Damaged by Alex Kava Page B

the second dog inside the cabin. From the helicopter, the roof had hidden his existence. He was larger than the first dog but his weight didn’t cause a shift. He paced back and forth, following the natural sway of the disabled boat.
    Liz kept herself from glancing up at the helicopter. No sense in telegraphing this problem too early.
    Kesnick gave more slack for her to maneuver over the sinking boat. She knew her extra weight could capsize it. She crawled slowly toward the man. He wasn’t moving. It wasn’t until she was within five feet that she saw his eyes watching her. A good sign. Shock hadn’t completely debilitated him.
    His arm draped over the railing was the only thing that prevented him from floating away from the boat, but it lay at an odd angle. He wasn’t hanging on. He was caught, the arm most likely broken. It must have happened when he flipped overboard, keeping him out of the water from the waist up. That is, when the waves weren’t crushing his legs against the boat.
    When Liz could safely reach out without further tilting the deck, she grabbed on to his life jacket. His eyes grew wider. The slight movement had reminded him of the pain. She wouldn’t be able to use the quick strop on him. The harness was meant to fit under the survivor’s arms. She’d need them to deploy the basket. She took a cable hooked to her belt and started to wind it around the man’s waist. If nothing else, it would prevent him from getting sucked under the boat if it capsized.
    Then she waved up at the helicopter, giving the signal to send down the basket. This, too, presented a challenge. The winds swept the basket in every direction but down to Liz. They couldn’t put it in the water for the same reason she had attached the cable to the man’s waist. The basket could get sucked under. Kesnick would need to place it right on the deck, steadying it with the cable so it didn’t add weight to the boat.
    This took several tries.
    “I’m not going without my dogs,” the man told Liz as she wrestled him up.
    “I’ve been told the dogs can’t go. They’ll need to wait for the cutter.”
    He shoved at her, wincing at the pain in his arm. “Then I’ll wait with them.”
    Again, Liz avoided glancing up at the helicopter. Had they seen him push her away? They might just think she hurt him. “Either one of them a biter?” she asked.
    He was silent and she knew immediately that he didn’t want to condemn one or the other.
    “Sir, you’re gonna have to trust me.”
    “He only did it once and he was defending me.”
    “This one,” she said turning her head, avoiding any gestures the helicopter crew might interpret.
    “Yeah, Benny.”
    “And the other one?”
    “He’s a big baby. Can’t you tell?” he said with a smile, but it disappeared when he said, “I didn’t buy them life jackets. I can’t believe I thought I’d save a couple of bucks.” He shook his head, biting his lip. But it wasn’t pain this time. It was regret. “You can’t leave them. Please.”
    Liz guessed the guy was in his forties, small-framed—thank God—and an amateur fisherman. Later she’d ask if the boat was new, perhaps a splurge. His foolish attempt at recreation had almost cost him his life. And now she knew it might very well cost her own neck.

CHAPTER 21

    Maggie slid into a position close enough to the open doorway that she could watch Bailey. Whatever the woman had given her earlier seemed to be helping. She wasn’t nauseated; however, her stomach dived every time Bailey plunged. It didn’t matter that the rescue swimmer was attached to the helicopter by a cable. Each attempt to drop her onto the boat looked more like a circus stunt gone horribly wrong.
    Kesnick relayed every move step-by-step to his other two crew members. Minutes ago he said there might be a problem.
    “The guy’s refusing to get into the basket.”
    “From what I’ve heard,” Ellis said, “she was able to talk her way around some real crazies