Chapter 10 - Point Blank
The flare gun cracked with a dull, hollow report.
A blinding white phosphorus projectile hissed through the rain, searing the air an inch above Naomi’s left ear. The heat scorched the skin of her cheek, leaving the smell of burned hair in its wake. The flare struck the fiberglass bulkhead behind her, exploding into a shower of white-hot magnesium sparks that immediately ignited the teak deck.
Naomi pulled the trigger of her 9mm.
The pistol bucked in her wet hands. The bullet caught Julian in the right shoulder, spinning him around. The flare gun flew from his grip, bouncing over the railing into the boiling sea.
Julian crashed to the deck, clutching his shattered shoulder, screaming in agony.
Marcus lunged toward Naomi, panic overwhelming his senses. ""Give me the gun! Give me the gun, we have to drop the auxiliary liferaft on the foredeck!""
""Back up!"" Naomi screamed, training the barrel directly between Marcus’s eyes. ""Touch me and I’ll put you in the water right now!""
Marcus froze, his hands raised, water running down his terrified face. ""I didn't want this! It was Julian! He told me you'd bankrupt both of us if you audited the accounts!""
""Where is the emergency beacon?"" she demanded.
""In the bridge safe! But the bridge is fully engulfed!""
A massive explosion ripped through the floorboards beneath their feet. The auxiliary generator had detonated. A geyser of flame shot through the saloon windows, blowing shards of tempered glass across the aft deck. The yacht groaned, listing forty-five degrees to starboard as water rushed through the breached engine bay.
The bow began to pitch upward toward the sky. The boat was sinking.
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Naomi turned toward the railing. There was only one chance: the water. But as she prepared to jump, a bloody hand wrapped around her ankle, pulling her violently to the wet deck.
Julian was on his stomach, teeth bared in a feral grimace, dragging her toward the encroaching wall of fire.
