag. With his task complete, he eased soundlessly into the water, swimming to Hunter’s side. He pulled the regulator from his mouth again. “You ready?” he whispered.

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  They both splashed around the edge of the launch.

  “What the hell is that?” one of the guards moved forward.

  “Maybe it’s one of the sharks you’re always fucking with,” guard number two chuckled as he crouched next to the first.

  Austin glanced at Hunter as they replaced their regulators and sunk under water. When both guards inched to the edge, Austin punched his fist forward, giving Hunter the signal. Hunter and Austin reached from the water in unison, gripped the guard’s wrists and necks, and pulled them into the water. Austin used the momentum of the fall to drag his opponent deeper.

  Austin dodged a slow motion fist to the face before he found purchase on the incredibly strong man’s wrist again. He wrenched his arm behind his back. The guard attempted to fight, one handed, until Austin did the same with his rival’s other arm. Austin held on, ruthlessly, until the man expelled the last of his air and went still.

  Without mercy, Austin let the guard go and shoved him deeper. He glanced over, watching Hunter’s man sink into the dark depths.

  Hunter gave the signal to surface. They held on to the yacht, yanked the pieces from their mouths, breathing hard. “Son of a bitch,” Hunter said.

  “You getting soft, Phillips?”

  “Fuck you.”

  After several deep breaths, they removed their tanks and clipped them together. Austin sucked in a gulp of air and sank under the water again. He tied the breathing devices to a long rope Hunter had secured to the launch, then ascended.

  “Let’s get this done,” Hunter said as he hefted himself up.

  Austin did the same, scanning the area before he stood, watching for more guards. He hurried to the interior of the deck, waved his hands about, hoping Jackson and Ethan were paying attention as Hunter did the same for Tucker’s benefit on the opposite side.

  “Look what our friends weren’t wearing when we dragged them under.” Hunter handed over a fully loaded M-4. “These fuckers have no business with weapons like this.”

  Austin held his up and peered through the site, testing the weight of his new weapon. “This sure as hell isn’t a Glock-17.” He would’ve preferred his pistol, but this would have to do. “If they haven’t moved the hostages, they should be on this deck. Let’s finish this.”

  He and Hunter moved in silent unison with the skill of elite military men. They stood at opposite sides of the door. Austin peered around the corner, then held up a fist to signal for Hunter to cover him. Hunter dropped to his knee, sighted his weapon, ready to fire. Austin slid around the edge of the wall, leading with his gun, watching, waiting for someone to surprise him. He stared at plush, creamy carpet, noting the trail of blood. Someone lost enough to make faded footprints along the threads. The outline was fairly small—a woman’s sized shoe.

  When Hunter joined him seconds later, Austin pointed to the floor, at the trail stopping by a door on the right before it continued down the hall, turning left.

  Hunter nodded and they kept moving. They communicated through hand signals as they made their way down the long hall, opening door after door, covering one another, coming up empty with each room they swept.

  Austin approached the door where the footsteps stopped. He attempted to twist the knob, but it held firm. He and Hunter had to check the location. Hailey—the hostage, he corrected immediately, could be in there.

  With little choice, he raised the butt of his gun and slammed it hard against the gleaming brass. The noise was loud enough to have them hustling inside the instant the knob gave.

  The room was cloaked in shadows. Light shined through the curtainless window. Austin stared in horror at the patches of blood scattered about the floor. What had they done to her? What would he and Hunter find when they finally opened the door leading to Hailey?

  Hunter gripped his shoulder, yanked hard. “Pull yourself together, goddamn it,” he whispered tersely. “You keep it together or we’re all fucking dead.”

  Austin found a slippery grip on his control and turned away from the gore, taking several deep breaths. He concentrated on the movement of the florescent second hand on his watch. They were running out of time, and they didn’t have Hailey—the hostage, he corrected himself again. He and Hunter had five hostages to extract. That was all he could think about. “Twenty minutes,” he whispered, nodding, letting Hunter know his head was back in the game.

  As Hunter twisted the doorknob, Austin raised his gun. Hunter yanked the door wide. There was no one there. They hustled down the hall, stopping at the end, still following the trail of dried crimson.

  Austin stood opposite Hunter as they spotted their newest obstacle—the guard walking past the glass deck doors. If the guard came back too soon, he would see them as they made their way down the long hall.

  Hunter peered around the corner and held up a finger before he pointed to the blood and made a stopping motion with his hand.

  Austin nodded, interpreting Hunter’s signals. They had another guard to deal with, and the blood stopped at the door where the guard stood.

  He and Hunter needed to create a diversion, but nothing that would tempt the guard to call into a radio with no signal. Hunter motioned with his head until Austin moved to stand next to him.

  Hunter scraped the butt of his gun against the wall, making a scratching sound. He repeated the action until the guard down the hall moved away from the door.

  Austin and Hunter creeped back as the man’s reflection bounced off the pristine glass to the right of them. As he turned the corner, the edge of Hunter’s palm connected with the guard’s windpipe. The man’s eyes flew wide as he clutched at his throat, fighting for air. Hunter followed his brutal blow with another to the man’s temple. Austin caught the bulky man as he collapsed forward.

  “Son of a bitch,” Austin whispered as he struggled to keep his balance.

  Hunter grabbed the man’s legs. “Come on, let’s go.” They carried him down the hall, struggling slightly with the deadweight of his massive size.

  A voice traveled from the staircase to the left as they made it to the door where the bloody footprints stopped. Hunter dropped the guard’s feet, yanked the door open, and hurried to help Austin drag the guy inside.

  Four girls trembled in the corner, crying. Austin scanned the small space. Where was Hailey? One
of the twins sobbed loudly. Austin dropped the guard, leaving Hunter to drag him to the bathroom as he walked closer to the victims. With each step, they shoved themselves further back, clearly terrified. “Shh,” he whispered. “We are here to help you,” he said in easy Spanish. “We are going to take you home to your families, but you must be quiet or we’ll get caught.”

  “You are Hailey’s friends?”

  Austin’s gaze whipped to the tallest girl’s on the end. “Yes, I’m Hailey’s friend. Where is she?”

  “She said you would come. She said you would help us.”

  Austin struggled to be patient as he looked into four pairs of eyes too weary, too traumatized for their young, pretty, bruised faces. “I need to find Hailey. Where is she?”

  “She is so kind. She has helped us.”

  He inched closer as he checked his watch. They were down to fifteen minutes. “Help her too. Tell me where she is. We’re running out of time.”

  “Mateo brought her to another room.” The tall girl started to cry. “Donte has someone bring us there when he wants to rape us.”

  “Where is it?”

  “At the end of the hall; the last door on the right.”

  Austin stood and whirled so fast one of the twins let out a stifled scream. He hurried over to Hunter. “You need to get them out of here, Phillips.” He unzipped his bag and handed Hunter the key for the powerboat.

  “We all leave together. That’s the deal.”

  “That was before. Hailey’s down at the end of the hall.”

  “As soon as I step outside with them and turn the engine, it’s all over.”

  “I know. If we don’t do it this way, it’s still over but seven people die instead of two.” If Hailey wasn’t going to live, he didn’t want to either. “We’re wasting time, Phillips. Get them out of here. Go pick up Tucker; have him drive while you man the gun, because they’ll come after you. Get yourselves to the airport. Tell Ethan Hailey and I will meet him back at the boat. That’s what the scuba gear’s for—Plan B.”

  Hunter stared at him, then nodded. “I can’t speak Spanish for shit. Tell them they have to follow my lead.”

  Austin turned back to the girls, knelt down close to them, looked them each in the eye. He couldn’t be gentle, only frank. “It’s time to go. If you want to live, you will be silent. Do exactly what Hunter tells you. Get in the boat, lay on the floor, and say nothing. You cannot cry. You cannot scream, even if you are afraid. They will hear you. They will shoot you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  “Be brave.”

  “What about Hailey?” the tall and courageous one asked.

  “I will get Hailey. We will see you at the airport.”

  “The airport? But I want to go home.”

  “You can when it’s safe. Donte has bad men everywhere. If they know you are alive, they will kill you and your families. If you trust Hailey, trust me. I love her.”

  The girls looked at each other and stood.

  “Go. Hurry. Follow Hunter.”

  Hunter stopped at the door, held up his hand, and signaled for the group to stop. He opened the door a crack, peering out before he made a “go ahead” motion with his hand. The girls clutched each other’s hands as they followed Hunter down the hall. When they turned the corner, Austin moved in the opposite direction. Eleven minutes would go quickly, but he had less time than that. Hunter would turn over the ignition in less than two.

  Austin continued forward, stopping outside the last door on the right. He put his ear to the wood, nearly crumbling with relief as he heard the unmistakable sound of Hailey’s voice. She was alive.

  Austin put his hand on the knob, twisted slowly as Hailey spoke to her brother. He inched the door open, unsure if Jeremy was armed.

  “Why won’t you help me, Jeremy? Why won’t you even try to get me out of here?”

  “How do you expect me to do that? We’re surrounded by guards. If I step out of this room with you, they’ll kill us both.”

  “I’m going to die anyway. At least let me try.”

  “I can’t, Hailey. Let me think. I’ll find a way to get you out.”

  “My hero,” she said with biting disdain. “What about the girls? Can’t you at least help them? They’re so young, so traumatized.”

  “I don’t want to talk about them.”

  Austin peered in as much as he dared. Jeremy stood with his back to him in the expansive, luxuriously decorated space. Hailey was too far in the room for him to get a look at her, to get an exact idea of where she was located. He readied his gun, waiting for Hunter to make his move.

  “Did you really do it? Did you really kidnap them? Take them away from their families?”

  “What choice did I have? I do as I’m told or I’m dead.”

  “But you knew what the men would do to them, and you did it anyway. Don’t you have a conscience?”

  “Son of a bitch.” Jeremy stormed forward; Austin inched back. “Do you understand I’m as much a prisoner as you? The same penalties of betrayal apply to me as they do to you.”

  Austin eased ahead again, took his stance again.

  “You chose this life, Jeremy. Those girls didn’t. I sure as heck didn’t, but you took me along with you anyway.” She moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Her knees were raw red wounds, her palms just as bad as she fiddled with her fingers, but still, he couldn’t see her face unless he took a chance and inched further into the room. It wasn’t worth the risk.

  “All this time I wanted to help you. All this time I’ve done nothing but love and defend you, but do you know what I’ve come to realize? The boy you were ceased to exist ten years ago. The boy I loved died the night our parent’s did. You died right along with them, Jeremy.”

  “I’m out of here.” He turned and headed to the door.

  Austin hurried to the side, waiting.

  “So, you’re just going to—”

  A rapid stream of gunfire broke out—Austin’s cue to get him and Hailey the hell out of there. He burst inside and punched Jeremy in the face, sending him crumbling to the floor. Austin turned, staring as he rushed forward. “Jesus Christ, look at you.” His heart broke as he ran his hand over Hailey’s left arm riddled with welts. “Look what they did to you.” His fingers traced over the right side of her face as he studied the bloody bulge of her bottom lip. The bruising was so bad, the swelling so severe, her wounds almost looked fake.

  “You came.” Hailey clutched at his wrists, her hands trembling.

  “Of course I did. I wasn’t going to leave you.” He pulled her against him once, for the briefest of seconds, before he stepped back. “We have to get out of here.”

  As they turned, Jeremy crawled to his radio. “Hostage—“

  Austin whirled. “You son of a bitch.” Waves of rage radiated through him as he ripped the walkie-talkie from Jeremy’s hand and threw it against the wall, shattering it. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He plowed his fist into Jeremy’s face again, sending blood pouring from his nose. “You let them do this to her, goddamn you.” He followed his punch with a shove, sending Jeremy halfway across the room. “Fucking coward.”

  The pounding of feet rushed over their heads as the pepper of gunfire continued.

  “Come on. We have to go right now. Stay behind me.” Austin peaked into the hallway as a guard came around the corner. Raising his gun, he smashed the butt of the weapon into the man’s face. “Let’s go, Hailey.” He grabbed her hand. “Run.”

  They took off at full speed down the long corridor.

  “Sissy!”

  Hailey slowed.

  “Help me, Sissy,” Jeremy gasped, crawling from the bedroom. “Take me with you.” He held out a hand, fell forward. “Don’t le
ave me, Sissy.”

  Austin pulled Hailey harder as she hesitated. “I have to help him.”

  “We don’t have time.”

  Feet clamored down the staircase in front of them.

  Austin yanked Hailey around the corner as bullets splintered the wood above his head. Hailey let out whimpering screams as the guard turned into the hall, charging after them. Austin lifted the M-4, firing randomly until the man fell. Within seconds, more men followed.

  Austin carried Hailey up the flight of steps, used his shoulder to shove them through the outside door. Warm, muggy air met them. “Duck and keep running, Hailey. Keep running. We’re almost there.” They skirted the deck as bullets poured from above, from the side, landing all around them. “We’re almost there,” he said again, as much for his own benefit as hers.

  They descended the last flight of stairs to the launch. “Stay close to the wall.” They made it to the spot where he and Hunter had gained entry. “Take my hand. Hold on tight. We have to jump.”

  “Jump? No! No! I can’t go in the water. I can’t.”

  “We have to.”

  Hailey screamed as a plank of wood disintegrated at their feet. Another bullet landed within inches of the first.

  “Come on, Hailey. We have to.” He yanked his small dive bag open, pulled their masks free.

  “Sharks. I saw sharks,” she whispered in terror.

  “Look at me. Look at me,” he demanded.

  She tore her glassy gaze from the water.

  “We’re going to die.” He handed her the mask he’d bought her for her birthday. “Now you put that on and jump. Trust me, Hailey.” He slid his mask on as she did the same, took her hand, and gripped it tight. “Hold my hand and jump with me.”

  She nodded, took a deep breath, and they jumped feet first off the side. The water glowed eerily from the lights. A steady spray of bullets pinged into the depths. Hailey clutched his fingers in a death grip as he pulled her with him to the tanks he’d tied off several feet below. He twisted on the oxygen, took a small breath before he handed the regulator to Hailey. Repeating the process with Hunter’s tank, Austin helped himself to his own supply of air. He quickly unfastened his flippers, pulled them on with the ease of experience, and clipped his dive bag to the tanks.