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Brandon’s hands closed over her shoulders and pushed her under the water.
Jaia fought the immediate flare of panic, keeping her eyes squeezed firmly shut and her focus on breathing. She couldn’t mess this up. Couldn’t cost them one more precious second than necessary. Brandon’s life depended on it.
The cold got more intense the deeper they went. She couldn’t feel Brandon’s hands on her anymore, but he was still guiding her, still pushing her forward.
Just breathe. Just breathe and relax.
Staying relaxed was impossible. She had to fight the instinctive urge to push her way through the water. Only her worry for Brandon kept her still.
He gave her a hard push down, then forward. Trailing at her side, her right hand bumped into solid rock. Automatically she lifted her left hand and hit rock on the other side.
Realizing they must be in the tunnel, she sucked in a sharp breath when the tank on her back banged into the ceiling. She stopped moving, something grabbing her.
She pressed her hands to the rock on either side. For one awful moment she thought they were stuck. Then Brandon pushed her hard and she shot forward again. This time she moved her legs in small, tight kicks, hoping to help him by going faster.
His hands landed on her rear and gave another hard shove forward. She kicked faster, reached out in front of her and started stroking her arms through the water when she felt no more restrictions around her.
Was Brandon still behind her? She couldn’t feel his hands anywhere, but she seemed to be rising now.
Kicking hard, her heart pounding like a bass drum in her ears, she risked opening her eyes.
At first there was only darkness, but within seconds she saw a faint lightening above her. She tipped her head back and swam toward it. The light grew brighter and brighter, cutting through the murky green water. Beckoning to her.
Her head burst through the surface. She flailed for a moment, startled and disoriented, and spun around in the water. She was outside the cave, but there was no sign of Brandon.
A wave crashed over her head, plunging her back under.
She clamped her lips around the regulator and fought her way back up. Popping through the surface, she searched around desperately as another shot of fear streaked through her.
Brandon had been right behind her in that tunnel. He should have surfaced by now.
The sound of a motor made her snap her head around. A boat was heading toward her, two men leaning over the side.
Struggling to keep her head above water, she swam toward them, her arms and legs numb from the cold. Through the mask she blinked up at the first face that appeared above her.
Brandon’s friend Groz. He leaned over the side of the boat and reached for her. She threw out a hand.
He caught it, dragged her close and hauled her to the boat as two men on either side of him leaned over to grab her arms and steady her.
They lifted her up and over the side. She landed in a wet heap in the bottom, immediately spat out the regulator and ripped the mask off, swinging around on her knees to peer over the edge.
“B-Brandon,” she gasped before either of them could say anything, quivering all over. “W-was r-right b-behind me—”
But there was no sign of him, only the waves hitting the mouth of the cave.
“I’ll find him,” said one of them, tugging a mask down over his face and putting the regulator into his mouth. He jumped over the side and disappeared into the water.
Groz started taking the scuba tank off her. She shrugged out of it without taking her eyes off the water, frantic. “C’mon, B-Brandon,” she muttered, praying. Please, God. Please let him be okay.
She couldn’t bear it if he died. Couldn’t live with herself knowing he’d died to save her.
“Travis will find him,” Groz said to her. “In the meantime, we need to get you dry and warmed up.”
She was too cold and scared to argue. A thick blanket wrapped around her from behind. She glanced up at another man she hadn’t noticed before. Red-gold hair, hazel eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her. “I’m Callum.”
She managed a nod. “H-he was right b-behind m-me,” she whispered, her voice cracking as tears flooded her eyes. Blinking, she glanced past him to the rear of the boat and found herself looking at an older version of the man who’d gone into the water after Brandon.
The man gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. Travis will get him.”
Clutching the edges of the blanket around her shoulders, she stared at the water outside the cave mouth. Travis had been under for at least twenty seconds already.
But she knew something horrible had gone wrong. The water was so cold, the swim so long, she was certain Brandon wouldn’t have been able to hold his breath this long.
“Here he comes,” Groz said, face tense as he leaned over the edge again.
Jaia’s entire body was rigid as she stared at the water. Bubbles formed on the shifting surface. Then Travis’s head popped through, and a second later another dark head appeared next to his.
She sucked in a breath. Brandon!
He was slack in Travis’s hold, eyes closed, his head lolling on his friend’s shoulder.
No. No, no, no, no...
Jaia dropped the blanket and clapped her hands to her mouth, her heart seizing. Oh my God, he was dead. He’d drowned getting her out—
His eyes fluttered open as Travis towed him to the boat. Groz and Callum reached over the edge, grabbed him and hauled him out. Jaia scrambled out of the way to make room, then dropped to her knees beside Brandon’s head while Groz took charge.
“Hey.” Cradling the back of Brandon’s neck, he smacked a palm against the side of his face while Travis levered himself into the boat. Brandon’s lips were blue, his face pale. “Whit, look at me.”
Brandon blinked up at him slowly. “What?” he mumbled.
“You blacked out, dude.” Groz reached an arm under him and sat him up. “Okay now?”
Brandon nodded, and at the choked sound she made, his gaze cut to her. A slow, exhausted smile curved his blue lips. “H-hey, Jaia.”
She flung her arms around him, holding him as tight as her exhausted arms would allow. “You s-scared the shit out of m-me,” she whispered, shaking all over.
He pulled her close, shivering just as hard. “T-told ya y-you c-could do it.”
She shook her head, unwilling to let him go. “You almost d-drowned,” she accused, still horrified.
“Got c-caught up in the t-tunnel. Finally got f-free, but I r-ran out of air on my w-way to the surface. H-had to go b-back, t-ry again.” His head shifted and he shuddered. “Th-thanks, Trav.”
“No worries. Happy to be of service, brother.” Travis clapped him on the back.
“Okay, let the lady go so we can get you both warmed up,” Groz said.
“I’ll do it,” Brandon said, shooting a glare at his buddy. “You th-think I’m gonna let you p-perverts strip her?” He snorted.
Groz and Travis both laughed. “Okay, we’ll protect her modesty while you do your thing, then,” Groz said, holding up the blanket around them like a tent.
“Gotta g-get out of these wet c-clothes,” Brandon said, his hands trembling as he pulled her sodden sweater up. The way they were both shivering, it was a struggle to get her out of her top, jeans and bra.
A sweatshirt appeared above them. Brandon tugged it over her head. She groaned at the blessed, immediate sense of warmth, her teeth chattering. “H-how did you f-find me?” she managed.
“Had a r-run in with the assholes w-who took you. I m-made one of them tell me where you w-were.”
“H-how?”
“D-dying man’s conf-fession.”
Oh, Brandon...
Someone handed them a pair of sweatpants next, along with socks. As soon as she was dressed, Brandon and Groz bundled her up in the blanket.
Travis knelt at Brandon’s feet to take off his swim fins, then wrapped them both up in a thin metallic blanket. “You two look all cozy now,” he said with a grin, rubbing his hands over their arms and shoulders.
The boat engine started up. Jaia turned her head stiffly to the side to see the older man at the back steering them back to shore. The boat bounced as it flew over the waves.
Brandon’s arms contracted around her. “I got you,” he said next to her ear.
She closed her eyes and curled into him, shudders still wracking her. Exhaustion tugged at her, a different sort of numbness creeping in that was more than physical fatigue. Emotionally and mentally, she was spent, her body and mind shutting down.
She was vaguely aware of the wind whipping past them, of the movement of the boat, but already she could feel herself fading, a heavy weight pulling her under. She didn’t want to think about what had just happened, about almost dying, almost losing Brandon in the last few hours of insanity.
Couldn’t. She only wanted to be warm again and rest. To know they were both finally safe. That it was all over now.
“Heads up,” Callum called out behind them. “Looks like we’ve got company inbound.”
Jaia felt Brandon stiffen. Her eyes flew open. She followed the others’ gazes off to the right.
A boat was speeding toward them at an angle. A man appeared at the side, holding something in his hands. A weapon? He raised it to his shoulder—
“Oh, fuck,” Brandon breathed, then shoved her to the floor and covered her with his body as lightning-fast shots cracked through the air.
