She leans toward me, so I wrap an arm around her shoulders and hold on, basking in this moment where her walls are down. Where she’s seeking comfort in my arms.
“If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there. If I ride the wings of morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in the darkness, I cannot hide from You.”
My throat tightens, and I swallow hard, hoping to push the lump aside so I can continue. “To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book.”
I clear my throat again, and Tessa remains where she is, her shoulders shaking softly as she cries. It’s not a complete break, but the fissures are there. Only God can fully remove those walls she’s built, and I pray He does.
“He has always been with you, Tessa,” I say again.
“He gave me a second chance, and I threw it away.”
“We all do. There’s not a single person who walks this world and doesn’t sin. Just because You accept Jesus doesn’t mean you’re perfect. Only He is.”
“I’ve hurt so many people. I’ve done so many things I can’t take back.”
“But you can move forward. You don’t have to live in the past.”
“Well, when it’s literally trying to kill me, I’m not so sure about that.” She straightens and wipes her eyes, so I reluctantly remove my arm from around her shoulders and turn slightly to face her.
“You let me worry about that.”
She looks up at me, and in her eyes, I see a bit of the light that once shone so brightly. “Will you keep reading?”
“Absolutely.”
Soft creaking pulls me out of sleep, but I don’t open my eyes. Keeping my breathing steady, I listen for the source of the sound. Footsteps. The door leading into my cabin slides open, meaning someone picked the lock.
Moving slowly, I slide my hand beneath the pillow and retrieve my gun. Then I wait. Footsteps move farther inside the cabin of my boat.
Nearly there.
A shadow passes over the top of me, so I lunge up, bringing my gun with me. An arm comes down on top of mine, knocking it free. Pain radiates up through my arm as I slam my fist into the masked assailant.
He stumbles backward, falling against and splintering my door.
Loud enough that I know it will have woken Tessa.
I can’t see his face due to the mask, but he withdraws a knife and snarls at me. “You have no idea what you’re up against, SEAL.”
“I know that you’re not walking off this boat.” I square off, ready to end his life if it comes down to it. “And that’s enough right now.”
The man charges forward, slashing out with his knife. I move to the side, but because of the small space, it slices into my arm. Pain radiates from the source of the wound, but I ignore it as I turn to the side and slam my bare foot into his chest. He falls back, so I rush forward, gripping the arm that’s holding the knife and slamming him to the deck of my boat. I keep a firm hold on his arm as he thrashes beneath me.
A bullet whizzes past my head and hits the bench seat just to my right.
Two attackers. Keeping myself as hidden as I can, I grip the throat of the man beneath me and squeeze.
He thrashes, arching up to put me in the line of sight for his partner, but I remain low.
“Zane!” Tessa screams.
“Stay out of sight!” I yell. “Get inside! Lock the door!”
Something slams into the back of my head, knocking me to the side. Three attackers. I’m dazed, spots in my vision, but I don’t stay down long.
Gripping the knife that the man on the deck dropped, I rush back toward the cabin.
Tessa screams, and my blood runs cold.
