The Ocean Dark by Golden Christopher

Author:Golden, Christopher [Golden, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Haverhill House Publishing
Published: 2018-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

~46~

Rogan felt like a cornered animal, tensed to bolt, but with nowhere to run. Minutes had passed since his run up from belowdecks to the wheelhouse—all those goddamn stairs—and he should have recovered by now, but his chest rose and fell and his breath came too fast, and he knew it wasn’t about the exertion at all.

Miguel and Suarez were talking in quick, clipped tones, both of them just as tense as Rogan felt. They looked like boxers waiting for the bell.

“Think,” Miguel said, staring at Suarez like he expected the guy to do a magic trick. “Come up with something. We can’t just leave them out there.”

“I’m thinking,” Suarez said. Another time he might’ve taken offense at Miguel’s tone—Rogan had seen it happen before—but now he was focused. “The only thing we’ve got that can get to them is more lifeboats, and you saw that one go down. We send anyone else out there, the same thing could happen.”

Miguel rested his hands on the wheel, stared out at the water. “Shit, shit, shit.” He spun and strode over to the door, then stared out at the island, where his brother and the other four crew members who were busy doing something on the beach. “What does that? Goddamn sharks don’t flip boats. Maybe an alligator would drag somebody down from below like that, but we’re in the Caribbean, not the fuckin’ Everglades. And the boat’s wrecked, now. Whatever flipped it—and killed those guys—trashed the boat, too. What does that?”

Silence engulfed the three men in the wheelhouse.

Rogan cleared his throat. “There’s only one thing we can do.”

Miguel and Suarez pivoted to look at him.

“What?” Suarez asked.

Rogan fixed Miguel with a hard look. “We get our asses out of here. We fire up the engines and get on our way.”

Miguel looked more disgusted than angry. “Yeah, that’s helpful. You think I’m going to leave my brother out there?”

Rogan gazed out at the island, pressed his forehead against the glass, and took a breath.

“The FBI are on our asses. They could show up at any time. We can’t send anybody else to the island without risking their lives, too. And whatever’s in the water, it’s hammering at our hull. I thought maybe it was just stupid, but now I wonder if maybe it—or they—think they can actually get through. So I think you have two choices, Miguel. You can get us all out of here, save the lives you can, or you can keep us here while you watch your brother die trying to get back to the ship, and risk the rest of our lives in the bargain.”

He heard Miguel coming for him, but didn’t turn in time. Miguel’s fist slammed into his temple, and as Miguel tried to follow up with another blow, Rogan stumbled backward and sprawled to the floor. He looked up in time to see Miguel drawing the gun he carried holstered at the small of his back.

“You listen to me, you Irish prick,” Miguel snarled, upper lip trembling.

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.