Amid the storm, two patrol boats sped their way through huge, angry waves and thunderous rain. In one were Sebastian, Darcy, Conrad, and Tristan, while the other held Nicolas, Hayden, and Logan. Both Sebastian and Darcy prayed silently that they’d get to their beloved woman in time to save her as the vessels sped toward the location of the flare.
“Faster, Tristan!” Sebastian shouted, his eyes fixed on the bright light lingering in the sky ahead.
“I’m doing my best!” Tristan yelled.
“We’re close!” Darcy shouted at the top of his lungs.
With his eyes fixed on the dying flare, Sebastian couldn’t believe what had happened. They’d been scouring the sea for what seemed like hours, losing hope, thinking they’d never be able to find another vessel in such a vast sea, especially in this bad weather.
Then they saw the flare shoot up into the sky, and Sebastian knew instantly it was Sakura who had sent the signal. By God, he had no idea how she’d managed it, but he thanked the Lord she had.
That’s my girl, he thought proudly as the vessel came into view.
“The yacht!” Conrad shouted, pointing to the boat before them. “Hurry!”
It wasn’t long before they came upon the yacht, and Tristan blasted the light at full power, scouring haphazardly, searching for Sakura. Then he did his best at maneuvering their boat toward the vessel and got as close as possible. On the other patrol boat, Logan did the same.
Conrad pulled out the transmitter and said loudly and urgently, “Sakura! Where are you? It’s the Princeton brothers! Sakura!”
The speaker echoed out Sakura’s name repeatedly. Suddenly, they spotted her, and Tristan and Logan directed the lights on her.
Sakura was standing treacherously on the side deck, holding tightly to the rail as she watched them from afar. Behind her was Mrs. Clark, who had a gun pointing at her temple. Not far away were Tara, who had a knife in her hand, and Ray Woods.
“Fuck!” Sebastian and Darcy uttered in unison.
Darcy shouted, “Tristan! Move the boat in closer!”
“Roger!” Tristan yelled back.
Sebastian said, “Darcy, what are you doing?”
Darcy moved back as he said, “I’m going over.”
Sebastian was about to stop him when Darcy started running at the same time Tristan sped the boat up and moved in. At the right time, Darcy climbed onto the rail of their boat and quickly grabbed the rail of the other vessel. Then he pulled himself up and over. Miraculously, he landed safely on the deck.
“Shit!” Sebastian uttered in disbelief.
Conrad could only watch with his mouth open in surprise. When he saw Sebastian started walking back, he knew the brother was about to do the same thing and prayed for his safe landing.
Sebastian took a deep breath. Then he sprinted, climbed over the rail of their boat while at the same time reached for the rail of the other vessel. Then he pulled himself up and over, thus landing safely on the deck beside Darcy.
“Fuck!” This came from Tara, who was watching the brothers in disbelief.
On the other side of the vessel, where no one was paying attention, Nicolas and Hayden climbed onto the yacht via the side ladder and silently made their way toward the front where the commotion was taking place.
Back at the front, Ray at once rushed over to the cockpit and started the engine, thinking only of escape. Once the machine was on full blast, he pulled up the accelerator, and the yacht lurched forward, speeding away.
Tristan and Logan accelerated their boats as well, following the vessel.
While this was happening, Darcy and Sebastian were eyeing Mrs. Clark, who had Sakura in her grasp, a gun pointing at the girl’s temple.
“Let her go!” Darcy shouted.
Mrs. Clark tightened her hand around Sakura’s throat as she pressed the gun harder against her temple in warning. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t. You brothers came all the way here just for her?”
Sebastian said darkly, “If you hurt her, I swear I will not let you and your family get away with it.”
Mrs. Clark sneered. “As if I give a fuck,” she said. She nudged Sakura’s face up by tightening her fingers around her throat and digging her fingernails deep into Sakura’s skin.
“This one deserves to die. She belongs down there.” She directed her gaze toward the sea.
It was then Sebastian and Darcy saw Nicolas looming behind Mrs. Clark. The eldest brother signaled for them to continue distracting the woman. Meanwhile, on the other side, Hayden silently made his way toward Ray in the cockpit.
“Let her go,” Darcy said, his voice hard. “Sakura hasn’t done anything to you.”
“She hasn’t done anything to me, you say?” Mrs. Clark asked sarcastically. “Of course she hasn’t done anything. But her mere existence pisses me off. Her mere existence turns my world upside down.”
Sebastian said, “Just because you’ve fucked up your own life doesn’t mean you should just dump the blame on Sakura.” He turned his gaze to Tara, who was watching them. Luckily, the girl was facing toward them and, therefore, couldn’t see Nicolas or Hayden behind her.
Tara glared at Sebastian in outrage, as she knew the man was directing those harsh words toward her as well. She was so pissed she couldn’t control herself and spit out her innermost feelings.
“She did fuck up my life, Sebastian. If she hadn’t turned up last year for Mary’s wedding, you and Darcy wouldn’t have changed. None of you brothers would have changed. You all would still love me and care for me, and…” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she screamed in agony.
“Oh God! It’s so painful here.” She clutched at her chest. “So fucking painful. Why? Why did you both have to fall in love with her? It’s not fair. I was doing my best to make you all love me. Why can’t you see that?”
Sebastian said, “You’re deluded, Tara. We did love you once, as a sister.”
“You are selfish,” Darcy said. “And that’s what really screwed you up.”
Mrs. Clark snapped, “Stop it! Why are you hurting my daughter?”
Sakura, with a gun pointed at her temple and her mouth and hands still bound tight, watched her two beloved men taunting her captors.
What are they doing? Are they trying to draw away the women’s attention?
God, she had felt so much relief the moment she’d seen the two patrol boats heading their way. After Mrs. Clark had grabbed her throat and pointed a loaded gun at her, Sakura wanted to scream, but couldn’t. Then when she’d seen first Darcy and then Sebastian jumping over to this yacht, she felt as though her heart were going to drop to her shoes, she was so afraid for them. Now, they were confronting a demented woman who was bent on murder, and Sakura felt overwhelmingly terrified for their safety.
Suddenly, Tara started screaming, and Mrs. Clark shouted at her to shut up. It was then Hayden barged into the cockpit and swung his mighty fist into Ray’s face, sending the man toppling sideways. Another punch came forward, forcing Ray instantly unconscious.
Hayden then took over the wheel and turned off the engine, which brought the vessel to an abrupt halt. At the same time, Nicolas took the opportunity and grabbed Mrs. Clark’s hand, forcing the gun away from Sakura. The two struggled for the weapon as Tara mindlessly charged forward, knife in the air, intending to murder Sakura then and there.
Sebastian and Darcy rushed forward—Sebastian to stop Tara and Darcy heading for Sakura.
Sebastian grabbed hold of Tara’s wrist and stopped her in her tracks.
Tara continued to scream her head off as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Suddenly, the gun fired, and the surprised Mrs. Clark loosened her grip on the weapon, which allowed it to topple and land a short distance away, near Tara’s feet.
Sakura, on the other hand, felt a forceful shove, which threw her sideways. She collided against the rail of the boat at the same time she heard a loud bang go off. Oh God! Had she been shot? Was she dying?
Then she suddenly felt a man embracing her. His body, though wet, was still warm against her icy cold one. When she opened her eyes and looked up, she found she was in Darcy’s arms.
“Are you okay?” he whispered softly, his eyes roaming passionately over her with concern.
Honest to God, Sakura didn’t know if she was all right or not as tears rolled down in her cheeks, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.
Darcy saw the terror in her eyes and said soothingly, “You’re fine, sweetheart. It didn’t hit you.”
Sakura mindlessly nodded while her whole body trembled. God, she had thought that was it, that she was a goner.
Hastily, Darcy unbound her hands and then her mouth. Freed, Sakura sighed with relief and was about to hug Darcy, just to confirm to herself that he and his brothers were really here to save her, when he moved back and took off his life jacket. She watched as he put it on her instead, which confused her.
“You can’t swim very well in the sea,” he said.
She nodded mutely as he zipped her up.
While all that was happening between Sakura and Darcy, Nicolas was struggling with Mrs. Clark and Sebastian with Tara, who was still screaming.
Once Sebastian managed to restrain Tara, he asked loudly over his shoulder, “Sakura, are you okay?” At Sakura’s confirmation, he continued. “Darcy, get her out of here.”
Sakura shook her head. “What about you and Nicolas? We can’t leave you guys,” she shouted, her voice quivering with worry.
Nicolas said, “We’re big men, Sakura. We’ll be fine, but you reallyneed to get off the yacht ASAP. You’re their target. Not Sebastian. Not me. They wouldn’t dare do anything to us.”
Sakura nodded in understanding, and she and Darcy started heading toward the patrol boat.
Mrs. Clark, who was still adamantly struggling, shouted, “The gun, Tara. Get the gun and shoot her. Shoot Sakura!”
The panicked Tara mindlessly slung the knife sideways at Sebastian, which sliced through the skin along his arm and then his life jacket. Injured, the man released her from his grasp as he staggered and fell onto his back. Tara then picked up the gun by her feet and pointed it toward Sakura and Darcy, who were heading away.
“Shoot her!” Mrs. Clark shouted.
Tara’s whole body shook as she said, “I can’t. I can’t. Darcy is in the way. If I shoot, it’ll hit him.”
Gritting her teeth in frustration, Mrs. Clark muttered, “You useless daughter.” She returned her attention to Nicolas, opened her mouth wide, and bit into the man’s arm. Nicolas released her in response. Mrs. Clark took the opportunity and shoved him away from her. Then she grabbed the gun from Tara and pointed it at Sakura.
At this point, Hayden rushed out the door of the cockpit to stop Mrs. Clark, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Half lying on his back, clutching his bleeding wound, Sebastian shouted, “Sakura! Darcy!”
Mrs. Clark pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sakura screamed as Darcy pulled her under him.
“Darcy!” Sebastian yelled as he watched him fall to the side. In an instant, he saw blood seeping through his brother’s shirt.
Once the banging noise stopped, Sakura rose and pulled Darcy into her arms as her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Her whole body shook in dread as she inspected the man’s body.
“Darcy! No! Please, no!” she said under her breath as she held on to his heavy body. “Look at me. Look at me, Darcy!”
Oh God! No, please don’t let my dear Darcy die. Not now. Not ever. Please. The blood now covering her hands was thick and warm.
Sebastian got to his feet and rushed over, his hands now stained with his own blood. Before them, he kneeled and said, “We need to stop the bleeding.” He took off his life jacket and stripped off his shirt. Then he tore the clothing to pieces and tied the material around Darcy’s shoulder and arm, where the brother was shot.
“Sakura…” Darcy weakly whispered her name. “Sakura…”
“Darcy,” Sakura whispered back. “Please don’t die. Please. I love you. Please don’t die. I won’t be able to live without you. Please.”
Nicolas, who now had the gun, which he had managed to retrieve from Mrs. Clark, came over to Sebastian. Behind him, Hayden was restraining the woman, while Tara simply stood there, mumbling nonsensical words like a zombie.
Nicolas took out his walkie-talkie. “We need help ASAP! Darcy has been shot. Over,” he said to Logan on the other side.
“Shit!” Logan replied. “Got that. Chopper coming. Over.”
Nicolas turned to Sebastian and said, “Help is coming.”
Sebastian pressed down on Darcy’s wounds to reduce the bleeding, disregarding his own injury. Meanwhile, Sakura cradled Darcy and continuously kissed his forehead, silently praying as he slowly lost consciousness.
Suddenly, they heard a bang, which was followed by a flare shooting into the sky from where Conrad stood in one of the patrol boats. A moment later, they heard a helicopter heading their way.
Nicolas waved as the transporters approached.