“I’m here, Katie,” he murmured. “I won’t let you down.”
A sound came from one of the boats on the far end of the dock. Luther’s ears perked up and he focused his eyes on the direction of the sound. Somebody was turning a key in an ignition. An instant later, the low humming of an engine reverberated against the other boats.
Luther ran to the gate and pulled on it. It was locked. He kicked his foot against it, but the damn thing didn’t give way immediately.
“Shit!”
He hooked his fingers into the chain link fence and climbed it, jumping over at the top. He ran down the plank to the individual docks. Toward the end of the sixth finger, he saw a motorboat pull out from its slip. Luther estimated the length of the dock and realized that he couldn’t outrun the boat and would be stuck at the end of the dock without being able to reach it.
He had to cut Norris off at the exit of the marina, at the narrow opening between the breakwater and the pier that ran parallel to the seventh finger. Luther sprinted down the dock, feeling the planks shift slightly beneath his feet as they rocked with his movements. He swerved at the last finger and ran down the long dock. His lungs were burning, hungering for air, but his legs were eating up the distance, his focus on the end of the dock, where a large sailboat blocked his view of the breakwater.
Without stopping he catapulted himself onto the deck of the sailboat and traversed it with three long strides. Just in time as it turned out, because the motorboat was passing it at that very moment. The man at the helm turned his head, and his face froze as their eyes met for a split-second.
“Norris!” Luther leapt off the sailboat, pushing off it with all his might.
He crashed into Norris, tackling him to the floor. Luther’s gaze immediately shot to the open cabin door. There was no light, but Katie’s scent was stronger here. She was down there.
“West,” Norris ground out, already pulling back his fist for a punch.
Luther pulled his knee up and thrust it between the guy’s legs, but Norris was fast and rolled to the side in time to avoid the kick. Norris got back on his feet, and Luther braced himself against the bench to get leverage to kick his foot at Norris’s midsection.
The guard staggered backward and hit the steering wheel. The boat suddenly tilted the other way. Norris jerked forward, his fists aimed at Luther when Noris’s jacket got caught on something. Norris pulled frantically, as Luther charged him. Just as Luther was upon him, there was the sound of something breaking. Norris was free and slammed his fist into Luther’s face.
Simultaneously the boat took a leap forward, its speed increasing with every second.
“Shit!” Luther cursed and delivered a series of blows, alternately punching Norris in the gut, then landing uppercuts to his chin and whipping his head sideways. But the guy kept coming, grunting with every punch and every blow.
“Never liked you much, West!” Norris said between intakes of air.
“Likewise, asshole!”
Norris grinned coldly, then flashed his fangs. “How about a real fight now? See who’s got what it takes to win the prize.” He motioned to below deck where Katie was probably tied up.
Luther glanced past Norris. They’d cleared the breakwater and were heading toward the opposite side of McCovey Cove, where a large parking lot lay deserted. Knowing he didn’t have much time before the boat hit the shore, Luther feigned a move to the left, then reached into his inside pocket and pulled out the stake he’d stashed there while in the car.
“Yeah, a real fight,” Luther repeated as if agreeing with Norris. Then he jerked his shoulder back and launched himself onto Norris.
With one arm he blocked Norris’s claws, while he drew back the other. With a grunt, Luther drove the stake into Norris’s chest, watching with satisfaction how the vampire froze for a split-second as he realized his fate.
“Don’t have time for your sick games,” Luther said.
Norris dissolved into dust.
Luther didn’t lose a second but reached for the wheel. He turned it, but it didn’t move. It was locked in its position. He reached for the lever to throttle down the engine, but the lever was gone. Broken off.
“Shit!”
One glance at the approaching shore and he knew he only had seconds left.
He raced down into the cabin. “Katie!”
A muffled sound came from a corner, but he’d already spotted her. She was bound to a rail and gagged. He willed his fingers to lengthen into claws and sliced through her ties. Luther grabbed her and pulled her with him, lifting her out of the cabin. Katie tore on the gag and pulled it down. Luther stepped onto the bench at the back of the boat and with Katie clutched to his chest he jumped into the water.