Page 72 of Beau

Beau hesitated for one second, then whipped the little boat around. Using his cell phone’s GPS, he pushed the little skiff as fast as it would go, aware of the time they had left and the distance they needed to cover.

Fifteen minutes until midnight, as they neared the coordinates, Aurelie’s cell phone chirped softly. She stared down at the screen and gasped. “Turn back!” she yelled over the sound of the engine. “Turn back now! It’s a setup.”

“Hold on!” Beau goosed the throttle, turning the rudder at the same time to send the little skiff into a tight spin. He almost tipped it up on edge in his attempt to reverse course.

Before the little boat could right itself, a larger boat slammed into its underbelly, flipping it into the air and slinging its occupants overboard.

Beau plunged into the inky waters of the bayou. He wasn’t under long before his life jacket brought him to the surface.

The boat that had hit them turned and raced toward Beau and the overturned skiff.

Beau couldn’t swim out of the way fast enough. His only option was to go down. He fumbled for the buckle on his life jacket, pinched it loose and slid his arms out. As the sleek black bass boat powered toward him, he caught a glimpse of the lettering on the front, then dove deep beneath the surface.

The heavy engines roared over his head, missing him by a narrow margin.

Beau swam to the surface as the bass boat skimmed to a stop.

A big guy, matching the same build as the man who’d tossed Aurelie into the bayou, reached over the side, grabbed Aurelie by her life jacket and hauled her into the boat.

No!

Beau kicked hard in an attempt to swim for the bass boat.

A man yelled. “There he is!”

The next moment, bullets pelted the water around him.

Beau dove beneath the surface and swam away from his position before resurfacing in the shadow of the overturned skiff.

The bass boat circled the area where he’d been, a man firing a military-grade rifle into the water.

Beau counted four men and the driver. The lump on the deck had to be Aurelie.

Treading water, Beau pulled his handgun from the holster and aimed at the man with the rifle.

When he pulled the trigger, nothing happened. Even if he could swim fast enough to reach the bass boat, he was one man against five.

His hopes sank to the bottom of the bayou as the bass boat turned and sped away with the woman he loved.

Loved?

Was he in love?

How could he have fallen so fast?

Because she was smart, loyal, beautiful and cared about her family, her state and the bayou. So much so that she put her life in danger to save it.

Whether or not he loved the woman, Beau had failed to protect her. He prayed they wouldn’t kill her immediately, that they’d give him enough time to rally his forces and get to her before it was too late.

This couldn’t be the end. They were only just beginning.

A whining sound echoed from beneath the overturned skiff.

Lady!

Beau dove under the side of the skiff and surfaced in the pitch-black air pocket.

The sound of little paws desperately paddling in the water made him reach out into the darkness for the little dog Aurelie had grown so attached to.