Island Peril by Jill Sorenson Read Free Book Online

fingers crossed, he reached the kayak. His face was pale in the meager light, teeth gritted. Instead of climbing into the cockpit, he removed a dry sack from the storage compartment and headed back. Her safety vest bobbed on the surface nearby, reflective strips twinkling. He grabbed it for her.
    “Put this on,” he said when he reached her.
    She shrugged into the PFD. “Was your kayak damaged?”
    “Yes. Bullet hole in the hull.”
    Ella slid into the water with him, cringing with discomfort. There was nothing to do now but swim. The drug smugglers must have taken the Zodiac to the larger boat, which was no longer in sight.
    Only a half-mile lay between Cuyler Harbor and Prince Island. As she swam toward the beach, the distance stretched out like a nightmare sequence. She kicked after Paul dully, trying to stay focused. If not for her safety vest, she might have sunk like a stone. Fatigue and cold seized her muscles, rendering them almost useless.
    She blinked at the ghost-white beach. Almost there.
    “Come on, Ella,” Paul said. “You can do it.”
    By the time they reached the shore, she was so drowsy she couldn’t stand. He dragged her out of the water and lifted her into his arms, carrying her across the beach. He was shivering from the cold, his biceps twitching. For some reason, she wasn’t reacting the same way. Her body was limp and unresponsive.
    He set her down near the palm tree they’d rested under at midday. “I’ll get you warm,” he promised, yanking his shirt off.
    Although she wanted to admire his bare chest in the moonlight, her eyes refused to stay open. He barked at her to stay awake. She heard palm leaves rustling and twigs snapping, as if he were building a hut.
    She smiled, imagining grass skirts and ukuleles.

CHAPTER FIVE
    E LLA DRIFTED IN and out of reality for the next hour.
    At some point, Paul lifted her and set her back down on the mat. He took off every stitch of her wet clothing before covering her with the emergency blanket. Then he curled up beside her, buck naked. Not even female curiosity could rouse her. She was vaguely aware of a fire crackling, warming her blood.
    The return to lucidity wasn’t as pleasant as the departure. Her muscles started to contract uncontrollably. She thrashed against him, legs cramping, shoulders shaking. For several minutes, she shivered on and off, quivering in his arms. Then the trembling ceased and she felt better, almost normal.
    He helped her sit up for a sip of water. She drank in thirsty gulps, clutching the shiny blanket to her breasts.
    “Are you okay now?”
    “I think so.”
    “The cold affected you more than it affected me. Less padding, I guess.”
    “You don’t have any padding,” she noted. The blanket rode low on his lean waist.
    “I have greater muscle mass.”
    Murmuring an agreement, she tore her gaze from his biceps and glanced around. He’d made a cozy fire out of palm fronds and driftwood. The sky was black as pitch and misted with stars. “Where did our friends go?”
    “Far away, I hope.”
    “What if they come back?”
    “I hate to underestimate them again, but I don’t think they can. Inflatable Zodiacs aren’t that easy to repair. Even if they have an extra, this harbor is the only landing site. There’s no way to sneak on the island.”
    “Will a helicopter come?”
    “Yes. Eventually.”
    She lay back down on the mat, satisfied they were safe. With the fire at her left side and him on her right, she was warm enough. “I can’t believe we’re alive.”
    “It seems like a miracle.”
    “Do you believe in them?”
    “No.”
    After losing both parents, Ella couldn’t blame him. “You saved me again.”
    “I just made a fire.”
    “You also found another convenient hiding place.”
    “I’ve circumnavigated Prince before,” he said, shrugging.
    He used big words, too. Maybe it was sexy. “You said your sister rescued her boyfriend from cold water.”
    “Yes.”
    “Did she warm him up the same