No Safe Place by Deborah Ellis Read Free Book Online Page B

shirt. “How much do you think this is worth?”
    â€œOn the streets of Detroit? It would sure pad out my pension.”
    â€œYou still have your old contacts?”
    â€œI could find them. Their lives don’t change.”
    â€œThat’s mine!” yelled Cheslav, taking a swing at Harry.
    Shut up, thought Abdul, as Harry punched Cheslav hard in the stomach. The Russian fell to his knees.
    Abdul tried to get at his knife. He knew what was coming. These men had no reason to keep Cheslav alive. It would be only moments before they discovered the rest of them. He wondered where Rosalia was, and hoped she was well hidden.
    Harry pulled the belt out of the loops of his bathrobe and wound them around Cheslav’s wrists, pulled back tight from his shoulders.
    â€œWhere did you get this?” Frank demanded, speaking inches from Cheslav’s face. “How did you get on my boat? Tell us, and maybe you’ll live to get to a police station.”
    Cheslav took a deep breath and spat right in Frank’s face. Frank cursed, and the two men hit and kicked the boy, Frank using his gun instead of his fist.
    Abdul got ready to jump. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rosalia holding an oar, poised to attack.
    â€œThere’s more!”
    Abdul heard Jonah’s voice, then saw him on the yacht’s deck.
    The men stopped beating Cheslav and turned to Jonah.
    â€œWhat is this — nursery school? Where did you come from?” Frank grabbed Jonah and threw him to the deck beside Cheslav.
    â€œThere is more heroin on our boat,” said Jonah, his face flushed from fever and his hair matted with sweat and salt. “Lots more. Go and see for yourselves.”
    Frank stood up and kept his gun aimed at the boys.
    â€œGo check it out,” he said to Harry.
    Harry, keeping a tight hold on the two packets of heroin he’d found on Cheslav, walked to the other side of the yacht.
    â€œThere’s a beat-up old motorboat down here. It’s empty.”
    â€œThe drugs are hidden,” Jonah said. “I can show you.”
    â€œHold it.” Frank used his free hand to pat down Jonah and check him for weapons. “Show us,” he told Jonah. “From up here, and no tricks!”
    Jonah went to the side of the yacht and told Harry where to look.
    â€œFrank! You’ve got to see this!”
    â€œDon’t move,” Frank said to Cheslav. He joined Jonah at the side of the boat and leaned over to get a better look.
    Abdul moved fast. He ripped the knife from his clothes, ran to the side and pushed Frank over the railing. He heard a thud and a splash as the large man landed half in the skiff and half in the sea. It took just a second to cut through the rope tying the two boats together.
    At that same moment, he heard the sound of the yacht’s motor starting.
    Frank and Harry scrambled to get back onto their boat.
    â€œLet’s go!” yelled Cheslav.
    â€œHaul up the anchor!” yelled Rosalia from the wheelhouse.
    Abdul stayed at the side with his knife, ready to fight the men if they managed to climb up. The yacht slowly started to move, creating a three-foot gap, then a six-foot gap, then a ten-foot gap. The men might have made it if they’d acted immediately, instead of trying to pick up all the heroin first.
    They could still swim, Abdul thought. They’d have to leave the drugs, but they could still make it.
    â€œHelp me!”
    Jonah was struggling to haul up the anchor by hand. Abdul quickly sliced through Cheslav’s bindings. Cheslav, his face bloodied from the beating, stumbled over to help Jonah with the anchor, and Abdul ran back to the side of the boat.
    The extra person on the anchor was helping. The yacht was moving a little faster. Rosalia was having some trouble with the controls. Their getaway wasn’t smooth, but every moment put more distance between them and the men.
    â€œYou damn kids!” Harry