Read Online Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams - Free Book Online

Safety for us, but not for Max.
    I struggled to see the shore, but the waves and swells blocked my view. I glared at Gabriel. If I didn’t hate him before, I sure hated him now.
    “My dog!” I yelled, not ashamed of my tears. “You’ve just killed my dog, you Runner scum.”
    Gabriel Black dug the paddle toward the port side of the boat, hitting the waters with force and purpose. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes.
    “Not your dog, Blue. My dog. I left him behind five years ago when I first found you.”

     

Chapter Six

    I hung on while Gabriel used his strength to paddle and fight our way through an unwilling sea. Waves washed over the bow of my little boat, soaking both of us, weighing us down, making our journey hard and dangerous, almost impossible.
    Almost.
    At last, we smashed into the black hull of Gabriel’s boat, and okay, I had to admit, it did look bigger close up. Maybe he didn’t deserve the “little” comment, but now, after Max? Hell. He deserved a lot more.
    Gabriel grabbed a line he’d stowed in the shell of my kayak and knelt on the deck, reaching up to loop it on a cleat. The water was too choppy to tie it off, and I heard the sea laugh as it tossed and bounced us like a cork. Gabriel managed to grab the stanchions and hoist himself up and over, landing safely on his teak deck. And now it was my turn.
    Pulling the boat alongside, he straddled the stanchions and reached down for the front of my coat collar, plucking me out of my boat like I was no more than an errant feather. I went airborne, flying over the steel stanchions and into Gabriel’s arms. He lost his balance and almost dropped me. I saw a glint of silver as the handcuffs flew overboard when his coat pocket caught on a stanchion and ripped away. He crashed hard on the deck, flat on his back. I landed on top of him.  
    My forehead slammed into his for what had to be a record-breaking head butt. Pain shot through my skull when I tried to raise my head, and I saw white spots and blue stars. I laid my head down on his broad chest and had a déjà vu moment.
    The thundering of his heartbeat became overwhelmed by the thundering of his voice. “Damn it, Blue. Why is everything with you so hard?”
    I moaned. “Why is everything with you so painful?”
    I raised my head, glaring into those black eyes. “Look, tough guy, it’s not like I asked for this little getaway cruise. And I can’t help it that your sea legs aren’t working. You pretty much suck as a pirate, you know it? If I were you, I’d stick to being a cabin boy.”
    “Cabin boy?”
    The look on his face was worth the insult. He rubbed his forehead, where a red welt was rising, and I saw the line that held my kayak slip through his fingers and slide from the cleat. We both realized it too late. The sea offered up a swell and the line disappeared over the rail, releasing my little boat into the raging waters. It would no doubt crash against the craggy rocks that lined the shore.
    Pushing off Gabriel, I risked the light-headedness and jumped up, grabbing the stanchions to steady my spinning vision and slipping feet. I was just in time to see the tiny kayak swallowed up in angry waters. For a moment, I forgot where I was, forgot Gabriel Black, forgot the Runners on the beach; I just forgot it all.
    I looked into the waves and saw my blistered fingers filled with splinters at age twelve when I built my kayak. I saw Japanese floats on a little cedar tree, standing in the corner of my cozy one-room cabin. I saw Max, pushing and shoving to get out the front door. I saw Uncle Seamus on the beach, lying dead in crimson sand. And I saw my mother, laughing in the Thai sunlight, with flowers in her hair.
    Hot tears traced down my cheeks.
    Gabriel closed in from behind, balancing a foot on the rail. He put his arms around me. We both watched the retreating Runners, no doubt heading to their boats moored on the other side of the island. We were safe for the moment, but pursuit