Shark Pass: A Chase Gordon Tropical Thriller (Chase Gordon Tropical Thrillers Book 7) by Douglas Pratt

Author:Douglas Pratt [Pratt, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-28T16:00:00+00:00

16

Even with a broken strap, the life vest rolled me to my back. The impact with the water must have knocked me out. Dazed, I spewed sea water out of my lungs. As I coughed up water, the waves pummeled me. My feet kicked, pushing me out of the water enough to catch a breath before another wave crashed down on me, shoving me under the water.

Where was the boat? If I didn’t get out of the water, I’d drown even while I donned a life vest. My feet thrust me out of the water again, and I strained to see through the rain and darkness. The white blob around the outboard’s propeller reflected a flash of lightning.

Swim, Gordon.

I shook my head clear and started stroking toward the tender. The longer I stayed adrift, the farther the sea would push the boat away from me. The cold sea water numbed me, but I still felt the residual ache either from the fight earlier or the vault into the water.

There was no time to check for injuries. It didn’t seem to matter. If I was hurt, I needed to get back to the boat before I tended to any wounds. If I came away from the waterspout unscathed, I needed to get back to the boat. Rule number two–stay with the boat.

The metal tender landed upside down. If it hadn’t been for the white PVC wrapped around the propeller, I’d have never located the vessel. After kicking to the back, I grabbed the motor and pulled up on it.

The wind and waves made it a struggle to climb aboard, but I heaved myself up, throwing my weight around the motor. Once I flopped onto the bottom of the hull, I rolled onto my back. The rain was slacking, so I guessed the worst was over. I hoped it was anyway.

That didn’t leave me out of the woods yet. The waves were still crashing over the side. There wasn’t much chance it would flip the boat again. The water between the gunwales would offer enough resistance to prevent it from righting itself. A shame, really. I would much prefer to be inside the boat rather than on the bottom. Where I sat left me vulnerable to being washed off the side by another wall of water. And with nothing to hold on to, it was going to be a hell of a ride.

While the boat continued to rock, I lay flat, hoping to offer less surface area for a wave to hit. From that position, I stared at the sky. Rain continued to fall. Each flash of electricity in the distance illuminated the droplets.

Now that the top of the motor sat submerged in salt water, it would be unlikely to start even if I cleared the fouled prop. Once the storm passed, I needed to rest, at least until daylight. Then, I would try to right the boat. It would be full of water, but again, it is safer to be in the boat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.