Gone in a Flash Read Online Free PDF Page A

daughter?” Connor growled.
    His captive grimaced. “I’m a cop. Name’s Jim Garrison.”
    Connor lifted a brow. “Really. Prove it.”
    “ID’s in my back pocket.”
    Connor wrangled the weapon out from under Garrison and stood back, comfortable with the feel of the Glock 17. Slowly, he backed up and allowed Garrison to reach for his ID.
    When the man flipped it open, a badge stared Connor in the face. He dropped his arm and pointed the gun at the floor. “Why are you following my daughter?”
    “I wasn’t. I was following the guy with her. Says his name’s Drake Walker, but he’s a suspected drug dealer and murderer. We let him book this cruise and get on the ship hoping he’ll lead us to his suppliers.”
    Connor’s jaw tightened as he tossed Garrison’s ID back to him. “And placed my daughter and everyone on this ship in danger.”
    Garrison acknowledged that with a slight nod. “Yes, but it couldn’t be helped. Trust me when I say it was a last resort.”
    Connor spun on his heel, heart thrumming with fear for Jenna. “Which way did he go?”
    Garrison was at his elbow. “Right before you clobbered me, I saw them turn left. He also said something about a drink near the pool.”
    Without waiting to see if the man would follow, Connor headed to the steps, taking them three at a time to the eleventh deck where the pool was. Stepping outside, he heard the rushing water, the music, the laughter.
    But Jenna was nowhere to be found.

    “What are you doing?” Jenna jerked her elbow from the hand of the man beside her. He’d gone from charming to bully in the span of about three seconds.
    The feel of something poking her in the side made her pause. “What are you doing?”
    “Retrieving something that’s mine. Now, let’s move.”
    Fear choked her. He had a gun! How had he gotten a gun on the ship? Gotten through security?
    The how didn’t matter. What mattered was getting away. Pulse thudding in her ears, she cast her eyes left, then right. “What makes you think I have what you want?”
    “You’re with the woman who took it.”
    “Took what?” she nearly screamed.
    He jerked her to a halt in the empty hallway, and she knew if she didn’t do something soon, she was dead.
    Visions of her underground prison returned with a vengeance. She’d been kidnapped by a serial killer at the age of sixteen. And now this. Her breathing quickened and her lungs felt tight. Stars spun in her vision.
    No! She couldn’t panic, not now.
    As soon as he turned onto the hall leading to her cabin, Jenna struck out with the palm of her hand just like her father had taught her.
    Blood spurted from his nose and he cried out. The gun tilted away from her and she gave Drake a hard shove.
    While he was writhing against the wall, Jenna raced to the end of the hall, rounded the corner, and made her way to the outer deck located just beyond her own cabin. A man in a security uniform appeared before her. She spun toward him, then bounced off a hard chest. Hands reached up to clasp her biceps in a hard grip.

8
    On the bottom floor balcony, Samantha gripped the rail. Which way to turn? She couldn’t go over, she couldn’t go up. Going back in would lead him to Andy. Already the mantra Keep him away from Andy was running through her head. But how?
    Leaning over the balcony, she studied the deck below hers. But she couldn’t leave Andy. Already, she could hear him calling for her again. What if he came out on the balcony? Fear was frying her brain. She needed to think!
    Her attacker appeared at the top of the stairs. Chills swept over her as she realized he was taking his time. With slow, deliberate steps, he started his descent.
    “Help! Help! Fire! Help!” She screamed at the top of her lungs even as she kept her eyes on his.
    Her frantic cries seemed to give him pause. Then he just kept coming.
    Toward her. But away from Andy.
    Swinging her foot over the rail, Samantha grasped it. Then her brain kicked in and she had a