Tattoo (Take It Off #7)(35)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“Try to keep that arm still, okay?”

I nodded.

Another bullet hit the water and I could hear the guys talking amongst themselves on shore.

“Will they go away?” I whispered.

Even with the lack of light, I could see Brody grimace. “Remember that shallow area we passed on the way out here?” he asked, choosing not to answer my question.

“Yes.”

“We’re going to swim in that direction so it gives us some footing. We’re going to tire out quickly if we have to keep treading.”

“Okay.”

“Stay with me, stay under this boat, and don’t make any sudden movements or loud noises. We want it to look like the boat could just be drifting.”

“Won’t they know when we don’t surface that we’re under here?” I worried.

“Maybe,” he allowed. “But if they can’t see us, it will be harder to shoot us.”

Another bullet struck the side of the boat, knocking a small, round hole in the wood. I jumped back, bumping into the very end.

Brody swore. “This wouldn’t be happening right now if they’d managed to haul in Snake.”

I bit my lower lip as cold seeped into my skin and the water made my clothes feel heavy. One of the flats I was wearing had already fallen off and was carried off by the current.

It was a shame. I really liked these shoes.

The bullet wound in my arm ached, and I worried about the stitches and bandages. I wasn’t supposed to get that area of my arm wet. It was supposed to remain covered and dry for several more days.

“Come here,” he said, reaching for me, towing me closer and anchoring me at his side. I couldn’t help but notice the way he placed himself in front of me so he was stationed between my body and the side the men were shooting from.

We began moving together, slowly making our way toward where I hoped was a shallow area. My arm was burning and trembling slightly from the work of propelling my body through the water. Suddenly, I was extremely grateful that Brody strapped this life jacket on me, because without it, I would really be struggling.

I could hear his labored breathing in the tiny enclosed space. The air around our heads actually was uncomfortably warm, while the rest of me shivered with cold. I squinted through the darkness to make out his concentrated features as he pushed through the water, holding his gun above the surface, swimming and trying to tow the boat along as well.

I wished my arm wasn’t rendered useless in this stupid sling. I tried to tug it free, figuring I would rather tear the stitches than drown, but the added confinement of the jacket made the task almost impossible.

More gunfire erupted and I heard the men at the bank watching for us, waiting for us to surface. They were debating on whether or not one of use was hit or if perhaps both of us drowned.

I can’t say that listening to people plot my death was something I ever wanted to experience again.

“They’re dead,” one of the guys said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“I’m not leaving ‘til I know for sure. Snake wants confirmation.”

“Fucking Snake,” Brody spat. “I’m going to bring that asshole in myself.”

I started to speak, but the words died in my throat because I needed the air to breathe. I felt like we’d been swimming for hours. Yeah, in reality it was only minutes, but my arm burned and begged for a break.

I kicked my legs a little harder to give my arm a rest, trying to push away the panic that was building inside me from being beneath this boat. It was beginning to feel entirely too claustrophobic.

I kicked out again and my toe hit something solid. I made a sound and yanked my foot away, my big toe throbbing like it had been stubbed.

“We found it,” Brody said from right beside me. “Put your feet down to stand but don’t stand up all the way.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and stood in a crouch, my arm practically collapsing at my side. Brody turned to me. “Stay under here. If something happens to me, stay under this boat and wait for help.”

Ice formed in my belly. He made it sound like he was leaving. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to the surface and I’m going to shoot me some motherfuckers.”

Oh my. His language was very bad. But damned if it didn’t turn me on. Now is not the time to be turned on, I told myself. Brody started to move away, and I grabbed him.

“Wait! Stay here.”

“I’m not staying here, Tay. I’m not the kind of guy who sits and waits. I’m the kind of guy who fights back.”

“But you could get hurt.” I felt a lump of grief rise up in my throat, making it hard to breathe and swallow.

“I’m not going to get hurt.” He pressed a quick kiss to my lips and pulled away, causing water to lap against my chest.

And then he took a deep breath and went underwater, completely disappearing from sight. Barely several seconds later, I heard him break the surface and take a breath. I knew he was just on the other side of the boat, but it felt like he was miles away.

The faint sound of sirens in the distance was music to my ears. I whispered a silent thanks to the man who heard me cry for help and dialed 9-1-1.

Help was on the way.

The boat dipped a little, sinking down, and forced me farther into the water, up to my chin. A light tapping sound overhead made me look up, but of course I saw nothing. I knew it was Brody, but I had no idea what he was doing.

Surely he wouldn’t climb up on top of the boat, giving those men an easy target.

“Look!” someone yelled. “There he is!”

What the hell was he thinking climbing on top of the boat?!

Before I could call out and tell him what a damn idiot he was being, the sound of gunfire filled the air.

17

Brody

I was pissed.

Actually, pissed was an understatement.

I felt like killing someone. And since I was an officer of the law, my life was being threatened, and so was the safety of the public, I had every right to shoot back.

So shoot the fuck back was what I was gonna do.

I might not have a home, per se, because the last few years of my life were spent in a rented, undercover, ugly-ass house with a granny-pink bathroom, but this lake was a place I’d been visiting since childhood. It was familiar, and it was as close to home as I had right now.

That meant these douche bags had come up in my house, shooting.

I knew Taylor was scared and wanted me to stick close by her side, but doing that wouldn’t help our situation. So I left her beneath our pathetic excuse for a boat and came up to the surface. I was going to use the bottom of the boat as a shooting deck.