The 39 Clues: Unstoppable Book 2: Breakaway by Jeff Hirsch Read Free Book Online Page A

of the two men. Jake grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her to her feet.
    “Run!”
    Amy and Jake took off toward the marina, right into the crowd of onlookers who had all turned toward them in varying states of shock. The men were behind them and closing the distance incredibly fast. These were definitely Pierce’s thugs. Amy caught a glint of bronze on one of the remaining merchants’ tables. She scooped up a round serving tray and spun without missing a beat, hurling the plate like a discus. She managed a smile when she heard a very satisfying “ugh” as the tray found its target. One of the men went down and the other jumped over him.
    Jake raced onto the pier and leaped into a nearby powerboat. Amy barely had time to get into the seat next to him before he turned the key and gunned the engine. Amy shot a glance over her shoulder. The men were struggling to break through the unruly crowd, knocking people out of their way as they made their way toward the pier.
    Jake pushed the throttle to full, throwing Amy back into her seat, lashed with sea spray. He carved a path south, straight down the coast toward Tunis. Behind them, Pierce’s men were through the crowd, and Amy watched as they commandeered a boat of their own.
    “We’re going to need a new plan!” Amy said.
    “It’s your turn,” Jake yelled over the roar of the engines, earning himself a glare from Amy. “I came up with stealing the boat!”
    The men were now less than fifty yards behind them. One of them was leaning forward, gun in hand. As soon as they were out of sight of the crowds at the marina, he began firing. Bullets zipped past Amy and Jake, splashing into the churning water around them.
    The lights of Tunis were growing brighter by the second.
    “If we slow down enough to get ashore, they’ll be on us in no time,” Amy said. She pivoted in her seat, searching for anything that might help. A little bit of land. Other ships. Anything. All she saw was a vast stretch of dark sea. “Steer us out into the open water.”
    “And do what? Take this thing to Italy?”
    Bullets pierced the fiberglass deck behind them, slamming their way closer and closer.
    “Just do it!”
    Jake pulled the wheel over, aiming the boat straight out into open water ahead. The men behind overshot them and had to slow to turn around.
    “Hope you’ve got a good follow-up idea!”
    Me too,
Amy thought as she dropped into her seat and started stripping off her shoes.
    “What are you doing!?”
    “We have to jump!”
    “What!? You mean in the water?”
    “It’s dark,” Amy said. “They won’t see us. They’ll follow the boat while we’ll swim back to the beach.”
    Jake looked behind them. “Swim? We’re a mile from shore!”
    “Do you have a better idea?”
    “Yes! It’s called NOT DROWNING!”
    A trio of gunshots thundered behind them. Amy stripped off her cardigan and stood by the edge of the boat. “Take off your shoes and jacket and let’s go!”
    “Amy!”
    Amy threw her arms over her head and dove into the rushing water. As fast as they were going, it was like hitting wet concrete. She tumbled in the water end over end, plummeting into the dark beneath the waves. For a terrifying moment Amy couldn’t even figure out which way was up, until she spotted air bubbles floating to the surface. Amy followed them, pulling with all her might until she exploded out of the water with a gasp. A second later there was a scream of engines and the other boat raced by.
    “Jake!” Amy called into the dark after the boat had passed. “Jake!”
    Amy searched frantically, but didn’t see him anywhere.
What if he stayed in the boat? What if he’s still out there all alone?
    “Jake!” she screamed.
    Amy searched the darkness, growing more and more anxious until she heard a splash nearby. The surface broke and Jake appeared, gulping back air. Amy stroked toward him, putting one arm around his back and kicking to lift them beyond the reach of the swells of