I flail in the water in an attempt to reach the surface. I want to breathe so fucking much, the need to do it is itching at my chest, until I'm clawing at it and reaching for the surface.
Ineedto shift. It’s what my instincts are screaming in my ears: Shift. Breathe. Shift—
Something breaks the water above me and I think the lack of oxygen is starting to show.
Because I swear I see Reuben swimming towards me.
My consciousness flickers because I can't hold my breath any longer and I reach for the hallucination as my lungs catch on fire.
It burns. It burns and even though I never thought it was possible—even though I can feel death close by for the first time—
It's okay.
Because Reuben is coming for me.
Strangely, it’s the one thing I’m certain of before I lose consciousness.
Chapter 11
Reuben
Three seconds.
That’s how long it’s been since Christian was thrown overboard.
Three agonizing seconds frozen on the floor of the deck.
Gunshots are firing away behind me and in my periphery…
It’s so loud in my ears, it feels like that’s all I can hear.
The world is suddenly… fractured.
‘I'll use my life to show you and this team the worth of the Adler Squad.’
Christian.
Five seconds and I’m finally able to break the spell. Not an ounce of me cares about Lucia, I leave her on the ground, as I run towards the edge where he disappeared.
Nine seconds.
The ship is blasting some kind of alarm across the PA systems, the sensors along the hull were designed to pick up when someone fell overboard, and bright white lights activate along the hull of the ship to shine powerful beams into the water below.
Eleven seconds.
I tug my vest off viciously as I focus on that spot where Christian might have disappeared, based on his size and the impact…
He got hit hard.
Way too hard. The force would have broken bones.
‘I have to show you why it was me.’
The moment I throw my leg over the rail to jump in after him, I’m being tugged back.
Thirteen seconds.
Tobias’ voice is in my ears but I’m honestly too hyper-fixated on that spot some meters away from the hull.
