Not really having the time to do so, he pushed himself up closer in order to see her face more clearly. The love in her eyes both filled his heart and shattered it, all at the same time.
She shook her head back and forth. Her hair swirling around her face, but he could still make out what she was trying to tell him.
Silently, through dark water, he read Gracie’s lips.
I’m sorry.
Panic filled Nate to his core. Before he could think of a way to respond, she took his face into her hands and mouthed the words,I love you.
And there, surrounded by water, Gracie pressed her lips to his and kissed him goodbye.
For a fraction of a second, Nate kissed her back before pushing her away and furiously shaking his head.
Praying she could see what he was trying to tell her, Nate mouthed back,I’m not leaving you!
Please.Her eyes begged him to go. To save himself.
Didn’t she know? If he lost her now, he may as well be dead, too. Well, fuck that. Their story wasn’t ending today. Not like this.
With his finger, Nate told her to hold on a little longer. He raced back down to where she was stuck and tried again. He was still pulling when a second set of hands came into view.
Startled, he looked through the water to his left, grateful to see Gabe at his side.
Nate swallowed against the need to breathe—a trick he learned in the Navy. It fooled your brain into thinking you were able to breathe and could buy him an extra twenty, thirty seconds underwater. He needed those extra seconds, now.
Both men pulled as hard as they could. They repeated their efforts a second time. Finally, blessedly, on their third try, the plastic snapped and Gracie’s foot floated free.
Through the dark, murky water Gabe used his hands to let him know he was going out first and would help him pull Gracie from the car. Nate understood and nodded in agreement.
Once Gabe was out of the way, Nate made his way back up to Gracie. A feeling of profound relief hit when he saw Gabe reaching beneath her arms to pull her out of the driver’s window.
That relief was replaced with devastation when Nate realized her head had slumped forward and her arms were floating motionless at her sides.
Chapter 19
Refusing to believe she was already gone, Nate pushed against Gracie’s hips and legs to help Gabe get her out faster. Kicking as hard as he could, his thigh muscles burned as they made their way through the cool water.
Nate’s lungs felt as though they were on fire as they screamed for some much-needed oxygen. His vision blurred and darkened around the edges just as his head broke through the surface. He opened his mouth wide and gasped, filling his lungs over and over again.
Struggling to catch his breath, Nate helped Gabe swim an unconscious Gracie to the nearest shoreline. It was only a few feet away, but felt like the length of twelve football fields as the two men fought to get her there.
Having arrived in the second Jeep with Fletch, Zade yelled something at him as they made their way down to the rocky bank.
Nate didn’t listen. His entire focus was on getting Gracie to shore.
Gabe reached the rocks first. Nate held on to Gracie while the other man got out of the water and secured his footing. As soon as he was steady, he grabbed beneath her arms and slid her back with him.
Laying her down onto a large, flat rock, a dripping Gabe stepped back as Nate climbed up onto the rock and made his way beside her.
He fell to his knees and followed his training, laying his head onto her chest even though he already knew she wasn’t breathing.
Raising back up, he pressed two fingers to the side of her neck. A feeling of despair washed over him when he didn’t find a pulse.
“Ah, God.”
With his fingers beneath her chin, he tilted her head back to open her airway and made a tight seal with his lips and hers. Blowing two, strong breaths, Nate then crossed his palms over each other in the proper area of her chest and locked his elbows.
He began the compressions.
