Jackson glances over the ledge like he’s done it a dozen or more times before. Like this isn’t a nausea-inducing height. Heck, his tux is soaked, so he’s already taken a plunge and is back for another round.
“You can swim, right?” he asks, shuffling his hand through his shaggy hair and ruffling the water out all over me.
“Yeah.” Thank god it’s too dark for him to see my flinch at the lie.
I can swim a little; I’m just not great at it. But I’m not about to tell the captain of the football team, the guy all the girls clamor to be around, the most athletic guy I’ve ever known, that I can do little more than dog paddle. The only reason we ever became friends is because I’ve tutored him and helped him out so much with his homework that I’m probably the only reason he’ll graduate in the first place.
We don’t hang together all the time. We don’t play video games or text each other, but we have gotten to be good enough friends that he does give me a chin nod orfist bump when we pass in the halls. He’s a genuinely nice guy, and we’ve shared a ton of big-picture dreams and goals during our study sessions.
“Look.” He turns back to face me and clamps a hand on my shoulder. “I can tell you’re nervous. You don’t have to do this.”
Only, I do. My pride won’t let me bow out.
“But if you want,” he says conspiratorially, “I’ll go down first and wait for you at the hole.”The hole. The natural ladder made by tree roots where everyone climbs out of the water. “If anything happens, I’ll be there for you.”
I look back and forth between the dark water and his earnest expression. He’s right; this is part of my future career, jumping off and doing scary, dangerous things. I have to face my fear at some point. It’s one jump. I can do this.
“Remember to go feet first when you hit the water, then kick hard when you go under, and use your arms.”
I jerk my head in a nod, even though I want to bolt out of here and hide. Blood pulses through my veins like I’m running a race. I can do this. I have to do this.
“Let’s go.”
A wide grin splits his chiseled face, and then he takes two running steps and leaps out into thin air. I wait until I hear his splash, try to gulp for air in a chest that’s too tight to expand, and don’t think about what could go wrong.
I jump.
But I’m not a jock. I don’t have body control like that. And my feet shoot out, and my ass dips low, and even though I flail my arms and legs, I can’t get my body to cooperate.
One heartbeat. The stars flash overhead.
Two heartbeats. Feet first. I have tobe feet first.
Three heartbeats. Trees whizz by. I have to be close to the water.
Four heartbeats. I hit flat on my back. White-hot pain smacks the air out of my lungs, and water whooshes in as I sink.
Unable to move my body.
Unable to fight my way back to the surface.
Chapter One
Present Day
Jackson
There’s nothing quite like the thrill of a structure fire with no threat to life. Sure, there’s some risk, but it’s the personal kind. Not the kind that means I’ve gotta be the fastest in and fastest out because someone else will suffer the consequences of my failure.
And personal risk? It’s my favorite. When the odds are stacked against me, and I am not totally in control of the situation. It’s those moments that remind me I’m alive.
Calls like this one, just me and my partner kicking ass, battling a beast and winning—these are rare and awesome.
“Woo,” I yell into the raging inferno. “I fucking love this job.”
Fire rolls across the ceiling, sending us to our knees. Hell yeah. Now we’re getting to the good stuff.
Cal’s shoulder hits my back, helping me brace againstthe strength of the water pressure as I hit her with a straight stream.
