Walker (In the Company of Snipers #21) - Irish Winters Page 0,152

You planted all that evidence. You sold Emily Dooley to some asshat in China. A three-year-old little girl to an adult male pervert!”

Goff’s eyes narrowed. The man was flat-out crazy, and whatever swim he’d just taken had done him in. He didn’t seem able to catch his breath. His hands shook, but the shotgun in his hand was still plenty lethal. Of course, a coward like him needed a double-barrel to hit his targets.

It all made sense now. In for a penny; in for a pound. Walker went for broke. “You stacked the court against me. You, along with your NCIS buddies, contrived evidence, then leaked that evidence to the press. You worked with Prince Khalid to murder all those people!”

Goff’s cheeks puffed with an outrageous, annoyed exhale. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

“What?” Alex asked, still as calm as ever and once more steadfast at Walker’s side. “That you’re behind one of the largest human trafficking enterprises in the world? That’s how you did it, isn’t it? You used Navy personnel and Navy assets to move your cargo. Most sailors onboard probably didn’t even know what you were doing, but they took orders well, didn’t they? You worked for Peckering, and together, you bastards created the Black Dragon Syndicate to—”

“He worked for me!” Goff bellowed. “Damn it! They all worked for me! That moron Khalid! Peters! Pickering! Who do you think bought the meatpacking plant for Montego’s sister, just so she could tear assholes like you apart? That was her plan. Steal your wife and daughter. Sell them to your enemies. Capture you and chop you into fuckin’ small pieces!”

Man, this guy was insane. Yet he couldn’t seem to shut up.

“Who owns this…?” He waved his free hand at the yacht as if that explained everything. “All this is mine! I’m the one who makes everything work. I’m the genius behind this world-wide-operation. But you…” Once again, he narrowed down on Alex, the business end of that double-gauge wavering like the heavy end of a post. “You need to die. You’re fuckin’ bad for business.”

Walker felt Persia stir beneath his fingertips. She was coming around. Good. But he needed her to stay down until this mess was—

BLAM! Goff had just fired a shot straight up in the air. “Get off my Goddamned boat!”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Walker replied, still shielding Persia from this madman’s view.

“Leave the girl. She’s mine now. All of you. Get in the water.”

“We leave, she leaves with us,” Alex growled.

The business end of Goff’s weapon lowered on Walker’s thigh. “Like I said, she’s not going anywhere. But you four… Get the fuck off my boat or I’ll turn you into shark bait.”

Walker knew it then. One shot from that double gauge would kill him and Persia. If he reloaded quickly enough, the next would rip Alex, McQueen, or Izza to shreds. There was no choice. Walker had to leave Persia again. His heart climbed up his throat—until he remembered that rope.

He stabbed a finger at Goff. “This isn’t over.”

“Off!” Goff screamed, his face red, the veins in his neck thick and pulsing. “Not the dock! Over the side. Get in the damned water! Now!”

Walker shot a desperate look at Izza as, slowly, she climbed the rail and dropped feet first into the harbor. McQueen and Alex went next. Then Walker. The way Goff’s shotgun tracked him as he climbed the rail, he wasn’t sure he’d get off Persia Smiles alive.

Goff looked down at them from the aft deck. He had Persia now. The ass leered as if he’d won the lottery. “You’re finished, Judge.” His weapon tracked to where Alex bobbed alongside Izza. He aimed. The bastard was going to shoot!

“Dive!” Walker bellowed as the blast boomed like a cannon. He couldn’t see through the diesel-laden murk that gathered alongside docks. The water was so dark and polluted, Walker couldn’t tell blood from fish guts.

Still underwater, he arrowed straight toward shapes that looked like bodies, arms, and legs. But another blast peppered the surface tension directly overhead, sending a dozen or so pellets zipping into the dark.

By then, the yacht’s props were churning, making visibility nil. Walker had no idea who’d been shot, if anyone. Quickly, he withdrew to the yacht’s hull. Surfacing out of sight below the rail, he finally saw Alex, McQueen, and Izza alongside the fishing boat behind Persia Smiles. They weren’t helpless and they looked uninjured. He should’ve known.

Something big splashed right in front of him. Ryder! Shit! Walker grabbed