Thursday, February 25, 2016

Latest from the Janitors, Asps, Other Books, and More Books - Dog Pound (Asps Series, Book #3) - Kidnappers have a problem...a big one.



Today’s excerpt is from Dog Pound, Book #3 of the nine-book Janitors Series.  After putting the kidnapped Billy Jo ashore, the kidnappers have a major problem.  Steve, who know nothing about the kidnapping, sees their problem and heads in their direction to lend a hand.  Enjoy and have a great day.

m.j.

 

 Henry was fighting the storm to keep on course as wave after wave rolled over the boat. Finally, through the pouring rain, he saw the island and shouted to Oscar.  “Get ready, we’re almost there.”

As he predicted, the sea was only slightly better in close to the island than it had been further out to sea.  As Henry tried to steady the boat, Oscar worked his way to the stern and, after making sure the line was well secured, tossed the duffel bag full of Meals Ready to Eat that Jerry had purchased into the dinghy.  Then he went after Billie Jo.  After opening the lock on the chain holding her in place, he dragged her toward the dinghy with the chain still attached to her ankle.  It took three tries to get her into it without dropping her overboard into the churning sea.  Then he jumped in after her.  As he was about to loosen the knot to the line leading from the dinghy, Henry shouted, “You forgot her clothes.”

“Screw her clothes,” Oscar shouted back as he freed the dinghy and started its outboard motor.  He did his best to steer a straight line toward the beach, but the wind and heavy seas were no help.  Finally they reached the beach.  He jumped out and pulled the dinghy up onto the sand a few feet.

Then he gave Billie Jo’s chain a jerk and growled, “Out,” as he grabbed the duffel bag of food.  He led her in the direction where the fresh water was supposed to be.  When he came to it, he found a tree about ten feet from it, looped the chain around the tree, and used the padlock to secure it.  The chain was nearly fifteen feet long, so he knew there would be plenty of length for her to reach the water.  He looked down at her ashen face and shivering body.  “So long, Miss Famous Actress.”

As he walked off, Billie Jo shouted, “You can’t leave me here like this.”

Oscar ignored her and returned to the dinghy, which he was soon steering back toward the Freedom Express.  After what seemed like hours of fighting the sea, he reached the boat.  Henry saw him coming and tossed him a line.  The two men struggled mightily to get a slipping and sliding Oscar back onboard.  When they succeeded, Oscar muttered, “Shit,” and headed for the galley to get a cup of coffee that he planned to lace with a liberal dose of whiskey.

The coffee was cold, so Oscar got out a saucepan and turned on the small gas stove—even though he knew better than to turn on the stove in heavy seas.  He poured the coffee into the pan, put the pan in tight-fitting brackets on the stove and waited for it to heat up.  As he waited, he got out a bottle of whiskey and took a long swallow.  Just at that moment, disaster struck.  A giant wave nearly capsized the boat and Oscar lost his footing.  He slammed into the stove as he fell, the bottle of whiskey sailing in a high arc that ended on the stove and shattering.  Oscar never knew that the whiskey quickly caught on fire, or that the blaze spread rapidly through the galley.   He was unconscious.

In a matter of minutes the boat was ablaze.  Henry stood dumbfounded as he tried to steer the boat.  He had no idea what to do as he hollered, “Oscar, the boat’s on fire.  Do something!”

Of course, Oscar did nothing because he couldn’t.  Henry did nothing because he didn’t know what to do. 

Steve, aboard the Dog Pound, was less than a mile away.  Since he had long ago checked his charts and realized that the island Henry had intended to reach offered the best hope for safe haven from the ravages of the storm, he was on an almost identical course to that of the Freedom Express.

Even through the heavy rain, he saw the blaze in the distance.  He knew at once that somebody was in serious trouble, so without even taking time to think, he steered in the direction of the blaze.  Steve simply wasn’t the kind of man to walk away from someone else’s distress if there was any chance to be of assistance.

 

Sponsored by:  www.mikejacksonbooks.com      


No comments:

Post a Comment