Read SSC (2011) The Road to Hell for Free Online Page B

do him harm.
    * * *
    They had just passed Sombrero Light when Cruz said, “So here’s my offer, hombre . The Toraño bitch gives me a release with a promise never to sue. And vice versa. I won’t sue her ass.”
    “ I don’t like the way you talk about my client,” Steve said.
    “ Tough shit. I don’t like Fidel Castro, but what am I gonna do about it?”
    “ Your offer stinks like week-old snapper.”
    “ You sue me, what do you get? A piece of paper you can wipe your ass with. I got nothing in my own name, including the boat.”
    Steve looked right and left to get his bearings. Off to port, in the direction of the reef, he spotted the fins of two sharks heading toward strands of yellow sargasso weed, home to countless fish. Red coral just below the surface cast a rusty glow on the shallow water. To the starboard was the archipelago of the Florida Keys. From here, the island chain was strung out like an emerald necklace. “Let Vic take the wheel a minute,” Steve said. “I want you to see something.”
    Cruz allowed as how even a woman lawyer could keep a boat on 180 degrees, due south, and followed Steve down the ladder to the cockpit. Just off the stern, the props dug at the water like a plow digging at a field. Steve opened the cooler, reached underneath the ice and pulled out a two foot-long greenish-blue fish, frozen solid. A horse-eyed jack.
    “ Great bait, huh?” Steve held the fish by its tail and let it swing free. It had a fine heft, like a small sledgehammer.
    “ Already told you. I got shiners and wiggles.”
    “ Then I better use this for something else.” Steve swung the frozen fish at Cruz’ head. The man stutter-stepped sideways and the blow glanced off his shoulder and sideswiped an ear. Steve swung again, and Cruz ducked, the fish flying free and shattering the glass door of the salon. Cruz reached for his knife in the ankle sheath and Steve barreled into him, knocking them both to the deck.
    On the fly bridge, Victoria screamed. “Stop! Both of you!”
    The two men rolled over each other, scraping elbows and knees on the planked deck. Cruz was heavier, and his breath smelled of tobacco. Steve was wiry and quicker, but ended up underneath when they skidded to a stop. Cruz grabbed Steve’s t-shirt at the neck and slammed his head into the deck. Once, twice, three times. Thwomp, thwomp, thwomp.
    Steve balled a fist and landed a short right that caught Cruz squarely on the Adam’s apple. The man gagged, clutched his throat, and fell backward. Steve squirmed out from under, but Cruz tripped him. Steve tumbled into the gunwale, smacking his head, sparks flashing behind his eyes. He had the sensation of being dragged across a hard floor. On his back, he opened his eyes and saw something glistening in the sun.
    The knife blade!
    Cruz was on his knees, knife in hand. “ Pendejo! I oughta make chum out of you.”
    “ No!” Victoria’s voice, closer than it should have been.
    Steve heard the clunk , saw Cruz topple over, felt him bounce off his own chest. Straddling both of them was Victoria, a three-foot steel tarpon gaff in her right hand. “Omigod,” she said. “I didn’t kill him, did I?”
    “ Not unless a dead man grunts and farts at the same time,” Steve said, listening to sounds coming from both ends of the semi-conscious man.
    He shoved Cruz off and stood up, wrapping his arms around Victoria, who was trembling. “You were terrific, Vic. We work great together.”
    “ Really? What did you do?”
    “ Come on. Help me get him up the ladder.” Steve pulled the handcuffs from his pocket. “I want him on the bridge.”
    “ What now? What insanity now?”
    “ Relax Vic. In a few hours, Cruz will be dying to give back Teresa’s money.”
    * * *
    Steve had played fast and loose with the rules before, Victoria thought, but nothing like this.
    This is scary. And in the eyes of the law, she was dirty, too.
    This could mean trading the couture outfits and Italian footwear for