Extreme Exposure Read Free

reassuring smile, but there was a sour taste in his mouth. Scared of the police? What the hell? He had a bad feeling about this.
    In the next instant that feeling went from bad to worse.
    At the end of the channel, a boat appeared as a dot on the water. It could have been a sport fishing boat, of course, chartered at the island resort by a group with nothing more than striped bass on their minds.
    But this wasn’t a fishing boat. It was headed for them; he’d bet his life on it.

CHAPTER TWO
    C ursing under his breath, Matt throttled back the engine of the row boat. The big boat was a couple of miles away, but coming fast in a straight trajectory, the dot growing like a bad stain before his eyes. Ten minutes away at most. How the heck did those guys get on the water so quickly? They must have already had a boat.
    Emily’s expression was grim but not surprised. “What are we going to do?”
    Slamming his fist against the boat, he racked his brains for options. They couldn’t outrun the bigger boat to the campground. He swore under his breath. There was no choice but to turn around, head back straight into the current. “We have to go back up the channel, try to find a spot to climb on the rocks.” Even as he said it, it sounded hopeless.
    Turning around, he steered the boat close to the cliff, where the current wasn’t as strong. It was still slow going, not much better than treading water. This was going to be a huge clusterfuck.
    A glance over his shoulder showed the boat gaining quickly. It was under a mile away, its hull bouncing up and down as it sliced through the water like a bullet toward them. It was one of those charters, with a powerful motor for offshore fishing. They didn’t stand a chance. He cursed again, aloud this time.
    When he turned back, Emily was standing with one foot planted on the side of the boat. His stomach clenched in alarm. “What are you doing? Sit down.”
    Her eyes were calm and cold. “It’s me they’re after. If I jump, they’ll let you go.”
    Matt felt himself go sick deep in his gut. “No way.” When she didn’t sit down, he jerked the joystick so the boat swerved hard left. Emily lost her balance, toppled onto her side on the wooden seat.
    Pushing herself upright with her elbow, she glared at him. He didn’t care. Sure, his chances might be better alone but he wasn’t about to abandon her. Who did she think he was?
    Any fear he’d had was gone, replaced by a cold anger that made his heart hammer. He had to get them out of this. But how? They had to get ashore, but the only place with low rocks along this stretch of coast—where he’d come ashore earlier that morning—was too far.
    The other boat was close enough to see two men, one at the wheel, another one leaning against the windshield. Big Guy.
    Scanning the coastline, his eyes stopped on a dark shape at the base of the cliff a hundred feet ahead. What was it? A big wave came, and the boat rose up like a bucking bronco. More waves followed. Matt clenched his fist on the steering stick. Seconds later, the waves let up and he found the spot again. A sea cave. Water pounded the rocks, tearing into the small gash.
    His mind flashed back two decades, when he and another boy had waded in at low tide. It was deep, with a small opening at the back that gave access above ground. It had been huge then, forty feet high and half as wide, but would soon be submerged at high tide.
    Pointing out the cave, he said, “Right now, that’s our only chance. We can get in, but the other boat is too big.”
    She stared at the cave, turned back to him, incredulous. “It’s filling with water. We’ll be trapped.”
    “I think we can get out the other end.”
    “You think?”
    “There’s an opening we can climb out of.”
    Her eyes got even bigger. She wasn’t buying it. “What about the tide?”
    “It’ll be underwater at high tide, but we have a few minutes.”
    He looked away, unable to bear seeing the terror in those eyes.