Tears blurred her vision and were instantly whipped away by the wind. The sight of him, even from a distance, had given her strength to not give up. In the blink of an eye, the last visible sure thing that mattered to her in this world was gone.
Lorenzo gaped at the inferno before shouting at Luca in Italian. The man shrugged and laughed. The sadistic sound registered through the hopeless haze Halli had descended into.
Lorenzo spoke again and Luca glanced in her direction. He slowed the boat some, his mouth going tight with obvious anger as he faced forward again. Lorenzo continued to gesture heatedly between the fire and Luca.
A sudden realization pounded through Halli. She was one hundred percent, completely on her own.
Every other emotion was filed away to deal with later as survival mode kicked into gear. She’d been fending for herself for years, but never in such an extreme life and death situation. Before now, the thought would’ve scared her senseless. It still did, but each passing second solidified her determination that these men would not win. If it was the last thing she did, in any way possible, she’d make them pay for all they’d stolen from everyone.
While Lorenzo was distracted arguing with Luca, Halli lunged for the money. The moment her fingers closed around the handles of the duffle, she pivoted, swinging the bag in a wide arc. Lorenzo raised a hand to deflect the blow and his gun flew from his grasp. Luca’s jerk on the steering wheel took them out of the path of an oncoming boat, and Lorenzo toppled over the side with the bag.
Luca erupted in Italian and wrenched the boat around. Halli lost her own footing and slammed up against the motor before sliding down. Pain lanced through her back, stealing her breath. She shook her head to clear a multitude of sparkling stars.
Get up. Get up!
She braced a palm for leverage. Something hard bit into her flesh. Instead of the rough, water-tolerant carpeting of the boat’s floor, she encountered the cool steel of Lorenzo’s gun.
Halli shot a glance at Luca. She fumbled for the grip as he stretched his arm back toward her. Time distended. She stared into the deadly eye of his pistol, prayed that her family would at least be saved, and finally located the handle of the gun beneath her hand.
A deafening roar filled her ears. Luca’s aim waivered as he glanced toward the noise, then did a double take. Halli raised her gun, finger curled around the trigger.
One second of moral hesitation after she aimed resulted in a large body leaping between her and her target.
Shock jerked the gun skyward before she squeezed the trigger. The kick of the gun vibrated violently through her arms, but she hardly noticed as Trent wrestled with Luca for his weapon.
He’s alive!
She struggled to her feet. Trent’s shoulder hit the steering wheel, making the boat veer sharply to the left. The gun in Halli’s hand flew overboard when she was thrown back to the floor.
The boat’s throttle remained at half-speed without a driver as the two men fought. Halli pulled herself back up and climbed over Trent and Luca to the controls. She swerved to avoid a police vessel and quickly brought their boat to a stop.
As suddenly as everything had begun four days earlier when Trent threw her into his car, it was all over.
Trent—shirtless—kept Luca subdued until the blond man from the café at the consulate who introduced himself as Agente Tony Butelli boarded the boat. Tony handcuffed Luca and transferred him to the police vessel. Lorenzo sat wet and brooding under the watchful eye of another officer, and Greg Tomlin stood at the helm of Trent’s rental boat.
Still completely stunned, with residual adrenalin seeping from her muscles, Halli hadn’t looked at Trent yet. At his face. Was afraid if she did she’d fall apart. They were the only two left on their boat. The weight of his hand fell on her shoulder and her entire body trembled. Even her knees wobbled. A soft squeeze of his fingers released the choked sob caught in her throat.
When he turned her around, the first thing she saw was the bloody gash down the length of his bare chest. He pulled her into his arms, his hold so tight she could barely breathe. But she didn’t care. He was so warm; she was chilled to the bone. She forgot about the blood and didn’t say a word until moments later, when he framed her face with his hands and ran his gaze over her.
“Are you okay?”
Moisture in his eyes deepened the ache in her chest. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. “I almost shot you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.”
“I thought you were dead,” she whispered. “The boat blew up.”
His eyes told her he’d thought the same about her. Then his lips captured hers in a rough, consuming kiss full of desperation, fear, and relief. Numbed, she soug
ht to absorb as much of his heat as possible. Salt from her tears mixed with the kiss, coating her lips and her tongue.
The enormity of everything began to sink in; how close she’d come to shooting a man, how close she’d come to losing Trent, how close she’d come to her own death.
She broke the kiss, buried her face in his neck, and hung on for dear life. She was probably strangling him, but letting go wasn’t quite possible at the moment.
From one of the other boats, someone cleared their throat. “I’m sorry, but we must return.”
Trent drew in a breath, his chest expanding against hers. He reached up and gently removed her arms since she couldn’t seem to do it herself. After a soft kiss and a shaky grin, he shifted around her to the helm.