Free From Manhattan With Revenge Boxed Set by Christopher Smith Page A

favor.   If
they see blood rise to the surface, they might think one of us was hit.   Maybe dead.”
    Another
harpoon shot through the hut, shattering more glass.
    “We’ve
got to get to the boat,” he said.   “It’s our only chance.”
    “They’ll
run out of harpoons,” she said.   “We
could wait them out until nightfall.”
    “Carmen,
it’s morning.   They’ll find a way to
get out here.   We don’t know if they
have guns or rifles.   They came here
to kill us, not frighten us.   We
can’t stay here.”
    “I can’t
believe they’re doing this,” she said.   “We warned them that if they came near us, we’d treat them exactly as we
treated Laurent.”
    “What if
it’s someone else?   Someone you’ve
crossed in the past?”
    “It
could be.   I don’t know.   None of this makes sense.   You know how careful I am.   I don’t understand how anyone knows I
have a place here.”
    “It
doesn’t matter now,” he said.   “We get
to the boat, you slip on the other side of it, I remove it from its moorings
and then, once I’m with you, we paddle it out as far as we can.   Then, when their harpoons can’t touch
us, we get inside, crank the engine and gun it out of here.”
    She knew
they had no choice.   “What’s the
shark situation?”
    He
lowered his head into the water and came up quickly, spitting out a mouthful of
water.   “It’s worse.   Now we’ve got hammerheads.”
    “I’m
going to be sick.”
    “Let’s
move.   Get on the other side of the
boat.”
    Above
them, a harpoon sounded its warning by sinking into the deck.
    Carmen
lowered herself into the water and looked down at the sharks below her.   She knew exactly where the boat was and
swam to the other side of it while never taking her eyes off the roaming,
darting swarm.  
    So far,
the sharks didn’t seem to be interested in them.   But how long would that last?   They were hungry.   It was obvious.   The blood in the water would only call
for more.   Worse for her and Alex is
something she hadn’t told him.   She
started her period this morning, which is why she wasn’t fully naked.   She’d taken precautions, such as wearing
a black bikini bottom and wearing a tampon, but even a trace of blood in this
environment would only create more interest in them.
    She
watched him swim over to the moorings.   There were two of them.   He’d
need to lift his hands above the dock and untie each.   Because they were shielded by the hut,
no one on the shoreline would be able to see him.   And they didn’t.   Soon, the boat was free and he dove
under it to be next to her.
    “Now, we
paddle,” he said.
    “How
far?”
    “Maybe a
quarter of a mile.”
    “Pushing
this boat?   With those sharks?   Deeper water is out there.   Bigger fish.   It’s dangerous.   We don’t know what we’ll find.”
    “It
won’t take as long as you think.   We
paddle and paddle hard, but with our feet beneath the surface.   Never break the surface.   Are we clear on that?   If they hear us, they’ll shoot at us.”
    “Eventually,
they’ll see the boat, Alex.”
    “That’s
right, but at a distance they might not be able to reach us.   That’s a chance we’re going to have to
take.   Come on,” he said.   “Paddle.”
    “I need
to tell you something,” she said.   “My period started this morning.”   She saw the concerned look on his face and didn’t wait for him to speak.   “I’m wearing a tampon, but it won’t be
enough.   The sharks will still smell
the blood.”
    “Then we
hurry.   Keep your head lowered.   If a shark comes near you, bash it on
top of its head with your fist.   If
the situation becomes too dangerous, we hope for the best, get into the boat
and speed away.”
    She put
her head in the water and this time, she faced her greatest fright.   Far away from them and to the right were
two men in scuba gear.   The water
was so clear, she figured they were five hundred yards