Lost & Found - Jacqueline Sheehan [98]
Rocky slid the arrow part way up her jacket sleeve. She knew Peter hadn’t told this saga to anyone, and it had been fermenting with acidic vapors since the fall and now he let his aggressive posture fall momentarily away as he talked.
“Here’s what you’re going to help me do. We’re going to drag this dog down to the beach where I’ve got a boat,” he said. “I’ve been slipping in and out of this island for weeks.”
No, thought Rocky. This is all wrong; I needed someone to see us trying to leave on the ferry. I needed someone to help me. I can’t do this alone; he’s too strong. That’s when she remembered Bob, when they first met, Bob sitting serenely at the bottom of the pool, waiting to be saved by her, trusting her with his life. He had smiled at her and blew out the remaining air in his lungs.
She felt her feet push off from the slick bottom of the pool, carrying the full weight of a man.
“And what about me?” she asked Peter. “I’m not coming with you.”
He pulled the tranquilizer dart out of the dog’s back leg and slipped the bag under Cooper’s hindquarters. “Here, grab one side of this bag. We don’t want our doggie to get wet on the crossing, do we? And you’re coming with me, at least part way. Look like a good night for a swim?”
He crouched down and set the Taser beside him to stuff the dog into the bag. Rocky suddenly lay back on the ground and punched hard with both legs, hitting him in the chest. He fell sideways with a shout. “Fucking bitch!”
She fumbled with the arrow and pulled it out of her sleeve, rolling onto her side. Peter reached for the stun gun; it was so close to him. Rocky rose up on her knees and drew her arm back, holding the arrow inches from the point and brought the arrow down on Peter’s hand with the full weight of her body.
He screamed in shock. Rocky grabbed the stun gun and stood up. She pointed what she hoped was the front end of the gun at him.
“I will shoot you. I’ve already had a very bad day, and you are not the first person I’ve shot today. So don’t move. Don’t fooking move!” She had no idea if the gun had a lock, how it worked, but she had her fingers at what felt like a trigger.
Peter grabbed the protruding arrow with his free hand, and with a curdled howl he broke it in half. He rose up on one knee and stood up like a wrestler ready to lunge. Rocky knew that he was coming at her and this was her last chance. And Cooper, it was Cooper’s last chance.
The man roared like a bear, opening his mouth, throwing both arms wide. Rocky squeezed the trigger, and the force of the charge from the two wires dropped him, convulsing to the ground. Keeping the Taser in one hand, she grabbed the bag that half-contained Cooper, dragging him onto the trail, far away from Peter.
“I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”
Cooper whimpered. Rocky saw a light bounce around the corner of the trail, a huge flashlight, bouncing at an oddly familiar tempo. Then the light filled her eyes and she put her hands up to cover her face.
Melissa shouted, “I’ve found them! Isaiah, I’ve found them! Over here!”
The sudden presence of the girl both heartened and dismayed Rocky. She did not want Peter to harm Melissa if he recovered too quickly. “Lissa, toss me that roll of tape. Now help Cooper. Get that stuff off his legs.”
Rocky saw Peter try to get up and she pulled the trigger again and prayed that the gun still held a charge. It did. Peter’s body jerked into spasm. She ripped an arm’s length of duct tape, placed one foot on his back, grabbed one arm, then the other, and circled his wrists with steel gray tape. Rocky stood up, panting and shaking.
Melissa’s flashlight lay on the ground, offering an arc of light on the girl who crouched on the ground next to Cooper. Melissa’s eyes were huge. She looked from Rocky to the man.
“You kick ass, therefore you are,” said the girl slowly. Before Rocky could respond, the sound of Isaiah’s voice boomed along the trail, calling her name.
Chapter 36
The ride to the mainland on the water ambulance was harrowing but brief. Tess and Hill were wrapped in thermal blankets