Page 65 of Maliea's Hero

As Reid emerged from the cave entrance, something long and thin shot through the water, narrowly missing his head.

It wasn’t until he spotted a man in scuba gear swimming toward him with a spear gun that he realized the long, narrow projectile had been a deadly spear.

His immediate thought went to Maliea, who would be coming out of the cave behind him. If he swam back to her, the man who’d just fired a spear gun at him would follow him to Maliea.

Reid swam straight for the guy, determined to disarm and neutralize him before he could hurt Maliea.

The diver dropped the spear gun, pulled a wicked dive knife from a sheath attached to his wrist and came at Reid.

Without breathing apparatus or a weapon to defend himself, Reid was at a distinct disadvantage. He didn’t let that slow him down. His training as a Navy SEAL kicked in, giving him laser focus on his opponent. As he neared, he waited until the last possible second to reach for the attacker’s outstretched hand, wielding the knife.

The water slowed his movement, but it also slowed the other guy’s.

Reid missed grabbing the man’s wrist as he swung the knife at Reid’s chest.

The tip of the blade narrowly missed its mark. On the man’s return swipe, Reid caught his wrist and deflected the second jab from grazing his arm.

The diver jerked his hand free and came at Reid again. By that time, Reid’s lungs burned. He had to surface for air soon, or it would all be over. Ready to end the nonsense, he kicked hard, swimming straight into the man’s blade. He grabbed the diver’s hand in a death grip, yanked it upward and back behind the man’s head. In a quick, decisive move, Reid hooked the blade around the regulator hose, slicing into the thick rubber.

Bubbles erupted from the damaged hose.

The diver spit the regulator from his mouth and immediately headed for the surface.

Reid followed, catching up with him as the man neared the surface. He grabbed his fin and pulled him back before his head cleared the water.

He kicked, trying to shake Reid loose, but Reid snagged the other fin and pulled him deeper.

With the knife still clutched in his hand, the diver swiped at Reid, his movements growing more desperate with each passing second. When he couldn’t shake Reid loose, he released his hold on the knife and used his arms in an attempt to swim to the surface, dragging Reid with him.

Reid held on, not making it any easier for the man, yet needing to surface just as badly.

At the last minute, he pulled the man down, stepped onto his tank and pushed himself to the surface.

He’d barely sucked in a breath when a hand grabbed his ankle and dragged him back under.

With no weapon to end it quickly and no way to get his arm around the man’s neck with the scuba tank in the way, Reid’s only recourse was to get in front of the man and use his fists to subdue him.

In the back of Reid’s mind, he knew that with each passing second it took him to neutralize the diver, Maliea remained unprotected. What worried him even more was that she had yet to reach the surface.

Channeling every ounce of strength and determination, he attacked his opponent, slamming his fist into the man’s face.

At first, he blocked some of the punches. As the diver weakened, Reid landed more hits, finally knocking the man out.

Without wasting another moment, he took a deep breath and went back for Maliea, praying he wasn’t too late.

CHAPTER 15

Just as Maliea reached the cave entrance and started to swim through, she saw a razor-sharp spear zip past Reid’s head and bounce against the rock face of the cliff above the cave’s opening.

Reid swam straight at the man, who pulled a knife out and swung it at Reid.

Maliea started toward Reid to help him overcome his attacker, but something gripped her ankle and yanked her back.

Maliea turned to find another diver holding on tightly to her ankle, dragging her deeper.

She kicked at the hand on her ankle, and though the hand was small, its grip was relentless. The diver refused to let go.

When long yellow strands floated out behind the diver’s head, Maliea realized the diver was female. And she wasn’t going to let Maliea reach the surface without a fight.