Ricochet by Cherry Adair Read Free Book Online Page B

imprinted in his synapses.
    “Can’t hear you- “ A bright orange flare, another furnace blast of heat, accompanied another blast. The small boat gyrated, rising at a perilous angle up another peak. “Holy crap! How long is this going to go on?”
    “Till it’s over.” Tightening his grip on her as the boat seemed to levitate, hang in space for a few long seconds, then with the jarring impact of a bag of cement flung from a great height, they hit a trough. The force rattled his bones as Gray buried his face beside hers to protect her from the worst of it.
    Even inside the small wheelhouse, protected by the walls and windows, the blast of heat on his exposed face, throat and hands was intense. He and his men were protected from the worst of it by their LockOut, but Hannah, in her jeans and thin cotton shirt was not. He was all that was between her and the incredible heat from the blast.
    Projectiles from the explosion crashed onto the deck of the their boat. His team, on board with them communicated through his comm as they attempted to stay clear, hang on, and put out multiple fires.
    The trawler shimmied and rocked, indicating the massive size of the blast. Clearly the tangos hadn’t wanted anything to remain. Whoever had set the explosives knew what they were doing. The destruction was massive, total and quick. Heavy chunks of debris struck with thuds, cracks and clangs against their boat.
    The hellaciously loud crashes and thuds of shit hitting the deck and wheelhouse petered out gradually, until there was nothing more than the throb of the engines and the distant splashing as debris hit the water out of range. The rank chemical stink of burning rubber, oil, wood and ship parts made his eyes burn.
    After what seemed like a lifetime, but was actually only about ten minutes, Grayson lifted his head.
    “Is it over now?” Hannah shouted over the noise.
    He flinched as something hard slammed into his shoulder, bracing so the impact didn’t transfer to her. “We’ll be out of range soon. Stay put.” Not that he was giving her any choice. He wasn’t budging until he had the all clear.
    Through the shattered windows of the wheelhouse, he saw his men running through the smoke on deck, putting out the fires caused by flying, flaming debris. Hannah’s safety was his top priority, but so were his men. He needed to know if they’d all made it off the yacht.
    His comm had fallen free, Grayson found it by feeling around near Hannah’s head, then inserted it back in his ear. Her pale face was a whitish blur in the darkness, then flushed gold with each fiery flare.
    Vision fuzzy, ears ringing, he checked his men. “Alpha One. Bravo, what’s the ETA on our ride?”
    “Bravo One. Forty-seven minutes, They’ll arrive fueled and ready to go wheels up on your word. We’re two clicks from hangar with our packages. One damaged.” With a fifteen minute head start Bravo team was almost there. Esmeraldas, the major seaport of northwestern Ecuador, lay on the Pacific coast. The derelict airfield they’d commandeered, was close enough to the docks for convenience, and distanced enough to make their coming and goings relatively unremarkable. The jet, fueling elsewhere, ensured a fast exit.
    “Clear,” Salinas spoke loudly through Gray’s earpiece as he rose from his crouch beside the wheel.
    Grayson bet there’d be nary a stick in the water to show the luxury ship had ever been there when it was over. Perhaps just an oil slick, but he guessed that would probably incinerate as well.
    Helping Hannah to her feet, he kept a tight grip on her hand as he edged her back down onto the narrow wood seat. Sitting beside her he maintained a steadying hold, both hands bracing her shoulders as the ship rocked.
    Scanning her face, Gray hoped to hell that dark shadow on her cheekbone was dirt and not a bruise. He’d always wanted to protect her because of how deceptively fragile she appeared. But he knew she was anything but. People