Chapter 17: Part 4

Sam threw the rope around the docking cleat and sprinted up the hill to the house. He hoped like hell he wasn't late. She hadn't answered her phone. That worried him. The storm had abated and now only a soft mist flowed down from the clouds.



The island looked peaceful except for a few palm leaves lying about. He crested the top of the steps and saw that all the shutters had been closed. His steps faltered and he slowed to a stop.



Something felt off. The island was too peaceful. If anything the guy Bill had come to the island would have signaled him. He took off running towards the house.



"Delanie." His voice was too soft. He needed to find her.



"Delanie." This time his voice boomed across the gardens and up to the patio. He yelled for her again and again, but no one came out.



He busted through the French doors still yelling for Delanie. She wasn't there. No noise other than the echo from his shout greeted him.



"Delanie, Delanie. Where are you? Delanie." He sounded desperate. She wasn't here. The bastard had probably already gotten to her.



Sam raced out of the house and to the edge of the hill. He gazed out to the sea, searching for a sailboat. Nothing. He pulled the table from under the patio and crawled up on top, using it to pull himself up to the roof of the house.



He could see the whole island. It didn't look as though anyone was on the island. He looked out to the water and didn't see anything. He jumped down off of the roof and ran back into the house. He grabbed the binoculars out of the kitchen pantry and ran back outside.



When he jumped back onto the table his foot slipped and he banged his shoulder against the porch support. Pain sliced through his arm but he didn't give in. He hopped up, clambering back onto the roof.



With the binoculars he could make out a few ships on the horizon. He had to pick one to follow but which one? North, east, and west he saw multiple sailboats. Only to the south was there a singular boat. He zeroed in as much as he could on this one sailboat. Standing at the wheel was a man. No one else was visible on the boat.



He swung around and looked at some of the other ships. They all had two or three people on the sailboat. Something bugged him about the boat to the south. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something didn't seem quiet right.



It was their guy. He would bet his life on it. That sailboat making it's way south with only one man visible on board was the ship that Delanie was on.



Sam slid down the roof and landed on the table. He hopped off and ran down the slope to his sailboat. He threw off the line and jumped in. He had some gas for the small outboard motor he'd installed but not much. If things went well for him he could probably use the engine to catch the bastard. But would Delanie remain unharmed?



After he left the lagoon and headed south. He put in a call to Bill, hoping he could get though. The phone rang for a while and finally went to voicemail. Thoughts of what the bastard could be doing to Delanie made his head pound.



Once he rounded the island and the ocean smoothed out he ramped up the speed, praying that he was chasing the right boat. With the motor opened up he sped along the waves with little chop.



The wind had died down and the ocean had calmed tremendously. For that he was glad. The other boat had been running on sails. The guy probably thought no one would give chase, but he was wrong.

Copyright Sara Thacker 2011