She longed to reach out and touch him, but he was a few arm lengths away. Yet close enough to hear her. She pointed the spotlight directly on him. “I thought my father had killed you back at the house. But you’re here. You’re here.”
“Don’t ever forget I came for you.” He swiped his palm down his face, his eyes conveying sadness and love. “Not because you were my client. But because you’re everything I could want. Everything I ever needed.” He gasped for air. “I love you, Liz.”
Why did this sound like a dying man’s declaration? Where was he heading with this? What was he planning to do? She glanced over at Slugger then back at Mitch. The two of them seemed to be giving each other space. Like a pair of boxers who’d each gone to their corners, waiting to fight the last round.
Slugger looked like he had another round in him. Mitch looked determined, but he had to be tired. He had to be losing blood from when her father had shot him.
“I love you, too, Mitch. Swim to the raft. Come on.” Bracing herself against the side of the raft, she reached out to him.
He shook his head. Slipped his fingers into the small pocket on the sleeve of the jacket and pulled out the shard of glass she’d given him back at the house. He grasped it between his fingers, sharp point outward, and fisted his hand around the larger end.
In that moment, she realized the fight for survival was bigger than both of them. He was willing to give his life. She couldn’t imagine living without him.
“Please. Please…get in the boat.” Tears streaming down her face, she leaned over the side of the raft, beating the water with her fists. Screaming. Begging. “Swim…to the raft…Mitch…please…” Her heart was breaking. “I love you. Forever…”
“Forever.”
“Ain’t that sweet?” Slugger shouted, inching his way forward as the storm seemed to settle. The waves smoothed out instead of crashing. “Let’s get this over with, Agent Granger. Be daylight soon.”
“Yeah. I’d hate to miss a beautiful sunrise.”
Mitch sucked in three deep breaths as he whipped around and dove. A few seconds later he shot up through the water right next to Slugger. Mitch backhand raked the fisted shard of glass across the man’s chest and pulled him downward. They both sank beneath the surface. Neither popped back up.
“Nooooo!” Her heart and soul felt as if they’d drained from her body. Like they’d followed Mitch down into the dark water. Left her battling for the will to breath.
She stared at the exact spot where the two men had disappeared. Counted the passing seconds in her head. How long? How long could he hold his breath? Hold his breath and fight? Thirty—sixty—ninety. Background noise of a hovering chopper sounded above her. Their search light panned the area.
She didn’t move. One-twenty. A splash, then the dip of the far side of the raft, told her someone had climbed in. Another splash and dip said three of the good guys were with her.
“It’s me, Liz,” Reese said as he gently laid his hand on her shoulder.
She nodded. One-fifty -sixty -seventy… “One-eighty… No one can possibly hold their breath over three minutes. Right?”
“Don’t give up on your SEAL.” Reese took the spotlight from her and streamed the beam back and forth, skimming in and out of the waves. “If anyone can, it’s him.”
The first glimmer of sunrise sparked on the horizon. A slight pale-yellow glow stretching to sheet the water in daylight.
“Mitch…oh, Mitch don’t do this to me.” She laid her head on the side of the raft and stopped counting. Wiping the wetness from her cheeks, she realized the rain had stopped. Her tears kept flowing. “Please don’t leave me like this.”
“There! There’s one.” Reese tossed the spotlight aside and dove into the water.
She rolled to her knees, searching in the direction he was swimming. Another person jumped out of the chopper and followed his lead. Both of them closed fast on a man half floating, half pulling himself sideways through the water.
Smiling from ear to ear, Liz sucked in a few deep breaths. There was no doubt who she was looking at in the distance. None at all.
“Mitch…Mitch Granger.” She knew her man when she saw him.
Epilogue
Two and a half months later
The assignment had taken four days. Been a success. And was already filed away in a report. Now Mitch had only one thing on his mind—Liz. He’d called from the airport to let her know he’d be the one coming in the house later. Scaring her was not on his agenda. He had other things in mind for his third homecoming from an assignment.
Before he even got the door closed, she raced across the living room, jumped into his arms, and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Hey there, Dance Man.”
“Hey there, yourself.” He pushed the door closed and activated security, all the while nibbling the side of her neck. “I could get used to this greeting real fast.”
Gripping her fingernails into his shoulders, she wiggled her breasts against his chest. “Well, I’ll just have to see what I can do about that.”
