“When I was swimming toward him, his body jolted and let go. I got him back up, and we started CPR. But…” His eyes flicked to mine. “I can’t find a pulse, and he’s still not breathing.”
“Okay, you’re doing great.” The dispatcher on the line assured him. “Emergency responders are on their way to you now. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Got it.”
I tore my eyes from Landon, staring at Max with a look that I hoped conveyed what I couldn’t say.
He nodded.
When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I cupped Landon’s face, gripping his head and pressing my forehead to his.
“You promised you’d come back to me.” I pressed harder. “You swore you wouldn’t leave me again.”
But he didn’t respond, didn’t come back.
He didn’t say anything.
Time ticked by, precious seconds filling me with an impending sense of grief.
What I’d experienced only one other time.
And I couldn’t breathe.
Max Dread
I hummed with each compression. A rhythm I couldn’t forget. Even in my sleep.
“Landon?” Kingston’s voice rang out from beyond the cave. “Quinn, are you in here?”
“Kingston!” Quinn cried out. “Down here!”
He came into view a second later. Dropping into the cavern, he ran to the edge.
As he slid down, Quinn’s hands shook harder.
And I just kept going.
“Kingston!” She sobbed as he appeared. “Kingston, he?—”
Blue-gray eyes stricken with fear, he raced over to her, but he didn’t make it far before he froze.
His gaze fell on Landon. “No.”
Quinn’s voice broke. “Kingston, he’s not breathing. He?—”
And I didn’t know what I’d been expecting.
The same fucking mask he always wore? The impassive, shuttered King I believed he was? Unbothered at the sight? Unwilling to shed a tear over death? Even for a fallen Knight.
Not even for his best friend.
Had I thought that would be his reaction?
Yeah, I didn’t get things right every time.
But had I been expecting what Kingston did next?
Not in a million years.
