Chapter 8 - Sea and Fire
Julian screamed, a high-pitched shriek of agony as the concentrated industrial solvent in the vial burned into his flesh. He released Naomi’s wrist, stumbling backward into a pedestal table, sending crystal decanters crashing onto the floor.
""Shoot her!"" Julian roared, clutching his bleeding neck as toxic solvent seeped into his skin. ""Marcus, shoot her!""
Marcus reached inside his beige polo shirt, drawing a snub-nosed revolver.
Naomi didn't hesitate. She drew the compact 9mm pistol from her thigh holster, pointed it at the master electrical breaker panel mounted beside the saloon door, and pulled the trigger twice.
The gunshots inside the enclosed cabin sounded like thunderclaps.
The 9mm rounds shredded the central wiring loom. Sparks exploded in blue and orange arcs across the ceiling. Instantly, every light on the vessel died, plunging the saloon into pitch-black chaos, illuminated only by the strobe of lightning tearing through the exterior glass.
The engines choked, stuttered, and died as Mateo’s secondary fail-safes kicked in below deck. The yacht slammed sideways into a twelve-foot trough of water, tossing Marcus across the floor. He lost his grip on the revolver, which skittered into the dark darkness of the galley.
Naomi scrambled on her hands and knees through the shards of broken glass, using the lightning flashes to navigate toward the portside companionway. She smelled smoke—the shredded breaker panel was catching fire against the wood paneling.
""Naomi!"" Julian’s voice tore through the darkness, warped by madness and pain. ""You aren't leaving this boat alive!""
She burst through the bridge wing door into the torrential fury of the storm. Rain hit her face like buckshot. The wind screamed through the radar arch, tearing the breath from her lungs.
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She sprinted along the slippery deck toward the starboard lifeboat station. But when she reached the davit, her heart dropped into her stomach.
The lifeboat had already been deployed. The cradle was empty.
